SunOpta (SOY) TD Cowen 9th Annual Future of the Consumer Conference summary

Business transformation and focus

• Shifted from commodity-based operations to value-added manufacturing, divesting volatile segments and focusing on plant-based beverages, broth, and fruit snacks over the past six years.

• Achieved 11% CAGR in revenue and 20% CAGR in adjusted EBITDA since the transformation, with a focus on operational efficiency and reinvestment in infrastructure.

• Aseptic processing enables flexibility to produce a range of beverages and broths, supporting rapid adaptation to consumer trends.

• Customer base spans brands, private label, food service, and club channels, with a concentration in club and food service.

• Transparent approach to serving both branded and private label customers, minimizing channel conflict.

Market trends and growth drivers

• Plant-based beverages are growing at high single-digit rates, driven by health, taste, and environmental factors, with younger generations leading adoption.

• Plant-based beverages now represent about 20% of the conventional milk market and continue to gain share.

• Ready-to-drink protein beverages and better-for-you fruit snacks are the fastest-growing segments, with significant growth potential.

• Broth category is expanding due to value and health trends, with aseptic processing capacity constraints creating opportunities.

• Growth pipeline is robust, with most opportunities coming from existing customers and focused on plant-based beverages, fruit snacks, and broth.

Financial performance and outlook

• Last twelve months' revenue was $740 million, market cap $700 million, and EBITDA $79 million; 79% of business is plant-based beverages, protein beverages, and broth.

• EBITDA margins are targeted to rise from 12% to 18-19% by year-end through unlocking capacity, yield improvements, and operational enhancements.

• CapEx for growth is not expected to be significant until after 2026, with future investments likely focused on expanding existing facilities.

• Free cash flow guidance for 2025 is $25–30 million, with deleveraging to 2.5x leverage as the top capital priority, followed by growth investments and a $25 million share buyback program.

• Revenue growth guidance is 8–10% annually, driven by category growth, customer outperformance, and a strong pipeline, with confidence reflected in raised revenue guidance.