CERTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Trademarks

We own or have rights to use the trademarks and trade names that we use in conjunction with the operation of our business. Each trademark or trade name of any other company appearing in this prospectus is, to our knowledge, owned by such other company. Solely for convenience, our trademarks and trade names referred to in this prospectus may appear without the ® or ™ symbols, but those references are not intended to indicate, in any way, that we will not assert, to the fullest extent under applicable law, our rights or the right of the applicable licensor to these trademarks and trade names.

Presentation of Financial and Other Information

On May 6, 2019, Better Choice Company Inc. (“Better Choice Company”) acquired TruPet LLC (“TruPet”) and Bona Vida, Inc. (“Bona Vida”) in a pair of all-stock transactions (the “acquisitions”). The acquisition of TruPet is treated as a reverse merger with TruPet determined to be the accounting acquirer of the Better Choice Company. As such, the historical financial statements of the registrant are those of TruPet and TruPet’s equity has been re-cast to reflect shares of Better Choice Company common stock received in the acquisitions. The acquisition of Bona Vida is treated as an asset acquisition. Unless otherwise stated or the context otherwise requires, the historical business information described in this prospectus prior to consummation of the acquisitions is that of TruPet and, following consummation of the acquisitions, reflects business information of Better Choice Company, TruPet and Bona Vida as a combined business.

The Acquisitions and the May Private Placement

TruPet Acquisition

On December 17, 2018, Better Choice Company made a $2,200,000 investment in TruPet, an online seller of pet foods, pet nutritional products and related pet supplies. On February 2, 2019 Better Choice Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remainder of TruPet. In connection with the acquisition, 15,027,533 shares of Better Choice Company common stock were issued to TruPet’s members for the remaining 93.3% of the issued and outstanding membership interests of TruPet. We closed the acquisition on May 6, 2019. The shares of common stock included in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part includes the shares of common stock issued to TruPet’s members in the Acquisition.

Bona Vida Acquisition

On February 28, 2019, Better Choice Company entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Bona Vida, an emerging hemp-based CBD platform focused on developing a portfolio of brand and product verticals within the animal health and wellness space. In connection with the acquisition, 18,003,273 shares of Better Choice Company common stock were issued to Bona Vida’s stockholders for all shares of Bona Vida’s common stock outstanding immediately prior to the acquisition. We closed the acquisition on May 6, 2019. The shares of common stock included in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part includes the shares of common stock issued to former stockholders of Bona Vida in the Acquisition.

May Private Placement

On May 6, 2019, we completed a private placement (the “May Private Placement”), in which we sold 5,744,991 shares of our common stock and 5,744,991 warrants to purchase our common stock at an exercise price of $4.25 per share at an offering price of $3.00 per share in reliance on exemptions from registration under the Securities Act. The warrants are exercisable for 24 months from the closing of the May Private Placement. The shares of common stock we sold in the May Private Placement were sold to certain of the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus. The net proceeds from the May Private Placement, after deducting offering expenses and the payment of the placement fee, were approximately $15.7 million which we used for general corporate purposes. In connection with the May Private Placement, we entered into a registration rights agreement (as amended, the “May Private Placement Registration Rights Agreement”). See “Description of Capital Stock—Registration Rights Agreements—May Private Placement Registration Rights Agreement” for more information.

Recent Developments

Halo Acquisition

On October 15, 2019, we entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Agreement”) with Halo, Purely For Pets, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Halo”), Thriving Paws, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Thriving Paws”), HH-Halo LP, a Delaware limited partnership (“HH-Halo” and, together with Thriving Paws, the “Sellers”) and HH-Halo, in the capacity of the representative of the Sellers. Pursuant to the terms and subject to the conditions of the Agreement, among other things, we agreed to purchase from the Sellers one hundred percent (100%) of the issued and outstanding capital stock of Halo (the “Acquisition”). The aggregate consideration payable by us under the Agreement is $40,000,000, subject to customary adjustments for Halo’s net working capital, cash, and indebtedness, and consisting of a combination of (a) cash, (b) shares of our common stock, par value $0.001 per share, (c) convertible subordinated notes or other equity or debt security and (d) a second lien promissory note issued by Halo in favor of HH-Halo. Each party’s obligation to consummate the transactions contemplated by the Acquisition is subject to customary and agreed upon conditions, including, but not limited to, the absence of any statute, rule, regulation, executive order, decree, temporary restraining order, preliminary or permanent injunction or other order issued by any court of competent jurisdiction or other governmental entity or other legal restraint or prohibition preventing or making illegal the consummation of the Acquisition.

General Corporate Information

We were incorporated in the State of Nevada in 2001 under the name Cayanne Construction, Inc., and in 2009, changed our name to Sports Endurance, Inc. Effective March 11, 2019, we changed our name to Better Choice Company Inc. after reincorporating in Delaware. Our principal executive offices are located at 166 Douglas Road E,

Oldsmar, FL 34677, and our telephone number at that address is (813) 659-5921. Our website is available at https://www.betterchoicecompany.com. Information on our website or any other website is not incorporated by reference herein and does not constitute a part of this prospectus.

We are a Smaller Reporting Company

We are a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. As a smaller reporting company, we are eligible for exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not smaller reporting companies, including, but not limited to:

We will remain a smaller reporting company until the end of the fiscal year in which (1) we have a public common equity float of more than $250 million, or (2) we have annual revenues for the most recently completed fiscal year of more than $100 million plus we have a public common equity float or public float of more than $700 million. We also would not be eligible for status as smaller reporting company if we become an investment company, an asset-backed issuer or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company.

We have elected to take advantage of certain of the reduced disclosure obligations in the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and may elect to take advantage of other reduced reporting requirements in future filings. As a result, the information that we provide to our stockholders may be different from what you might receive from other public reporting companies in which you hold equity interests.

References herein to “smaller reporting company” shall have the meaning associated with it in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K.

Additionally, our anticipated growth will increase the demands placed on our suppliers, resulting in an increased need for us to manage our suppliers and monitor for quality assurance and comply with all applicable laws. Any failure by us to manage our growth effectively could impair our ability to achieve our business objectives.

We have a history of losses, we expect to incur losses in the future and we may not be able to achieve or maintain profitability.

We have a history of losses. We incurred net losses of $6.0 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and had $16.7 million in accumulated deficit at December 31, 2018. Because we have a short operating history at scale, it is difficult for us to predict our future operating results. As a result, our losses may be larger than anticipated, and we may not achieve profitability when expected, or at all. Also, we expect our operating expenses to increase over the next several years as we further increase marketing spend, hire more employees, continue to develop new products and services, and expand internationally. These efforts may be more costly than we expect and may not result in increased revenue or growth in our business. Any failure to increase our revenue sufficiently to keep pace with our investments and other expenses could prevent us from achieving or maintaining profitability or positive cash flow on a consistent basis. Furthermore, if our future growth and operating performance fail to meet investor or analyst expectations, or if we have future negative cash flow or losses resulting from our investment in acquiring new customers or expanding our business, our business, financial condition and operating results may be materially adversely affected.

We require a significant amount of cash to operate our business or increase our production to meet consumer demand for our products.

The continued development of our business will require additional funding, and there is no assurance that we will generate cash flow from operations in the future sufficient to run our operations, service our debt and make necessary capital expenditures. If we are unable to generate such cash flow, we may be required to adopt one or more alternatives, such as selling assets, restructuring our existing debt or obtaining additional equity capital. The evolving nature of the business in which we operate may also make it more challenging to raise additional capital. We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations in an amount sufficient to fund our liquidity needs.

We have a limited operating history and, as a result, our past results may not be indicative of future operating performance.

We have a limited operating history as a consolidated company to date and with the current scale of our business, which makes it difficult to forecast our future results, particularly with respect to our own and third-party retail channels, which we have only recently developed. You should not rely on our past annual or quarterly results of operations as indicators of future performance. Because we are in the early stages of operating our business, we are subject to many of the same risks inherent in the operation of a business with a limited operating history. You should consider and evaluate our prospects in light of the risks and uncertainty frequently encountered by companies like ours, including the potential inability to continue as a going concern. We will need to raise substantial additional capital, but adequate additional capital may not be available when we need it, on acceptable terms or at all.

We anticipate that we will need to raise additional capital to execute our business plan and maintain and expand our operations. Additional capital may not be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all. If we are unable to raise additional capital, our business may be harmed and we may need to curtail or cease operations. We may sell equity securities or debt securities in one or more transactions at prices and in a manner as we may determine from time to time. If we sell any such securities in subsequent transactions, our current investors may be materially diluted. Any debt financing, if available, may involve restrictive covenants and could reduce our operational flexibility or profitability. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, we may not be able to grow our business or respond to competitive pressures.

Our recurring losses and significant accumulated deficit have raised substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern.

We have experienced recurring operating losses over the last two years and have a significant accumulated deficit. We expect to continue to generate operating losses and consume significant cash resources for the foreseeable future. Without additional financing, these conditions raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, meaning that we may be unable to continue operations for the foreseeable future or realize assets and discharge

liabilities in the ordinary course of operations. If we seek additional financing to fund our business activities in the future and there remains doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern, investors or other financing sources may be unwilling to provide additional funding on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we are unable to obtain sufficient funding, our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations will be materially and adversely affected and we may be unable to continue as a going concern. If we are unable to continue as a going concern, we may have to liquidate our assets and may receive less than the value at which those assets are carried on our consolidated financial statements, and it is likely that investors will lose all or a part of their investment.

The combined business may be unable to integrate Bona Vida’s and TruPet’s businesses successfully and realize the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions.

The acquisitions involved the combination of two businesses that historically have operated as independent companies. The success of the acquisitions will depend in large part on the success of the management of the combined business in integrating the operations, strategies, technologies and personnel of the companies. We may fail to realize some or all of the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions if the integration process takes longer than expected or is more costly than expected.

Our failure to meet the challenges involved in successfully integrating the operations of Bona Vida or TruPet or to otherwise realize any of the anticipated benefits of the acquisitions could impair our operations. The combined business will be required to devote management attention and resources to integrating Bona Vida’s and TruPet’s business practices and operations.

Potential issues and difficulties the combined business may encounter in the integration process include the following:

We may seek to grow our business through acquisitions of or investments in new or complementary businesses, facilities, technologies or products, or through strategic alliances, and the failure to manage acquisitions, investments or strategic alliances, or the failure to integrate them with our existing business, could have a material adverse effect on us.

From time to time we expect to consider opportunities to acquire or make investments in new or complementary businesses, facilities, technologies or products, or enter into strategic alliances, that may enhance our capabilities, expand our network, complement our current products or expand the breadth of our markets. Potential and completed acquisitions and investments and other strategic alliances involve numerous risks, including:

We do not know if we will be able to identify acquisitions or strategic relationships we deem suitable, whether we will be able to successfully complete any such transactions on favorable terms or at all or whether we will be able to successfully integrate any acquired business, facilities, technologies or products into our business or retain any key personnel, suppliers or customers. Our ability to successfully grow through strategic transactions depends upon our ability to identify, negotiate, complete and integrate suitable target businesses, facilities, technologies and products and to obtain any necessary financing. These efforts could be expensive and time-consuming and may disrupt our ongoing business and prevent management from focusing on our operations. If we are unable to integrate any acquired businesses, facilities, technologies and products effectively, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

If we do not successfully develop additional products and services, or if such products and services are developed but not successfully commercialized, we could lose revenue opportunities.

Our future success will depend, in part, on our ability to develop and market new products and improvements to our existing products, including those that we may develop through partnerships, strategic relationships or licensing arrangements. We are always assessing and identifying new opportunities to provide additional products and related services to our customers. The process of identifying and commercializing new products is complex, uncertain and may involve considerable costs, and if we fail to accurately predict customers’ changing needs and preferences, our business could be harmed. The success of our innovation and product development efforts is affected by the technical capability of our product development staff, the ability to establish new supplier relationships and third-party consultants in developing and testing new products, including complying with governmental regulations, our attractiveness as a partner for outside research and development scientists and entrepreneurs and the success of our management and sales team in introducing and marketing new products. We have already and may have to continue to commit significant resources to commercializing new products before knowing whether our investments will result in products the market will accept. Implementation of these plans may also divert management’s attention from other aspects of our business and place a strain on management, operational and financial resources, as well as our information systems. Launching new products or updating existing products may also leave us with obsolete inventory that we may not be able to sell or we may sell at significantly discounted prices. Furthermore, we may not execute successfully on commercializing those products because of errors in product planning or timing, technical hurdles that we fail to overcome in a timely fashion, or a lack of appropriate resources. This could result in competitors providing those solutions before we do and a reduction in net sales and earnings.

The success of new products will depend on several factors, including proper new product definition, timely completion and introduction of these products, differentiation of new products from those of our competitors, the possibility of increased competition with our current products, unrecovered costs associated with failed product introductions and market acceptance of these products. There can be no assurance that we will successfully identify additional new product opportunities, develop and bring new products to market in a timely manner, or achieve market acceptance of our products or that products and technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or non-competitive. Furthermore, the timing and cost of our R&D initiatives may increase as a result of additional government regulation or otherwise, making it more time-consuming and/or costly to research, test and develop new products. If we are unable to successfully develop or otherwise acquire new products, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Because we are engaged in a highly competitive business, if we are unable to compete effectively, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

The pet health and wellness industry is highly competitive. We compete on the basis of product and ingredient quality, product availability, palatability, brand awareness, loyalty and trust, product variety and innovation, product packaging and design, reputation, price and convenience and promotional efforts. The pet products and services retail industry has become increasingly competitive due to the expansion of pet-related product offerings by certain supermarkets, warehouse clubs, and other mass and general retail and online merchandisers and the entrance of other specialty retailers into the pet food and pet supply market. For example, General Mills, one of the largest mass market consumer goods companies, acquired Blue Buffalo in April 2018, signaling a shift toward the food, drug, and mass channel and away from specialty pet supply stores. In addition, in May 2018, Amazon launched its own pet products brand and announced its intention to continue to expand its online offering of pet supplies.

We face direct competition from companies that sell various pet health and wellness products at a lower price point and distribute such products to traditional retailers, which are larger than we are and have greater financial resources. Price gaps between products may result in market share erosion and harm our business. Our current and potential competitors may also establish cooperative or strategic relationships amongst themselves or with third parties that may further enhance their resources and offerings. Further, it is possible that domestic or foreign companies, some with greater experience in the pet health and wellness industry or greater financial resources than we possess, will seek to provide products or services that compete directly or indirectly with ours in the future.

Many of our current competitors have, and potential competitors may have, longer operating histories, greater brand recognition, larger fulfillment infrastructures, greater technical capabilities, significantly greater financial, marketing and other resources and larger customer bases than we do. These factors may allow our competitors to derive greater net sales and profits from their existing customer base, acquire customers at lower costs or respond more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in consumer preferences or habits. These competitors may engage in more extensive research and development efforts, undertake more far reaching marketing campaigns and adopt more aggressive pricing policies (including but not limited to predatory pricing policies and the provision of substantial discounts), which may allow them to build larger customer bases or generate net sales from their customer bases more effectively than we do.

Our competitors may be able to identify and adapt to changes in consumer preferences more quickly than us due to their resources and scale. They may also be more successful in marketing and selling their products, better able to increase prices to reflect cost pressures and better able to increase their promotional activity, which may impact us and the entire pet health and wellness industry. Increased competition as to any of our products could result in price reduction, increased costs, reduced margins and loss of market share, which could negatively affect our profitability. While we believe we are better equipped to customize products for the pet health and wellness market generally and CBD products more specifically as compared to other companies in the industry, there can be no assurance that we will be able to successfully compete against these other companies. Expansion into markets served by our competitors and entry of new competitors or expansion of existing competitors into our markets could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we fail to attract new customers, or retain existing customers, or fail to do either in a cost-effective manner, we may not be able to increase sales.

Our success depends, in part, on our ability to attract new, and retain existing, customers in a cost-effective manner. We have made, and we expect that we will continue to make, significant investments in attracting and retaining customers. Marketing campaigns can be expensive and may not result in the cost-effective acquisition, or retention, of customers. Further, as our brand becomes more widely known, future marketing campaigns may not attract new or retain customers at the same rate as past campaigns. If we are unable to attract new customers, and retain existing customers, our business will be harmed.

Our estimate of the size of our addressable market may prove to be inaccurate.

Data for retail sales of pet products is collected for most, but not all channels, and as a result, it is difficult to estimate the size of the market and predict the rate at which the market for our products will grow, if at all. While our market size estimate was made in good faith and is based on assumptions and estimates we believe to be reasonable, this estimate may not be accurate. If our estimates of the size of our addressable market are not accurate, our potential for future growth may be less than we currently anticipate, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are vulnerable to fluctuations in the price and supply of ingredients, packaging materials, and freight.

The prices of the ingredients, packaging materials and freight are subject to fluctuations in price attributable to, among other things, changes in supply and demand of raw materials, or other commodities, fuel prices and government-sponsored agricultural programs. The sales prices to our DTC customers are a delivered price. Therefore, changes in our input costs could impact our gross margins. Our ability to pass along higher costs through price increases to our customers is dependent upon competitive conditions and pricing methodologies employed in the various markets in which we compete. To the extent competitors do not also increase their prices, customers and consumers may choose to purchase competing products or may shift purchases to lower-priced private label or other value offerings which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We use significant quantities of food ingredients and other products as well as plastic packaging materials provided by third-party suppliers. We buy from a variety of producers and manufacturers, and alternate sources of supply are generally available. However, the supply and price are subject to market conditions and are influenced by other factors beyond our control. We do not have long-term contracts with many of our suppliers, and, as a result, they could increase prices or fail to deliver. The occurrence of any of the foregoing could increase our costs and disrupt our operations.

We may be subject to product liability claims or regulatory action if our products are alleged to have caused significant loss or injury.

We may be subject to product liability claims, regulatory action and litigation if our products are alleged to have caused loss or injury or failed to include adequate instructions for use or failed to include adequate warnings concerning possible side effects or interactions with other substances. Previously unknown adverse reactions resulting from animal consumption of CBD products alone or in combination with other medications or substances could also occur. In addition, the sale of any ingested product involves a risk of injury due to tampering by unauthorized third parties or product contamination. Our products may also be subject to product recalls, including voluntary recalls or withdrawals, if they are alleged to pose a risk of injury or illness, or if they are alleged to have been mislabeled, misbranded or adulterated or to otherwise be in violation of governmental regulations. We have in the past recalled, and may again in the future have to recall, certain of our products as a result of potential contamination and quality assurance concerns. A product liability claim or regulatory action against us could result in increased costs and could adversely affect our reputation and goodwill with our patients and consumers generally. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain product liability insurance on acceptable terms or with adequate coverage against potential liabilities. Such insurance is expensive and may not be available in the future on acceptable terms, or at all. The inability to obtain sufficient insurance coverage on reasonable terms or to otherwise protect against potential product liability claims could result in us becoming subject to significant liabilities that are uninsured and also could adversely affect our commercial arrangements with third parties.

We plan to expand our business and operations into jurisdictions outside of the current jurisdictions where we conduct business, and there are risks associated with doing so.

We plan in the future to expand our operations and business into jurisdictions outside of the jurisdictions where we currently carry on business, such as in South America and the Middle East. There can be no assurance that any market for our products will develop in any such foreign jurisdiction. We may face new or unexpected risks or significantly increase our exposure to one or more existing risk factors, including economic instability, new competition, changes in laws and regulations, including the possibility that we could be in violation of these laws and regulations as a result of such changes, and the effects of competition. These factors may limit our capability to successfully expand our operations in, or export our products to, those other jurisdictions.

We may not be able to manage our manufacturing and supply chain effectively, which may adversely affect our results of operations.

We must accurately forecast demand for all of our products in order to ensure that we have enough products available to meet the needs of our customers. Our forecasts are based on multiple assumptions that may cause our estimates to be inaccurate and affect our ability to obtain adequate third-party contract manufacturing capacity in order to meet the demand for our products, which could prevent us from meeting increased customer demand and harm our brand and our business. If we do not accurately align our manufacturing capabilities with demand, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

We currently rely on a single supplier, GenCanna, for all of our supply of CBD. If our sole source supplier was to go out of business, we might be unable to find a replacement for such source in a timely manner, if at all. If a sole source supplier were to be acquired by a competitor, the competitor may elect not to sell to us at all. The loss of our single supplier could cause additional difficulties in finding a substitute supplier given the strict licensing requirements in this industry and there are a limited number of suppliers that currently hold such licenses and comply with the 2014 Farm Bill (as defined below). If for any reason we were to change any one of our third-party contract manufacturers, we could face difficulties that might adversely affect our ability to maintain an adequate supply of our products, and we would incur costs and expend resources in the course of making the change. Moreover, we might not be able to obtain terms as favorable as those received from our current third-party contract manufacturers, which in turn would increase our costs.

In addition, we must continuously monitor our inventory and product mix against forecasted demand. If we underestimate demand, we risk having inadequate supplies. We also face the risk of having too much inventory on hand that may reach its expiration date and become unsalable, and we may be forced to rely on markdowns or promotional sales to dispose of excess or slow-moving inventory. If we are unable to manage our supply chain effectively, our operating costs could increase and our profit margins could decrease.

Our third-party contract manufacturers may breach our manufacturing agreements, most of which are not exclusive such that these manufacturers could produce similar products for our competitors.

We have contracts with our manufacturers, with which we utilize purchase orders. Our manufacturers may breach these agreements, including by engaging in illegal activity, and we may not be able to enforce our rights under these agreements or may incur significant costs attempting to do so. As a result, we cannot predict with certainty our ability to obtain products in adequate quantities, of required quality and at acceptable prices from our third-party contract manufacturers in the future. Any one of these risks could harm our ability to deliver our products on time, or at all, damage our reputation and our relationships with our retail partners and customers, and increase our product costs thereby reducing our margins.

In addition, most of our arrangements with our manufacturers are not exclusive. As a result, certain of our manufacturers could produce similar products for our competitors. Our competitors could enter into restrictive or exclusive arrangements with our manufacturers that could impair or eliminate our access to manufacturing capacity. Our manufacturers could also be acquired by our competitors, and may become our direct competitors, thus limiting or eliminating our access to manufacturing capacity.

Interruption in our sourcing operations could disrupt production, shipment or receipt of our merchandise, which would result in lost sales and could increase our costs.

We do not own or operate any manufacturing facilities and therefore depend upon independent third-party contract manufacturers for the manufacture of all of our products. Our products are manufactured to our specifications by factories within the United States and New Zealand. We cannot control all of the various factors, which include inclement weather; natural disasters, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and other adverse weather and climate conditions; political and financial instability; strikes; unforeseen public health crises, such as pandemics and epidemics; acts of war or terrorism and other catastrophic events, whether occurring in the United States or internationally, that might affect a manufacturer’s ability to ship orders of our products to customers from or to the impacted region in a timely manner or to meet our quality standards. For example, we receive and warehouse a portion of our inventory in Tampa, Florida, a city that is particularly vulnerable to hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and sinkholes. If any such disaster were to impact this facility, our operations would be materially disrupted. Inadequate labor conditions, health or safety issues in the factories where goods are produced can negatively impact our brand reputation. Late delivery of products or delivery of products that do not meet our quality standards could cause us to miss the delivery date requirements of our customers or delay timely delivery of merchandise to our stores or our wholesale customers for those items. From time to time, a third-party contract manufacturer may experience financial difficulties, bankruptcy or other business disruptions, which could disrupt our supply of products or require that we incur additional expense by providing financial accommodations to the third-party contract manufacturer or taking other steps to seek to minimize or avoid supply disruption, such as establishing a new third-party contract manufacturing arrangement with another provider. These events could cause us to fail to meet customer expectations, cause our retail or wholesale customers to cancel orders or cause us to be unable to deliver merchandise in sufficient quantities or of sufficient quality to our stores or our wholesale customers, which could result in lost sales and have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Further, we may be unable to locate an additional or alternate third-party contract manufacturing arrangement in a timely manner or on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. Identifying a suitable manufacturer is an involved process that requires us to become satisfied with the prospective manufacturer’s level of expertise, quality control, responsiveness and service, financial stability and labor practices. Any delay, interruption or increased cost in the proprietary value-branded products that might occur for any reason could affect our ability to meet customer demand for our products, adversely affect our net sales, increase our cost of sales and hurt our results of operations. In addition, manufacturing disruption could injure our reputation and customer relationships, thereby harming our business.

We are reliant on key inputs and changes in their costs could negatively impact our profitability.

Our business is dependent on a number of key inputs and their related costs including raw materials and supplies related to product development and manufacturing operations. Any significant interruption or negative change in the availability or economics of the supply chain for key inputs could materially impact our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects. Some of these inputs may only be available from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers. If a sole source supplier was to go out of business, we might be unable to find a replacement for such source in a timely manner or at all. If a sole source supplier were to be acquired by a competitor, that competitor may elect not to sell to us in the future. Any inability to secure required supplies and services or to do so on appropriate terms could have a materially adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations or prospects.

If the ingredients used in our products are contaminated, alleged to be contaminated or are otherwise rumored to have adverse effects, our results of operations could be adversely affected.

We buy ingredients from a variety of third-party suppliers. If these materials are alleged or prove to include contaminants that affect the safety or quality of our products or are otherwise rumored to have adverse effects, for any reason, we may sustain the costs of and possible litigation resulting from a product recall and need to find alternate ingredients, delay production, or discard or otherwise dispose of products, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, if any of our competitors experience similar events, our reputation could be damaged, including as a result of a loss of consumer confidence in the types of products we sell.

Although we insure on an economically reasonable basis against product recalls and product contamination, and carry a cannabis regulatory and enforcement endorsement under our Directors and Officers insurance policy, our insurance may not be adequate to cover all liabilities that we may incur in connection with product liability claims, including among others, that the products we sell caused injury or illness, include inadequate instructions for use or include inadequate warnings concerning possible side effects or interactions with other substances. For example, punitive damages are generally not covered by insurance. If we are subject to substantial product liability claims in the future, we may not be able to continue to maintain our existing insurance, obtain comparable insurance at a reasonable cost, if at all, or secure additional coverage. This could result in future product liability claims being uninsured. If there is a product liability judgment against us or a settlement agreement related to a product liability claim, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, even if product liability claims against us are not successful or are not fully pursued, these claims could be costly and time-consuming and may require management to spend time defending claims rather than operating our business.

If any of our independent transportation providers experience delays or disruptions, our business could be adversely affected.

We currently rely on independent transportation service providers both to ship raw materials and products to our manufacturing and distribution warehouses from our third-party suppliers and third-party contract manufacturers and to ship products from our manufacturing and distribution warehouses to our customers. Our utilization of these delivery services, or those of any other shipping companies that we may elect to use, is subject to risks, including increases in fuel prices, which would increase our shipping costs, employee strikes, organized labor activities and inclement weather, which may impact the shipping company’s ability to provide delivery services sufficient to meet our shipping needs. Furthermore, if we are not able to negotiate acceptable terms with these companies or they experience performance problems or other difficulties, it could negatively impact our operating results and customer experience. If any of the foregoing occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

Any damage to our reputation or our brands may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Maintaining, developing and expanding our reputation with our customers and our suppliers is critical to our success. Our brand may suffer if our marketing plans or product initiatives are not successful. The importance of our brand may decrease if competitors offer more products similar to the products that we manufacture. Further, our brands may be negatively impacted due to real or perceived quality issues or if consumers perceive us as being untruthful in our marketing and advertising, even if such perceptions are not accurate. Product contamination, the failure to maintain high standards for product quality, safety and integrity, including raw materials and ingredients obtained from

suppliers, or allegations of product quality issues, mislabeling or contamination, even if untrue or caused by our third-party contract manufacturing partners or raw material suppliers, may reduce demand for our products or cause production and delivery disruptions. However, we may be unable to detect or prevent product and/or ingredient quality issues, mislabeling or contamination, particularly in instances of fraud or attempts to cover up or obscure deviations from our guidelines and procedures. If any of our products become unfit for consumption, cause injury or are mislabeled, we may have to engage in a product recall and/or be subject to liability. Damage to our reputation or our brands or loss of consumer confidence in our products for any of these or other reasons could result in decreased demand for our products and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, if any of our competitors experience similar events, our reputation could be damaged, including as a result of a loss of consumer confidence in the types of products we sell.

Further, our corporate reputation is susceptible to damage by actions or statements made by current or former employees, competitors, vendors, adversaries in legal proceedings and government regulators, as well as members of the investment community and the media. There is a risk that negative information about our company, even if based on false rumor or misunderstanding, could adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In particular, damage to our reputation could be difficult and time-consuming to repair, could make potential or existing retail customers reluctant to select us for new engagements, resulting in a loss of business, and could adversely affect our recruitment and retention efforts.

Our business depends, in part, on the sufficiency and effectiveness of our marketing and trade promotion programs and incentives.

Due to the competitive nature of our industry, we must effectively and efficiently promote and market our products through advertisements as well as through trade promotions and incentives to sustain and improve our competitive position in our market. Marketing investments may be costly. In addition, we may, from time to time, change our marketing strategies and spending, including the timing or nature of our trade promotions and incentives. We may also change our marketing strategies and spending in response to actions by our customers, competitors and other companies that manufacture and/or distribute pet health and wellness products. The sufficiency and effectiveness of our marketing and trade promotions and incentives are important to our ability to retain and improve our market share and margins. If our marketing and trade promotions and incentives are not successful or if we fail to implement sufficient and effective marketing and trade promotions and incentives or adequately respond to changes in industry marketing strategies, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be adversely affected.

If we are unable to achieve desired results from, or maintain our advertising and marketing arrangements with certain third-party advertising or marketing providers to generate customers, our ability to generate revenue and our business could be adversely affected.

We have entered into multiple advertising and marketing arrangements with certain advertising and marketing providers that are designed to increase traffic to our application on the Facebook platform. Our ability to attract new customers and retain existing customers is based in part on our ability to generate increased traffic or better retention rates through these user acquisition campaigns. In addition, we may lack the ability to control the advertisements and actions that are taken by these providers on the Facebook platform.

If we are unable to enter into such arrangements on favorable terms, are unable to achieve the desired results under these arrangements and programs, are unable to maintain these relationships, fail to generate sufficient traffic or generate sufficient revenue from purchases pursuant to these arrangements and programs, or properly manage the actions of these providers, our ability to generate revenue and our ability to attract and retain our customers may be impacted, negatively affecting our business and results of operations. In addition, if Facebook restricts our ability to use such arrangements and programs or takes limits or restricts access to its platform by us or our applications as a result of advertisements or actions taken by third-party advertising or marketing providers, it could have a material adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

Our intellectual property rights may be inadequate to protect our business.

We attempt to protect our intellectual property rights, both in the United States and in foreign countries, through a combination of patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret laws, as well as licensing agreements and third-party nondisclosure and assignment agreements. Because of the differences in foreign trademark, patent and other laws concerning proprietary rights, our intellectual property rights may not receive the same degree of protection in foreign

countries as they would in the United States. Our failure to obtain or maintain adequate protection of our intellectual property rights for any reason could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We also rely on unpatented proprietary technology. It is possible that others will independently develop the same or similar technology or otherwise obtain access to our unpatented technology. To protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information, we require employees, consultants, advisors and collaborators to enter into confidentiality agreements. We cannot assure you that these agreements will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information in the event of any unauthorized use, misappropriation or disclosure of such trade secrets, know-how or other proprietary information. If we are unable to maintain the proprietary nature of our technologies, we could be materially adversely affected.

We rely on our trademarks, trade names, and brand names to distinguish our products from the products of our competitors, and have registered or applied to register many of these trademarks. We cannot assure you that our trademark applications will be approved. Third parties may also oppose our trademark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks. In the event that our trademarks are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which could result in loss of brand recognition, and could require us to devote resources advertising and marketing new brands. Further, we cannot assure you that competitors will not infringe our trademarks, or that we will have adequate resources to enforce our trademarks.

A failure to maintain third-party licenses could impede our ability to sell certain products.

We license certain intellectual property from third parties in order to sell certain of our products. If any of these licenses expire, we cannot assure you that we will be able to renew them on acceptable terms or at all. Upon expiration, or if any of these licenses are terminated prior to the end of its term, we may have to cease using the licensed trademarks or other intellectual property. If we no longer have the right to use the licensed trademarks, we will have to rebrand the products, and if we no longer have the right to use other licensed intellectual property, we may have to cease sales of the relevant products, either of which could have an adverse effect on our business or results of operations.

If third parties claim that we infringe upon their intellectual property rights, our business and results of operations could be adversely affected.

We face the risk of claims that we have infringed third parties’ intellectual property rights. Any claims of intellectual property infringement, even those without merit, could be expensive and time consuming to defend; could require us to cease selling the products that incorporate the challenged intellectual property, could require us to redesign, reengineer, or rebrand the product, if feasible, could divert management’s attention and resources, or could require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements in order to obtain the right to use a third party’s intellectual property.

Any royalty or licensing agreements, if required, may not be available to us on acceptable terms or at all. A successful claim of infringement against us could result in our being required to pay significant damages, enter into costly license or royalty agreements, or stop the sale of certain products, any of which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and our future prospects.

We depend on the knowledge and skills of our senior management and other key employees, and if we are unable to retain and motivate them or recruit additional qualified personnel, our business may suffer.

We have benefited substantially from the leadership and performance of our senior management, as well as other key employees. Our success will depend on our ability to retain our current management and key employees, and to attract and retain qualified personnel in the future, and we cannot guarantee that we will be able to retain our personnel or attract new, qualified personnel. In addition, we do not maintain any “key person” life insurance policies. The loss of the services of members of our senior management or key employees could prevent or delay the implementation and completion of our strategic objectives, or divert management’s attention to seeking qualified replacements.

Failure to comply with the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, other applicable anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws, and applicable trade control laws could subject us to penalties and other adverse consequences.

We operate our business in part outside of the United States. Our operations are subject to the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (the “FCPA”), as well as the anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws in the countries where we do business. The FCPA prohibits covered parties from offering, promising, authorizing or giving anything of value,

directly or indirectly, to a “foreign government official” with the intent of improperly influencing the official’s act or decision, inducing the official to act or refrain from acting in violation of lawful duty, or obtaining or retaining an improper business advantage. The FCPA also requires publicly traded companies to maintain records that accurately and fairly represent their transactions, and to have an adequate system of internal accounting controls. In addition, other applicable anti-corruption laws prohibit bribery of domestic government officials, and some laws that may apply to our operations prohibit commercial bribery, including giving or receiving improper payments to or from non-government parties, as well as so-called “facilitation” payments. In addition, we are subject to U.S. and other applicable trade control regulations that restrict with whom we may transact business, including the trade sanctions enforced by the U.S. Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). We also plan to expand our operations outside of the United States in the future and our risks related to the FCPA will increase as we grow our international presence.

We are in the process of implementing policies, internal controls and other measures reasonably designed to promote compliance with applicable anticorruption and anti-bribery laws and regulations, and certain safeguards designed to ensure compliance with U.S. trade control laws, our employees or agents may engage in improper conduct for which we might be held responsible. Any violations of these anti-corruption or trade controls laws, or even allegations of such violations, can lead to an investigation and/or enforcement action, which could disrupt our operations, involve significant management distraction, and lead to significant costs and expenses, including legal fees. If we, or our employees or agents acting on our behalf, are found to have engaged in practices that violate these laws and regulations, we could suffer severe fines and penalties, profit disgorgement, injunctions on future conduct, securities litigation, bans on transacting government business, delisting from securities exchanges and other consequences that may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, our brand and reputation, our sales activities or our stock price could be adversely affected if we become the subject of any negative publicity related to actual or potential violations of anti-corruption, anti-bribery or trade control laws and regulations.

A failure of one or more key information technology systems, networks or processes may materially adversely affect our ability to conduct our business.

The efficient operation of our business depends on our information technology systems. We rely on our information technology systems to effectively manage our sales and marketing, accounting and financial and legal and compliance functions, engineering and product development tasks, research and development data, communications, supply chain, order entry and fulfillment and other business processes. We also rely on third parties and virtualized infrastructure to operate and support our information technology systems. The failure of our information technology systems, or those of our third-party service providers, to perform as we anticipate could disrupt our business and could result in transaction errors, processing inefficiencies and the loss of sales and customers, causing our business and results of operations to suffer.

In addition, our information technology systems may be vulnerable to damage or interruption from circumstances beyond our control, including fire, natural disasters, power outages, systems failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks and computer viruses. The failure of our information technology systems to perform as a result of any of these factors or our failure to effectively restore our systems or implement new systems could disrupt our entire operation and could result in decreased sales, increased overhead costs, excess inventory and product shortages and a loss of important information.

Further, it is critically important for us to maintain the confidentiality and integrity of our information technology systems. To the extent that we have information in our databases that our customers consider confidential or sensitive, any unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, such information due to human error, breach of our systems through cybercrime, a leak of confidential information due to employee misconduct or similar events could result in a violation of applicable data protection and privacy laws and regulations, legal and financial exposure, damage to our reputation, a loss of confidence of our customers, suppliers and manufacturers and lost sales. Actual or suspected cyber-attacks may cause us to incur substantial costs, including costs to investigate, deploy additional personnel and protection technologies, train employees and engage third-party experts and consultants. We have taken steps to protect the security of our systems. Despite the implementation of these security measures, our systems may still be vulnerable to physical break-ins computer viruses, programming errors, attacks by third parties or similar disruptive problems. If any of these risks materialize, our reputation and our ability to conduct our business may be materially adversely affected.

We rely heavily on third-party commerce platforms to conduct our businesses. If one of those platforms is compromised, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be harmed.

We currently rely upon third-party commerce platforms, including Shopify. We also rely on e-mail service providers, bandwidth providers, Internet service providers and mobile networks to deliver e-mail and “push” communications to customers and to allow customers to access our website.

Any damage to, or failure of, our systems or the systems of our third-party commerce platform providers could result in interruptions to the availability or functionality of our website and mobile applications. As a result, we could lose customer data and miss order fulfillment deadlines, which could result in decreased sales, increased overhead costs, excess inventory and product shortages. If for any reason our arrangements with our third-party commerce platform providers are terminated or interrupted, such termination or interruption could adversely affect our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We exercise little control over these providers, which increases our vulnerability to problems with the services they provide. We could experience additional expense in arranging for new facilities, technology, services and support. In addition, the failure of our third-party commerce platform providers to meet our capacity requirements could result in interruption in the availability or functionality of our website and mobile applications.

Failure to comply with federal, state and foreign laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, or the expansion of current or the enactment of new laws or regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection, could adversely affect our business and our financial condition.

We collect, store, process, and use personal information and other customer data, and we rely in part on third parties that are not directly under our control to manage certain of these operations and to collect, store, process and use payment information. Due to the volume and sensitivity of the personal information and data we and these third parties manage and expect to manage in the future, as well as the nature of our customer base, the security features of our information systems are critical. A variety of federal, state and foreign laws and regulations govern the collection, use, retention, sharing and security of this information. Laws and regulations relating to privacy, data protection and consumer protection are evolving and subject to potentially differing interpretations. These requirements may not be harmonized, may be interpreted and applied in a manner that is inconsistent from one jurisdiction to another or may conflict with other rules or our practices. As a result, our practices may not have complied or may not comply in the future with all such laws, regulations, requirements and obligations.

We expect that new industry standards, laws and regulations will continue to be proposed regarding privacy, data protection and information security in many jurisdictions, including the CCPA, which will go into effect on January 1, 2020. We cannot yet determine the impact such future laws, regulations and standards may have on our business. Complying with these evolving obligations is costly. For instance, expanding definitions and interpretations of what constitutes “personal data” (or the equivalent) within the United States and elsewhere may increase our compliance costs and legal liability. A significant data breach or any failure, or perceived failure, by us to comply with any federal, state or foreign privacy or consumer protection-related laws, regulations or other principles or orders to which we may be subject or other legal obligations relating to privacy or consumer protection could adversely affect our reputation, brand and business, and may result in claims, investigations, proceedings or actions against us by governmental entities or others or other penalties or liabilities or require us to change our operations and/or cease using certain data sets. Depending on the nature of the information compromised, we may also have obligations to notify users, law enforcement or payment companies about the incident and may need to provide some form of remedy, such as refunds, for the individuals affected by the incident.

We are subject to risks related to online payment methods.

We accept payments using a variety of methods, including credit card and debit card. As we offer new payment options to customers, we may be subject to additional regulations, compliance requirements and fraud. For certain payment methods, including credit and debit cards, we pay interchange and other fees, which may increase over time and raise our operating costs and lower profitability. We are also subject to payment card association operating rules and certification requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and rules governing electronic funds transfers, which could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. As our business changes, we may also be subject to different rules under existing standards, which may require new assessments that involve costs above what we currently pay for compliance. If we fail to comply with the rules or requirements of any provider of a payment method we accept, if the volume of fraud in our transactions limits or

terminates our rights to use payment methods we currently accept, or if a data breach occurs relating to our payment systems, we may, among other things, be subject to fines or higher transaction fees and may lose, or face restrictions placed upon, our ability to accept credit card and debit card payments from customers or facilitate other types of online payments. If any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially adversely affected. We occasionally receive orders placed with fraudulent credit card data. We may suffer losses as a result of orders placed with fraudulent credit card data even if the associated financial institution approved payment of the orders. Under current credit card practices, we may be liable for fraudulent credit card transactions. If we are unable to detect or control credit card fraud, our liability for these transactions could harm our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Significant merchandise returns or refunds could harm our business.

We allow our customers to return products or offer refunds, subject to our return and refunds policy. If merchandise returns or refunds are significant or higher than anticipated and forecasted, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could be adversely affected. Further, we modify our policies relating to returns or refunds from time to time, and may do so in the future, which may result in customer dissatisfaction and harm to our reputation or brand, or an increase in the number of product returns or the amount of refunds we make.

Premiums for our insurance coverage may not continue to be commercially justifiable, and our insurance coverage may have limitations and other exclusions and may not be sufficient to cover our potential liabilities.

We have insurance to protect our assets, operations and employees. While we believe our insurance coverage addresses all material risks to which we are exposed and is adequate and customary in our current state of operations, such insurance is subject to coverage limits and exclusions and may not be available for the risks and hazards to which we are exposed. No assurance can be given that such insurance will be adequate to cover our liabilities or will be generally available in the future or, if available, that premiums will be commercially justifiable. In addition, insurance that is otherwise readily available, such as general liability, and directors and officer’s insurance, may become more difficult for us to find, and more expensive, due to our CBD products. There are no guarantees that we will be able to find such insurances in the future, or that the cost will be affordable to us. If we are unable to obtain such insurances or if we were to incur substantial liability and such damages were not covered by insurance or were in excess of policy limits, we may be prevented from entering into certain business sectors, our growth may be inhibited, and we may be exposed to additional risk and financial liabilities, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected.

To the extent our retail customers purchase products in excess of consumer consumption in any period, our net sales in a subsequent period may be adversely affected as our retail customers seek to reduce their inventory levels.

From time to time, our retail customers may purchase more products than they expect to sell to consumers during a particular time period. Our retail customers may grow their inventory in anticipation of, or during, our promotional events, which typically provide for reduced prices during a specified time or other incentives. Our retail customers may also increase inventory in anticipation of a price increase for our products, or otherwise over order our products as a result of overestimating demand for our products. If a retail customer increases its inventory during a particular reporting period as a result of a promotional event, anticipated price increase or otherwise, then our net sales during the subsequent reporting period may be adversely impacted as our retail customers seek to reduce their inventory to customary levels. This effect may be particularly pronounced when the promotional event, price increase or other event occurs near the end or beginning of a reporting period or when there are changes in the timing of a promotional event, price increase or similar event, as compared to the prior year. To the extent our retail customers seek to reduce their usual or customary inventory levels or change their practices regarding purchases in excess of consumer consumption, our net sales and results of operations may be materially adversely affected in that or subsequent periods.

We may also voluntarily recall or withdraw products in order to protect our brand or reputation if we determine that they do not meet our standards, whether for quality, palatability, appearance or otherwise. If there is any future product recall or withdrawal, it could result in substantial and unexpected expenditures, destruction of product inventory, damage to our reputation and lost sales due to the unavailability of the product for a period of time, and our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected. In addition, a product recall or withdrawal may require significant management attention and could result in enforcement action by regulatory authorities.

Adverse litigation judgments or settlements resulting from legal proceedings relating to our business operations could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

From time to time, we are subject to allegations, and may be party to legal claims and regulatory proceedings, relating to our business operations. Such allegations, claims and proceedings may be brought by third parties, including our customers, employees, governmental or regulatory bodies or competitors. Defending against such claims and proceedings, regardless of their merits or outcomes, is costly and time consuming and may divert management’s attention and personnel resources from our normal business operations, and the outcome of many of these claims and proceedings cannot be predicted. If any of these claims or proceedings were to be determined adversely to us, a judgment, a fine or a settlement involving a payment of a material sum of money were to occur, or injunctive relief were issued against us, our reputation could be affected and our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

There may be decreased spending on pets in a challenging economic climate.

The United States and other countries have experienced and continue to experience challenging economic conditions. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected by a challenging economic climate, including adverse changes in interest rates, volatile commodity markets and inflation, contraction in the availability of credit in the market and reductions in consumer spending. In addition, a slow-down in the general economy or a shift in consumer preferences to less expensive products may result in reduced demand for our products which may affect our profitability. The keeping of pets and the purchase of pet-related products may constitute discretionary spending for some of our consumers and any material decline in the amount of consumer discretionary spending may reduce overall levels of pet ownership or spending on pets. As a result, a challenging economic climate may cause a decline in demand for our products which could be disproportionate as compared to competing pet food brands since our products command a price premium. If economic conditions result in decreased spending on pets and have a negative impact on our suppliers or distributors, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely affected.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or the TCJA, could adversely affect our business and financial condition.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the TCJA, which significantly reforms the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The TCJA, among other things, contains significant changes to corporate taxation, including a permanent reduction of the corporate income tax rate, a partial limitation on the deductibility of business interest expense, a limitation of the deduction for net operating loss carryforwards to 80% of current year taxable income, and the modification or repeal of many business deductions and credits. As the U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS issue guidance on the interpretation and application of the TCJA, we continue examine the impact the TCJA may have on our business. Notwithstanding the reduction in the corporate income tax rate, the overall impact of the TCJA is uncertain and our business and financial condition could be adversely affected. The impact of this tax reform on holders of our common stock is also uncertain and could be adverse.

Our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards may be limited.

Our ability to utilize our federal net operating loss carryforwards and federal tax credit may be limited under Section 382 of the Code. The limitations apply if we experience an “ownership change” (generally defined as a greater than 50 percentage point change (by value) in the ownership of our equity by certain stockholders over a rolling three-year period). Similar provisions of state tax law may also apply. We have not assessed whether such an ownership change has previously occurred. If we have experienced an ownership change at any time since our formation, we may already be subject to limitations on our ability to utilize our existing net operating losses to offset taxable income. In addition, future changes in our stock ownership, which may be outside of our control, may trigger an ownership change and, consequently, the limitations under Section 382. As a result, if or when we earn net taxable income, our ability to use our pre-change net operating loss carryforwards to offset such taxable income may be subject to limitations, which could adversely affect our future cash flows.

Risks Related to the Regulation of Our Business and Products

We and our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers are subject to extensive governmental regulation and may be subject to enforcement if we are not in compliance with applicable requirements.

We and our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers are subject to a broad range of federal, state and local laws and regulations governing, among other things, the testing, development, manufacture, distribution, marketing

and post-market reporting of animal foods, including those that contain CBD. These include laws administered by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), and other federal, state and local regulatory authorities.

Because we market food, supplements and other products that are regulated as food and cosmetic care products for animals, we and the companies that manufacture our products are subject to the requirements of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”) and regulations promulgated thereunder by the FDA. The statute and regulations govern, among other things, the manufacturing, composition, ingredients, packaging, labeling and safety of food for animals. The FDA requires that facilities that manufacture animal food products comply with a range of requirements, including hazard analysis and preventative controls regulations, current good manufacturing practices (“cGMPs”) and supplier verification requirements. Processing facilities, including those of our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers, are subject to periodic inspection by federal, state and local authorities. If our third-party contract manufacturers cannot successfully manufacture products that conform to our specifications and the strict regulatory requirements of the FDA and applicable state and local laws, they may be subject to adverse inspectional findings or enforcement actions, which could materially impact our ability to market our products, could result in their inability to continue manufacturing for us or could result in a recall of our products that have already been distributed. If the FDA or other regulatory authority determines that we or they have not complied with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business, financial condition and results of operations may be materially adversely impacted. If we do not comply with labeling requirements, including making unlawful claims about our products, we could be subject to public warning letters and possible further enforcement (which other companies distribution CBD products have faced).

In addition, we currently market and plan to market our products with claims regarding the functional benefits of our products for pets, including that our products are intended to support the immune system, promote healthy skin, support healthy heart function, promote calmness and relaxation, support joint function, promote healthy bones and other similar claims. While we believe that such claims are permissible claims for animal foods and supplements and that our packaging is in compliance with the FDA’s requirements, the FDA and other regulatory authorities may consider such claims to suggest that our products are intended to treat, cure, or prevent a disease, thereby potentially meeting the statutory definition of a “drug,” and the FDA has issued warning letters to companies for improper marketing of CBD products on this basis. In addition, the FTC has issued warning letters to companies for failing to properly substantiate their CBD product claims, which constitutes false advertising. For these and other reasons, the FDA, FTC and other regulatory authorities may consider our products to be new animal drugs without adequate substantiation or approval for our claims, which could lead to statutory and regulatory violations, enforcement actions and product recalls.

Failure by us or our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers to comply with applicable laws and regulations or to obtain and maintain necessary permits, licenses and registrations relating to our or our partners’ operations could subject us to administrative and civil penalties, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, warning letters, restrictions on the marketing or manufacturing of our products, or refusals to permit the import or export of products, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could result in increased operating costs resulting in a material effect on our operating results and business. See “Business— Government Regulation.”

The FDA has stated that it interprets the FDCA to prohibit the sale of food products, including animal foods and supplements, that contain CBD. The FDA is considering seeking a change in the relevant statutory framework to allow for certain CBD-containing food products or otherwise working to find a regulatory pathway pursuant to its current authorities, but unless and until such changes are enacted, the FDA and other federal and state regulatory authorities could take enforcement action to prevent us from marketing pet food, products and supplements with CBD that could adversely impact our business, financial condition and results of operations or cause us to halt product sales altogether.

Although hemp and CBD are no longer controlled substances subject to regulation by the DEA, the FDA has stated publicly that it is nonetheless unlawful under the FDCA to introduce animal food, which includes products intended for animals labeled as food, treats, or supplements, containing CBD into interstate commerce. The FDCA prohibits the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that contains an approved drug or a drug for which substantial clinical investigations have been instituted and made public, unless a statutory exemption applies. The FDA has publicly stated its conclusion that none of the statutory exceptions has been met for CBD. See “Business—Government Regulation—FDA Regulation of Animal Foods.”

On May 31, 2019, the FDA held a public hearing to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds (such as CBD) to provide the FDA with information as it considers policy options related to the regulation of these products, particularly in light of the changes to the legal status of hemp enacted in the 2018 Farm Bill. The FDA has also formed an internal working group to evaluate the potential pathways to market for CBD products, which could include seeking statutory changes from Congress or promulgating new regulations. If legislative action is necessary, such legislative changes could take years to finalize and may not include provisions that would enable us to produce, market and/or sell our CBD products, and FDA could similarly take years to promulgate new regulations. Additionally, while the agency’s enforcement focus to date has primarily been on CBD products that are associated with therapeutic claims, the agency has recently issued warning letters to companies marketing CBD products without such claims, and there is a risk that FDA could take enforcement action against us, our third-party contract manufacturers or suppliers, or those marketing similar products to us, which could limit or prevent us from marketing our products and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Moreover, local, state, federal, and international CBD, hemp and cannabis laws and regulations are rapidly changing and subject to evolving interpretations, which could require us to incur substantial costs associated with compliance requirements or alteration of certain aspects of our business plan in the event that our CBD products become subject to new restrictions. In addition, violations of these laws, or allegations of such violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our operations. It is also possible that regulations may be enacted in the future that will be directly applicable to our products. We cannot predict the nature of any future laws, regulations, interpretations, or applications, nor can we determine what effect additional governmental regulations or administrative policies and procedures, when and if promulgated, could have on our activities in the hemp and CBD industry. The constant evolution of laws and regulations may require us to incur substantial costs associated with legal and compliance fees and ultimately require us to alter our business plan.

Our products contain CBD derived from hemp. The 2018 Farm Bill enacted a number of changes to the legal status of hemp and hemp products, including removal from the statutory list of controlled substances. However, implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill is ongoing, and there is still significant uncertainty regarding the legal status of hemp and hemp-based products under U.S. law.

Our products that contain CBD are subject to various state and federal laws regarding the production and sale of hemp-based products. Historically, the DEA has interpreted CBD to be subject to the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 (“CSA”) under the definition for “marihuana,” a Schedule I controlled substance. However, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (the “2018 Farm Bill”) removed “hemp,” from the definition of “marihuana.” “Hemp” is defined as the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. As a result of the enactment of the 2018 Farm Bill, and since we believe that the CBD contained in our products and the hemp from which it is derived meet the definition of “hemp,” we believe that our CBD products and the hemp from which they are derived are not Schedule I controlled substances under the CSA. However, there is a risk that we could be subject to enforcement action, including prosecution, if any of our products are determined to not meet the definition of “hemp” and to constitute “marihuana” under the CSA based on THC levels or other violations, which would have a negative impact on our business and operations.

In addition, the 2018 Farm Bill contained provisions that require the USDA to, among other things, promulgate a new regulatory framework governing the growth and cultivation of hemp, where hemp grown in compliance with the framework would be permitted in interstate commerce throughout the United States. The USDA has not yet promulgated these new regulations, and it is not certain when the agency will do so. The lack of USDA regulations has created uncertainty regarding the extent to which states where hemp is still illegal under state law may take enforcement action against hemp and hemp products that may otherwise comply with federal law. This issue is the subject of currently active litigation, where courts in different states have come down on both sides, and we cannot predict the outcome of the active litigation or how the various federal, state and local authorities will regulate the interstate transportation of hemp and hemp products. Moreover, as the USDA and federal courts continue to address this issue, we face the risk that a state could seize or take other enforcement action against us or our partners with respect to the hemp from which our CBD products are derived. Furthermore, violations of these laws, or alleged violations, could disrupt our business and result in a material adverse effect on our operations.

Our products may be subject to recalls for a variety of reasons, which could require us to expend significant management and capital resources.

Manufacturers and distributors of products are sometimes subject to the recall or return of their products for a variety of reasons, including product defects, such as contamination, adulteration, unintended harmful side effects or interactions with other substances, packaging safety and inadequate or inaccurate labeling disclosure. Although we have detailed procedures in place for testing finished products, there can be no assurance that any quality, potency or contamination problems will be detected in time to avoid unforeseen product recalls, regulatory action or lawsuits, whether frivolous or otherwise. If any of the animal food or care products produced by us are recalled due to an alleged product defect or for any other reason, we could be required to incur the unexpected expense of the recall and any legal proceedings that might arise in connection with the recall. We had to issue a recall in 2018 for one of our products after a single retail sample collected by the Michigan Department of Agriculture tested positive for Salmonella. Although customers reported no incidents of injury or illness in association with this product, the recall negatively affected our results. As a result of any such recall, we may lose a significant amount of sales and may not be able to replace those sales at an acceptable margin or at all. In addition, a product recall may require significant management attention or damage our reputation and goodwill or that of our products or brands.

Additionally, product recalls may lead to increased scrutiny of our operations by the FDA or other state or federal regulatory agencies, requiring further management attention, increased compliance costs and potential legal fees, fines, penalties and other expenses. Any product recall affecting the cannabis industry more broadly, whether or not involving us, could also lead consumers to lose confidence in the safety and security of the products sold by producers generally, including products sold by us.

Within the United States, we and our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers face a variety of state and local restrictions on the cultivation of hemp, and if state or local regulatory authorities take enforcement action to prevent us from selling our products, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely impacted.

We currently source hemp-derived CBD for inclusion in our pet foods, treats, and oils from a single supplier that cultivates hemp in compliance with the requirements of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the “2014 Farm Bill”). The growth and cultivation of hemp is subject to a complex regulatory framework that is implemented and affected by multiple federal agencies, as well as state and local authorities. In 2014, Congress enacted the 2014 Farm Bill to allow for the limited growth and cultivation of industrial hemp under federal law. This statute allowed institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture to grow and cultivate industrial hemp for agricultural or other academic research purposes, or for hemp to be grown under the auspices of a state agricultural pilot program, in states where such growth and cultivation is legal under state law. While the 2018 Farm Bill created a pathway under which hemp and its derivatives, including CBD, would no longer be a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA and would be protected from interference in interstate commerce, the USDA has not yet implemented the regulatory framework to govern the growth and cultivation of hemp. Because the USDA has not yet promulgated regulations implementing the hemp production provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA has confirmed that the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill currently govern the growth and cultivation of hemp, along with applicable state licensing regulations under the 2014 framework. Notwithstanding the uncertain implementation of those provisions, state and local authorities have enacted their own restrictions on the cultivation or sale of hemp or hemp-derived CBD, including laws that ban the cultivation or possession of hemp or any other plant of the cannabis genus and derivatives thereof, such as CBD. Currently several states ban the cultivation and possession of hemp or CBD, while others have taken enforcement action against human and pet food products that contain CBD, and states may enact new laws or regulations that prohibit or limit the sale of such products at any time. In the event of a change in federal or state laws and regulations that are adverse to our CBD products, we may be restricted or limited with respect to sale or distribution of those products, which could adversely impact our intended business plan with respect to such products.

While the USDA has announced its intention to publish its hemp regulations in late 2019, the ultimate timing and content of these regulations implementing the 2018 Farm Bill is uncertain. Additionally, it remains to be seen which states submit their own regulatory plans for the cultivation of hemp and which states become subject to the USDA framework. The timing and content of these federal and state regulatory plans may impact our ability to obtain sufficient quantities of CBD at an acceptable price and on a timely basis. If our current supplier were to face increased regulation or be unable to continue to supply our business, we may be unable to fulfill our customer’s orders or find a suitable replacement supplier in a timely fashion or at comparable prices. If our current supplier or any future suppliers fail to comply with the applicable regulatory requirements, our business may suffer.

Changes in existing laws or regulations, including how such existing laws or regulations are enforced by federal, state, and local authorities, or the adoption of new laws or regulations may increase our costs and otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to the legal framework applicable to hemp and CBD, the manufacture and marketing of animal food products is highly regulated, and we and our third-party contract manufacturers and suppliers are subject to a variety of federal and state laws and regulations applicable to pet food and treats. These laws and regulations apply to many aspects of our business, including the manufacture, packaging, labeling, distribution, advertising, sale, quality and safety of our products. We could incur costs, including fines, penalties, and third-party claims, in the event of any violations of, or liabilities under, such requirements, including any competitor or consumer challenges relating to compliance with such requirements. For example, in connection with the marketing and advertisement of our products, we could be the target of claims relating to false or deceptive advertising, including under the auspices of the FTC and state consumer protection statutes.

The regulatory environment in which we operate could change significantly and adversely in the future. The laws and regulations that apply to our products and business may change in the future and we may incur (directly, or indirectly through our third-party contract manufacturers or suppliers) material costs to comply with current or future laws and regulations or any required product recalls. Any change in manufacturing, labeling, or marketing requirements for our products may lead to an increase in costs or interruptions in manufacturing or raw material supply, either of which could adversely affect our operations and financial condition. For example, recent federal and state attention to the sale of CBD-containing products, specifically pet products that contain CBD, could result in standards or requirements that mandate changes to our current labeling, product ingredients or marketing. New or revised government laws and regulations could significantly limit our ability to run our business as it is currently conducted, result in additional compliance costs and, in the event of noncompliance, lead to administrative or civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, withdrawals, recalls or seizures and confiscations, as well as potential criminal sanctions. Any such changes or actions by the FDA or other regulatory agencies could have a material adverse effect on our third-party manufacturers, our suppliers or our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Government scrutiny, warnings and public perception could increase our costs of production and increase our legal and regulatory expenses, and if we are unable to comply with the applicable requirements for marketing pet foods, we could face substantial civil and criminal penalties.

Manufacturing, processing, labeling, packaging, storing and distributing pet products are activities subject to extensive federal, state and local regulation, as well as foreign regulation. In the United States, these operations are regulated by the FDA and various state and local public health and agricultural agencies. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 provides direct recall authority to the FDA for food products and includes a number of other provisions designed to enhance food safety, including increased inspections by the FDA of domestic and foreign food facilities and increased review of food products imported into the United States. In addition, many states have adopted the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ model pet food regulations or variations thereof, which generally regulate the information manufacturers provide about pet food. Compliance with government regulation can be costly or may otherwise adversely affect our business. Moreover, failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil remedies, including fines, injunctions, recalls or seizures, as well as potential criminal sanctions, which could in turn have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We operate in a highly regulated environment with constantly evolving legal and regulatory frameworks. Consequently, we are subject to heightened risk of legal claims, government investigations or regulatory enforcement actions. Although we have implemented policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with existing laws and regulations, there can be no assurance that our employees, temporary workers, contractors or agents will not violate our policies and procedures. Moreover, a failure to maintain effective regulatory compliance policies and procedures could lead to violations, unintentional or otherwise, of laws and regulations. Legal claims, government investigations or regulatory enforcement actions arising out of our failure or alleged failure to comply with applicable laws and regulations could subject us to civil and criminal penalties that could materially and adversely affect our product sales, reputation, financial condition and operating results. In addition, the costs and other effects of defending potential and pending litigation and administrative actions against us may be difficult to determine and could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Because there has been limited study on the effects of CBD, including on animals, future nonclinical and clinical research studies and analysis of such studies by third parties, including government agencies, may lead to conclusions that dispute or conflict with our understandings and beliefs regarding the benefits, viability, safety, dosing and social acceptance of CBD.

Research in the United States and internationally regarding the benefits, viability, safety and dosing of isolated cannabinoids (such as CBD or THC) remains in relatively early stages. There have been few clinical trials on the benefits of CBD conducted on humans or animals, including studies focused on the consumption of CBD in foods.

Future research and clinical trials may draw opposing conclusions to statements contained in current articles, reports and studies regarding CBD or could reach different or negative conclusions regarding the medical benefits, viability, safety, dosing or other facts and perceptions related to CBD, which could adversely affect acceptance of CBD in foods and the demand for such products. Future research may also cause regulatory authorities to change how they enforce regulatory restrictions applicable to hemp and CBD. We cannot predict any negative research and clinical trial findings in the future that may have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

The market for raw foods and CBD and hemp products for pets is a young market and may not achieve the growth potential we expect or may grow more slowly than expected.

Our success will depend in significant part on customer acceptance, our ability to change with customer tastes and to meet customer needs with new products. If customers do not accept our products, our sales and revenue will either fail to materialize or decline, resulting in a reduction in our operating income or possible increases in losses. Demand for CBD and hemp products is also influenced by the popularity of certain aesthetics, cultural and demographic trends, marketing and advertising expenditures, legality concerns, and general economic conditions. Because these factors can change rapidly, customer demand also can shift quickly. The success of new product introductions depends on various factors, including product selection and quality, sales and marketing efforts and timely production. We may not always be able to respond quickly and effectively to changes in customer taste and demand due to the amount of time and financial resources that may be required to bring new products to market. The inability to respond quickly to market changes could have an impact on our expected growth potential and the growth potential of the market for raw foods and CBD and hemp products for pets. Even if this market develops, we may not succeed in our plan to become a category leader.

Negative publicity from being in the hemp and CBD space could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

Hemp and marijuana are both varieties of the plant Cannabis sativa L., except that hemp, as defined by federal law for exemption from Schedule I of the CSA, has a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3% on a dry weight basis. The same plant with a higher THC content is considered marijuana, which is legal for medical and recreational use under certain state laws, but which is not legal under federal law. The similarities between these plants can cause confusion, and our activities with hemp may be incorrectly perceived as us being involved in federally illegal marijuana activities.

Also, despite growing support for the cannabis industry and legalization of marijuana in certain U.S. states, many individuals and businesses remain opposed to the cultivation and sale of cannabis and cannabis-derived products. Any negative publicity resulting from an incorrect perception that we operate in the marijuana space could result in a loss of current or future business. It could also adversely affect the public’s perception of us or our common stock and lead to reluctance by new parties to do business with or invest in us. We cannot assure you that additional business partners, including but not limited to financial institutions and customers, will not attempt to end or curtail their relationships with us. Any such negative press or impacts to business relationships could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, and results of operations.

We are subject to risks inherent in an agricultural business, including the risk of crop failure.

The hemp from which our CBD products are derived is grown in an agricultural process. As such, our business will be subject to the risks inherent in the agricultural business, including risks of crop failure presented by weather, water availability, insects, plant diseases and similar agricultural risks. There can be no assurance that these risks will not entirely interrupt our activities or have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our ability to deduct certain business expenses for income tax purposes is subject to uncertainty.

Section 280E of the Code prohibits the deduction of certain otherwise ordinary business expenses from carrying on any trade or business that consists of “trafficking” Schedule I or II controlled substances, as defined by the CSA. Under existing IRS guidance, the bulk of operating costs and general administrative costs of trades or businesses subject to Section 280E of the Code are not permitted to be deducted. Although the 2018 Farm Bill created a pathway under which hemp and its derivatives, including CBD, would no longer be a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA, until the USDA implements regulations pursuant to the 2018 Farm Bill, we believe our ability to deduct certain ordinary business expenses requires compliance with the 2014 Farm Bill. We do not believe that Section 280E of the Code currently forbids our deduction of otherwise ordinary business expenses because we believe that we are in compliance with the 2014 Farm Bill and/or the products we sell are from participants that are compliant with the 2014 Farm Bill. However, until the USDA promulgates regulations under the 2018 Farm Bill, non-compliance with the 2014 Farm Bill by us or our suppliers may have a material adverse tax effect on us.

Risks Related to an Investment in Our Common Stock

There is currently a limited public market for our common stock, a trading market for our common stock may never develop, and our common stock prices may be volatile and could decline substantially.

Prior to the date of this prospectus, although our common stock is quoted on OTC Markets, OTCQB tier of OTC Markets Group Inc., an over-the-counter quotation system, under the symbol “BTTR”, there has been no material public market for our common stock. In these marketplaces, our stockholders may find it difficult to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of their shares of our common stock, and may find few buyers to purchase their stock and few market makers to support its price. As a result of these and other factors, investors may be unable to resell shares of our common stock at or above the price for which they purchased them, at or near quoted bid prices, or at all. Further, an inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional equity in the future, and may impair our ability to enter into strategic partnerships or acquire companies or products by using shares of our common stock as consideration.

Moreover, there can be no assurance that any selling stockholders will sell any or all of their shares of common stock and there may initially be a lack of supply of, or demand for, our common stock. In the case of a lack of supply for our common stock, the trading price of our common stock may rise to an unsustainable level, particularly in instances where institutional investors may be discouraged from purchasing our common stock because they are unable to purchase a block of shares in the open market due to a potential unwillingness of our selling stockholders to sell the amount of shares at the price offered by such investors and the greater influence individual investors have in setting the trading price. In the case of a lack of demand for our common stock, the trading price of our common stock could decline significantly and rapidly at any time.

We intend to list shares of our common stock on a national securities exchange in the future, but we do not now, and may not in the future, meet the initial listing standards of any national securities exchange, which is often a more widely-traded and liquid market. Some, but not all, of the factors which may delay or prevent the listing of our common stock on a more widely-traded and liquid market include the following: our stockholders’ equity may be insufficient; the market value of our outstanding securities may be too low; our net income from operations may be too low; our common stock may not be sufficiently widely held; we may not be able to secure market makers for our common stock; and we may fail to meet the rules and requirements mandated by the several exchanges and markets to have our common stock listed. Should we fail to satisfy the initial listing standards of the national exchanges, or our common stock is otherwise rejected for listing, and remains listed on the OTC Markets or is suspended from the OTC Markets, the trading price of our common stock could suffer and the trading market for our common stock may be less liquid and our common stock price may be subject to increased volatility.

Therefore, an active, liquid, and orderly trading market for our common stock may not initially develop or be sustained, which could significantly depress the public price of our common stock and/or result in significant volatility, which could affect your ability to sell your common stock. Even if an active trading market develops for our common stock, the market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. Our financial performance, government regulatory action, tax laws, interest rates and market conditions in general could have a significant impact on the future market price of our common stock.

We are not subject to compliance with rules requiring the adoption of certain corporate governance measures and as a result our stockholders have limited protections against interested director transactions, conflicts of interest and similar matters.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as resulting rule changes enacted by the SEC, the New York Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ Stock Market, require the implementation of various measures relating to corporate governance. These measures are designed to enhance the integrity of corporate management and the securities markets and apply to securities which are listed on those exchanges. Because we are not listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market or the New York Stock Exchange, we are not presently required to comply with many of the corporate governance provisions. Until we comply with such corporate governance measures, regardless of whether such compliance is required, the absence of such standards of corporate governance may leave our stockholders without protections against interested director transactions, conflicts of interest and similar matters.

We do not have a class of our securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act. Until we do, or we become subject to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, we will be a “voluntary filer.”

We are not currently required under Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act to file periodic reports with the SEC. We have in the past voluntarily elected to file some or all of these reports to ensure that sufficient information about us and our operations is publicly available to our stockholders and potential investors. Until we become subject to the reporting requirements under the Exchange Act, we are a “voluntary filer” and we are currently considered a non-reporting issuer under the Exchange Act. We will not be required to file reports under Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until the earlier to occur of: (i) our registration of a class of securities under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, which would be required if we list a class of securities on a national securities exchange or if we meet the size requirements set forth in Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, or which we may voluntarily elect to undertake at an earlier date; or (ii) the effectiveness of a registration statement under the Securities Act relating to our common stock. Until we become subject to the reporting requirements under either Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, we are not subject to the SEC’s proxy rules, and large holders of our capital stock will not be subject to beneficial ownership reporting requirements under Sections 13 or 16 of the Exchange Act and their related rules. As a result, our stockholders and potential investors may not have available to them as much or as robust information as they may have if and when we become subject to those requirements. In addition, if we do not register under Section 12 of the Exchange Act, and remain a “voluntary filer”, we could cease filing annual, quarterly or current reports under the Exchange Act.

If our common stock becomes subject to the “penny stock” rules, it could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and increase your transaction costs to sell those shares.

The SEC has adopted Rule 3a51-1, which establishes the definition of a “penny stock” as any equity security that has a market price of less than $5.00 per share or with an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. If the price if our common stock is less than $5.00, our common stock will be deemed a penny stock. For any transaction involving a penny stock, unless exempt, Rule 15g-9 requires that a broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive (i) the purchaser’s written acknowledgment of the receipt of a risk disclosure statement; (ii) a written agreement to transactions involving penny stocks; and (iii) a signed and dated copy of a written suitability statement.

Generally, brokers may be less willing to execute transactions in securities subject to the “penny stock” rules. This may make it more difficult for investors to dispose of our common stock and cause a decline in the market value of our stock.

We may have material liabilities that were not discovered before, and have not been discovered since, the closing of the acquisitions.

As a result of the acquisitions, the prior business plan and management relating to Better Choice Company was abandoned and replaced with the business and management team of Bona Vida and TruPet. As a result, we may have material liabilities based on activities before the acquisitions that have not been discovered or asserted. We could experience losses as a result of any such undisclosed liabilities that are discovered in the future, which could materially harm our business and financial condition. Although the agreements entered into in connection with the acquisitions contains customary representations and warranties from Bona Vida and TruPet concerning their assets, liabilities, financial condition and affairs, there may be limited or no recourse against the pre-acquisition stockholders or principals in the event those representations prove to be untrue. As a result, our current and future stockholders will bear some, or all, of the risks relating to any such unknown or undisclosed liabilities.

Our common stock prices may be volatile which could cause the value of an investment in our common stock to decline.

The market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. Our financial performance, government regulatory action, tax laws, interest rates and market conditions in general could have a significant impact on the future market price of our common stock.

The public price of our common stock following the date of this prospectus also could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to the risk factors described in this prospectus and others beyond our control, including:

In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that often have been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of those companies. Securities class action litigation has often been instituted against companies following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a company’s securities. Such litigation, if instituted against us, could result in very substantial costs, divert our management’s attention and resources and harm our business, operating results, and financial condition.

The public price of our common stock may have little or no relationship to the offering price in the May Private Placement.

There is only a limited public market for our common stock. On May 6, 2019, we completed the May Private Placement, in which we sold 5,744,991 shares of our common stock and 5,744,991 warrants to purchase our common stock at an exercise price of $4.25 per share at an offering price of $3.00 per share to certain of the selling stockholders identified in this prospectus in reliance on exemptions from registration under the Securities Act. However, the offering price in the May Private Placement may have little or no relation to broader market demand for our common stock. As a result, you should not place undue reliance on the offering price in the May Private Placement as it may differ materially from the public prices of our common stock.

Because we are a “smaller reporting company,” we will not be required to comply with certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to smaller reporting companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

We are a “smaller reporting company,” as defined in Item 10(f)(1) of Regulation S-K. As a smaller reporting company we are eligible for exemptions from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies that are not smaller reporting companies, including, but not limited to:

We will remain a smaller reporting company until the end of the fiscal year in which (1) we have a public common equity float of more than $250 million, or (2) we have annual revenues for the most recently completed fiscal year of more than $100 million plus we have any public common equity float or public float of more than $700 million. We also would not be eligible for status as smaller reporting company if we become an investment company, an asset-backed issuer or a majority-owned subsidiary of a parent company that is not a smaller reporting company.

We do not expect to pay any cash dividends to the holders of the common stock in the foreseeable future and the availability and timing of future cash dividends, if any, is uncertain.

We expect to use cash flow from future operations to repay debt and support the growth of our business and do not expect to declare or pay any cash dividends on our common stock in the foreseeable future. Our Credit Facility (as defined herein) places certain restrictions on the ability of us and our subsidiaries to pay cash dividends. We may amend our Credit Facility or enter into new debt arrangements that also prohibit or restrict our ability to pay cash dividends on our common stock.

Subject to such restrictions, our board of directors will determine the amount and timing of stockholder dividends, if any, that we may pay in future periods. In making this determination, our directors will consider all relevant factors, including the amount of cash available for dividends, capital expenditures, covenants, prohibitions or limitations with respect to dividends, applicable law, general operational requirements and other variables. We cannot predict the amount or timing of any future dividends you may receive, and if we do commence the payment of dividends, we may be unable to pay, maintain or increase dividends over time. Therefore, you may not be able to realize any return on your investment in our common stock for an extended period of time, if at all.

Future sales of our common stock, or the perception that such sales may occur, may depress our share price, and any additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible securities may dilute your ownership in us.

We may in the future issue our previously authorized and unissued securities. We are authorized to issue 88,000,000 shares of common stock and 4,000,000 shares of preferred stock with such designations, preferences and rights as determined by our board of directors. The potential issuance of such additional shares of common stock will result in the dilution of the ownership interests of the holders of our common stock and may create downward pressure on the trading price, if any, of our common stock. The registration rights of our stockholders and the sales of substantial amounts of our common stock following the effectiveness of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, or the perception that these sales may occur, could cause the market price of our common stock to decline and impair our ability to raise capital. We also may grant additional registration rights in connection with any future issuance of our capital stock.

In connection with the acquisitions, certain of our stockholders agreed that for a period of six months after the closing date of the acquisitions, subject to certain exceptions, they would not offer, sell, contract to sell, pledge or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of our common stock or securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for any shares of our common stock. These lock-up agreements expire on November 6, 2019 and thereafter, subject to the next paragraph, up to an additional 33,030,807 shares of common stock will be eligible for sale in the public market. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements are waived, our common stock will be available for sale into the market, which could reduce the market value for our common stock.

In addition, on September 17, 2019, we entered into a five-year consulting agreement with Bruce Linton. As compensation for the services rendered, we issued 2,500,000 share purchase warrants to acquire one share each of our common stock with an exercise price of $0.10. An additional 1,500,000 share purchase warrants to acquire one share each of our common stock with an exercise price of $10.00. As part of the consulting agreement, we agreed to use our commercially reasonable efforts to cause each of our directors and officers to enter into a lock-up agreement, upon customary terms and conditions, between each officer or director and Mr. Linton for a period of no more than one year from September 1, 2019. As of October 25, 2019, 14,392,931 shares of common stock were subject to lock-up agreements. The lock-up agreement will expire on September 15, 2020.

In October 2018, we also issued Series E Convertible Preferred Stock (“Series E preferred stock”). As of October 25, 2019, the Series E preferred stock was convertible into 2,167,744 shares of common stock, all of which will be freely tradeable. The exercise, conversion or exchange of convertible securities, including for other securities, will dilute the percentage ownership of our stockholders. The dilutive effect of the exercise or conversion of these securities may adversely affect our ability to obtain additional capital. The holders of these securities may be expected to exercise or convert such securities at a time when we would be able to obtain additional equity capital on terms

more favorable than such securities or when our common stock is trading at a price higher than the exercise or conversion price of the securities. The exercise or conversion of outstanding securities will have a dilutive effect on the securities held by our shareholders. We have in the past, and may in the future, exchange outstanding securities for other securities on terms that are dilutive to the securities held by other shareholders not participating in such exchange.

In addition, (i) 9,312,815 warrants to purchase our common stock at a weighted average exercise price of $4.00 per share that we issued in the May Private Placement and the December Private Placement (as defined herein) are outstanding and (ii) 6,000,000 shares of common stock are issuable pursuant to outstanding options granted under the 2019 Plan to our executive officers and directors key employees and third-party contractors in connection with the private placement (of which 1,215,545 are vested). The issuance of any such shares would ultimately be dilutive to the holders of shares of common stock acquired in the listing.

We may issue preferred stock whose terms could adversely affect the voting power or value of our common stock.

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to issue, without the approval of our stockholders, one or more classes or series of preferred stock having such designations, preferences, limitations and relative rights, including preferences over our common stock with respect to dividends and distributions, as our board of directors may determine. The terms of one or more classes or series of preferred stock could adversely impact the voting power or value of our common stock. For example, we might grant holders of preferred stock the right to elect some number of our directors in all events or on the happening of specified events, or the right to veto specified transactions. Similarly, the repurchase or redemption rights or liquidation preferences we might grant to holders of preferred stock could affect the value of the common stock.

We will continue to incur increased costs as a result of operating as a public company, and our management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives.

As a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses that we did not incur as a private company. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and rules subsequently implemented by the SEC, impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Our management and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations will increase our legal and financial compliance costs and will make some activities more time-consuming and costly, particularly after we are no longer a smaller reporting company. For example, we expect that these rules and regulations may make it more difficult and more expensive for us to obtain director and officer liability insurance.

Pursuant to Section 404, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting, including an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that neither we nor our independent registered public accounting firm will be able to conclude within the prescribed timeframe that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. This could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

We have material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting. If these material weaknesses persist or if we fail to establish and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, our ability to accurately report its financial results could be adversely affected.

Prior to the closing of the acquisitions, TruPet was a private company and had limited accounting and financial reporting personnel and other resources with which to address its internal control over financial reporting. In connection with the preparation of the financials for the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2019 our management, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer, Damian Dalla-Longa and our Chief Financial Officer, Andreas Schulmeyer, evaluated the effectiveness of our internal control over

financial reporting as of June 30, 2019 and determined they were not effective. A material weakness is a deficiency, or a combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of the Company’s annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected on a timely basis.

The material weaknesses related to our inability to prepare accurate financial statements, resulting from a failure to maintain effective controls over the control environment. Specifically, the Company had not developed and effectively communicated to its employees and consultants its accounting policies and procedures, which resulted in inconsistent practices. Since these entity level programs have a pervasive effect across the organization, management has determined that these circumstances constitute a material weakness. Our second material weakness found that we did not maintain effective controls over financial statement disclosure. Specifically, controls were not designed and in place to ensure that all disclosures required were originally addressed in our financial statements. Accordingly, management has determined that this control deficiency constitutes a material weakness. The primary cause the weaknesses was the small size of our accounting staff, which resulted in a lack of segregation of duties and insufficient review procedures. We have begun building our in-house finance team by hiring a Chief Financial Officer and controller and believe, under this new leadership, we will review, revise and amend the internal processes to develop effective controls. There can be no assurance that these efforts will remediate the material weaknesses or avoid future weaknesses or deficiencies. Any failure to remediate the material weakness and any future weaknesses or deficiencies or any failure to implement required new or improved controls or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet its reporting obligations or result in material misstatements in its financial statements. If we are unable to remediate its material weaknesses, our management may not be able to conclude that its disclosure controls and procedures or internal control over financial reporting are effective, which could result in investors losing confidence in its reported financial information and may lead to a decline in the stock price.

We will continue to incur significant costs in staying current with reporting requirements. Our management will be required to devote substantial time to compliance initiatives. Additionally, the lack of an internal audit group may result in material misstatements to our financial statements and ability to provide accurate financial information to our shareholders.

Our management and other personnel will need to devote a substantial amount of time to compliance initiatives to maintain reporting status. Moreover, these rules and regulations, which are necessary to remain as a public reporting company, will be costly because external third party consultant(s), attorneys, or other firms may have to assist us in following the applicable rules and regulations for each filing on behalf of the company.

We currently do not have an internal audit group, and we may eventually need to hire additional accounting and financial staff with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge to have effective internal controls for financial reporting. Additionally, due to the fact that our officers and directors have limited experience as an officer or director of a reporting company, such lack of experience may impair our ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, which may result in material misstatements to our financial statements and an inability to provide accurate financial information to our stockholders.

Moreover, if we are not able to comply with the requirements or regulations as a public reporting company in any regard, we could be subject to sanctions or investigations by the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which would require additional financial and management resources.

Many of our officers and directors lack significant experience in, and with, the reporting and disclosure obligations of publicly-traded companies in the United States.

Many of our officers and directors lack significant experience in, and with the reporting and disclosure obligations of publicly-traded companies, and with serving as an officer and or director of a publicly-traded company. This lack of experience may impair our ability to maintain effective internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure controls and procedures, which may result in material misstatements to our financial statements and an inability to provide accurate financial information to our stockholders. Consequently, our operations, future earnings and ultimate financial success could suffer irreparable harm due to our officers’ and director’s ultimate lack of experience in our industry and with publicly-traded companies and their reporting requirements in general.

Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and Delaware law may discourage a takeover attempt even if a takeover might be beneficial to our stockholders.

Provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire us after we have become a publicly traded company. Provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws impose various procedural and other requirements, which could make it more difficult for stockholders to effect certain corporate actions. For example, our certificate of incorporation authorizes our board of directors to determine the rights, preferences, privileges and restrictions of unissued series of preferred stock without any vote or action by our stockholders. Thus, our board of directors can authorize and issue shares of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could dilute the voting power of holders of our other series of capital stock. These rights may have the effect of delaying or deterring a change of control of our company. Additionally, our certificate of incorporation and/or bylaws establish limitations on the removal of directors and on the ability of our stockholders to call special meetings and include advance notice requirements for nominations for election to our board of directors and for proposing matters that can be acted upon at stockholder meetings.

Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (the “DGCL”), which prohibits an “interested stockholder” owning in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which such stockholder acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner.

See “Description of Capital Stock—Anti-Takeover Effects of Provisions of Our Certificate of Incorporation, Our Bylaws and Delaware Law.” These provisions could limit the price that certain investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock.

Our bylaws designate the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware as the sole and exclusive forum for certain types of actions and proceedings that may be initiated by our stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents.

Our bylaws provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, be the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director or officer (or affiliate of any of the foregoing) of us to us or the our shareholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the DGCL or our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, or (iv) any other action asserting a claim arising under, in connection with, and governed by the internal affairs doctrine; provided that these exclusive forum provisions will not apply to suits brought to enforce any liability or duty created by the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, or to any claim for which the federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of our capital stock will be deemed to have notice of, and consented to, the provisions of our bylaws described in the preceding sentence. This choice of forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, employees or agents, which may discourage such lawsuits against us and such persons. Alternatively, if a court were to find these provisions of our bylaws inapplicable to, or unenforceable in respect of, one or more of the specified types of actions or proceedings, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such matters in other jurisdictions, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Claims for indemnification by our directors and officers may reduce our available funds to satisfy successful third-party claims against us and may reduce the amount of money available to us.

Our certificate of incorporation provides that we will indemnify our directors and officers, in each case to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. In addition, as permitted by Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation and our indemnification agreements that we have entered into with our directors and officers provide that:

We are a holding company and rely on payments, advances and transfers of funds from our subsidiaries to meet our obligations and pay any dividends.

We have limited direct operations and significant assets other than ownership of 100% of the capital stock of our subsidiaries. Because we primarily conduct our operations through our subsidiaries, we depend on those entities for payments to generate the funds necessary to meet our financial obligations, and to pay any dividends with respect to our common stock. Legal and contractual restrictions in our Credit Facility and other agreements that may govern future indebtedness of our subsidiaries, as well as the financial condition and operating requirements of our subsidiaries, may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. The earnings from, or other available assets of, our subsidiaries might not be sufficient to make distributions or loans to enable us to meet certain of our obligations. Any of the foregoing could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. See “Dividend Policy.”

DETERMINATION OF OFFERING PRICE

The selling stockholders will determine at what price they may sell the Securities offered by this prospectus, and such sales may be made at fixed prices, prevailing market prices at the time of the sale, varying prices determined at the time of sale, or negotiated prices.

MARKET FOR THE SECURITIES

Our common stock is listed on the OTCQB under the symbol “BTTR” and has been trading since June 2010. No established public trading market existed for our common stock prior to June 2010. The closing price of our common stock on the OTCQB on September 30, 2019 was $4.36 per share. As of September 30, 2019, we had 45,427,659 shares of our common stock outstanding. As of September 30, 2019, we had 149 record holders of our common stock.

Fiscal Year End

On May 21, 2019, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a change fiscal year from August 31 to December 31 to align with TruPet’s fiscal year end. The fiscal year change for the Company is effective with our 2019 fiscal year, which begins January 1, 2019 and ends December 31, 2019.

Components of Our Results of Operations

Net Sales

We sell non-CBD and CBD infused product for pets, including private branded freeze dried and dehydrated raw foods, supplements, dental care products for dogs, and treats and accessories for dogs, cats, and pet parents. We sell our products through our online portal directly to our consumers and through online retailers and pet specialty retail stores. Our products are sold under the TruDog, TruCat, Rawgo!, Orapup or Hound Dog brand name.

Net sales include revenue derived from the sale of our products and related shipping fees offset by promotional discounts, refunds and loyalty points earned. We offer a variety of promotions and incentives to our customers including daily discounts, multi-bag purchase discounts and coupon codes for initial purchases. Historically, our net sales have been driven by our distribution of our products through our direct to consumer channel. However, sales through the retail channel have become a more important component of our growth in net sales and gross profit.

Key factors that affect our future sales growth include: our new product introduction in both the non-CBD and CBD markets, our expansion into retail and other specialty channels, entry into the market of competitors in the CBD industry and international expansion. We recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods to the customer in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the Company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods. Revenue is recognized upon receipt of product by our DTC customers and at the time of shipment for our retail and consignment customers. We record a revenue reserve based on past return rates to account for customer returns.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

Our products are manufactured to our specifications by contract manufacturing plants. We design our packaging in-house for manufacture by third parties. Packaging is shipped directly to contract manufacturing plants. We directly source the hemp derived CBD oils used in our products from select suppliers to ensure product quality and traceability of the ingredient. CBD oils are shipped to our warehouse and forwarded to our contract manufacturing partners as needed for production. Our contract manufacturers procure the raw food ingredients, manufacture, test and package our products. Cost of goods sold consists primarily of the cost of product obtained from the contract manufacturing plants, packaging materials and CBD oils directly sourced by the Company, and freight for shipping product from our contract manufacturing plants to our warehouse. We review inventory on hand periodically to identify damages, slow moving inventory, and/or aged inventory. Based on the analysis, we record inventories on the lower of cost and net realizable value, with any reduction in value expensed as cost of goods sold.

We calculate gross profit as net sales, including any shipping revenue collected from our customers, less cost of goods sold. Our gross profit has been and, we expect, will continue to be affected by a variety of factors, primarily product sales mix, volumes sold, discounts offered to our club members, discounts offered to newly acquired and recurring customers, the cost of our manufactured products, and the cost of freight from the manufacturer to our warehouse. Changes in cost of goods sold and gross profit may be driven by the volume and price of our sales, including the extent of discounts offered, variations in the cost of CBD and the price we pay for our manufactured products and variations in our freight costs.

General and administrative expenses include management and office personnel compensation and bonuses, stock compensation, corporate level information technology related costs, rent, travel, professional service fees, insurance, product development costs and general corporate expenses. We expect general and administrative expenses to continue to increase in absolute dollars as we expand our commercial infrastructure to both drive and support our planned growth in revenue and support the additional costs associated with being a public company.

Research and Development

We do not invest in non-CBD pet food research, but we do continually review sales of our existing products as well as those of non-CBD competitors to identify possible product extensions. We acquired two CBD related research agreements as part of the acquisition of Bona Vida. We will invest resources into the effectiveness of CBD infused canine pet food to determine if specific strains of CBD are more effective than others in addressing canine health issues. We are also conducting trials with existing products to determine optimal product formulations. During the period ended December 31, 2018, we did not record research and development expenses. We expect to incur research and development expenses during the remainder of 2019 and in future periods.

Interest Expense

Interest expense originates from debt incurred under a under a revolving credit agreement entered into in May 2019, and under our note payable to a prior TruPet member, corporate credit cards, and our line of credit agreement and other debt in place prior to the acquisition.

Income Taxes

Our income tax provision consists of an estimate of federal and state income taxes based on enacted federal and state tax rates, as adjusted for allowable credits, deductions and uncertain tax positions. During the period ended December 31, 2018, we did not record income tax expense because TruPet was a limited liability company. Subsequent to the consummation of the acquisitions, the Company, as a corporation, is required to provide for income taxes.

Net Sales

Net sales increased $0.6 million, or 8%, to $7.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $7.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018.

Net sales increased $0.3 million, or 7%, to $4.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $3.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Net sales increased in the six months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018 as a result of increased media and acquisition spend and a shift to higher unit priced products. Our TruDog brand shifted away from dental products during the first half of 2019 towards consumable food and topper sales. Dental products were effective for initial customer acquisition but return and retention rates were relatively low. Although food and topper products are not as effective in initial customer conversion as the dental products, topper products yield a better lifetime value as retention and repeat rates are higher. In the three months ended June 30, 2019, we saw a further increase in our acquisition and conversion rates as a result of increased media spend on Facebook and Google. A decline in sales through our online retailers Amazon and Chewy.com was the result of lower Amazon promotion spends and Chewy.com’s customers buying directly from us. We expect to see sales to these online retailers grow in the second half of 2019 as we rebalance our sales efforts between DTC and online retail partners.

The increase in net sales in the three months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018 is a result of higher media spend on acquiring new customers as well as a higher retention rates of customers we previously acquired. We continue to see high retention rates of returning customers either through our subscription offers or from repeat purchases. We expect the share of returning sales to continue to grow as we focus our acquisition spend on high value, repeat buyers. Online retail partners sales dropped slightly as we continued to focus on driving traffic to our own sites.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

Cost of goods sold increased $0.8 million, or 23%, to $4.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $3.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018. As a percentage of revenue, cost of goods sold increased to 53% during the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to 47% during the six months ended June 30, 2018. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily due to a mix shift to food and topper products, which have higher costs and lower gross margin than dental products. We continue to negotiate for improved conversion costs from our manufacturing partners and expect to see further cost reductions as we rationalize the product offering and gain scale in the remaining products. The cost of hemp derived CBD oils has declined in the market, thus, reducing our ingredient costs. In the six-month period ended on June 30, 2018, the inventory reserve taken was $0.2 million for slow moving and discontinued items.

Cost of goods sold increased $1.0 million, or 75%, to $2.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to $1.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. As a percentage of revenue, cost of goods sold increased to 59% during the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to 36% during the three months ended June 30, 2018. During the three-months ended on June 30, 2019, we continued to discount discontinued items to clear out the inventory to focus on our top selling products. The inventory review at the end of the three-month period ended on June 30, 2019 led to an inventory reserve charge of $0.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2019 as compared to a reserve of $0.1 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018.

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, gross profit decreased $0.2 million, or 5%, to $3.6 million compared to $3.7 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018. Gross profit margin decreased to 47% from 53% for the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. The ongoing shift into food and topper products from the dental products sold in 2018 and discounting of discontinued products also reduced the gross margin for the six month period ended June 30, 2019.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, gross profit decreased $0.8 million, or 32%, to $1.7 million compared to $2.4 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. Gross profit margin decreased to 41% from 64% for the three months ended June 30, 2019 compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018. The ongoing shift into food and topper products from the dental products and discounting of discontinued products reduced the gross margin for the three months ended June 30, 2019 along with the inventory reserve taken during the period.

Operating Expenses

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, general and administrative expenses increased approximately $4.7 million, or 345% to $6.0 million compared to $1.4 million in the six months ended June 30, 2018.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, general and administrative expenses increased approximately $3.9 million, or 587%, to $4.6 million compared to $0.7 million in the three months ended June 30, 2018. The increase resulted from the expansion of our corporate staff and the incurrence of professional fees post-acquisitions as we began building the infrastructure to support our status as a public company.

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, we incurred share-based compensation of $4.2 million, as compared to share based compensation of $0 during the six months ended in June 30, 2018.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we incurred share-based compensation of $4.0 million, as compared to share based compensation of $0 during the three months ended in June 30, 2018. The increase in equity-based compensation was driven by awards issued related to the acquisitions on May 6, 2019.

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, sales and marketing expenses, including paid media, increased approximately $2.8 million, or 99%, to $5.6 million from $2.8 million during the six months ended in June 30, 2018 as a result of increased new customer acquisition efforts. TruPet traditionally invested in Facebook advertisement to drive traffic to the site. We increased spending on Facebook and Google, and began to invest additional spend in other media outlets to build brand awareness.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, sales and marketing expenses, including paid media, increased approximately $1.9 million, or 126%, to $3.4 million from $1.5 million during the three months ended in June 30, 2018 primarily due to a shift in media spending towards Facebook and Google advertisements as well as retargeting lapsed customers.

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, other operating costs including customer service and warehousing costs decreased $0.2 million, or 9%, to $1.7 million compared to $1.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018. We rationalized the operations in our warehouse at the end of 2018, reducing the staff and operating costs. We saw higher than normal shipping costs during the six months ended June 30, 2018 due to the product recall. During this period, we shipped partial orders and replacement product, increasing our shipping expenses. During the six months ended June 30, 2019, we began renovating a new facility in Tampa, Florida to house our warehouse, fulfillment and administrative departments. Rent and associated utilities for this period are reflecting both the rent for the new facility as well as the existing facility that houses these departments.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, other operating costs including customer service and warehousing costs decreased by an immaterial amount, or 2%, to $0.9 million compared to $1.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2018. We rationalized the operations in our warehouse at the end of 2018, reducing staff and operating costs. In addition, we continue to reduce our unit shipping costs as we gain scale and shipping efficiency. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we began renovating a new facility in Tampa, Florida to house our warehouse, fulfillment and administrative departments. Rent and associated utilities for this period are reflecting both the rent for the new facility as well as the existing facility.

Research and Development

During the six months ended June 30, 2019 and 2018, there were no research and development expenses incurred. We acquired two CBD related research contracts from Bona Vida on May 6, 2019. We expect to incur expenses in the third and fourth quarters of 2019 for these contracts as our research efforts continue.

Interest Expense, Net

During the six months ended June 30, 2019, interest expense remained fairly constant at approximately $0.1 million compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. Interest expense increased by an immaterial amount primarily due to increased debt incurred under a note payable to a director, offset by the refinancing of the Company’s line of credit agreement of $4.6 million and the note payable to the director of $1.6 million into a $6.2 million line of credit on May 6, 2019 at a lower interest rate. The increased debt was necessary to finance working capital for the business.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, interest expense changed immaterially compared to the three months ended June 30, 2018.

Income Taxes

No provision has been made for federal and state income taxes prior to the date of the acquisitions since the proportionate share of TruPet’s income or loss was included in the personal tax returns of its members because TruPet was a limited liability company. Subsequent to the acquisitions, the Company, as a corporation is required to provide for income taxes.

The effective tax rate subsequent to the acquisitions 0%. The effective tax rate differs from the U.S. Federal statutory rate of 21% primarily because our previously reported losses have been offset by a valuation allowance due to uncertainty as to the realization of those losses.

Net Sales

Net sales increased $6.9 million, or 86%, to $14.8 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $7.9 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

The increase in net sales in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 is attributed to several operational changes we made to the business. In March 2018, we increased prices by 2% to 18% on over 65% of our product range based on competitive analysis and an understanding of our customers’ price sensitivity. Fine tuning of our customer acquisition algorithms allowed us to acquire customers more effectively. We increased retention of previously acquired customers through improved post purchase communication and the loyalty program expansion. We reviewed our shipping costs and free shipping programs resulting in customers paying a higher net portion of shipping expenses.

Cost of Goods Sold and Gross Profit

Cost of goods sold increased $3.2 million, or 74%, to $7.5 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 compared to $4.3 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. As a percentage of revenue, cost of goods sold decreased to 51% in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 compared to 54% in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. The increase in cost of goods sold was primarily due to the growth in net sales. The product recall in the first half of 2018 increased our cost of goods sold as we replaced the recalled products with new product.

In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, gross profit increased $3.7 million, or 101%, to $7.3 million compared to $3.6 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. Gross profit margin increased to 49% in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 from 46% in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. The price increases in March 2018 accounted for the majority of the gross margin increase. The price increases were partially offset by the cost of replacement product as part of the recall.

Operating Expenses

In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, general and administrative expenses increased approximately $0.9 million, or 37% to $3.3 million compared to $2.4 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, we incurred share-based compensation of $0.4 million, as compared to $0.9 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017.

In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, sales and marketing expenses, including paid media, increased approximately $0.1 million, or 2%, to $5.0 million from $4.9 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 as a result of increased new customer acquisition efforts. TruPet traditionally invested in Facebook advertisement to drive traffic to the site. We increased spending on Facebook and Google and began to invest additional spend in other media outlets to build brand awareness.

In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, other operating costs including customer service and warehousing costs increased $3.0 million, or 399%, to $3.7 million compared to $0.7 million in the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. During this period, we shipped partial orders and replacement product, increasing our shipping expenses.

Research and Development

The Company did not incur research and development expenses in either the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 or 2017.

Interest Expense, Net

Interest expense increased $0.8 million, to $0.9 million in fiscal year 2018 compared to an immaterial amount in fiscal year 2017. The increase was primarily due to increased debt incurred under a note payable to a director, corporate credit cards, a line of credit agreement and an advance on future receivables. The increased debt was necessary to finance working capital for the business.

Management is confident that it will be able to meet its minimum expenditure commitments and support its planned level of overhead expenditures. There can be no assurance however that the Company will be able to raise additional capital when needed, or at terms deemed acceptable, if at all. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of asset amounts or the classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

The following table presents a summary of our cash flow for the periods reflected below:

Cash flows from Operating Activities

Cash provided by (used in) operating activities consisted of net loss adjusted for non-cash items, including the loss on acquisition, stock-based compensation expense, change fair value of in derivative liability, depreciation and amortization, changes in working capital and other activities.

Cash used in operating activities increased $6.5 million, or 319%, during the six months ended June 30, 2019 compared to the six months ended June 30, 2018. Cash used in operating activities was $8.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2019, which consisted of the net loss of $164.3 million, offset by $150.0 million from the loss from the acquisitions, $4.2 million in stock-based compensation expense and a combined $1.4 million of net cash generated via changes in operating assets and current liabilities. Cash used in operating activities was $2.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2018, which consisted of net loss of $2.4 million, offset by a combined $0.4 million net cash generated via changes in operating assets and current liabilities.

The decrease in working capital (deficit) during the six months ended June 30, 2019 was primarily due to an increase of accrued liabilities of $2.0 million offset by an increase in prepaid expenses of $0.9 million.

The decrease in working capital (deficit) during the six months ended June 30, 2018 was primarily due to an increase in accounts payable of $0.5 million offset by an increase in inventories of $0.3 million.

Cash used in operating activities increased $2.9 million, or 74%, during the year ended December 31, 2018 compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. Cash used in operating activities was $6.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2018, which consisted of a net loss of $6.0 million, offset by $0.4 million non-cash compensation expense and a net reduction in working capital of $1.3 million. The net decrease in working capital was primarily due to a decrease in accrued liabilities and an increase in inventories and other assets necessary to support the growth of the business. Cash used in operating activities was $4.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2017, which consisted of a net loss of $5.4 million, offset by $0.9 million non-cash compensation expense and a net increase in working capital of $0.5 million.

Cash flows from Investing Activities

Cash from investing activities increased by $1.9 million during the six months ended June 30, 2019 from an immaterial amount during the six months ended June 30, 2018. The change in cash from investing activities included is the result of $2.0 million cash acquired in the acquisitions offset by an increase in security deposits paid.

Cash flow used in investing activities was immaterial during each of the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

Cash flows from Financing Activities

Cash from financing activities increased by $11.9 million, to $13.9 million, during the six months ended June 30, 2019 from $2.0 million during the six months ended June 30, 2018. The primary drivers of the overall cash from financing activities were proceeds from a private placement of $15.7 million offset by payments to eliminate the balance due under the Business Cash Advance Agreement of $1.9 million. The Company refinanced debt acquired in the merger of $6.2 million with the proceeds from the issuance of new debt of $6.2 million.

Cash flow from financing activities increased $6.9 million to $10.7 million during the year ended December 31, 2018 from $3.8 million provided during the year ended December 31, 2017. During 2018, the Company increased its borrowing under its line of credit and borrowed from a director of the Company. Additionally, cash proceeds of $4.7 million were raised in a private placement of equity. The cash provided by financing activities was used primarily to fund the growth of operations during the year.

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements, as defined by applicable regulations of the SEC, that are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our financial condition, results of operations, liquidity, capital expenditures or capital resources.

Change in Accountants

On September 6, 2019 the Audit Committee notified RBSM LLP of the Audit Committee’s approval to dismiss RBSM as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm upon filing of the quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2019.

During the Company’s fiscal years ended August 31, 2018 and August 31, 2017, the transition period from September 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018 resulting from the Company’s May 2019 change to its fiscal year ended August 31 to now end December 31 (the “Transition Period”) and through the subsequent interim period as of September 6, 2019, there were (i) no disagreements (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(iv) of Regulation S-K and the related instructions) between the Company and RBSM on any matter of accounting principles or practices, financial statement disclosure or auditing scope or procedure, which, if not resolved to the satisfaction of RBSM would have caused RBSM to make reference thereto in its reports and (ii) no “reportable events” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K) except as described below. There was a “reportable event” (as that term is defined in Item 304(a)(1)(v) of Regulation S-K) during the Transition Period related to material weaknesses in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as disclosed in the Company’s Transition Report on Form 10-KT. As disclosed in the Transition Period Report, the Company’s management concluded that material weaknesses existed as of December 31, 2018 related to the Company’s inadequate design and operating effectiveness of controls with respect to its entity level programs designed to communicate to its employees and consultants the Company’s accounting policies and procedures and small accounting staff that resulted in a lack of segregation of duties and insufficient review procedures.

The Company provided RBSM with a copy of this disclosure prior to filing Form 8-K/A and requested that RBSM provide the Company with a letter addressed to the Securities and Exchange Commission stating whether or not RBSM agrees with the above disclosures. A copy of RBSM’s letter, dated September 6, 2019, is attached as Exhibit 16.1 to this Form 8-K/A.

Critical Accounting Policies

Our financial statements and accompanying notes have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles applied on a consistent basis. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. We regularly evaluate the accounting policies and estimates that we use to prepare our financial statements. A complete summary of these policies is included in the notes to our financial statements. In general, management’s estimates are based on historical experience, on information from third party professionals, and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the facts and circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates made by management.

Significant Accounting Policies

Our discussion and analysis of our results of operations and liquidity and capital resources are based on our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to basis of presentation, use of

estimates, cash and cash equivalents, inventory, revenue recognition, income taxes, fair value of financial instruments, fair value measurements, derivative financial instruments, basic and diluted loss per share, related parties, discontinued operations, and investments (see Note 1 to the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus). We base our estimates on historical and anticipated results and trends and on various other assumptions that we believe are reasonable under the circumstances, including assumptions as to future events. These estimates form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. By their nature, estimates are subject to an inherent degree of uncertainty. Actual results that differ from our estimates could have a significant adverse effect on our operating results and financial position. We believe that the significant accounting policies and assumptions as detailed in Note 1 to the financial statements contained herein may involve a higher degree of judgment and complexity than others.

The unique attributes of our product portfolio appeal to a diverse class of consumer needs. Consequently, our brands resonate throughout a broad cross-section of pet parent demographics.

All of our products are sold under TruDog, TruCat, Rawgo!, Orapup or Hound Dog brand name, with ingredients, packaging and labeling customized by SKU.

Supply, Manufacturing and Logistics

Our products sold under the TruPet brand are sourced and manufactured in the United States, using healthy, natural ingredients. Many products are preserved using either freeze drying or gentle air dehydration to eliminate the need for artificial preservatives and added chemicals. Our treats and chews are oven-baked, using natural ingredients for maximum nutrition. TruDog raw dog foods meet AAFCO guidelines and are small-batch tested for common contaminants prior to leaving the manufacturer. The proprietary blends of our TruPet line of supplements for dogs are formulated with a focus on using natural ingredients that meet a dog’s unique biological needs.

All of our CBD soft chews and flavor-infused tinctures are formulated using pure, all natural, phytocannabinoid-rich (“PCR”) hemp-derived CBD. All CBD isolates and oils are authenticated by an independent third party via issuance of a Certificate of Analysis (“COA”), which cannabinoid content and profile, microbiological content, heavy metal content, pesticide content, and residual solvent content. We recognize the importance of compliance and partnered with one of the industry’s leading cGMP certified extraction facilities. This ensures the consistency and quality of our CBD product lines and brands.

Through its proprietary engineering process, our U.S.-based supplier isolates and removes any unwanted compounds while creating the maximum potency level of phytocannabinoids and terpenes. The cold, enclosed and continuous manufacturing processes prevent the degradation of natural molecules during extraction and purification. Made and derived from non-GMO, U.S.-grown hemp, its PCR hemp oil, and isolate powder are subjected to a rigorous testing system, both in-house and verified through independent, third party labs, which ensures accurate levels of phytocannabinoids and detects any trace amounts of THC. Our products contain only the highest level of naturally derived CBD sourced from hemp that contains less than 0.3% THC.

We believe that a key differentiator of our finished products is the quality of ingredients we source from the industry’s leading suppliers, each of whom we have carefully vetted and qualified.

Fulfillment of orders from our online customers is managed by a well-established third-party logistics partner. We utilize logistics service providers as a part of our global supply chain, primarily for shipping and logistics support. Our online ecosystem allows us to efficiently manage and customize the online shopping experience for customers,

including a customer dashboard where shoppers can manage and track orders and order history. Our products are made in the United States and shipped by trusted carriers for expeditious and reliable delivery.

Product Innovation

We offer a broad portfolio of pet health and wellness products to our customers, including an array of products that we develop, manufacture and distribute. We use third-party consultants and animal health research and development experts to expand our proprietary value-branded portfolio and develop next-generation versions of our current pet products.

On April 21, 2019, we entered into an agreement with Cannasoul Analytics Ltd. (“Cannasoul”) to complete the research and development of a hemp-based treatment for the veterinary market, with an initial focus on the treatment of stress in dogs. The research and development plan include strain examination and selection as well as product development and clinical trials. We will receive the right to license all intellectual property derived from Cannasoul’s research and development efforts. See “—Our Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property.”

On August 1, 2019, the Company entered into a research agreement with Green Element BV to test the efficacy of CBD products for their ability to reduce anxiety in canines. Another purpose of the research agreement will be work to determine the most effective dosing parameters for canines based on individual factors such as weight and breed.

Customers

Approximately 89% and 77%, respectively, of total net sales during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 were generated from online sales with roughly 52% of the online sales for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 coming from recurring orders. Of the online orders, approximately 32%, 30% and 17% came from persons aged 65+, 55-64, and 45-54, respectively, with the remaining orders being made by persons aged 44 and younger. We currently sell our products on our own website and the e-commerce websites of Amazon, Chewy’s and Healthy Pets.

Sales and Marketing

Our marketing strategy is designed to educate consumers about the benefits of our portfolio and build awareness of our products. We deploy a broad set of marketing tools across media, mail and public relations to reach consumers through multiple touch points. Our marketing initiatives include the use of social marketing, social influence marketing, direct response marketing, inbound marketing, email marketing, Search Engine Optimization (“SEO”), Search Engine Marketing (“SEM”), radio, paid media (Facebook, Instagram & Youtube), affiliate marketing, and content marketing, among other proven strategies to generate and convert sales prospects into loyal, satisfied customers.

Although we sell our products in over 30 retail stores and continue to increase our presence in additional retail outlets throughout the United States, we believe that the traditional retail environment is currently experiencing notable economic instability due largely to the global shift in consumer purchasing behaviors – with online shopping/ecommerce sites rapidly overtaking brick-and-mortar stores as consumer preferred shopping venues. For example, online retail sales in the United States increased 14% in 2018, according to an Internet Retailer analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Given this trend in retail, we have adopted a robust DTC sales model that is anchored by an ecommerce website whereby we educate, sell and ship our various products directly to consumers. Our DTC model has allowed us to drive new consumers directly to our brands and develop a recurring revenue model.

We also promote our loyalty program called the TruDog Love Club (“TLC”). TLC is a membership club where members enjoy certain benefits including auto-shipments, free shipping, VIP access to TruDog’s Happiness Concierge and invitations to secret sales only for TLC members. TLC members also earn reward points with every TLC order which can be used to purchase TruDog products. Our TLC program generates recurring revenue which totaled approximately $6.8 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018.

In our raw-diet food and treats segment, we have a separate set of competitors for the DTC and traditional distribution channels. In the DTC channel, our competitors include: Darwins, My Ollie, and Chewy.com. Our competitors in the traditional distribution channel include: Stella and Chewy’s, Sojo’s, I and Love and You, Nature’s Variety Instinct, The Honest Kitchen, and Spot Farms.

Within our hemp-derived CBD segment, we face fragmented competition due to the infancy of the pet related CBD market. Given the rapid growth of the U.S. CBD industry, hundreds of companies have entered the market; however, most CBD companies focus on the human CBD market. Our competitors within the pet CBD market include: Therabis, Honest Paws, Charlotte’s Web, Pet Releaf, Holistapet, and Canna-Pet. We anticipate the pet CBD market to continue growing at a rapid rate and believe retaining market share will require increased marketing in addition to maintaining high level quality and integrity of product offerings.

The CSA classifies “marihuana,” previously defined to include all parts of the cannabis plant (with a few exceptions including fiber produced from mature stalks, any other preparation of mature stalks and certain preparations of the plant incapable of germination), as a Schedule I controlled substance. Pursuant to this definition, the DEA interpreted CBD to fall within the statutory definition of “marihuana” as a compound or derivative of the cannabis plant not derived from mature stalks, fiber, oil, cake, or sterilized seeds. In addition, the DEA’s implementing regulations defined “marihuana extract” as any extract containing one or more cannabinoids derived from the cannabis plant, other than the separate resin (whether crude or purified) obtained from the plant. The DEA previously acknowledged that its regulations classifying “marihuana extract” as a Schedule I controlled substance encompass CBD as a cannabinoid extract derived from cannabis, and based on both the CSA and its implementing regulations, the DEA historically interpreted CBD to be a Schedule I controlled substance.

Federal Regulation of Hemp

In February 2014, Congress enacted the Agricultural Act of 2014 (“2014 Farm Bill”) to allow under federal law for the limited growth and cultivation of industrial hemp, which was defined as including all parts of the cannabis plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (“THC”) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. This statute also allowed, as permitted by state law, growing and cultivating industrial hemp under the auspices of a state agricultural pilot program and in institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture.

In December 2018, Congress enacted the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (“2018 Farm Bill”) to more broadly allow for the production of hemp pursuant to state and tribal plans overseen by the USDA. Under the new law, states or Indian tribes may submit to the USDA through the state department of agriculture a plan under which the state or Indian tribe will monitor and regulate the production of industrial hemp. For those states or territories that do not yet have an approved state or tribal plan, the production of hemp will be subject to a USDA-established plan. The USDA must promulgate regulations and guidelines to implement this framework, and one year after the USDA plan is established, the hemp provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill will be repealed.

In addition, the 2018 Farm Bill amended the statutory definition of “marihuana” under the CSA to specifically exclude “hemp” (which is defined as any part of the cannabis plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis). Under this definition, as long as CBD meets the statutory definition of “hemp,” then it is no longer a Schedule I controlled substance under the CSA. While the statute provides that no state or Indian tribe may prohibit the transportation or shipment of hemp or hemp products produced in accordance with the applicable subtitle of the 2018 Farm Bill through the state or territory, as applicable, the 2018 Farm Bill did not change the FDA’s authority to regulate cannabis-containing products governed by the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FDCA”).

Implementation and Enforcement of the 2018 Farm Bill

The USDA has not yet promulgated regulations implementing the 2018 Farm Bill or otherwise establishing a plan for production of hemp under the statutory framework. The DEA also has not amended its regulation defining “marihuana extract” as a Schedule I controlled substance in a way that may be interpreted to include CBD or to align with the 2018 Farm Bill, although the DEA has in the past stated that it will not extend this regulation beyond its statutory authority in the CSA.

For example, there is significant uncertainty regarding implementation of the statutory provisions impacting the transportation of hemp and hemp products in interstate commerce. Currently, state laws that apply to cannabis and cannabis-derived substances, including CBD, vary widely from state to state. The 2018 Farm Bill provides that states may not interfere with the interstate transportation or shipment of hemp or hemp products that are produced in accordance with the applicable subtitle of the 2018 Farm Bill. Since the USDA has not yet promulgated the regulatory framework required under the 2018 Farm Bill, there is uncertainty as to whether any hemp has or could have been produced in accordance with the applicable subtitle. On May 28, 2019, the USDA Office of General Counsel published a legal memorandum articulating the agency’s belief that, prior to the USDA’s promulgation of regulations under the 2018 Farm Bill, the interstate commerce provisions of the statute apply to hemp grown in compliance with other federal laws, including the 2014 Farm Bill. Accordingly, until the 2018 Farm Bill framework is in place, the USDA has interpreted the 2018 Farm Bill to prevent a state or Indian tribe from prohibiting the transportation of hemp grown and cultivated consistent with the 2014 Farm Bill through that state or tribal territory. Certain states, however, have employed a different interpretation of the interstate commerce provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill and

have taken enforcement action against the transportation of hemp through their states as violating state law. This issue is the subject of currently active litigation, where courts in different states have come down on both sides. As the USDA and federal courts continue to develop this issue, the current ability of states to take enforcement action against interstate transportation of hemp and hemp products remains uncertain.

We continue to devote attention to monitoring these developments. However, we cannot predict the outcome of the active litigation or how the various federal, state and local authorities will regulate the interstate transportation of hemp and hemp products.

FDA Regulation of Animal Foods

The FDA regulates foods, including foods intended for animals, under the FDCA and its implementing regulations. The FDCA defines “food” as articles used for food or drink for man or other animals, which includes products that are intended primarily for nutritional use, taste, or aroma and the components of such products. For animal foods in particular, this definition applies based on their intended use regardless of labelling as animal food, treats, or supplements. The FDA also imposes certain requirements on animal foods relating to their composition, manufacturing, labeling, and marketing. Among other things, the facilities in which our products and ingredients are manufactured must register with the FDA, comply with current good manufacturing practices (“cGMPs”) and comply with a range of food safety requirements.

Although pet foods are not required to obtain premarket approval from the FDA, any substance that is added to or is expected to become a component of a pet food must be used in accordance with a food additive regulation, unless it is generally recognized as safe (“GRAS”) under the conditions of its intended use or if it appears on an FDA-recognized list of acceptable animal food ingredients in the Official Publication of the Association of American Feed Control Officials. A food may be adulterated if it uses an ingredient that is neither GRAS nor an approved food additive, and that food may not be legally marketed in the United States. FDA has confirmed that the use of cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds in animal food products is subject to these food additive requirements. At this time, there are no approved food additive petitions or regulations for any cannabis-derived food additive, and while the FDA has issued a “no questions” response to certain GRAS notifications for hemp seed products, these GRAS determinations do not encompass hemp and CBD products more generally.

Additionally, the FDCA prohibits the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any food that contains an approved drug for which substantial clinical investigations have been instituted and made public (unless certain exceptions apply). Under this prohibition, the FDA has stated that animal foods containing CBD are adulterated because CBD is an active ingredient in an FDA-approved drug that was the subject of substantial clinical investigations before it was marketed as a food, and that none of the exceptions apply.

Although the FDA has stated that it interprets the FDCA to prohibit the introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce of any animal food to which CBD has been added and has taken enforcement action against marketers of certain CBD products (some in collaboration with the FTC), the FDA is in the process of evaluating its regulatory approach to products containing cannabis and cannabis-derived compounds. The FDA has formed an internal working group to evaluate the issue and on May 31, 2019 held a public hearing to obtain scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling, and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis-derived compounds. The hearing featured extensive discussion from a variety of stakeholders regarding the use of hemp and CBD in FDA-regulated products, including pet foods. At the hearing, FDA stated that while it does not have a policy of enforcement discretion with respect to any CBD products, the agency’s biggest concern is the marketing of products that put the health and safety of consumers at risk, such as those claiming to prevent, diagnose, mitigate, treat, or cure serious diseases in the absence of requisite drug approvals.

The labeling of pet foods is regulated by both the FDA and state regulatory authorities. FDA regulations require proper identification of the product, a net quantity statement, a statement of the name and place of business of the manufacturer or distributor and proper listing of all the ingredients in order of predominance by weight. The FDA also considers certain specific claims on pet food labels to be medical claims and therefore subject to prior review and approval by the FDA. For example, pet food products that are labeled or marketed with claims that may suggest that they are intended to treat or prevent a specific disease in pets would potentially meet the statutory definitions of both a food and a drug. The FDA recently issued guidance containing a list of specific factors it will consider in determining whether to initiate enforcement action against such products if they do not comply with the regulatory

requirements applicable to drugs, including, among other things, whether the product is only made available through or under the direction of a veterinarian and does not present a known safety risk when used as labeled. The FDA may classify some of our products differently than we do and may impose more stringent regulations which could lead to possible enforcement action.

Under the FDCA, the FDA may require the recall of an animal food product if there is a reasonable probability that the product is adulterated or misbranded, and the use of or exposure to the product will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. In addition, pet food manufacturers may voluntarily recall or withdraw their products from the market. If the FDA believes that our products are adulterated or misbranded in violation of the FDCA, the agency make take further enforcement action, including:

Our Trademarks and Other Intellectual Property

We believe that our intellectual property has substantial value and has contributed significantly to the success of our business. Our trademarks are valuable assets that reinforce our brand, our sub-brands and our consumers’ perception of our products. The current registrations of these trademarks in the U.S. and foreign countries are effective for varying periods of time and may be renewed periodically, provided that we, as the registered owner, or our licensees where applicable, comply with all applicable renewal requirements including, where necessary, the continued use of the trademarks in connection with the goods or services identified in the applicable registrations. In addition to trademark protection, we have registered 113 domain names, including www.trupet.com, www.trudog.com, www.rawgo.com, www.orapup.com and www.bonavida.com, that are important to the successful implementation of our marketing and advertising strategy. We rely on and carefully protect unpatented proprietary expertise, recipes and formulations, continuing innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our competitive position.

We have entered into an intellectual property license with Elvis Presley Enterprises, LLC, pursuant to which we have licensed the image, likeness, and persona of Elvis Presley and an associated trademark (“Houndog”) for use in the U.S. and Canada (subject to a territorial restriction in the geographical area surrounding Memphis, Tennessee) in connection with the advertisement, promotion and sale, via approved distribution channels, of certain of our CBD-infused animal health and wellness products. The initial term of the license runs until December 31, 2025, after which we have two consecutive renewal option periods, each for an additional six years. In exchange for the intellectual property licensed thereunder, we are required to meet certain minimum net sales figures per year, and to pay the licensor a royalty (ranging from 5-10%) based on net sales of products associated with the licensed intellectual property, subject to an annual minimum guarantee. The licensor has the right to terminate the license for any breach by us, material or otherwise.

We have also entered into an agreement with Cannasoul Analytics Ltd. (“Cannasoul”), pursuant to which we have engaged Cannasoul to conduct certain research, product development and pre-clinical trials for hemp-based treatments for the veterinary market, with an initial focus on treatment of stress (the “Project”), and we have obtained a license to use any intellectual property developed by Cannasoul in the framework of the Project in connection with products for the veterinary market. In consideration of the services and license provided, we were required to pay Cannasoul consideration of $150,000 at signing, and between $150,000 and $200,000 upon reaching certain milestones in the Project. In addition, we were required to pay (on a quarterly basis) 10% of the revenues received by the Company from the sale of any products developed or tested under the agreement or that incorporate any intellectual property developed pursuant to the agreement. Cannasoul owns all IP developed in connection with the Project and we are granted an exclusive, worldwide, royalty-bearing license to use such IP for the veterinary market.

We are required to meet certain minimum sales (“Minimum”) to maintain the exclusivity of such license. Cannasoul has the right to terminate the agreement (including the license) if in any given year our sales are less than 10% of the Minimum.

Michael Galego. Mr. Galego has served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors since March 15, 2019. Mr. Galego is Chief Executive Officer of Apolo Capital Advisory Corp., where he has served since September 2018. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Agricultural Division of the Stronach Group, Deputy General Counsel and Secretary of Pacific Exploration and Production Corp., formerly Pacific Rubiales Energy Corp., and General Counsel and Secretary of CGX Energy Inc. Recently, Mr. Galego was a member of the Board of Directors of Woulfe Mining Corp. Mr. Galego began his legal career as an associate in the business law department of Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP. Mr. Galego holds a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in political science and economics from York University and a Bachelor of Law (LL.B) from the University of Windsor. We believe Mr. Galego’s qualifications to serve as a director of our Company include his legal experience in the M&A and corporate finance field, his demonstrated business acumen and his experience on other public company boards of directors.

Michael Young. Mr. Young served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors from December 13, 2019 to March 15, 2019. Mr. Young is a founding partner of Cottingham Capital, an investment company focused on real estate and technology investment, where he has served as Managing Partner since its inception in January 2017. Prior to January 2017, Mr. Young served as the Managing Director and Co-Head of Trading of GMP Securities, L.P., a Canadian investment bank. Mr. Young served on the boards of Aerues Inc., an anti-microbial copper coating technology company, and XIB I Capital Corp., a capital pool company, and was previously on the boards of Nuuvera Corp. and ICC Labs. Mr. Young holds a finance diploma from George Brown College. We believe Mr. Young’s qualifications to serve as a director of our Company include his extensive senior level executive management and trading experience in the Canadian and U.S. capital markets and his experience on other public company boards of directors.

Jeff D. Davis. Mr. Davis has served as a director of the Company since March 15, 2019. Mr. Davis founded Molio Inc., a venture-backed, creative and media analytics agency, where he has served as Chief Executive Officer since February 2015. Prior to founding Molio Inc., Mr. Davis served as director and Chief Executive Officer of Orabrush Inc., an e-commerce business focused on oral care products. Mr. Davis has also served in a variety of positions at Procter & Gamble, where he spent time in numerous product sectors including consumer-packaged goods, pharmaceuticals and beauty. Mr. Davis holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and a Bachelor of Arts in German from the University of Utah.

Lori R. Taylor. Ms. Taylor has served as a director of the Company since March 15, 2019 and was formerly a Co-Chief Executive Officer of the Company, alongside Mr. Dalla-Longa, from May 6, 2019 to September 14, 2019. Ms. Taylor founded TruPet, LLC, a direct to consumer dog food and supplement company, where she served as its Chief Executive Officer from August 2013 to April 2019. Ms. Taylor also founded RevMedia Marketing LLC, a full-service marketing consultation and product innovation firm, and has served as its Chief Executive Officer since April 2009. Ms. Taylor holds a bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business Logistics and Journalism from the University of Missouri. We believe Ms. Taylor’s qualifications to serve as a director of our Company include her experience in the consumer and retail industries, her experience in brand management, product development and marketing and her expertise in corporate strategy and development.

Board of Directors

The number of members of our board of directors will be determined from time-to-time by resolution of the board of directors. Currently, our board of directors consists of five persons. Our directors hold office until the earlier of their death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal or until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.

Our securities are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange and, therefore, we are not subject to the corporate governance requirements of any such exchange, including those related to the independence of directors. However, at this time, after considering all of the relevant facts and circumstances, our Board of Directors has determined that Mr. Young, Mr. Davis and Mr. Galego are independent from our management and qualify as “independent directors” under the standards of independence under the applicable FINRA listing standards. Upon our listing on any national securities exchange or any inter-dealer quotation system, it will elect such independent directors as is necessary under the rules of any such securities exchange.

Committees of the Board

We have an audit committee, a compensation committee and a nominating and governance committee. Each such committee of the board of directors has or will have the composition and responsibilities described below.

Audit Committee

The audit committee assists the board in overseeing our accounting and financial reporting processes and the audits of our financial statements. The audit committee’s responsibilities include, among other matters: appointing, approving the compensation of, and assessing the independence of our registered public accounting firm; overseeing the work of our registered public accounting firm, including through the receipt and consideration of reports from such firm; reviewing and discussing with management and the registered public accounting firm our annual and quarterly financial statements and related disclosures; coordinating our board of directors’ oversight of our internal control over financial reporting, disclosure controls and procedures; discussing our risk management policies; meeting independently with our internal auditing staff, if any, registered public accounting firm and management; reviewing and approving or ratifying any related person transactions; and preparing the audit committee report required by the SEC.

The members of our audit committee are Messrs. Galego, Young and Davis, and Mr. Galego serves as chairperson of this committee.

Compensation Committee

The compensation committee’s responsibilities include, among other matters: reviewing and approving, or recommending for approval by the board of directors, the compensation of our Chief Executive Officer and our other executive officers; overseeing and administering our cash and equity incentive plans; reviewing and making recommendations to our board of directors with respect to director compensation; reviewing and discussing annually with management our “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” to the extent required; reviewing and discussing the voting recommendations of our stockholders on matters involving executive compensation, to the extent required; and preparing the annual compensation committee report required by SEC rules, to the extent required.

The members of our compensation committee are Messrs. Galego, Young and Davis, and Mr. Young serves as chairperson of this committee.

Nominating and Governance Committee

The nominating and corporate governance committee’s responsibilities include, among other matters: identifying individuals qualified to become board of directors members; recommending to our board of directors the persons to be nominated for election as directors and to each board committee; developing and recommending to our board of directors corporate governance guidelines, and reviewing and recommending to our board of directors proposed changes to our corporate governance guidelines from time to time; and overseeing a periodic evaluation of our board of directors.

The members of our nominating and corporate governance committee are Messrs. Galego, Young and Davis, and Mr. Davis serves as chairperson of this committee.

Family Relationships

There are no family relationships among any of our executive officers or directors.

Risk Oversight

Our audit committee is responsible for overseeing our risk management process. Our audit committee focuses on our general risk management policies and strategy, the most significant risks facing us, and oversees the implementation of risk mitigation strategies by management. Our board of directors is also apprised of particular risk management matters in connection with its general oversight and approval of corporate matters and significant transactions.

Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct

We plan to adopt a written code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller, or persons performing similar functions. A copy of the code will be posted on our website at https://www.betterchoicecompany.com. Our code of business conduct and ethics is a “code of ethics” as defined in Item 406(b) of Regulation S-K. The reference to our website address does not constitute incorporation by reference of the information contained at or available through our website, and you should not consider it to be a part of this prospectus.

fiduciary duty to the Company resulting in material profit to him, directly or indirectly; (v) executive materially breaches any agreement with the Company and fails to cure such breach within 10 days of receipt of notice, unless the act is incapable of being cured; (vi) executive breaches any non-compete or confidential information provision of the 2019 Employment Agreement; (vii) executive becomes subject to a preliminary or permanent injunction issued by a United States District Court enjoining executive from violating any securities law administered or regulated by the SEC; (viii) executive becomes subject to a cease and desist order or other order issued by the SEC after an opportunity for a hearing; (ix) executive refuses to carry out a resolution adopted by the Board at a meeting in which executive was offered a reasonable opportunity to argue that the resolution should not be adopted; or (x) executive abuses alcohol or drugs in a manner that interferes with the successful performance of his duties;