Company: CHEF
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001517175-25-000002
Chunk: 49

Company: Chefs' Warehouse, Inc.
Filing Date: 2025-02-25
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1A
Chunk 49
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 or affinity for our specialty food, produce or center-of-the-plate products or brands, whether or not justified, could significantly reduce their respective values and damage our business. If our customers perceive or experience a reduction in the quality or selection of our products and brands or our customer service, or in any way believe that we failed to deliver a consistently positive experience, our business, financial condition or results of operations may be affected in a materially adverse manner. Further, the growing use of social media by consumers has greatly increased the speed and extent that information or misinformation and opinions can be shared. Negative posts or comments about us, our brands, or our products on social media could seriously damage our brands and reputation. Additionally, negative reaction to our marketing and advertising, including our social media content, could result in damage to our brands and reputation.

We may need to recall our products if they become adulterated. If patrons of our restaurant customers become ill from food-borne illnesses, our customers could be forced to temporarily close restaurant locations and our sales would be correspondingly decreased. A specialty foods distribution business such as ours can be adversely affected by negative publicity or news reports, whether or not accurate, regarding food quality issues, public health concerns, illness, safety, injury or government or industry findings concerning our products or others across the food distribution industry. In addition, a widespread health epidemic or food-borne illness, whether or not related to the use of our products, as well as terrorist events may cause consumers to avoid public gathering places, like restaurants, or otherwise change their eating behaviors. Although we have taken steps to mitigate food quality, public health and other foodservice-related risks, these types of health concerns or negative publicity cannot be completely eliminated or mitigated and may harm our results of operations and damage the reputation of, or result in a lack of acceptance of, our products or the brands we carry.

New information or attitudes regarding diet and health or adverse opinions about the health effects of the products we distribute could result in changes in consumer eating habits, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Consumer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the health effects of consuming the products we distribute. For example, customers have increasingly focused on well-being, including reducing sodium and added sugar consumption or using weight-loss drugs to reduce consumption overall or change consumption patterns, as well as the source and authenticity of ingredients in the foods they consume. If consumer eating habits change significantly