ST. LOUIS, June 04, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advantage Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: ADV), a leading business solutions provider to consumer goods manufacturers and retailers, today announced it has sold content management platform The Data Council to SPINS.As part of the agreement, which closed May 31, Advantage and SPINS expect to continue an ongoing relationship, primarily via Advantage’s private brand business. Terms were not disclosed.The Data Council, which curates, manages and syndicates product information for the specialty, natural and organic product sectors, will integrate into SPINS, a leading provider of data and intelligence for the natural products industry.“While The Data Council has built a leading content management platform and forged strong partnerships across the consumer packaged goods industry, we believe the sale to SPINS will unlock more value for both enterprises,” said Advantage Solutions CEO Dave Peacock. “This transaction represents another step in our strategy to simplify our business. Aligning Advantage’s time, talent and resources with our core capabilities is crucial to our long-term success.”The agreement extends a longstanding relationship between SPINS and The Data Council.The sale advances Advantage’s broader growth acceleration plan, which includes efforts to simplify its portfolio — enabling greater focus on the company’s core capabilities while creating the capacity to strengthen its balance sheet, drive productivity and fuel growth.It follows a series of transactions completed in recent months, including the May sale of digital agency Adlucent, the January sale of its collection of foodservice businesses, the November restructuring of its joint venture operating in Europe and the sale of Atlas Technology Group in October.“I’m confident these moves position us to continue to lead as a strategic partner of choice, delivering the speed and precision required to generate demand and convert more shoppers into buyers on behalf of our clients,” Peacock said.About Advantage SolutionsAdvantage Solutions is a leading provider of outsourced sales, experiential and marketing solutions uniquely positioned at the intersection of brands and retailers

Beyond Meat has posted another lackluster set of quarterly results, blaming weak demand in US and international markets as it unveiled a net loss of $54.4 million on revenues down 18% to $75.6 million in Q1 2024. However, gross margins moved back into positive territory following aggressive cost-cutting.“Together with measures we are exploring to bolster our balance sheet, we continue to work to position 2024 as a pivotal year as we strive to achieve sustainable and profitable operations,” said CEO Ethan Brown on the earnings call.Q4 2023 by the numbers:Net revenue: -18% year over year (YoY) to $75.6 million, volumes +8%-18% year over year (YoY) to $75.6 million, volumes +8% Net loss: $54.4 million$54.4 million Margins: Gross profit was $3.7 million with a gross profit margin of 4.9% vs 6.7% in the year-ago periodGross profit was $3.7 million with a gross profit margin of 4.9% vs 6.7% in the year-ago period US retail revenues: -16% YoY to $37.1 million-16% YoY to $37.1 million US foodservice revenues: -16.2% YoY to $12.3 million-16.2% YoY to $12.3 million International retail: -12% YoY to $12.6 million-12% YoY to $12.6 million International foodservice: -28.7% YoY to $13.6 million-28.7% YoY to $13.6 million Full year 2024 outlook: Net revenues of $315-345 million, with gross margins in the mid to high teensNet revenues of $315-345 million, with gross margins in the mid to high teens Balance sheet: As of March 30, 2024, Beyond Meat’s cash and cash equivalents balance was $173.5 million and total outstanding debt was $1.1 billion. Read more HERE.Gross margins—at 4.9% in Q1 having been in negative territory for the previous two quarters—are expected to be in the mid-to-high teens for the full year, said Brown, who has been reducing headcount and inventory, and exiting co-manufacturing contracts over the past year. The company is also instituting price increases in the US to coincide with the rollout of the new and improved ‘Beyond IV’ platform.Brown said he was “pleased with the positive though still anecdotal feedback [on Beyond IV] from consumers and the health and wellness community” in the US, and said he remained “very bullish about Europe and about some of our other international markets,” although Q1 sales were down double digits in international markets.“We are addressing the fundamental issues around the business that are going to allow us to return to growth,” said Brown. “Whether it happens 12 months from now or 16 months from now, I can’t say.”What’s next for Beyond Meat as the debt-laden firm looks to the future?But what are Beyond Meat’s longer-term prospects and how will it manage its $1.1 billion+ debt?According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs is talking to private credit lenders to “help shore up the plant-based meat firm’s liquidity.”According to Bloomberg, Goldman Sachs has been asking “private credit lenders” to commit about $250 million of capital to Beyond Meat. The money, which Bloomberg described as “senior secured debt” (debt backed by assets as collateral) could be used for “general corporate purposes,” and potentially to “repurchase some of Beyond Meat’s $1.15 billion convertible bond at a discount.”Beyond Meat had $173.5 million in cash and cash equivalents on its balance sheet and debts of $1.1 billion as of March 30, thanks to a $1 billion+ offering of convertible notes made in March 2021 that will mature in early 2027.In a March 18 SEC filing, the company said it may issue and sell securities worth up to $250 million, although that doesn’t necessarily indicate a sale has begun or will occur, noted Bloomberg.Looming default?One investment banking source told AgFunderNews: “The convertible notes were a cheap form of capital as they paid 0% interest in return for giving people the option of the upside to the equity

US retail sales of plant-based meat continued their precipitous decline in 2023, while plant-based milk made modest gains, according to a new report from nonprofit The Good Food Institute (GFI). In the 52 weeks ending December 3, 2023, US retail sales of plant-based meat seafood dropped 12% to $1.2 billion in 2023 with units down 19%, while plant-based milk generated a 1% increase in dollar sales to $2.9 billion, although units were down 8%, according to data from SPINS crunched by the GFI. For context, US retail sales of conventional meat and dairy milk are also down, but not to the same degree, with unit sales of packaged conventional meat and seafood falling by 6% over the past two years vs a 26% drop for plant-based meat and seafood