ICR Conference Guidebook & Preview
The ICR Conference will be held virtually this year, but it is still one of the largest consumer investment conferences of the year. We are publishing a Guidebook to provide a reference guide for many presenting companies in our Restaurants, Consumer Staples, and Cannabis sectors. The Guidebook will provide an investment summary of our focus companies presenting at the conference. Each company section will provide an investment overview, brief company synopsis, and questions and discussion points for the management teams. In Consumer Staples, Black Rifle Coffee Company, Stryve Foods, SunOpta, Vintage Wine Estates, and Zevia are scheduled to present.
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CLICK HERE at the time of the event for the live conference preview webcast or to download the Conference Guidebook. |
California’s record rain (STKL)
California has received historic rainfall in December. The rain year is off to its wettest start since 2017, which is the wettest year on record. The Great Basin is already at 169% of normal and the Tulare Basin is at 156% of normal. The Fresno Irrigation District is at 52% for the entire rain season which ends on April 1. The President of the California Fresh Fruit Association said, “It has already rained four inches above all of 2021’s precipitation.” During the last week of December, Los Angeles broke an 85-year-old rainfall record. Several locations in the Sierra Nevada mountains have added 100 inches of snow since Christmas week. The Sierra snowpack typically supplies one-third of California’s water
A comparison of drought maps from December 21 seen below highlights the dramatic changes for much of the state in “extreme drought” and a large section of Central California in “exceptional drought” to just a week later. In early December state officials had announced that California agencies that serve 27 million residents and 750,000 acres of farmland would not get any of the water they requested for 2022. It was the earliest that the Department of Water Resources had issued a zero water allocation. The water season has just started and California still needs more rain to end the drought. California grows over a third of the country’s vegetables and two-thirds of the fruits and nuts. A good rain year would benefit a number of companies from almond growers to produce growers.
Planning to spend more on groceries (KR)
According to the KPMG Consumer Pulse Survey, consumers are expecting to spend 22% more on their groceries compared to before the pandemic. That works out to $79 more per month as consumers say they are eating more often at home. In 2022 consumers expect to spend 14% more on groceries. The survey reported that consumers are preparing 64% of their meals at home, 10% from dining out, 12% from takeout, and 10% from delivery. Consumers expected spending increases for groceries in 2022 to be well above that indicated for other spending categories as seen in the chart below. Survey participants also anticipate eating more outside of the home (8%) over the next year, while dining out spending last December was down 7%.
