Coca-Cola Bottling Co Consolidated (CC5) Risk Analysis

The Company's business and properties are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations, including those governing the production, packaging, quality, labeling and distribution of beverage products. Compliance with or changes in existing laws or regulations could require material expenses and negatively affect our financial results through lower sales or higher costs. The production and marketing of beverages are subject to the rules and regulations of the FDA and other federal, state and local health agencies, and extensive changes in these rules and regulations could increase the Company's costs or adversely impact its sales. The Company cannot predict whether any such rules or regulations will be enacted or, if enacted, the impact that such rules or regulations could have on its business. In response to growing health, nutrition and wellness concerns for today's youth, a number of state and local governments have regulations restricting the sale of soft drinks and other foods in schools, particularly elementary, middle and high schools. Many of these restrictions have existed for several years in connection with subsidized meal programs in schools. Additionally, legislation has been proposed by certain state and local governments to limit or restrict the sale of energy drinks to minors and/or persons below a specified age and/or to restrict the venues in which energy drinks can be sold. Restrictive legislation, if widely enacted, could have an adverse impact on the Company's products, sales and reputation. Legislation has been proposed in Congress and by certain state and local governments which would prohibit the sale of soft drink products in non-refillable bottles and cans or require a mandatory deposit as a means of encouraging the return of such containers, each in an attempt to reduce solid waste and litter. Similarly, the Company is aware of proposed legislation, including in the Company's territory, that would impose fees or taxes on various types of containers that are used in its business, implement new recycling regulations and the reduction of single-use plastics and place the onus on plastic suppliers to identify recycling solutions. The Company is not currently impacted by the policies in such legislation, but it is possible that similar or more restrictive legal requirements may be proposed or enacted within its distribution territories in the future which could adversely impact bottle/can sales. Additionally, legislative priorities for increased recycled content in packaging could adversely impact our margins due to increased demand for such materials. It is also possible that the Company could be a named party in a lawsuit related to the environmental impact of plastics or littering. Any such lawsuit could subject us to liability or damage the reputation of the Company, which could adversely affect the Company's profitability. Concerns about perceived negative safety and quality consequences of certain ingredients in the Company's products, such as non-nutritive sweeteners or ingredients in energy drinks, could result in additional governmental regulations concerning the production, marketing, labeling or availability of the Company's products or the ingredients in such products, possible new taxes or negative publicity resulting from actual or threatened legal actions against the Company or other companies in the same industry. It has also been proposed that the federal government enact policies through agencies such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services that would ban or restrict the usage of certain ingredients used in the manufacture of the products that we sell. Any such government actions could damage the reputation of the Company or reduce demand for the Company's products, which could adversely affect the Company's profitability. The FDA occasionally proposes major changes to the nutrition labels required on all packaged foods and beverages, including those for most of the Company's products, which could require the Company and its competitors to revise nutrition labels to include updated serving sizes, information about total calories in a beverage product container and information about any added sugars or nutrients. Any pervasive nutrition label changes could increase the Company's costs and could inhibit sales of one or more of the Company's major products. Most beverage products sold by the Company are classified as food or food products and are therefore eligible for purchase using SNAP benefits by consumers purchasing them for home consumption. Energy drinks with a nutrition facts label are also classified as food and are eligible for purchase for home consumption using SNAP benefits, whereas energy drinks classified as a supplement by the FDA are not. Regulators may restrict the use of benefit programs, including SNAP, to purchase certain beverages and foods currently classified as food or food products. Certain states in our territories have implemented, or have announced that they will implement, restrictions on the use of SNAP benefits to purchase of certain of the Company's products, such as soft drinks or energy drinks.