Company: CHEF
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001517175-25-000002
Chunk: 50

Company: Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 50
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, we may be required to modify or discontinue sales of certain items in our product portfolio, and we may experience higher costs associated with the implementation of those changes. Additionally, changes in consumer eating habits may result in the enactment of laws and regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of our products or require us to disclose the nutritional content of products. Compliance with these laws and regulations, as well as others regarding the ingredients and nutritional content of our products, may be costly and time consuming. We cannot assure investors that we will be able to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or resulting new laws or regulations or to adapt our product offerings to trends in eating habits.

We rely on independent certifications for a number of our products.

We rely on independent third-party certifications, such as certifications of our products as “organic” or “Non-GMO,” to differentiate our products from others. We must comply with the requirements of independent organizations or certification authorities in order to label our products as certified organic. For example, we can lose our “organic” certification if a manufacturing plant becomes contaminated with non-organic materials, or if it is not properly cleaned after a production run. In addition, all raw materials must be certified organic. The loss of any independent certifications could adversely affect our market position as an organic and natural products company, which could harm our business.

21

Our business operations and future development could be significantly disrupted if we lose key members of our management team.

The success of our business significantly depends upon the continued contributions of our founders and key employees, both individually and as a group. Our future performance will substantially depend upon our ability to motivate and retain our founders Christopher Pappas, our chairman, president and chief executive officer, and John Pappas, our vice chairman, as well as certain other senior key employees. The loss of the services of either of our founders or any of our key employees, including key employees of the businesses we have acquired, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. We have no reason to believe that we will lose the services of these individuals in the foreseeable future; however, we currently have no effective replacement for these individuals due to their experience, reputation in the foodservice distribution industry and special role in our operations.

Our insurance policies and claims expenses could significantly reduce our profitability. 

We believe that our insurance coverage is customary for businesses of our size and type. In addition, the cost of workers’ compensation insurance, auto liability insurance, general liability insurance and directors’ and officers