We face intense global competition from multinational and specialized companies across our product offerings, as well as consumer product companies developing their own alternatives. Competitors may have greater resources, proprietary technologies, or benefit from recent industry consolidation, enabling them to respond more effectively to customer or market demands. As we expand into adjacent markets, such as functional foods and specialty fine ingredients, we encounter additional risks, including price sensitivity and lower margins. Our ability to compete depends on, among other things, innovation, product quality, regulatory compliance, pricing, logistical efficiency, digital proficiency, customer service, and intellectual property protection. Failure to invest in growth, scale new concepts, or adapt to technological advancements could erode our competitive position. Increased competition, including aggressive pricing, may lead to lost sales, margin pressure, and reduced profitability. We may not be in a position to allocate the appropriate level of investment in research and development efforts, due to other macroeconomic pressures, and such investments may not yield expected returns due to poor execution or delays by our customers in launching relevant products, changing consumer trends, or disruptive competitor innovations. These factors are beyond our control and could negatively impact our results of operations.
Additionally, a significant portion of our sales comes from a relatively small number of large multinational customers. In 2025, our 25 largest customers, a majority of which were multinational consumer products companies, collectively accounted for approximately 32% of our sales. Multinational customers have been facing their own competitive challenges, such as pressures by new smaller companies and specialty players that cater to or are more adept at adjusting to the latest consumer trends, including towards natural products and clean labels, changes in the retail landscape (including e-commerce and consolidation), and increased competition from private labels, which have resulted and may continue to result in decreased demand for our products. Multinational and increasingly middle market customers also rely on “core lists” of suppliers, requiring more favorable terms for inclusion, such as rebates, which could adversely affect our margins. If we fail to secure or maintain such “core list” status, our sales and margins could be adversely affected.
Beyond large multinational customers, our customer base continues to be diverse. Based on fiscal-year 2025 sales, we had approximately 20,000 customers, approximately 69% of which are small and mid-sized companies. This diversity requires ongoing adjustments to product development, manufacturing, distribution, marketing, and infrastructure to support varied go-to-market models. Managing a geographically and operationally diverse portfolio adds complexity, and failure to maintain relationships or gain market share with these customers could adversely affect our growth.