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Reborn Coffee, Inc.: Form 10-K for the period ended Dec 31, 2025

Filed with the SEC on Apr 22, 2026 and accepted by EDGAR at Apr 22, 2026, 15:49 ET.

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Business

As filed, 25,101 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Corporate History and Background

Reborn Coffee, Inc. (“Reborn Coffee”) was incorporated in the State of Florida in January 2018. In July 2022, Reborn Coffee migrated from Florida to Delaware, and filed a certificate of incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware having the same capitalization structure as the Florida predecessor entity. Reborn Coffee has the following wholly owned subsidiaries:

  • ***Reborn Global Holdings, Inc. (“***Reborn Holdings”) – a California corporation incorporated in November 2014. Reborn Holdings is engaged in the operation of wholesale distribution and retail coffee stores in California to sell a variety of coffee, tea, Reborn brand name water and other beverages along with bakery and dessert products.
  • ***Reborn Coffee Franchise, LLC (“***Reborn Coffee Franchise”) – a California limited liability company formed in December 2020, is a franchisor providing premier roaster specialty coffee to franchisees or customers. Reborn Coffee Franchise continues to develop the :Reborn Coffee System” for the establishment and operation of Reborn Coffee stores using one or more Reborn Coffee marks. Reborn Coffee Franchise does not have any franchisees as of December 31, 2025.
  • ***Reborn Realty, LLC (“***Reborn Realty”) – a California limited liability company formed in March 2023, is an entity which acquired a real property located at 596 Apollo Street, Brea, California.
  • Reborn Logistics, Inc. (the “Reborn Logistics”) – a California corporation incorporated in September 2025. Reborn Logistics provides trucking, transportation and logistics services. Reborn holds a 51% interest in Reborn Logistics.
  • ***Reborn Coffee Korea, Inc. (“***Reborn Korea”) – a Korea corporation located in Daejeon, South Korea formed in October 2023, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reborn Holdings.
  • ***Reborn Malaysia, Inc. (“***Reborn Malaysia”) – a Malaysian corporation located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia formed in October 2023, is majority owned subsidiary of Reborn Holdings with one retail coffee store under the brand name of Reborn Coffee.

In this Report, “we,” “our,” “us,” “Reborn,” and “the Company” refer to Reborn Coffee, Inc., together with its consolidated subsidiaries, unless the context requires otherwise.

In August 2022, we consummated our initial public offering (the “IPO”) and our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “REBN”.

On January 12, 2024, we filed a Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to effect a reverse stock split of our issued common stock in the ratio of 1-for-8 (the “Reverse Stock Split”). Our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on a Reverse Stock Split-adjusted basis at the market open on Monday, January 22, 2024. Except for our historical financial statements and unless otherwise stated, all option, share, and per share information in this Report gives effect to the Reverse Stock Split.

Our Company

We are a high growth operator and franchisor of retail locations and kiosks that focus on serving high quality, specialty-roasted coffee. We are an innovative company that strives for constant improvement in the coffee experience through exploration of new technology and premier service, guided by traditional brewing techniques. We believe we differentiate ourselves from other coffee roasters through its innovative techniques, including sourcing, washing, roasting, and brewing our coffee beans with a balance of precision and craft.

The source of coffee is pinnacle to specialty coffee. The coffee industry has gone through various phases including the first, second, third and fourth wave. In the first and second waves of coffee, the single-origin source and type of the coffee is not necessarily in the forefront during the sourcing process. As such, much of the coffee may be a blend with various sources and a mix of Robusta and Arabica coffee beans. The third wave of coffee focuses on a single-origin source and one variety of coffee bean (specifically Arabica beans). Single-origin beans can focus on specific countries and can also have hyper-focused on specific regions in the third wave of coffee, such as Coban in Guatemala. Arabia beans are considered premier due to the specific requirements for growth and the high-quality flavor they produce. Arabica coffee is required to be grown in higher, cooler elevations in regions.

Differentiated from other coffee companies, the “Reborn Wash Process” is the key to creating the clean flavor of our coffee. The “Reborn Wash Process” is distinguished by the use of magnetized water to wash our green coffee beans when they arrive at our facility, in order to extract impurities and enhance hydration before the roasting process. Magnetizing water is a process that converts the particles of water, which can naturally appear in various sizes, into evenly sized particles. As a result of this process, we believe that the water increases its hydration and ability to absorb into organic material. Our water is created through a water magnetizing device in which water is flowed through the device and magnetizes the water on-site immediately prior to use.

After the wash, we roast our washed-green beans based on the profile of each single-origin. After the coffee beans are roasted, they are then packaged into various products such as whole bean coffee, pour over packs, and cold brew packs. Additionally, whole bean inventory is also supplied to the kiosk and cafes. A portion of the roasted coffee is also allotted to create our award-winning cold brew concentrate. Our cold brew production is created using a proprietary percolation technique, also using magnetized water at each step to enhance the flavor of the cold brew.

We continually innovate in the way we serve coffee. At our cafes, we serve customers our award-winning coffee through cold brew taps in addition to freshly ground coffee beans in espresso-made drinks. Other brew methods, such as an in-house pour over and drip coffee, are also available.

In 2015, Jay Kim, our Co-Chief Executive Officer, founded Reborn Coffee. Mr. Kim and his team launched Reborn Coffee with the vision of using the finest pure ingredients and pristine water. We serve customers through our retail store locations in Southern California: Brea, La Crescenta, Corona Del Mar, Laguna Woods, Riverside, Manhattan Beach, Irvine, Diamond Bar and Anaheim. In addition to the locations in the United States, we have one international location in Malaysia.

As of December 31, 2025, all of our ten locations were Company (corporate) operated.

The Experience, Reborn

As leading pioneers of the emerging “Fourth Wave” movement, we are redefining specialty coffee as an experience that demands much more than premium quality. We consider ourselves leaders of the “fourth wave” coffee movement because we are constantly developing our bean processing methods, researching design concepts, and reinventing new ways of drinking coffee. For instance, the current transition from the K-Cup trend to the pour over drip concept allowed us to reinvent the way people consume coffee, by merging convenience and quality. We took the pour over drip concept and made it available and affordable to the public through our “Pour Over Packs”. Our “Pour Over Packs” allow our consumers to consume our specialty coffee outdoors and on-the-go.

Our success in innovating within the “Fourth Wave” coffee movement is measured by our success in B2B sales with our introduction of our Pour Over Packs to hotels. With the introduction of our Pour Over Packs to major hotels, our B2B sales increased as these companies recognized the convenience and functionality our Pour Over Packs serve to their customers.

Our continuous research and development is essential to developing new parameters in the production of new blends. Our first place position in “America’s Best Cold Brew” competition by Coffee Fest in 2017 in Portland and 2018 in Los Angeles is a testament to the way we believe we lead the “fourth wave” movement by example.

Centered around our core values of service, trust, and well-being, we deliver an appreciation of coffee as both a science and an art. Developing innovative processes such as washing green coffee beans with magnetized water, we challenge traditional preparation methods by focusing on the relationship between water chemistry, health, and flavor profile. Through leading research studies, testing brewing equipment, and refining roasting/brewing methods, we proactively distinguish exceptional quality from good quality by starting at the foundation and paying attention to the details. Our mission places an equal emphasis on humanizing the coffee experience, delivering a fresh take on “farm-to-table” by sourcing internationally. In this way, we create opportunities to develop transparency by paying homage to origin stories and spark new conversations by building cross-cultural communities united by a passion for the finest coffee.

Through a broad product offering, we provide customers with a wide variety of beverages and coffee options. As a result, we believe we can capture share of any experience where customers seek to consume great beverages whether in our inviting store atmospheres which are designed for comfort, or on the go through our pour over packs, or at home with our whole bean ground coffee bags. We believe that the retail coffee market in the US is large and growing. According to IBIS, in 2025, the retail market for coffee in the United States is expected to be $74.3 billion. This is expected to grow due to a shift in consumer preferences to premium coffee, including specialized blends, espresso-based beverages, and cold brew options. We aim to capture a growing portion of the market as we expand and increase consumer awareness of our brand.

Branding

We focus on three key features in our branding: “Introducing the Fourth Wave,” “America’s Best Cold Brew,” and our “Tea and Bakery” concept. These elements encapsulate the quality of the “Reborn Coffee Process” — from sourcing, washing, roasting, and brewing coffee to our growing selection of handcrafted tea offerings and artisanal baked goods.

The addition of premium teas and bakery products complements our coffee program and expands the our experience into a more complete and versatile lifestyle brand. Whether customers visit us for a specialty pour over, a matcha latte, or a fresh pastry, our brand aims to deliver a moment of rejuvenation and enjoyment.

Our brand is essential to our marketing strategy, as it allows us to stand out compared to our competitors. All of our products aim to make customers feel “reborn” through quality, service, and innovation.

Our Menu and Products

We purchase and roast high-quality coffees that we sell, along with handcrafted coffee, tea and other beverages and a variety of high-quality food items. We believe in offering customers the same great taste and quality whether served in store or on the go. We also partner with third-party importers and exporters to purchase and import our green coffee beans. Through these relationships, we source high-quality coffee beans from across the globe, including Mexico, Ethiopia, Colombia, Guatemala, Brazil, and Honduras.

Our Retail Locations

We are built upon superior customer service, convenience and a modern experience as well as safe, clean and well-maintained stores that reflect the personalities of the communities in which they operate, thereby building a high degree of customer loyalty. Our strategy for expanding our retail business is to increase our category share in an aggressive manner, by opening additional stores in new and existing markets, as well as increasing sales in existing stores. The pace of store development in each market is guided by factors such as expected financial returns, market maturity, economic conditions, consumer trends, and local business environments. Our highly efficient retail locations and kiosks place a premium on customer convenience without sacrificing the personal experience. Our retail locations are typically 800 to 1,500 square feet and are located in shopping plazas in upscale areas. We strategically position our new locations in areas where large-chain coffee locations have moved out, creating an opportunity for us to remodel a purpose-built coffee retail store. In this way, we are able to open quickly in high traffic areas with established local demand for coffee, ensuring a customer base we can convert into our customers by offering a specialty coffee experience that was not previously available. Our locations feature patios, contemporary design, and inviting atmospheres for socialization, study, and work.

Our highly efficient retail stores and kiosks prioritize customer convenience without sacrificing personalization or quality. Most locations are between 800 to 1,500 square feet and situated in upscale shopping plazas or key urban centers. We often target spaces vacated by larger national coffee chains, enabling us to remodel purpose-built stores and open quickly in high-traffic areas with pre-existing demand. These strategic decisions support customer conversion by delivering a specialty coffee experience that was previously unavailable in the area.

In addition to coffee, we have rolled out a “Tea and Bakery” concept that integrates seamlessly with our retail footprint, enhancing dwell time, increasing average ticket size, and diversifying our product mix.

Our stores feature patios, modern design, and inviting interiors that encourage customers to socialize, study, or work. As of December 31, 2025, we operated nine corporate-owned retail locations across California, and one location in Malaysia.

Franchise Operations

We formed Reborn Coffee Franchise in order to begin franchising our retail stores and kiosks. We plan to charge future franchisees a non-refundable franchise fee and certain marketing and royalty fees based on gross sales, however we presently have no contractual commitments or other agreements to do so. We expect to begin franchise sales in 2026. We believe that our team’s prior experience building a large, global foodservice business will allow us to rapidly scale our future franchise effort. In addition, we have formed a franchise council consisting of a team of franchise experts to advise us. We plan to expand beyond California to additional states to create a national and global presence.

Expanding Sales Channels

Today, we sell a variety of our coffee and tea products through both enterprise (B2B) and direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels. Our B2B efforts focus on supplying premium coffee and tea products to hotels, offices, and hospitality groups. In 2025, we expanded our partnerships with hotel operators nationwide, enhancing brand presence in the hospitality sector through bulk ordering and custom offerings like pour over packs and cold brew.

On the consumer side, we have significantly expanded our online sales presence, including through Amazon, our own reborncoffee.com platform, and third-party retailers. Amazon has become a key growth channel for our packaged products, supported by digital marketing and logistics optimization.

Our products are now available in multiple forms, such as whole bean roasted coffee bags, single-serve drip bags, pour over packs, and cold brew concentrates. We are also in discussions with grocery chains and foodservice distributors to increase retail availability, including shelf-ready products and kiosk-style formats.

As part of our 2025 growth strategy, we plan to further scale both B2B and DTC distribution, supported by targeted ad campaigns, customized B2B outreach, and expanded fulfillment capabilities.

Our Growth

We are in the early stages of rapid growth as we strategically expand our footprint in existing markets and enter new markets. In the future, we plan to expand across the country with new retail locations to share the quality of our specialty coffee. We aim to also engage in the sales of future franchises to propel a new innovated wave in the coffee industry called “The Fourth Wave.” We will continue to innovate in the coffee industry by making the industry more personal to our consumers, future franchisees, and employees. This goal will be achieved through the continued innovation in our products, sourcing directly from farms, and giving customers choices in how their coffee is served to them. As we expand, we hope to show the world that expanding in volume and size does not diminish the quality and personal element that is instilled in the coffee industry.

Since our founding, we have focused on delivering:

  • Quality. We source the highest quality whole beans globally. We meet with coffee farmers, test coffee bean samples, and roast the beans in our headquarters in Southern California.
  • Service. We provide the highest quality service to our customers. We pride ourselves on training our baristas and improving their knowledge of the art of coffee, which in turn allows us to deliver outstanding products and service to our customers.
  • Innovation. We are a leader in the “Fourth Wave” premium coffee movement. We introduced our premium pour over pack coffee in 2017 and continue to innovate, recently introducing our unique cold brew system into our retail stores.

Experienced Leadership Team

Our relentless commitment to excellence is driven by our passionate management team under the leadership of our Co-Chief Executive Officers Jay Kim and Jung Jae Lim. Jay Kim launched Reborn Coffee with the vision to provide the best coffee using the purest ingredients. Jay is focused on the expansion of our company and he has surrounded himself with leaders with direct experience in beverage and retail. Jung Jae Lim has served as Co-Chief Executive Officer since March 2026. Mr. Lim brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in logistics and supply chain management, with a background overseeing large-scale operations, multi-node distribution networks, and end-to-end supply chain execution across multiple sectors. Mr. Lim will focus on strengthening our operational foundation by leading initiatives across logistics, transportation, and supply chain management, including optimizing distribution capabilities, improving service reliability and cost efficiency, and supporting our expansion through enterprise partnerships and scalable operating infrastructure. Other members of our executive leadership team bring high growth, franchise and sector expertise.

Our Commitment to Our Team

We believe in mentoring the developing the next generation of premium coffee baristas. Through our in-depth training, we aim to train dedicated employees who understand science and art behind every cup of coffee. We also expect to form a training school specializing in creating passionate baristas, coffee connoisseurs, and future franchisee by educating its students about coffee processes and preparation methods. The efforts for the training school are underway and we expect to launch the program in 2026.

Our Highly Engaged Customers

Our customers are loyal to our brand due to our intense focus on premium coffee and customer service. Community engagement is another essential element of our in-person marketing strategy. We host on-site engagements, such as event sponsorships, and engage with local Chambers of Commerce. Previously, we have worked with Lululemon to host yoga sessions outside of our retail locations, creatively engaging the community while simultaneously promoting “Reborn Coffee” as an active lifestyle. We have also hosted pop-up locations on the Facebook campus, further expanding our outreach and introducing our brand name to different communities. We further engage with the community by organizing our own latte art competitions, in which baristas can compete for prizes and customers in the audience can witness the competitive passion we encompass.

Digital Channels

We focus on many digital channels in our marketing strategy. Social media is an important leg that creates engagement and education of our brand. Customers primarily engage the brand on Instagram, where we host giveaways, share new store openings, and promote seasonal menus. Through our unique, modern aesthetic and intense focus on high-quality coffee, we are able to share the quality and essence of Reborn Coffee on display inside of our retail locations with existing and future customers on social media platforms.

For both the in-store café channel and the e-commerce channel, SMS & email marketing are used for reengagement and communication of new products and offerings.

Digital advertising channels are also used, primarily to engage the online market audience. Google and Facebook are the primary paid ad channels that we currently utilize. Yelp advertising is also used to engage local customers and tourists who visit specific areas where our retail locations are located.

In-Person Marketing Engagement

Engaging customers in-store with a marketing plan is essential for customer retention and new customer generation. Our customer loyalty program provides free drinks for every ten drinks purchased. Additionally, store customers may participate in promotional deals, especially during the holidays and new item releases, to try new innovative items created in-house. We also offer coffee samples of our pour over packs as well as new beans to our retail location customers. The distribution of coffee samples has expanded customers’ knowledge of our products and led to increased contributions to whole bean sales.

Our locations are located in heavily trafficked areas as well as popular malls. As such, the potential for marketing and branding is very high in these locations. Signage and promotional deals with giveaways are essential to attracting new customers.

Our Growth Strategies

Corporate and Franchise Expansion

We plan to expand across the Unites States with company operated locations and franchise locations to share the quality of specialty coffee. We aim to accelerate our growth through our franchise program. We will continue to innovate in the coffee industry by making the industry more personal to the consumers, prospective franchisees, and employees. This goal will be achieved through the continued innovation in our products, sourcing directly from farms, and giving customers choices in how their coffee is served to them. As we expand, we hope to show the world that expanding in volume and size does not diminish the quality and personal element that is instilled in the coffee industry.

We have started to scale our logistics and supply chain to provide support for our rapid growth, including for our future franchisees. We have increased roasting capacity and our paper goods supplies, including an emphasis on eco-friendly products.

B2B Strategy

Our products are unique given their potential to engage with business partners for large wholesale orders. Currently, we build strong relationships with hotel management companies within California and out-of-state. We currently work with several hotels, providing pour over packs and cold brew packs to cater to their customer needs. We plan to continue growing our B2B marketing and sales strategy through active outreach and advertising to potential partners. We believe that access to large-scale distribution channels such as hotels increases consumer awareness of our brand while providing us access to large enterprise customers. Gift giving comprises a large percentage of winter B2B sales at Reborn Coffee. During the holidays, our B2B marketing strategy focuses on targeting companies, and specific teams within companies, that are seeking to provide end-of-the-year gifts to their clients and customers. We provide customized gift sets to each customer’s needs. Word-of-mouth marketing has grown our B2B holiday gift giving accounts greatly, forging opportunities to have worked with companies like Google to provide gift sets for their clients. We plan to expand not only by growing our retail location footprint, but also through the development of more hotel partnerships, expansion into grocery stores and markets, and expansion of our e-commerce and wholesale.

We believe the grocery market is another major channel through which we expect to access. Through both bulk sales of roasted beans and in-store kiosks, as well sales of pre-packaged products, we will access customers who purchase both in volume and for those customers looking for a handcrafted beverage during their in-store shopping experience.

Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 580 N. Berry Street, Brea, CA 92821. Our telephone number is (714) 784-6369. Our website address is http://www.reborncoffee.com. Information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not incorporated by reference into this Report, and you should not consider information on our website to be part of this Report.

Risk factors

As filed, 141,043 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

You should consider carefully the following risk factors, as well as the other information set forth in this report, including our consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto. The following discussion of risk factors includes forward-looking statements and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.” The disclosures of a risk should not be interpreted to imply that such risk has not already materialized. Additional risks not currently known to us or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The occurrence of any of the events or developments described below could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and growth prospects. In such an event, the market price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment. Unless otherwise indicated, references in these risk factors to our business being harmed will include harm to our business, reputation, brand, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects.

Risks Related to Our Business

We have incurred recurring losses and may not be profitable in the future. Our plans to maintain and increase liquidity may not be successful. The report of the independent registered public accounting firm includes a going concern uncertainty explanatory paragraph.

We have a history of operating losses and negative cash flow in operating activities. We have incurred recurring net losses, including net losses from operations before income taxes of $8.9 million and $4.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively, and we had an accumulated deficit of $30.7 million at December 31, 2025. These factors raise substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern, and our independent registered public accounting firm has included a going concern uncertainty explanatory paragraph in their report for 2025. We expect to devote substantial capital resources to, among other things, fund operations and continue development plans. To support our existing and planned business model, the Company executed following three points to mitigate the risk: 1) Debt Restructuring: Subsequent to December 31, 2025, in March 2026 and as amended and restated in April 2026, the Company entered into a Forbearance Agreement and subsequently an Amended and Restated Forbearance Agreement with its convertible debenture holders (Arena Investors), establishing a structured repayment plan through September 30, 2026 and thereby alleviating immediate default risk. Equity Financing: In October 2025, the Company entered into a Securities Subscription Agreement for aggregate proceeds of $6,500,000 to be funded in multiple tranches to support near-term operations. 2) ELOC Facility: The Company has entered into an Equity Line of Credit Agreement (“ELOC Agreement”) providing flexible access to equity capital on an as-needed basis to fund operations and working capital requirements. 3) Additional Capital Raising: The Company is actively pursuing additional equity and/or debt financing to fund near-term operations and growth. While the Company has historically been able to raise funds and has not experienced difficulty in settling payables or repaying loans when due, successful completion of future financing is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties and cannot be assured.

The Company has not experienced any difficulty in raising funds through loans and has not experienced any liquidity problems in settling payables in the normal course of business and repaying loans when they fall due. Successful renewal of our loans, however, is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. In addition, the increasingly competitive industry conditions under which we operate may negatively impacted our results of operations and cash flows. Additional financing is anticipated to fund the Company’s operations in near future.

Evolving consumer preferences and tastes may adversely affect our business.

Our continued success depends on our ability to attract and retain customers. Our financial results could be adversely affected by a shift in consumer spending away from our beverages, lack of customer acceptance of new products (including due to price increases necessary to cover the costs of new beverages or higher input costs), brand perception (such as the existence or expansion of our competitors), or customers reducing their demand for our current offerings as new beverages are introduced. In addition, most of our beverages contain caffeine, the health effects of which are the subject of public and regulatory scrutiny, including the suggestion of linkages to a variety of adverse health effects. There is increasing consumer awareness of health risks that are attributed to ingredients we use, particularly in the United States, including increased blood pressure and heart rate, anxiety and insomnia, as well as increased consumer litigation based on alleged adverse health impacts of consumption of various food and beverage products. A decrease in customer traffic as a result of these health concerns or negative publicity could significantly reduce the demand for our specialty coffee and could harm our business.

Our financial condition and annual results of operations are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, a number of factors, many of which are also largely outside our control and as such our results may fluctuate significantly and may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business.

Our annual results of operations and key metrics may vary significantly in the future as they have in the past, and period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations and key metrics may not be meaningful. Accordingly, the results of any one annual period should not be relied upon as an indication of future performance. Our annual results of operations and key metrics may fluctuate as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control, and as a result, may not fully reflect the underlying performance of our business. Fluctuations in annual results may negatively impact the value of our securities. Factors that may cause fluctuations in our annual results of operations and key metrics include, without limitation, those listed elsewhere in this Risk Factors section and those listed below. Any one or more of the factors listed below or described elsewhere in this section could harm our business:

  • increases in real estate or labor costs in certain markets;
  • consumer preferences, including those described above;
  • severe weather or other natural or man-made disasters affecting a large market or several closely located markets that may temporarily but significantly affect our business in such markets;
  • especially in our large markets, labor discord or disruption, geopolitical events, social unrest, war, terrorism, political instability, acts of public violence, boycotts, hostilities and social unrest and other health pandemics that lead to avoidance of public places or cause people to stay at home; and
  • adverse outcomes of litigation.

Our marketing programs may not be successful, and our new menu items and advertising campaigns may not generate increased sales or profits.

We incur costs and expend other resources in our marketing efforts on new menu items and advertising campaigns to raise brand awareness and attract and retain customers. These initiatives may not be successful, resulting in expenses incurred without the benefit of higher revenue. Additionally, some of our competitors have greater financial resources than we do, which enable them to spend significantly more on marketing and advertising and other initiatives than we can. Should our competitors increase spending on marketing and advertising and other initiatives or our marketing funds decrease for any reason, or should our advertising, promotions and new menu items be less effective than our competitors, there could be an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.

We may not be able to compete successfully with other specialty coffee locations, including the growing number of coffee delivery options. Intense competition could make it more difficult to expand our business and could also have a negative impact on our operating results if customers favor our competitors or we are forced to change our pricing and other marketing strategies.

We expect competition in our market to continue to be intense as we compete on a variety of fronts, including convenience, taste, price, quality, service and location. If our company-operated and future franchised locations cannot compete successfully with other beverage and coffee locations, other specialty coffee locations, and the growing number of coffee delivery options in new and existing markets, we could lose customers and our revenue could decline. Our company-operated and future franchised locations compete with national, regional and local coffee chains for customers, locations and qualified management and other staff. Compared to us, some of our competitors have substantially greater financial and other resources, have been in business longer, have greater brand recognition or are better established in the markets where our locations are located or are planned to be located. In some markets that we may grow into, there are already well-funded competitors in the coffee or beverage business that may challenge our ability to grow into those regions. Any of these competitive factors may harm our business.

Additionally, if our competitors begin to evolve their business strategies and adopt aspects of our business model, our customers may be drawn to those competitors for their beverage needs and our business could be harmed.

Our growth strategy depends in part on opening new locations in existing and new markets. We may be unsuccessful in opening new locations or establishing new markets, which could adversely affect our growth.

As of December 31, 2025, we had ten Company-owned locations. One of the key means to achieving our growth strategy will be through opening new locations and operating those locations on a profitable basis. In 2026, we expect to open up to ten franchise locations.

Our ability to open new locations is dependent upon a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including our and our future franchise partners’ ability to:

  • identify available and suitable sites;
  • compete for such sites;
  • reach acceptable agreements regarding the lease of locations;
  • obtain or have available the financing required to acquire and operate a location, including construction and opening costs, which includes access to build-to-suit leases and ground lease construction or renovation arrangements;
  • respond to unforeseen engineering or environmental problems with leased premises;
  • avoid the impact of inclement weather, natural disasters and other calamities;
  • hire, train and retain the skilled management and other employees necessary to meet staffing needs;
  • obtain, in a timely manner and for an acceptable cost, required licenses, permits and regulatory approvals and respond effectively to any changes in local, state or federal law and regulations that adversely affect our and our future franchise partners’ costs or ability to open new locations; and
  • control construction and equipment cost increases for new locations and secure the services of qualified contractors and subcontractors in an increasingly competitive environment.

There is no guarantee that a sufficient number of suitable sites for new locations will be available in desirable areas or on terms that are acceptable to us in order to achieve our growth plan. If we are unable to open new locations, or if future franchise partners do not open new locations, or if location openings are significantly delayed, our revenue or earnings growth could be adversely affected and our business may be harmed.

As part of our longer term growth strategy, we expect to enter into geographic markets in which we have little or no prior operating experience. The challenges of entering new markets include: adapting to local regulations or restrictions that may limit our ability to open new locations, restrict the use of certain branding or increase the cost of development; difficulties in hiring experienced personnel; unfamiliarity with local real estate markets and demographics; consumer unfamiliarity with our brand; and different competitive and economic conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than in our existing markets. Consumer recognition of our brand has been important in the success of our locations in our existing markets, and we will need to build this recognition in new markets. Locations we open in new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis and may have higher construction, occupancy and operating costs than existing locations, thereby affecting our overall profitability. Any failure on our part to recognize or respond to these challenges may adversely affect the success of any new locations.

Due to brand recognition and logistical synergies, as part of our growth strategy, we also intend to open new locations in areas where we have existing locations. The operating results and comparable location sales could be adversely affected due to close proximity with our other locations and market saturation.

New locations, once opened, may not be profitable or may close, and the increases in average per location revenue and comparable sales that we have experienced in the past may not be indicative of future results.

Our results have been, and in the future may continue to be, significantly impacted by the timing of new location openings, which is subject to a number of factors, many of which are outside of our control, including landlord delays, associated pre-opening costs and operating inefficiencies, as well as changes in our geographic concentration due to the opening of new locations. We have typically incurred the most significant portion of pre-opening expenses associated with a given location within the three months preceding the opening of the location. Our experience has been that labor and operating costs associated with a newly opened location for the first several months of operation are materially greater than what can be expected after that time, both in aggregate dollars and as a percentage of sales. Our new locations commonly take three to five months to reach planned operating levels due to inefficiencies typically associated with new locations, including the training of new personnel, new market learning curves, inability to hire sufficient qualified staff, and other factors. We may incur additional costs in new markets, particularly for transportation and distribution, which may impact sales and the profitability of those locations. Accordingly, the volume and timing of new location openings may have a material adverse impact on our profitability.

Although we target specified operating and financial metrics, new locations may never meet these targets or may take longer than anticipated to do so. Any new location we open may never become profitable or achieve operating results similar to those of our existing locations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Some of our retail locations open with an initial start-up period of higher than normal sales volumes and related costs, which subsequently decrease to stabilized levels. In new markets, the length of time before average sales for new locations stabilize is less predictable and can be longer as a result of our limited knowledge of these markets and consumers’ limited awareness of our brand. Our ability to operate new locations profitably and increase average location revenue and comparable location sales will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, including:

  • consumer awareness and understanding of our brand;
  • general economic conditions, which can affect location traffic, local labor costs and prices we pay for the beverage and other supplies we use;
  • consumption patterns and beverage preferences that differ from region to region;
  • changes in consumer preferences and discretionary spending;
  • difficulties obtaining or maintaining adequate relationships with distributors or suppliers in new markets;
  • increases in prices for commodities, including coffee, and milk;
  • inefficiency in our labor costs as the staff gains experience;
  • competition, either from our competitors in the beverage industry or our own locations;
  • temporary and permanent site characteristics of new locations;
  • changes in government regulation; and
  • other unanticipated increases in costs, any of which could give rise to delays or cost overruns.

If our new locations do not perform as planned or close, our business and future prospects could be harmed. In addition, an inability to achieve our expected average location revenue could harm our business.

Additionally, opening new locations in existing markets may negatively impact sales at our existing, and our future franchise partners’, locations. The consumer target area of our locations varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local retail and business attractions, area demographics and geography. As a result, the opening of a new location in or near markets in which we already have or our future franchise partners will have locations could adversely impact sales at these existing locations while growing overall sales in a region. Existing locations could also make it more difficult to build our and our future franchise partners’ consumer base for a new location in the same market. Sales transfer between our locations may become significant in the future as we continue to expand our operations and could affect our sales growth, which could, in turn, harm our business.

As we expand, we may not be able to maintain our current average location and our business may be harmed. Although we have specific target operating and financial metrics, new locations may not meet these targets or may take longer than anticipated to do so. Any new location we open may not be profitable or achieve operating results similar to those of our existing locations, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our failure to manage our growth effectively could harm our business and operating results.

We have experienced rapid growth and increased demand for our products. The growth and expansion of our business and products may place a significant strain on our management, operational and financial resources. As we expand our business, it is important that we continue to maintain a high level of customer service and satisfaction which may place a significant strain on our management, sales and marketing, administrative, financial, and other resources. We may not be able to respond in a timely basis to all the changing demands that our planned expansion will impose on management and on our existing infrastructure, or be able to hire or retain the necessary management and baristas, which could harm our business. Further, if we are not able to continue to provide high quality customer service as a result of these demands, our reputation, as well as our business, including a decline in financial performance, could be harmed. If we experience a decline in financial performance, we may decrease the number of or discontinue new location openings, or we may decide to close locations that we are unable to operate in a profitable manner.

We are required to manage multiple relationships with various strategic partners, our future franchise partners, customers, and other third parties. In the event of further growth of our operations or in the number of our third-party relationships, our existing management systems, financial and management controls and information systems may not be adequate to support our planned expansion and we may face challenges of integrating, developing, training, and motivating a rapidly growing employee base in our various locations and maintaining our company culture across multiple company-operated and future franchise locations. Our ability to manage our growth effectively will require us to continue to enhance our systems, procedures and controls and to locate, hire, train and retain management and staff, particularly in new markets which may require significant capital expenditures.

Damage to our brand or reputation and negative publicity could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our reputation and the quality of our brand are critical to our business and success in existing markets and will be critical to our success as we enter new markets. We believe that we have built our reputation on the high quality of our coffee and service, our commitment to our customers and our strong employee culture, and we must protect and grow the value of our brand in order for us to continue to be successful. Any incident that erodes consumer loyalty for our brand could significantly reduce its value and damage our business.

We may, from time to time, be faced with negative publicity, regardless of its accuracy, relating to beverage quality; the safety, sanitation and welfare of our locations; customer complaints or litigation alleging illness or injury; health inspection scores; integrity of our or our suppliers’ food processing, employment practices and other policies, practices and procedures; or employee relationships and welfare or other matters. Negative publicity may adversely affect us, regardless of whether the allegations are substantiated or whether we are held to be responsible. In addition, the negative impact of adverse publicity relating to one location may extend far beyond the location involved, to affect some or all of our other locations, including our future franchise partner locations. The risk of negative publicity is particularly great with respect to our future franchise partner locations because we are limited in the manner in which we can regulate them, especially on a real-time basis, and negative publicity from our future franchise partners’ locations may also significantly impact company-operated locations. A similar risk exists with respect to beverage businesses unrelated to us if customers mistakenly associate such unrelated businesses with our operations. Employee claims against us based on, among other things, wage and hour violations, discrimination, harassment or wrongful termination may also create not only legal and financial liability but negative publicity that could adversely affect us and divert our financial and management resources that would otherwise be used to benefit the future performance of our operations. These types of employee claims could also be asserted against us, on a co-employer theory, by employees of our future franchise partners. A significant increase in the number of these claims or an increase in the number of successful claims could harm our business.

Additionally, there has been a marked increase in the use of social media platforms and similar devices, including blogs, social media websites and other forms of internet-based communications that provide individuals with access to a broad audience of consumers and other interested persons. The availability of information on social media platforms is virtually immediate as is its impact. Many social media platforms immediately publish the content their subscribers and participants can post, often without filters or checks on accuracy of the content posted. The opportunity for dissemination of information, including inaccurate information, is seemingly limitless and readily available. Information concerning us may be posted on such platforms at any time. Information posted may be adverse to our interests or may be inaccurate, each of which may harm our performance, prospects or business. The harm may be immediate without affording us an opportunity for redress or correction.

Ultimately, the risks associated with any such negative publicity or incorrect information cannot be completely eliminated or mitigated and may harm our business.

Our inability to identify, recruit and retain qualified individuals for our locations could slow our growth and adversely impact our ability to operate.

Our success also depends substantially on the contributions and abilities of our staff on whom we rely to give customers a superior experience and elevate our brand. Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of qualified operators, all of whom come from within our system, and staff to meet the needs of our existing locations and to staff new locations. We aim to hire warm, friendly, motivated, caring, self-aware and intellectually curious individuals, who are excited and committed to championship performance, remarkable and enriching hospitality, embodying our culture and actively growing themselves and our brand. A sufficient number of qualified individuals to fill these positions and qualifications may be in short supply in some communities. Competition in these communities for qualified staff is high and will likely require us to pay higher wages and provide greater benefits, especially if there is continued improvement in regional or national economic conditions. We place a heavy emphasis on the qualification and training of our personnel and spend a significant amount of time and money on training our employees. Any inability to recruit and retain qualified individuals may result in higher turnover and increased labor costs, and could compromise the quality of our service, all of which could adversely affect our business. Any such inability could also delay the planned openings of new locations and could adversely impact our existing locations. Any such inability to retain or recruit qualified employees, increased costs of attracting qualified employees or delays in location openings could harm our business.

Our expansion into new domestic markets may present increased risks, which could affect our profitability.

We plan to open additional company-operated locations in domestic markets where we have little or no operating experience. The target consumer base of our locations varies by location, depending on a number of factors, including population density, other local coffee and convenience beverage distributors, area demographics and geography. Locations we open in new markets may take longer to reach expected sales and profit levels on a consistent basis. New markets may have competitive or regulatory conditions, consumer tastes and discretionary spending patterns that are more difficult to predict or satisfy than our existing markets. We may need to make greater investments than we originally planned in advertising and promotional activity in new markets to build brand awareness. We may find it more difficult in new markets to hire, motivate and keep qualified employees who share our values. Until we attain a critical mass in a market, the locations we do open will have reduced operating leverage. As a result, these new locations may be less successful or may achieve target operating profit margins at a slower rate than existing locations did, if ever. If we do not successfully execute our plans to enter new markets, our business could be harmed.

We are subject to the risks associated with leasing space subject to long-term non-cancelable lease and, in the event we chose to purchase real property in the future, owning real estate.

Our leases generally have initial multiple-year terms with renewal options. Location leases provide for a specified annual rent, typically at a fixed rate with annual increases and other escalators. Generally, our leases are “net” leases, which require us to pay all the cost of insurance, taxes, maintenance and utilities. We generally cannot terminate these leases without incurring substantial costs. Additional sites that we lease are likely to be subject to similar long-term non-cancelable leases. If an existing or future location is not profitable, and we decide to close it, we may nonetheless be committed to perform our obligations under the applicable lease including, among other things, paying the base rent for the balance of the lease term. In addition, as each of our leases expires, we may fail to negotiate renewals, either on commercially acceptable terms or at all, which could cause us to close locations in desirable locations.

Also, should we choose to purchase real property for various locations in the future, we would be subject to all the risks generally associated with owning real estate, including changes in the investment climate for real estate, demographic trends and supply or demand for the use of the locations, which may result from competition from similar restaurants in the area as well as strict, joint and several liability for environmental contamination at or from the property, regardless of fault.

Our operating results and growth strategies will be closely tied to the success of our future franchise partners and we will have limited control with respect to their operations. Additionally, our future franchise partners’ interests may conflict or diverge with our interests in the future, which could have a negative impact on our business.

As we grow, we will depend on the financial success and cooperation of our future franchise partners for our success. Our future franchise partners are independent business operators and are not our employees, and as such we have limited control over how our prospective franchise partners will run their businesses, and their inability to operate successfully could adversely affect our operating results.

We will receive royalties, franchise fees, contributions to our marketing development fund, and other fees from our future franchise partners. Additionally, we will sell proprietary products to our future franchise partners at a markup over our cost to produce. We have established operational standards and guidelines for our future franchise partners; however, we will have limited control over how our future franchise partners’ businesses are run, including day to day operations. Even with these operation standards and guidelines, the quality of franchised locations may be diminished by any number of factors beyond our control. Consequently, our future franchise partners may not successfully operate locations in a manner consistent with our standards and requirements, such as quality, service and cleanliness, or may not hire and train qualified location managers, baristas and other location personnel or may not implement marketing programs and major initiatives such as location remodels or equipment or technology upgrades, which may require financial investment. Even if such unsuccessful operations do not rise to the level of breaching the related franchise documents, they may be attributed by customers to our brand and could have a negative impact on our business.

Our future franchise partners may not be able to secure adequate financing to open or continue operating their Reborn Coffee locations. If they incur too much debt or if economic or sales trends deteriorate such that they are unable to repay existing debt, our franchise partners could experience financial distress or even bankruptcy. If a significant number of our future franchise partners were to become financially distressed, it could harm our operating results through reduced royalty revenue, marketing fees, and proprietary product sales and the impact on our profitability could be greater than the percentage decrease in these revenue streams.

While we are responsible for ensuring the success of our entire system of locations and for taking a longer term view with respect to system improvements, our future franchise partners will have individual business strategies and objectives, which might conflict with our interests. Our future franchise partners may from time to time disagree with us and our strategies and objectives regarding the business or our interpretation of our respective rights and obligations under the franchise agreement and the terms and conditions of the franchise partner relationship. This may lead to disputes with our prospective franchise partners and we expect such disputes to occur from time to time in the future. Such disputes may result in legal action against us. To the extent we have such disputes, the attention, time and financial resources of our management and our future franchise partners will be diverted from our locations, which could harm our business even if we have a successful outcome in the dispute.

Actions or omissions by our future franchise partners in violation of various laws may be attributed to us or result in negative publicity that affects our overall brand image, which may decrease consumer demand for our products. Future franchise partners may engage in online activity via social media or activity in their personal lives that negatively impacts public perception of our future franchise partners or our operations or our brand as a whole. This activity may negatively affect future franchise partners’ sales and in turn impact our revenue.

In addition, various state and federal laws govern our relationship with our future franchise partners and our potential sale of a franchise. A future franchise partner and/or a government agency may bring legal action against us based on the franchisee/franchisor relationships that could result in the award of damages to a future franchise partner and/or the imposition of fines or other penalties against us.

Our locations are geographically concentrated in California, and we could be negatively affected by conditions specific to that state.

As of December 31, 2025, all of our company-operated locations in the United States were located in California. Adverse changes in demographic, unemployment, economic, regulatory or weather conditions in California have, and may continue, to harm our business. As a result of our concentration in this market, we have been, and in the future may be, disproportionately affected by these adverse conditions compared to other chain beverage locations with a national footprint.

Interruption of our supply chain of coffee or other ingredients, coffee machines and other restaurant equipment or packaging could affect our ability to produce or deliver our products and could negatively impact our business and profitability.

Any material interruption in our supply chain, such as material interruption of the supply of coffee, dairy, coffee machines and other restaurant equipment or packaging for our proprietary products due to the casualty loss of any of our roasting plant, interruptions in service by our third-party logistic service providers or common carriers that ship goods within our distribution channels, trade restrictions, such as increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes or customs restrictions, pandemics, social or labor unrest, natural disasters or political disputes and military conflicts that cause a material disruption in our supply chain could have a negative material impact on our business and our profitability.

Additionally, most of our beverage and other products are sourced from a wide variety of domestic and international business partners and we rely on these suppliers to provide high quality products and to comply with applicable laws. For certain products, we may rely very few suppliers. The loss of these vendors or failures by our suppliers to meet our standards, provide products in a timely and efficient manner, or comply with applicable laws is beyond our control and could have a material adverse effect on the Company.

Increases in the cost of high-quality coffee beans or other commodities or decreases in the availability of high-quality coffee beans or other commodities could have an adverse impact on our business and financial results.

The availability and prices of coffee beans and other commodities are subject to significant volatility. We purchase, roast and sell high-quality whole bean coffee beans and related coffee products.

The supply and price of coffee we purchase can also be affected by multiple factors in the producing countries, such as weather (including the potential effects of climate change), natural disasters, crop disease, general increase in farm inputs and costs of production, inventory levels, political and economic conditions and the actions of certain organizations and associations that have historically attempted to influence prices of green coffee through agreements establishing export quotas or by restricting coffee supplies. Speculative trading in coffee commodities can also influence coffee prices. Because of the significance of coffee beans to our operations, combined with our ability to only partially mitigate future price risk through purchasing practices and hedging activities, increases in the cost of high-quality coffee beans could have a material adverse impact on our profitability. In addition, if we are not able to purchase sufficient quantities of green coffee beans due to any of the above factors or to a worldwide or regional shortage, we may not be able to fulfill the demand for our coffee, which could have a material adverse impact on our profitability.

We also purchase significant amounts of dairy products, particularly milk, and non-dairy “milks” to support the needs of our locations. Additionally, and although less significant to our operations than coffee, other commodities, including but not limited to tea, syrups, and packaging material, such as plastics and corrugation, are important to our operations. Increases in the cost of such commodities may increase the cost of our packing materials, or lack of availability, whether due to supply shortages, delays or interruptions in processing, or otherwise, especially in international markets, could harm our business.

Changes in U.S. and international trade policies, including the export and import controls and laws, may adversely impact our business and operating results.

We partner with international suppliers across the globe. This subjects us to risks associated with international trade conflicts including between the United States and China, Mexico, and other countries, particularly with respect to export and import controls and laws. President Donald J. Trump has advocated for greater restrictions on international trade in general, which could result in significantly increased tariffs on certain goods imported into the United States, particularly from China. For example, in recent years the United States government has renegotiated or terminated certain existing bilateral or multi-lateral trade agreements. It has also imposed tariffs on certain foreign goods which resulted in increased costs for goods imported into the United States. In response to these tariffs, a number of United States trading partners have imposed retaliatory tariffs on a wide range of United States products, making it more costly for companies to export products to those countries.

Rising political tensions could reduce trade volume, investment, technological exchange and other economic activities between major international economies, resulting in a material adverse effect on global economic conditions and the stability of global financial markets. Additionally, the resulting environment of tariffs, retaliatory trade or other practices or additional trade restrictions or barriers, if implemented on a broader range of products or raw materials, could harm our ability to obtain necessary raw materials and product components or sell our products and services at prices customers are willing to pay, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, results of operations, and cash flows. Relatedly, trade policies could lead to an increasing number of competitors entering the United States, thereby creating more competition.

If we fail to offer high-quality customer experience, our business and reputation will suffer.

Numerous factors may impact a customer’s experience which may in turn impact the likelihood of such customer returning. Those factors include service, convenience, taste, price, quality, location of our locations and brand image. In addition to providing high quality coffee, we empower our employees to provide an enhanced customer experience. Our staff put customer needs first and we give them the flexibility required to build genuine, meaningful connections that keep our customers returning for more. As we grow, it may be difficult for us to identify, recruit, train and manage enough people with enough skill and talent to provide this enhanced customer experience.

If we fail to maintain adequate operational and financial resources, particularly if we continue to grow rapidly, we may be unable to execute our business plan or maintain high levels of service and customer satisfaction.

Our continuous growth and expansion may place significant demands on our management and our operational and financial resources and in connection therewith, our organizational structure is becoming more complex as we scale our operational, financial, and management controls, as well as our reporting systems and procedures. As we continue to grow, we may face challenges of integrating, developing, training, and motivating a rapidly growing employee base in our various locations and maintaining our company culture across multiple offices and locations. Certain members of our management may not have previously worked together for an extended period of time, and some do not have prior experience managing a public company, which may affect how they manage our growth. If we fail to manage our anticipated growth and change in a manner that preserves the key aspects of our corporate culture, the quality of our beverages and services may suffer, which could negatively affect our brand and reputation and harm our ability to attract users, employees, and organizations.

To manage growth in our operations and personnel, we will need to continue to grow and improve our operational, financial, and management controls and our reporting systems and procedures. We will require significant capital expenditures and the allocation of valuable management resources to grow and change in these areas. Our expansion has placed, and our expected future growth will continue to place, a significant strain on our management, customer experience, research and development, sales and marketing, administrative, financial, and other resources.

In addition, as we expand our business, it is important that we continue to maintain a high level of customer service and satisfaction. As our customer base continues to grow, we will need to expand our customer service and other personnel, which will require more complex management and systems. If we are not able to continue to provide high levels of customer service, our reputation, as well as our business could be harmed.

We are increasingly dependent on information technology and our ability to process data in order to operate and sell our goods and services, and if we (or our vendors) are unable to protect against software and hardware vulnerabilities, service interruptions, data corruption, cyber-based attacks, ransomware or security breaches, or if we fail to comply with our commitments and assurances regarding the privacy and security of such data, our operations could be disrupted, our ability to provide our goods and services could be interrupted, our reputation may be harmed and we may be exposed to liability and loss of customers and business.

We rely on information technology networks and systems and data processing (some of which are managed by third-party service providers such as Square and Xero) to market, sell and deliver our products and services, to fulfill orders, to collect, receive, store, process, generate, use, transfer, disclose, make accessible, protect, secure, dispose of and share (“Process” or “Processing”) personal information, confidential or proprietary information, financial information and other information, to manage a variety of business processes and activities, for financial reporting purposes, to operate our business, to process orders, for legal and marketing purposes and to comply with regulatory, legal and tax requirements (“Business Functions”). These information technology networks and systems, and the Processing they perform, may be vulnerable to data security and privacy threats (cyber and otherwise). Moreover, the risk of unauthorized circumvention of our security measures or those of our third parties on whom we rely on has been heightened by advances in computer and software capabilities and the increasing sophistication of hackers who employ complex techniques, including, without limitation, “phishing” or social engineering incidents, ransomware, extortion, account takeover attacks, denial or degradation of service attacks and malware. Further, breaches experienced by other companies may also be leveraged against us. For example, credential stuffing attacks are becoming increasingly common and sophisticated actors can mask their attacks, making them increasingly difficult to identify and prevent. We have technology security initiatives, such as cyber liability insurance, and disaster recovery plans in place to mitigate our risk to these vulnerabilities, but these measures may not be adequately designed or implemented to ensure that our operations are not disrupted or that data security breaches do not occur. If our information technology networks and systems or data processing suffers damage, security breaches, vulnerabilities, disruption or shutdown, and we do not effectively resolve the issues in a timely manner, they could cause a material adverse impact to, our Business Functions and our business, reputation and financial condition.

Hackers and data thieves are increasingly sophisticated and operate large-scale and complex automated attacks, which may remain undetected until after they occur. Despite our efforts to protect our information technology networks and systems, Processing and information, we may not be able to anticipate or to implement effective preventive and remedial measures against all data security and privacy threats. Our security measures may not be adequate to prevent or detect service interruption, system failure, data loss or theft, or other material adverse consequences. No security solution, strategy or measures can address all possible security threats. Our applications, systems, networks, software and physical facilities could have material vulnerabilities, be breached or personal or confidential information could be otherwise compromised due to employee error or malfeasance, if, for example, third parties attempt to fraudulently induce our personnel or our customers to disclose information or user names and/or passwords, or otherwise compromise the security of our networks, systems and/or physical facilities. We cannot be certain that we will be able to address any such vulnerabilities, in whole or part, and there may be delays in developing and deploying patches and other remedial measures to adequately address vulnerabilities, and taking such remedial steps could adversely impact or disrupt our operations. We expect similar issues to arise in the future as our products and services are more widely adopted, and as we continue to expand the features and functionality of existing products and services and introduce new products and services.

An actual or perceived breach of our security systems or those of our third-party service providers may require notification under applicable data privacy regulations or for customer relations or publicity purposes, which could result in reputational harm, costly litigation (including class action litigation), material contract breaches, liability, settlement costs, loss of sales, regulatory scrutiny, actions or investigations, a loss of confidence in our business, systems and Processing, a diversion of management’s time and attention, and significant fines, penalties, assessments, fees and expenses.

The costs to respond to a security breach and/or to mitigate any security vulnerabilities that may be identified could be significant, our efforts to address these problems may not be successful. These costs include, but are not limited to, retaining the services of cybersecurity providers; compliance costs arising out of existing and future cybersecurity, data protection and privacy laws and regulations; and costs related to maintaining redundant networks, data backups and other damage-mitigation measures. We could be required to fundamentally change our business activities and practices in response to a security breach or related regulatory actions or litigation, which could have an adverse effect on our business. Additionally, most jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals, regulatory authorities, and others of security breaches involving certain types of data. Such mandatory disclosures are costly, could lead to negative publicity, may cause our customers to lose confidence in the effectiveness of our security measures and require us to expend significant capital and other resources to respond to and/or alleviate problems caused by the actual or perceived security breach.

We may not have adequate insurance coverage for handling security incidents or breaches, including fines, judgments, settlements, penalties, costs, attorney fees and other impacts that arise out of incidents or breaches. If the impacts of a security incident or breach, or the successful assertion of one or more large claims against us that exceeds our available insurance coverage, or results in changes to our insurance policies (including premium increases or the imposition of large deductible or co-insurance requirements), it could harm our business. In addition, we cannot be sure that our existing insurance coverage will continue to be available on acceptable terms or that our insurers will not deny coverage as to all or part of any future claim or loss. Moreover, our privacy risks are likely to increase as we continue to expand, grow our customer base, and process, store, and transmit increasingly large amounts of personal and/or sensitive data.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic have had, and may continue to have, an effect on our business and results of operations.

Pandemics or disease outbreaks such as the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted and are likely to continue to impact customer traffic at our locations and may make it more difficult to staff our locations and, in more severe cases, may cause a temporary inability to obtain supplies and increase commodity costs. COVID-19 was officially declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020, and the virus, including the continued spread of highly transmissible variants of the virus, has impacted all global economies, and in the United States has resulted in varying levels of restrictions and shutdowns implemented by national, state, and local authorities.

Such viruses may be transmitted through human contact and airborne delivery, and the risk of contracting viruses could continue to cause employees or customers to avoid gathering in public places, which has had, and could further have, adverse effects on our customer traffic or the ability to adequately staff locations. We have been adversely affected when government authorities have imposed and continue to impose restrictions on public gatherings, human interactions, operations of restaurants or mandatory closures, seek voluntary closures, restrict hours of operations or impose curfews, restrict the import or export of products or if suppliers issue mass recalls of products. Additional regulation or requirements with respect to the compensation of our employees could also have an adverse effect on our business. Even if such measures are not implemented and a virus or other disease does not spread significantly within a specific area, the perceived risk of infection or health risk in such area may adversely affect our business, liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Additionally, different jurisdictions have seen varying levels of outbreaks or resurgences in outbreaks, and corresponding differences in government responses, which may make it difficult for us to plan or forecast an appropriate response.

If a significant percentage of our workforce or the workforce of our future franchise partners are unable to work, including because of illness or travel or government restrictions, like quarantine requirements, in connection with pandemics or disease outbreaks, our operations may be negatively impacted, potentially materially adversely affecting our business, liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.

There is no guarantee that a future outbreak of this or any other widespread epidemics will not occur, or that the global economy will recover, either of which could seriously harm our business fully recover. The ultimate impact of a health epidemic on our business, operations or the global economy as a whole remains highly uncertain.

While we have developed and continue to develop plans to help mitigate the potential negative impact of health epidemics, these efforts may not be effective, and any protracted economic downturn as a result of such epidemics will likely limit the effectiveness of our efforts. Accordingly, it is not possible for us to predict the duration and extent to which any health epidemic will affect our business at this time.

Risks Related to Our Brand

Our success depends substantially on the value of our brand and failure to preserve its value could have a negative impact on our financial results.

Our success depends in large part upon our ability and our future franchise partners’ ability to maintain and enhance our corporate reputation and the value and perception of our brand. Brand value is based in part on consumer perceptions on a variety of subjective qualities. To be successful in the future, particularly outside of the Southern California region of the United States where our brand may be less well known, we believe we must preserve, grow and leverage the value of our brand across interactions.

Business incidents, whether isolated or recurring and whether originating from us or our business partners, that erode consumer trust can significantly reduce brand value, potentially trigger boycotts of our locations or result in civil or criminal liability and can have a negative impact on our financial results. Such incidents include actual or perceived breaches of privacy, contaminated products, staff infected with communicable diseases, or other potential incidents discussed in this Risk Factors section. The impact of such incidents may be exacerbated if they receive considerable publicity, including rapidly through social or digital media (including for malicious reasons) or result in litigation. Consumer demand for our products and our brand equity could diminish significantly if we, our employees, future franchise partners or other business partners fail to preserve the quality of our products, act or are perceived to act in an unethical, illegal, racially-biased, unequal or socially irresponsible manner, including with respect to the sourcing, content or sale of our products, service and treatment of customers at our locations, or the use of customer data for general or direct marketing or other purposes. Additionally, if we fail to comply with laws and regulations, publicly take controversial positions or actions or fail to deliver a consistently positive consumer experience in each of our markets, including by failing to invest in the right balance of wages and benefits to attract and retain employees that represent the brand well or foster an inclusive and diverse environment, our brand value may be diminished.

Moreover, our success depends in large part upon our ability to maintain our corporate reputation. For example, the reputation of our brand could be damaged by claims or perceptions about the quality or safety of our ingredients or beverages or the quality or reputation of our suppliers, distributors or future franchise partners or by claims or perceptions that we, our future franchise partners or other business partners have acted or are acting in an unethical, illegal, racially-biased or socially irresponsible manner or are not fostering an inclusive and diverse environment, regardless of whether such claims or perceptions are substantiated. Our corporate reputation could also suffer from negative publicity or consumer sentiment regarding our actions or inactions or brand imagery, a real or perceived failure of corporate governance, or misconduct by any officer or any employee or representative of us or a future franchise partner. Any such incidents (even if resulting from actions of a competitor or future franchise partner) could cause a decline directly or indirectly in consumer confidence in, or the perception of, our brand and/or our products and reduce consumer demand for our products, which would likely result in lower revenue and profits.

There has been an increased public focus, including from the United States federal and state governments, on environmental sustainability matters, including with respect to climate change, greenhouse gases, water resources, packaging and waste, animal health and welfare, deforestation and land use. We endeavor to conduct our business in a manner which reflects our priority of sustainable stewardship, including with respect to environmental sustainability matters, and we are working to manage the risks and costs to us, our future franchise partners and our supply chain associated with these types of environmental sustainability matters. In addition, as the result of such heightened public focus on environmental sustainability matters, we may face increased pressure to provide expanded disclosure, make or expand commitments, set targets, or establish additional goals and take actions to meet such goals, in connection with such environmental sustainability matters. These matters and our efforts to address them could expose us to market, operational, reputational and execution costs or risks.

We may not be able to adequately protect our intellectual property, including trademarks, trade names, and service marks, which, in turn, could harm the value of our brand and adversely affect our business.

Our ability to implement our business plan successfully depends in part on our ability to further build brand recognition using our trademarks, service marks, proprietary products and other intellectual property, including our name and logos and the unique character and atmosphere of our locations. We rely on U.S. trademark, copyright, and trade secret laws, as well as license agreements, nondisclosure agreements, and confidentiality and other contractual provisions to protect our intellectual property. Nevertheless, our competitors may develop similar menu items and concepts, and adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of our trade secrets and other intellectual property.

The success of our business depends on our continued ability to use our existing trademarks, trade names, and service marks to increase brand awareness and further develop our brand as we expand into new markets. We have registered and applied to register trademarks and service marks in the United States and abroad. We may not be able to adequately protect our trademarks and service marks, and our competitors and others may successfully challenge the validity and/or enforceability of our trademarks and service marks and other intellectual property. There can also be no assurance that pending or future U.S. trademark applications will be approved in a timely manner or at all, or that such registrations will effectively protect our brand names and trademarks.

Additionally, the steps we have taken to protect our intellectual property in the United States may not be adequate. If our efforts to maintain and protect our intellectual property are inadequate, or if any third party misappropriates, dilutes or infringes on our intellectual property, the value of our brand may be harmed, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and might prevent our brands from achieving or maintaining market acceptance. Even with our own prospective franchise partners, whose activities are monitored and regulated through our eventual franchise agreements, we face risk that they may refer to or make statements about our brand that do not make proper use of our trademarks or required designations, that improperly alter trademarks or branding, or that are critical of our brand or place our brand in a context that may tarnish our reputation. This may result in dilution of, or harm to, our intellectual property or the value of our brand.

We may also from time to time be required to institute litigation to enforce our trademarks, service marks and other intellectual property. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could negatively affect our sales, profitability and prospects regardless of whether we can successfully enforce our rights.

Third parties may oppose our trademark and service mark applications, or otherwise challenge our use of the trademarks and service marks. In the event that these or other intellectual property rights are successfully challenged, we could be forced to rebrand our products, which would result in loss of brand recognition and would require us to devote resources to advertising and marketing new brands. Third parties may also assert that we infringe, misappropriate or otherwise violate their intellectual property and may sue us for intellectual property infringement. Even if we are successful in these proceedings, we may incur substantial costs, and the time and attention of our management and other personnel may be diverted in pursuing these proceedings. If a court finds that we infringe a third party’s intellectual property, we may be required to pay damages and/or be subject to an injunction. With respect to any third party intellectual property that we use or wish to use in our business (whether or not asserted against us in litigation), we may not be able to enter into licensing or other arrangements with the owner of such intellectual property at a reasonable cost or on reasonable terms.

Food safety and quality concerns may negatively impact our brand, business and profitability, our internal operational controls and standards may not always be met and our employees may not always act professionally, responsibly and in our and our customers’ best interests. Any possible instances or reports, whether true or not, of food and/or beverage-borne illness could reduce our sales.

Incidents or reports, whether true or not, of food-borne or water-borne illness or other food safety issues, food contamination or tampering, employee hygiene and cleanliness failures or improper employee conduct at our locations could lead to product liability or other claims. Such incidents or reports could negatively affect our brand and reputation as well as our business, revenue and profits. Similar incidents or reports occurring at coffee and convenience locations unrelated to us could likewise create negative publicity, which could negatively impact consumer behavior towards us.

We cannot guarantee to customers that our internal controls and training will be fully effective in preventing all food-borne illnesses. New illnesses resistant to our current precautions may develop in the future, or diseases with long incubation periods could arise, that could give rise to claims or allegations on a retroactive basis. One or more instances of food-borne illness in one of our company-operated or future franchised locations could negatively affect sales at all our locations if highly publicized. This risk exists even if it were later determined that the illness was wrongly attributed to one of our locations. Additionally, even if food-borne illnesses were not identified at our locations, our sales could be adversely affected if instances of food-borne illnesses at other coffee and beverage chains were highly publicized.

If we or our future franchise partners are unable to protect our customers’ credit and debit card data or confidential information in connection with process the same or confidential employee information, we could be exposed to data loss, litigation, liability and reputational damage.

Our business requires the collection, transmission and retention of large volumes of customer and employee data, including credit and debit card numbers and other personally identifiable information, in various information technology systems that we maintain and in those maintained by third parties with whom we contract to provide services. The integrity and protection of that customer and employee data is critical to us. Further, our customers and employees have a high expectation that we and our service providers will adequately protect their personal information.

We currently accept payments using credit cards and debit cards and, as such, are subject to payment card association operating rules and certification requirements, including the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (“PCI-DSS”), which is a security standard applicable to companies like ours that collect, store or transmit certain data regarding credit and debit cards, holders and transactions. We are also subject to rules governing electronic funds transfers. Such rules could change or be reinterpreted to make it difficult or impossible for us to comply. If we (or a third party processing payment card transactions on our behalf) suffer a security breach affecting payment card information, we may have to pay onerous and significant fines, penalties and assessments arising out of the major card brands’ rules and regulations, contractual indemnifications or liability contained in merchant agreements and similar contracts, and we may lose our ability to accept payment cards for payment for our goods and services, which could materially impact our operations and financial performance.

The information, security and privacy requirements imposed by governmental regulation are increasingly demanding. Our systems may not be able to satisfy these changing requirements and customer and employee expectations or may require significant additional investments or time in order to do so. Efforts to hack or breach security measures, failures of systems or software to operate as designed or intended, viruses, operator error or inadvertent releases of data all threaten our and our service providers’ information systems and records. A breach in the security of our information technology systems or those of our service providers could lead to an interruption in the operation of our systems, resulting in operational inefficiencies and a loss of profits. Additionally, a significant theft, loss or misappropriation of, or access to, customers’ or other proprietary data or other breach of our information technology systems could result in fines, legal claims or proceedings, including regulatory investigations and actions, or liability for failure to comply with privacy and information security laws, which could disrupt our operations, damage our reputation and expose us to claims from customers and employees, any of which could harm our business.

Risks Related to People and Culture

Changes in the availability of and the cost of labor could harm our business.

Our business could be harmed by increases in labor costs, including those increases triggered by regulatory actions regarding wages, scheduling and benefits, increased health care and workers’ compensation insurance costs, which, in a retail business such as ours, are our most significant costs. In particular, our baristas are paid wage rates at or based on the applicable federal or state minimum wage, and increases in the applicable minimum wage will increase labor costs. From time to time, legislative proposals are made to increase the minimum wage at the federal or state level. As federal, state or other applicable minimum wage rates increase, we may be required to increase not only the wage rates of minimum wage baristas or other employees, but also the wages paid to other hourly employees. We may not choose to increase prices in order to pass future increased labor costs on to customers, in which case our margins would be negatively affected. If we do not increase prices to cover increased labor costs, the higher prices could result in lower revenue, which may also reduce margins.

Furthermore, the successful operation of our business depends upon our, and our future franchise partners’, ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of qualified employees. From time to time, there may be a shortage of qualified employees in certain of the communities in which we operate or expand to. Shortages may make it increasingly difficult and expensive to attract, train and retain the services of a satisfactory number of qualified employees, which could delay the planned openings of new company-operated and future franchised locations and adversely impact the operations and profitability of existing locations. Furthermore, competition for qualified employees, particularly in markets where such shortages exist, could require us to pay higher wages, which could result in higher labor costs. Accordingly, if we and our future franchise partners are unable to recruit and retain sufficiently qualified individuals, our business could be harmed.

Additionally, the growth of our business can make it increasingly difficult to locate and hire sufficient numbers of key employees, to maintain an effective system of internal controls for a dispersed chain and to train employees to deliver consistently high-quality hand-crafted beverages and customer experiences, which could materially harm our business and results of operations. In addition, our wages and benefits programs may be insufficient to attract and retain the best talent.

We depend on our executive officers and other key employees, and the loss of one or more of these employees or an inability to attract and retain other highly skilled employees could harm our business.

Our success depends largely upon the continued services of our executive officers and other key employees. We rely on our leadership team in the areas of marketing, sales, customer experience, and selling, general and administrative. From time to time, there may be changes in our executive management team resulting from the hiring or departure of executives, which could disrupt our business. The loss of one or more of our executive officers or key employees could harm our business. Changes in our executive management team may also cause disruptions in, and harm to, our business.

We continue to be led by our Co-Chief Executive Officers, Jay Kim and Jung Jae Lim, who play an important role in driving our culture, determining the strategy, and executing against that strategy across the company. If Mr. Kim’s or Mr. Lim’s services became unavailable to our Company for any reason, it may be difficult or challenging for us to find an adequate replacement, which could cause us to be less successful in maintaining our culture and developing and effectively executing on our company strategies.

Our culture has contributed to our success, and if we cannot maintain this culture as we grow, we could lose the high employee engagement fostered by our culture, which could harm our business.

At Reborn Coffee, we believe our people-first culture is a critical component of our success and customer loyalty. We have invested substantial time and resources in developing pathways for our employees to create their own compelling future, which we believe has fostered the positive, people-first culture that defines our organization and is enjoyed by our customers. We have built out our leadership team with an expectation of protecting this culture, an emphasis on shared values and a commitment to diversity and inclusion. As we continue to develop the infrastructure to support our growth, we will need to maintain our culture among a larger number of employees dispersed in various geographic regions. Any failure to preserve our culture could negatively affect our future success, including our ability to retain and recruit personnel, and loss of customer loyalty.

Unionization activities may disrupt our operations and affect our profitability.

Although none of our employees are currently covered under collective bargaining agreements, our employees may elect to be represented by labor unions in the future. If a significant number of our employees were to become unionized and collective bargaining agreement terms were significantly different from our current compensation arrangements, it could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. In addition, a labor dispute involving some or all of our employees may harm our reputation, disrupt our operations and reduce our revenue, and resolution of disputes may increase our costs.

Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation

Changes in statutory, regulatory, accounting, and other legal requirements, including changes in accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, could potentially impact our operating and financial results.

We are subject to numerous statutory, regulatory and legal requirements. Our operating results could be negatively impacted by developments in these areas due to the costs of compliance in addition to possible government penalties and litigation in the event of deemed noncompliance. Changes in the regulatory environment in the area of food safety, privacy and information security, wage and hour laws, among others, could potentially impact our operations and financial results.

Generally accepted accounting principles as promulgated in the United States of America (“GAAP”) are subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), and various bodies formed to promulgate and interpret appropriate accounting principles. A change in these principles or interpretations could have a significant effect on our reported financial results, and could affect the reporting of transactions completed before the announcement of a change.

Moreover, while we believe that we maintain insurance customary for businesses of our size and type, there are types of losses we may incur that cannot be insured against or that we believe are not economically reasonable to insure. Such losses could harm our business.

Fluctuations in our tax obligations and effective tax rate and realization of our deferred tax assets may result in volatility of our operating results and adversely affect our financial condition.

We are subject to taxes by the U.S. federal, state, and local tax authorities, and our tax liabilities will be affected by the allocation of expenses to differing jurisdictions. We record tax expense based on our estimates of future payments, which may include reserves for uncertain tax positions in multiple tax jurisdictions, and valuation allowances related to certain net deferred tax assets. At any one time, many tax years may be subject to audit by various taxing jurisdictions. The results of these audits and negotiations with taxing authorities may affect the ultimate settlement of these issues. We expect that throughout the year there could be ongoing variability in our quarterly tax rates as events occur and exposures are evaluated. Our future effective tax rates could be subject to volatility or adversely affected by a number of factors, including:

  • changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;
  • expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowance;
  • changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof; or
  • future earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.

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In addition, our effective tax rate in a given financial statement period may be materially impacted by a variety of factors including but not limited to changes in the mix and level of earnings, varying tax rates in the different jurisdictions in which we operate, fluctuations in the valuation allowance or by changes to existing accounting rules or regulations. Further, tax legislation may be enacted in the future which could negatively impact our current or future tax structure and effective tax rates. We may be subject to audits of our income, sales and other transaction taxes by U.S. federal, state, and local taxing authorities. Outcomes from these audits could have an adverse effect on our operating results and financial condition.

We are subject to many federal, state and local laws with which compliance is both costly and complex.

The beverage industry is subject to extensive federal, state and local laws and regulations, including the recently enacted comprehensive health care reform legislation discussed above, those relating to building and zoning requirements and those relating to the preparation and sale of food and beverages or consumption. Such laws and regulations are subject to change from time to time. The failure to comply with these laws and regulations could adversely affect our operating results. Typically, licenses, permits and approvals under such laws and regulations must be renewed annually and may be revoked, suspended or denied renewal for cause at any time if governmental authorities determine that our conduct violates applicable regulations. Difficulties or failure to maintain or obtain the required licenses, permits and approvals could adversely affect our existing locations and delay or result in our decision to cancel the opening of new locations, which would adversely affect our business.

The development and operation of a location depends, to a significant extent, on the selection of suitable sites, which are subject to unique permitting, zoning, land use, environmental, traffic and other regulations and requirements. We are also subject to licensing and regulation by state and local authorities relating to health, sanitation, safety and fire standards.

We are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act and various other federal, state and local laws that regulate the wages and hours of employees. These laws commonly apply a strict liability standard so that even inadvertent noncompliance can lead to claims, government enforcement actions and litigation. These laws vary from state to state and are subject to frequent amendments and judicial interpretations that can require rapid adjustments to operations. Insurance coverage for violations of these laws is costly and sometimes is not available. Changes to these laws can adversely affect our business by increasing labor and compliance costs. The failure to comply with these laws could adversely affect our business as a result of costly litigation or government enforcement actions.

We are also subject to a variety of other employee relations laws including FMLA and state leave laws, employment discrimination laws, predictive scheduling laws, occupational health and safety laws and regulations and the NLRA, to name a few. Together, these many laws and regulations present a thicket of compliance obligations and liability risks. As we grow, we will need to continue to increase our compliance efforts in these areas, which may affect our results from operations. Changes to these laws and regulations may increase these costs beyond our expectations or predictions, which would adversely affect our business operations and financial results. Violations of these laws could lead to costly litigation or governmental investigation or proceedings.

We are subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act (the “ADA”), which, among other things, requires our locations to meet federally mandated requirements for the disabled. The ADA prohibits discrimination in employment and public accommodations on the basis of disability. Under the ADA, we could be required to expend funds to modify our locations to provide service to, or make reasonable accommodations for the employment of, disabled persons. In addition, our employment practices are subject to the requirements of the Immigration and Naturalization Service relating to citizenship and residency.

In addition, our future franchise activities will be subject to laws enacted by a number of states and rules and regulations promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”). Failure to comply with new or existing franchise laws, rules and regulations in any jurisdiction or to obtain required government approvals could negatively affect our licensing sales and our relationships with our licensees.

The impact of current laws and regulations, the effect of future changes in laws or regulations that impose additional requirements and the consequences of litigation relating to current or future laws and regulations, or our inability to respond effectively to significant regulatory or public policy issues, could increase our compliance and other costs of doing business and, therefore, have an adverse effect on our results of operations. Failure to comply with the laws and regulatory requirements of federal, state and local authorities could result in, among other things, revocation of required licenses, administrative enforcement actions, fines and civil and criminal liability. In addition, certain laws, including the ADA, could require us to expend significant funds to make modifications to our locations if we failed to comply with applicable standards. Compliance with all these laws and regulations can be costly and can increase our exposure to litigation or governmental investigations or proceedings.

We (and our vendors) are subject to stringent and changing laws, regulations, industry standards, related to data Processing, protection, privacy and security. The actual or perceived failure by us, our customers or vendors to comply with such laws, regulations, industry standards, may harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We Process personal information, confidential information and other information necessary to provide our products and service and ensure that they are delivered effectively, to operate our business, for legal and marketing purposes, and for other business-related purposes.

Data privacy and regulation of privacy, information security and Processing has become a significant issue in the United States. The legal and regulatory framework for privacy and security issues is rapidly evolving and is expected to increase our compliance costs and exposure to liability. There are numerous federal, state, local laws, orders, codes, regulations and regulatory guidance regarding privacy, information security and Processing (“Data Protection Laws”), the number and scope of which is changing, subject to differing applications and interpretations, and which may be inconsistent among jurisdictions, or in conflict with other rules, laws or Data Protection Obligations (defined below). We expect that there will continue to be new Data Protection Laws and Data Protection Obligations, and we cannot yet determine the impact such future Data Protection Laws may have on our business. Any significant change to Data Protection Laws and Data Protection Obligations, including without limitation, regarding the manner in which the express or implied consent of customers for Processing is obtained, could increase our costs and require us to modify our operations, possibly in a material manner, which we may be unable to complete and may limit our ability to store and process customer data and operate our business.

Data Protection Laws are, and are likely to remain, uncertain for the foreseeable future, and our actual or perceived failure to address or comply with these laws could: increase our compliance and operational costs; limit our ability to market our products or services and attract new and retain current customers; limit or eliminate our ability to Process; expose us to regulatory scrutiny, actions, investigations, fines and penalties; result in reputational harm; lead to a loss of customers; reduce the use of our products or services; result in litigation and liability, including class action litigation; cause to incur significant costs, expenses and fees (including attorney fees); cause a material adverse impact to business operations or financial results, and; otherwise result in other material harm to our business (“Adverse Data Protection Impact”).

We are or may also be subject to the terms of our external and internal privacy and security policies, codes, representations, certifications, industry standards, publications and frameworks (“Privacy Policies”) and contractual obligations to third parties related to privacy, information security and Processing, including contractual obligations to indemnify and hold harmless third parties from the costs or consequences of non-compliance with Data Protection Laws or other obligations (“Data Protection Obligations”).

We strive to comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations to the extent possible, but we may at times fail to do so, or may be perceived to have failed to do so. Moreover, despite our efforts, we may not be successful in achieving compliance if our employees, partners or vendors do not comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations. We may be subject to, and suffer an Adverse Data Protection Impact if we fail (or are perceived to have failed) to comply with applicable Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations, if our Privacy Policies are, in whole or part, found to be inaccurate, incomplete, deceptive, unfair or misrepresentative of our actual practices. In addition, any such failure or perceived failure could result in public statements against us by consumer advocacy groups, the media or others, which may cause us material reputational harm. Our actual or perceived failure to comply with Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations could also subject us to litigation, claims, proceedings, actions or investigations by governmental entities, authorities or regulators, which could result in an Adverse Data Protection Impact, including required changes to our business practices, the diversion of resources and the attention of management from our business, regulatory oversights and audits, discontinuance of necessary Processing or other remedies that adversely affect our business.

In the United States, these include rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”), and other state and federal laws relating to privacy and data security. The CCPA, which among other things, establishes a privacy framework for covered businesses, including an expansive definition of personal data and data privacy rights. The CCPA provides individual privacy rights for California residents and places increased privacy and security obligations on covered businesses processing personal data. The CCPA requires covered businesses to provide new disclosures to California residents and provide such individuals with ways to opt-out of certain sales of personal data. The CCPA also provides a private right of action and statutory damages for violations, including for data breaches. To the extent applicable to our business and operations, the CCPA may impact our business activities by increasing our compliance costs and potential liability with respect to personal information that we or third parties with whom we contract to provide services maintain about California residents. The CPRA will, among other things, give California residents the ability to limit use of certain sensitive personal data, further restrict the use of cross-contextual advertising, establish restrictions on the retention of personal data, expand the types of data breaches subject to the CCPA’s private right of action, provide for increased penalties for CPRA violations concerning California residents under the age of 16, and establish a new California Privacy Protection Agency to implement and enforce the law. These Data Protection Laws (such as the CCPA and CPRA) exemplify the vulnerability of our business to the evolving regulatory environment related to personal data.

Moreover, across the United States, laws and regulations governing data privacy and security continue to develop and evolve. For example, Virginia enacted the Consumer Data Protection Act (“CDPA”) that may impose obligations similar to or more stringent than those we may face under other Data Protection Laws. Compliance with the CPRA, the CCPA, the CDPA and any newly enacted privacy and data security laws or regulations may be challenging and cost- and time-intensive, and may require us to modify our data processing practices and policies and to incur substantial costs and potential liability in an effort to comply with such legislation. The Data Protection Laws, Privacy Policies and Data Protection Obligations to which we are subject may significantly affect our business activities and many of these obligations may contain ambiguous provisions creating uncertainty. Compliance with the requirements imposed by such Data Protection Laws and Data Protection Obligations may require us to revise our business practices, allocate more resources to privacy and security, and implement new technologies. Such efforts may result in significant costs to our business. Noncompliance could result in Adverse Data Protection Impact, including proceedings against us by governmental and regulatory entities, collaborators, individuals or others.

We rely on a variety of marketing techniques and practices, including email and social media marketing, online targeted advertising, and cookie-based Processing, to sell our products and services and to attract new customers, and we, and our vendors, are subject to various current and future Data Protection Laws and Data Protection Obligations that govern marketing and advertising practices. Governmental authorities continue to evaluate the privacy implications inherent in the use of third-party “cookies” and other methods of online tracking for behavioral advertising and other purposes, such as by regulating the level of consumer notice and consent required before a company can employ cookies or other electronic tracking tools or the use of data gathered with such tools. Additionally, some providers of consumer devices, web browsers and application locations have implemented, or announced plans to implement, means to make it easier for Internet users to prevent the placement of cookies or to block other tracking technologies, require additional consents or limit the ability to track user activity, which could if widely adopted result in the use of third-party cookies and other methods of online tracking becoming significantly less effective. Laws and regulations regarding the use of these cookies and other current online tracking and advertising practices or a loss in our ability to make effective use of services that employ such technologies could increase our costs of operations and limit our ability to acquire new customers on cost-effective terms, which, in turn, could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

We are subject to extensive government regulations that could result in claims leading to increased costs and restrict our ability to operate future franchises.

We are subject to extensive government regulation at the federal, state and local government levels, including by the FTC. These include, but are not limited to, regulations relating to the preparation and sale of beverages, zoning and building codes, franchising, land use and employee, health, sanitation and safety matters. We are, and our future franchise partners will be, required to obtain and maintain a wide variety of governmental licenses, permits and approvals. Local authorities may suspend or deny renewal of our governmental licenses if they determine that our operations do not meet the standards for initial grant or renewal. Difficulty or failure in obtaining them in the future could result in delaying or canceling the opening of new locations and thus could harm our business. Any such failure could also subject us to liability from our future franchise partners.

Beverage and restaurant companies have been the target of class action lawsuits and other proceedings that are costly, divert management attention and, if successful, could result in our payment of substantial damages or settlement costs.

Our business is subject to the risk of litigation by employees, customers, competitors, landlords or neighboring businesses, suppliers, future franchise partners, shareholders or others through private actions, class actions, administrative proceedings, regulatory actions or other litigation. The outcome of litigation, particularly class action and regulatory actions, is difficult to assess or quantify. In recent years, beverage and restaurant companies have been subject to lawsuits, including class action lawsuits, alleging violations of federal and state laws regarding workplace and employment matters, discrimination and similar matters. A number of these lawsuits have resulted in the payment of substantial damages by the defendants. Similar lawsuits have been instituted from time to time alleging violations of various federal and state wage and hour laws regarding, among other things, employee meal deductions, overtime eligibility of assistant managers and failure to pay for all hours worked. While we have not been a party to any of these types of lawsuits in the past, there can be no assurance that we will not be named in any such lawsuit in the future or that we would not be required to pay substantial expenses and/or damages.

Occasionally, our customers file complaints or lawsuits against us alleging that we are responsible for some illness or injury they suffered at or after a visit to one of our locations, including actions seeking damages resulting from food-borne illness or accidents in our locations. We also could be subject to a variety of other claims from third parties arising in the ordinary course of our business, including contract claims.

Regardless of whether any claims against us are valid or whether we are liable, claims may be expensive to defend and may divert time and money away from our operations. In addition, they may generate negative publicity, which could reduce customer traffic and sales. Although we maintain what we believe to be adequate levels of insurance, insurance may not be available at all or in sufficient amounts to cover any liabilities with respect to these or other matters. A judgment or other liability in excess of our insurance coverage for any claims or any adverse publicity resulting from claims could harm our business.

New information or attitudes regarding diet and health or adverse opinions about the health effects of consuming our menu offerings, could affect consumer preferences and negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Government regulation and consumer eating habits may impact our business as a result of changes in attitudes regarding diet and health or new information regarding the health effects of consuming our menu offerings. These changes have resulted in, and may continue to result in, the enactment of laws and regulations that impact the ingredients and nutritional content of our menu offerings, or laws and regulations requiring us to disclose the nutritional content of our food offerings.

We cannot make any assurances regarding our ability to effectively respond to changes in consumer health perceptions or our ability to successfully implement the nutrient content disclosure requirements and to adapt our menu offerings to trends in drinking and consumption habits.

The U.S. Congress, the Trump administration, or any new administration may make substantial changes to fiscal, tax, and other federal policies that may adversely affect our business.

In 2017, the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration made substantial changes to U.S. policies, which included comprehensive corporate and individual tax reform. In addition, the Trump administration called for significant changes to U.S. trade, healthcare, immigration and government regulatory policy. With the transition to the Biden administration in early 2021, changes to U.S. policy occurred and since the start of the Trump Administration in 2025, U.S. policy changes have been implemented at a rapid pace and additional changes are likely. Changes to U.S. policy implemented by the U.S. Congress, the Trump administration or any new administration have impacted and may in the future impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade relations, unemployment, immigration, healthcare, taxation, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Although we cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business, they could adversely affect our business. Until we know what policy changes are made, whether those policy changes are challenged and subsequently upheld by the court system and how those changes impact our business and the business of our competitors over the long term, we will not know if, overall, we will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them.

Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure and Ownership of Our Common Stock

If we are unable to satisfy the applicable continued listing requirements of Nasdaq, our common stock could be delisted.

We have listed our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Although we have met the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the Nasdaq rules, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on the Nasdaq in the future. In order to continue listing our securities on Nasdaq, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, among other requirements, we must maintain a minimum bid price of our common stock (generally, $1.00) minimum amount in shareholders’ equity (generally, $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally, 300 public holders).

Although we anticipate complying with Nasdaq’s Listing Rules going forward, there can be no assurance that we will be able to meet continued listing requirements in the future. In determining whether to afford a company a cure period prior to commencing suspension or delisting procedures, Nasdaq analyzes all relevant facts including any past deficiencies, and thus our prior deficiencies could be used as a factor by Nasdaq in any future decision to delist our securities from trading on its exchange.

If our common stock is delisted, it could be more difficult to buy or sell our common stock and to obtain accurate quotations, and the price of our common stock could suffer a material decline. Delisting could also impair the liquidity of our common stock and could harm our ability to raise capital through alternative financing sources on terms acceptable to us, or at all, and may result in potential loss of confidence by investors, employees, and fewer business development opportunities.

Reborn Coffee, Inc. is a holding company.

Reborn Coffee, Inc. is a holding company and has no independent means of generating revenue or cash flow, and its ability to pay taxes, operating expenses and dividends in the future, if any, will be dependent upon the financial results and cash flows of its subsidiaries.

The trading price of our securities may be volatile, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

The trading price of our securities is likely to be volatile and could be subject to fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock as you might be unable to sell your shares at or above the price you paid for your shares. Factors that could cause fluctuations in the trading price of our common stock include the risk factors set forth in this section as well as the following:

  • price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;
  • volatility in the trading prices and trading volumes of technology stocks;
  • changes in operating performance and stock market valuations of other technology companies generally, or those in our industry in particular;
  • sales of shares of our common stock by us or our shareholders;
  • failure of securities analysts to maintain coverage of us, changes in financial estimates by securities analysts who follow our company, or our failure to meet these estimates or the expectations of investors;
  • changes in our financial, operating or other metrics, regardless of whether we consider those metrics as reflective of the current state or long-term prospects of our business, and how those results compare to securities analyst expectations, including whether those results fail to meet, exceed or significantly exceed securities analyst expectations, particularly in light of the significant portion of our revenue derived from a limited number of customers;
  • announcements by us or our competitors of new products or services;
  • the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements, and filings with the SEC;
  • rumors and market speculation involving us or other companies in our industry;
  • actual or anticipated changes in our results of operations or fluctuations in our results of operations;
  • actual or anticipated developments in our business, our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape generally;
  • litigation involving us, our industry or both, or investigations by regulators into our operations or those of our competitors;
  • actual or perceived privacy or data security incidents;
  • developments or disputes concerning our intellectual property or other proprietary rights;
  • announced or completed acquisitions of businesses, applications, products, services or technologies by us or our competitors;
  • new laws or regulations or new interpretations of existing laws or regulations applicable to our business;
  • changes in accounting standards, policies, guidelines, interpretations or principles;
  • any significant change in our management; and
  • general political and economic conditions and slow or negative growth of our markets.

In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and in the market price of a particular company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been instituted against these companies. This litigation, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

Our trading price and trading volume could decline if securities or industry analysts do not publish research about our business, or if they publish unfavorable research.

Equity research analysts do not currently provide coverage of our common stock, and we cannot assure that any equity research analysts will adequately provide research coverage of our common stock after the listing of our common stock on Nasdaq. A lack of adequate research coverage may harm the liquidity and trading price of our common stock. To the extent equity research analysts do provide research coverage of our common stock, we will not have any control over the content and opinions included in their reports. The trading price of our common stock could decline if one or more equity research analysts downgrade our stock or publish other unfavorable commentary or research. If one or more equity research analysts cease coverage of our company, or fail to regularly publish reports on us, the demand for our common stock could decrease, which in turn could cause our trading price or trading volume to decline.

We will incur costs and demands upon management as a result of complying with the laws and regulations affecting public companies in the United States, which may harm our business.

As a public company listed in the United States, we will incur significant additional legal, accounting, and other expenses. In addition, changing laws, regulations, and standards relating to corporate governance and public disclosure, including regulations implemented by the SEC and Nasdaq, may increase legal and financial compliance costs and make some activities more time consuming. These laws, regulations and standards are subject to varying interpretations, and as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. We intend to invest resources to comply with evolving laws, regulations, and standards, and this investment may result in increased selling, general and administrative expenses and a diversion of management’s time and attention from revenue-generating activities to compliance activities. If, notwithstanding our efforts, we fail to comply with new laws, regulations, and standards, regulatory authorities may initiate legal proceedings against us and our business may be harmed.

These rules and regulations could also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors or our board committees or as executive officers. Our management and other personnel will devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could harm our business and operating results. We will need to hire more employees in the future to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

Our management team and other personnel devote a substantial amount of time to new compliance initiatives and we may not successfully or efficiently manage our transition to a public company. To comply with the requirements of being a public company, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, we will need to undertake various actions, such as implementing new internal controls and procedures and hiring accounting or internal audit staff, which would require us to incur additional expenses and harm our results of operations.

Failure to comply with these rules might also make it more difficult for us to obtain certain types of insurance, including director and officer liability insurance, and we might be forced to accept reduced policy limits and coverage or incur substantially higher costs to obtain the same or similar coverage. The impact of these events would also make it more difficult for us to attract and retain qualified persons to serve on our board of directors, on committees of our board of directors or as members of senior management.

Due to the implementation of the Reverse Stock Split, the liquidity of our common stock may be adversely effected.

Our common stock began trading on Nasdaq on a Reverse Stock Split-adjusted basis beginning on January 22, 2024. The liquidity of the shares of our common stock may be affected adversely by any reverse stock split given the reduced number of shares of our common stock that are outstanding following the Reverse Stock Split, especially if the market price of our common stock does not increase as a result of the Reverse Stock Split. Following the Reverse Stock Split, the resulting market price of our common stock may not attract new investors and may not satisfy the investing requirements of those investors. Although we believe that a higher market price of our common stock may help generate greater or broader investor interest, there can be no assurance that the Reverse Stock Split resulted in a share price that will attract new investors, including institutional investors. In addition, there can be no assurance that the market price of our common stock will satisfy the investing requirements of those investors. As a result, the trading liquidity of our common stock may not necessarily improve.

It is not possible to predict the actual number of shares we will sell under the ELOC Agreement to Arena, or the actual gross proceeds resulting from those sales.

We are party to a purchase agreement (“ELOC Agreement”) with Arena Business Solutions Global SPC II, Ltd (“Arena”) dated February 10, 2025. Under the ELOC Agreement, we have the right, but not the obligation, to direct Arena to purchase up to $50.0 million in shares of our common stock (the “ELOC Shares”) upon satisfaction of certain terms and conditions contained in the ELOC Agreement, including, without limitation, an effective registration statement filed with the SEC registering the resale of Commitment Fee Shares (as defined below) and additional shares to be sold to Arena from time to time under the ELOC Agreement. The term of the ELOC Agreement began on the date of execution and ends on the earlier of (i) the first day of the month following the 36-month anniversary of the execution date, (ii) the date on which the Investor shall have purchased the maximum amount of ELOC Shares, or (iii) the effective date of any written notice of termination delivered pursuant to the terms of the ELOC Agreement (the “Commitment Period”).

During the Commitment Period, we may direct Arena to purchase ELOC Shares by delivering a notice (an “Advance Notice”) to Arena. We shall, in our sole discretion, select the amount of ELOC Shares requested by us in each Advance Notice. However, such amount may not exceed the Maximum Advance Amount (as defined in the ELOC Agreement). The purchase price to be paid by Arena for the ELOC Shares will be ninety-six percent (96%) of the VWAP (as defined in the ELOC Agreement) of our common stock during the trading day commencing on the date of the Advance Notice, subject to adjustment pursuant to the terms of the ELOC Agreement.

In consideration for Arena’s execution and delivery of the ELOC Agreement, we agreed to issue to Arena, as a commitment fee: (i) a number of shares of common stock (the “Initial Commitment Fee Shares”) equal to 750,000 divided by the simple average of the daily VWAP of the common stock during the five trading days immediately preceding the effectiveness of the initial registration statement (the “Initial Registration Statement”) on which the Initial Commitment Fee Shares are registered promptly after the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and (ii) a number of shares of common stock (“Additional Commitment Fee Shares,” and together with the Initial Commitment Fee Shares, the “Commitment Fee Shares”) equal to 750,000 divided by the simple average of the daily VWAP of the common stock during the five trading days immediately preceding the two month anniversary of the effectiveness of the Initial Registration Statement, promptly after such two-month anniversary.

Because the price per share of each share sold to Arena will fluctuate during the sales period, it is not currently possible to predict the number of shares that will be sold or the actual gross proceeds to be raised in connection with those sales.

In addition, any issuance and sale by us under the ELOC Agreement of a substantial amount of shares of common stock could cause additional substantial dilution to our shareholders.

We may require additional financing to sustain our operations and without it we may not be able to continue operations.

On February 6, 2025, we entered into a Securities Purchase Agreement (“Debenture Purchase Agreement”) with the purchasers named therein (the “Debenture Investors”). Under the Debenture Purchase Agreement, we agreed to issue 10% original issue discount secured convertible debentures (“Debentures”) in a principal amount of up to $10,000,000, divided into up to four separate tranches that are each subject to certain closing conditions (the “Debenture Transaction”). The conversion price per share of each Debenture, subject to adjustment as provided therein, is equal to 92.5% of the lowest daily VWAP (as defined in the Debentures) of our shares of common stock during the five trading day period ending on the trading day immediately prior to delivery or deemed delivery of the applicable Conversion Notice (as defined in the Debentures). The Debentures accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum paid in kind, unless there is an event of default in which case the Debentures will accrue interest at a default rate.

Upon the consummation of the closing of each tranche, we also agreed to issue common stock purchase warrants (the “Debenture Warrants”) to each Debenture Investor who participates in such closing. The Debenture Warrants will: (i) provide for the purchase by the applicable Debenture Investor of a number of shares of common stock equal to 20% of the total principal amount of the related Debenture purchased by the Debenture Investor on the applicable closing date divided by 92.5% of the lowest daily VWAP of common stock for the five consecutive trading day period ended on the last trading day immediately preceding such closing date and (ii) be exercisable at an exercise price equal to 92.5% of the average of the lowest daily VWAP of the common stock over the consecutive trading days immediately preceding the delivery of the applicable Notice of Exercise (as defined in the Debenture Warrants).

As of the date of this Report, we have conducted four closings pursuant to the Debenture Purchase Agreement and sold Debentures in the aggregate principal amount of $4,166,665 for a purchase price of $3,750,000, representing an original issue discount of ten percent (10%). We also issued to the Debenture Investors 1,041,667 Debenture Warrants in connection with the closings. In addition, on March 31, 2026, we issued an additional 250,000 common stock purchase warrants to the Debenture Investor, which have an exercise price of $2.00 per share, in exchange for waiver and forbearance of certain terms under the Debentures, the details of which are set forth on Forms 8-K filed by the Company on April 6, 2026 and April 21, 2026.

In addition, we entered into an ELOC Purchase Agreement with Arena whereby, we may, subject to various terms and conditions, including, without limitation that we maintain an effective registration statement covering shares issuable pursuant to the ELOC Agreement, at our discretion, direct Arena to purchase up to $50.0 million of shares of our common stock under the ELOC Agreement from time-to-time. The purchase price per share for the shares of common stock that we may elect to sell to Arena under the ELOC Agreement will fluctuate based on the market prices of our common stock for each purchase made pursuant to the ELOC Agreement, if any. Accordingly, it is not currently possible to predict the number of shares that will be sold to Arena, the actual purchase price per share to be paid by Arena for those shares, if any, or the actual gross proceeds to be raised in connection with those sales. As of the date hereof, we have not drawn down on the ELOC Purchase Agreement.

The extent to which we rely on Arena and/or the Debenture Investors as a source of funding will depend on a number of factors including, the prevailing market price of our common stock and the extent to which we are able to secure working and other capital from other sources. If obtaining sufficient funding from ELOC Agreement were to prove unavailable or prohibitively dilutive, we may need to secure another source of funding in order to satisfy our working and other capital needs. Even if we were to sell to Arena all of the shares of common stock available for sale to Arena under the ELOC Agreement and conduct the remaining closings pursuant to the Debenture Purchase Agreement, we may still need additional capital to fully implement our business, operating and development plans. Should the financing we require to sustain our working capital needs be unavailable or prohibitively expensive when we require it, the consequences may be a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

Future sales and issuances of our common stock or other securities might result in significant dilution and could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

To raise capital, we may sell common stock, convertible securities or other equity securities in one or more transactions, at prices and in a manner we determine from time to time. We may sell shares or other securities in another offering at a price per share that is less than the price per share paid by investors in this offering, and investors purchasing shares or other securities in the future could have rights superior to existing shareholders. The price per share at which we sell additional shares of our common stock, or securities convertible or exchangeable into common stock, in future transactions may be higher or lower than the price per share paid by investors in this offering.

We cannot predict what effect, if any, sales of shares of our common stock in the public market or the availability of shares for sale will have on the market price of our common stock. However, future sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market, including shares issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants and convertible preferred shares, or the perception that such sales may occur, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

General Risks

Our quarterly and annual results may fluctuate significantly and may not meet our expectations or those of investors or securities analysts.

Our quarterly and annual results of operations, including the levels of our revenue, deferred revenue, working capital, and cash flows, may vary significantly in the future, such that period-to-period comparisons of our results of operations may not be meaningful. Our quarterly and annual financial results may fluctuate due to a variety of factors, many of which are outside of our control and may be difficult to predict, including, but not limited to:

  • the level of demand for our products;
  • our ability to grow or maintain our dollar-based net retention rate, expand usage within organizations, and sell subscriptions;
  • the timing and success of new features, integrations, capabilities, and enhancements by us to our products, or by our competitors to their products, or any other changes in the competitive landscape of our market;
  • our ability to achieve widespread acceptance and use of our products;
  • errors in our forecasting of the demand for our products, which would lead to lower revenue, increased costs, or both;
  • security breaches, technical difficulties, or interruptions to our systems;
  • pricing pressure as a result of competition or otherwise;
  • the continued ability to hire high quality and experienced talent in a fiercely competitive environment;
  • the timing of the grant or vesting of equity awards to employees, directors, or consultants;
  • declines in the values of foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar;
  • changes in, and continuing uncertainty in relation to, the legislative or regulatory environment;
  • legal and regulatory compliance costs in new and existing markets;
  • costs and timing of expenses related to the potential acquisition of businesses, talent, technologies, or intellectual property, including potentially significant amortization costs and possible write-downs;
  • environmental matters, such as wildfires, and health epidemics, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza, and other highly communicable diseases or viruses;
  • adverse litigation judgments, other dispute-related settlement payments, or other litigation-related costs; and
  • general economic conditions in either domestic or international markets, including geopolitical uncertainty and instability and their effects on beverage purchases.

Any one or more of the factors above may result in significant fluctuations in our results of operations, which may negatively impact the trading price of our common stock. You should not rely on our past results as an indicator of our future performance.

Our outstanding indebtedness could materially adversely affect our financial condition and our ability to operate our business, pursue our growth strategy, and react to changes in the economy or industry.

As of December 31, 2025, we had $500,000 in principal amount outstanding under U.S. Small Business Administration Loan No. 7331917406 under its Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance program in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which we refer to as our EIDL Loan, $52,025 in principal outstanding under the Paycheck Protection Program Loan administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration, $109,247 in principal outstanding under our loans with Square Capital, LLC, $70,000 of short term borrowing from a shareholder, and $279,026 of short term borrowing from private parties.

Our substantial debt could have important consequences to you, including the following:

  • it may be difficult for us to satisfy our obligations, including debt service requirements under our outstanding debt, resulting in possible defaults on and acceleration of such indebtedness;
  • our ability to obtain additional financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements or other general corporate purposes may be impaired;
  • a substantial portion of cash flow from operations may be dedicated to the payment of principal and interest on our debt, therefore reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund our operations, capital expenditures, future business opportunities, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
  • we are more vulnerable to economic downturns and adverse industry conditions and our flexibility to plan for, or react to, changes in our business or industry are more limited;
  • our ability to capitalize on business opportunities and to react to competitive pressures, as compared to our competitors, may be compromised due to our level of debt; and
  • our ability to borrow additional funds or to refinance debt may be limited.

A failure to establish and maintain an effective system of disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting, could adversely affect our ability to produce timely and accurate financial statements or comply with applicable regulations.

As a public company, we will be subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of Nasdaq. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to increase our legal, accounting, and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time consuming, and costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems, and resources.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. We are continuing to develop and refine our disclosure controls and other procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we will file with the SEC is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified in SEC rules and forms and that information required to be disclosed in reports under the Exchange Act, is accumulated and communicated to our principal executive and financial officers. We are also continuing to improve our internal controls over financial reporting. In order to maintain and improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, we have expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and investments to strengthen our accounting systems.

Our current controls and any new controls that we develop may become inadequate because of changes in conditions in our business. In addition, changes in accounting principles or interpretations could also challenge our internal controls and require that we establish new business processes, systems, and controls to accommodate such changes. We have limited experience with implementing the systems and controls that will be necessary to operate as a public company, as well as adopting changes in accounting principles or interpretations mandated by the relevant regulatory bodies. Additionally, if these new systems, controls or standards and the associated process changes do not give rise to the benefits that we expect or do not operate as intended, it could adversely affect our financial reporting systems and processes, our ability to produce timely and accurate financial reports or the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Moreover, our business may be harmed if we experience problems with any new systems and controls that result in delays in their implementation or increased costs to correct any post-implementation issues that may arise.

Further, weaknesses in our disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting may be discovered in the future. Any failure to develop or maintain effective controls or any difficulties encountered in their implementation or improvement could harm our results of operations or cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations and may result in a restatement of our consolidated financial statements for prior periods. Any failure to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting also could adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations and annual independent registered public accounting firm attestation reports regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting that we will eventually be required to include in our periodic reports that will be filed with the SEC. Ineffective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting could also cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial and other information, which would likely have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock. In addition, if we are unable to continue to meet these requirements, we may not be able to remain listed on Nasdaq. As a public company, we are required to provide an annual management report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting.

Our independent registered public accounting firm is not required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. At such time as our registered public accounting firm is required to formally attest to the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting, our independent registered public accounting firm may issue a report that is adverse in the event it is not satisfied with the level at which our internal control over financial reporting is documented, designed or operating. Any failure to maintain effective disclosure controls and internal control over financial reporting could harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition and could cause a decline in the trading price of our common stock. Changes in tax laws or regulations could be enacted or existing tax laws or regulations could be applied to us or our customers in a manner that could increase the costs of our products and harm our business.

We may engage in merger and acquisition activities, which would require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute shareholder value, and adversely affect our business, results of operations, and financial condition.

As part of our business strategy to expand our product offerings and grow our business in response to changing technologies, customer demand, and competitive pressures, we have in the past and may in the future make investments or acquisitions in other companies, products or technologies. The identification of suitable acquisition candidates can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly, and we may not be able to complete acquisitions on favorable terms, if at all. These acquisitions may not ultimately strengthen our competitive position or achieve the goals of such acquisition, and any acquisitions we complete could be viewed negatively by customers or investors. We may encounter difficult or unforeseen expenditures in integrating an acquisition, particularly if we cannot retain the key personnel of the acquired company. In addition, if we fail to successfully integrate such acquisitions, or the assets, technologies or personnel associated with such acquisitions, into our company, the business and results of operations of the combined company would be adversely affected.

Acquisitions may disrupt our ongoing operations, divert management from their primary responsibilities, subject us to additional liabilities, increase our expenses, subject us to increased regulatory requirements, cause adverse tax consequences or unfavorable accounting treatment, expose us to claims and disputes by shareholders and third parties, and adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations. We may not successfully evaluate or utilize the acquired technology and accurately forecast the financial impact of an acquisition transaction, including accounting charges. We may have to pay cash for any such acquisition which would limit other potential uses for our cash. If we incur debt to fund any such acquisition, such debt may subject us to material restrictions in our ability to conduct our business, result in increased fixed obligations, and subject us to covenants or other restrictions that would decrease our operational flexibility and impede our ability to manage our operations. If we issue a significant amount of equity securities in connection with future acquisitions, existing shareholders’ ownership would be diluted.

We may need additional capital, and we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available.

In the future, we may raise additional capital through additional equity or debt financing to support our business growth, to respond to business opportunities, challenges or unforeseen circumstances, or for other reasons. On an ongoing basis, we are evaluating sources of financing and may raise additional capital in the future. Our ability to obtain additional capital will depend on our development efforts, business plans, investor demand, operating performance, the condition of the capital markets, and other factors. We cannot assure you that additional financing will be available to us on favorable terms when required, or at all. If we raise additional funds through the issuance of equity, equity-linked or debt securities, those securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to the rights of existing shareholders, and existing shareholders may experience dilution. Further, if we are unable to obtain additional capital when required, or are unable to obtain additional capital on satisfactory terms, our ability to continue to support our business growth or to respond to business opportunities, challenges, or unforeseen circumstances would be adversely affected.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware and, to the extent enforceable, the federal district courts of the United States of America are the exclusive forums for substantially all disputes between us and our shareholders, which could limit our shareholders’ ability to obtain a favorable judicial forum for disputes with us or our directors, officers or employees.

Our amended and restated articles of incorporation provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware is the exclusive forum for the following types of actions or proceedings under Delaware statutory or common law:

  • any derivative claim or cause of action brought on our behalf;
  • any claim or cause of action for a breach of fiduciary duty owed by any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees to us or our shareholders;
  • any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees arising out of or pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time);
  • any claim or cause of action seeking to interpret, apply, enforce or determine the validity of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws (as each may be amended from time to time, including any right, obligation or remedy thereunder);
  • any claim or cause of action as to which the Delaware General Corporation Law confers jurisdiction to the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware; and
  • any claim or cause of action against us or any of our current or former directors, officers or other employees governed by the internal-affairs doctrine.

This provision would not apply to suits brought to enforce a duty or liability created by the Exchange Act or any other claim for which the U.S. federal courts have exclusive jurisdiction. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that will be in effect prior to the closing of this offering will provide that, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the federal district courts of the United States of America shall be the exclusive forum for the resolution of any complaint asserting a cause or causes of action arising under the Securities Act, including all causes of action asserted against any defendant to such complaint. For the avoidance of doubt, this provision is intended to benefit and may be enforced by us, our officers and directors, the underwriters to any offering giving rise to such complaint, and any other professional entity whose profession gives authority to a statement made by that person or entity and who has prepared or certified any part of the documents underlying the offering. If a court were to find either choice of forum provision contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions. For example, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware recently determined that the exclusive forum provisions of federal district courts of the United States of America for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act is not enforceable.

These choice of forum provisions may limit a shareholder’s ability to bring a claim in a judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers, or other employees. While the Delaware courts have determined that such choice of forum provisions are facially valid, a shareholder may nevertheless seek to bring a claim in a venue other than those designated in the exclusive forum provisions, and there can be no assurance that such provisions will be enforced by a court in those other jurisdictions. We note that investors cannot waive compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

Additionally, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provide that any person or entity holding, owning or otherwise acquiring any interest in any of our securities shall be deemed to have notice of and consented to these provisions.

Our charter documents also contain other provisions that could have an anti-takeover effect, such as:

  • permitting the board of directors to establish the number of directors and fill any vacancies and newly created directorships;
  • providing that directors may only be removed pursuant to the provisions of Section 141(k) of the Delaware General Corporation Law;
  • prohibiting cumulative voting for directors;
  • requiring super-majority voting to amend some provisions in our amended and restated bylaws;
  • authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock that our board of directors could use to implement a shareholder rights plan; and
  • eliminating the ability of shareholders to call special meetings of shareholders.

Moreover, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are governed by the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, which prohibit a person who owns 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock from merging or combining with us for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person acquired in excess of 15% of our outstanding voting stock, unless the merger or combination is approved in a prescribed manner. Any provision in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or our amended and restated bylaws or Delaware law that has the effect of delaying or deterring a change in control could limit the opportunity for our shareholders to receive a premium for their shares of our common stock and could also affect the price that some investors are willing to pay for our common stock.

We do not intend to pay dividends for the foreseeable future.

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our capital stock, and we do not intend to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We expect to retain future earnings, if any, to fund the development and growth of our business. Any future determination to pay dividends on our capital stock will be at the discretion of our board of directors. Accordingly, shareholders must rely on sales of their common stock after price appreciation, which may never occur, as the only way to realize any future gains on their investments.

Catastrophic events may disrupt our business.

Labor discord or disruption, geopolitical events, social unrest, war, terrorism, political instability, acts of public violence, boycotts, hostilities and social unrest and other health pandemics that lead to avoidance of public places or cause people to stay at home could harm our business. Additionally, natural disasters or other catastrophic events may cause damage or disruption to our operations, international commerce, and the global economy, and thus could harm our business. In the event of a major earthquake, hurricane or catastrophic event such as fire, power loss, telecommunications failure, cyber-attack, war or terrorist attack, we may be unable to continue our operations and may endure system interruptions, reputational harm, breaches of data security, and loss of critical data, all of which would harm our business, results of operations, and financial condition. In addition, the insurance we maintain would likely not be adequate to cover our losses resulting from disasters or other business interruptions.

Cybersecurity

As filed, 3,106 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Risk Management and Strategy

We have an information security program designed to identify, protect, detect and respond to, and manage reasonably foreseeable cybersecurity risks and threats. To protect our information systems from cybersecurity threats, we utilize various security tools that help prevent, identify, escalate, investigate, resolve, and recover from identified vulnerabilities and security incidents in a reasonably timely manner. These include, but are not limited to, internal reporting and tools for monitoring and detecting cybersecurity threats.

We evaluate the risks associated with technology and cybersecurity threats and monitor our information systems for potential weaknesses. We review and test our information technology system on an as-needed basis and also utilize internal team personnel to evaluate and assess the efficacy of our information technology system and enhance our controls and procedures. The results of these assessments are reported to our Audit Committee and, from time to time, our Board of Directors.

There can be no assurances that our cybersecurity risk management program and processes, including our policies, controls, or procedures, will be fully implemented, complied with or are effective in protecting our systems and information.

As of the date of this report, we are not aware of any cybersecurity incidents that have had a materially adverse effect on our operations, business, results of operations, or financial condition.

Governance

Our Board of Directors considers cybersecurity risk as part of its risk oversight function. It has delegated oversight of cybersecurity and other information technology risks to the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors. The Audit Committee oversees the implementation of the cybersecurity risk management program.

The Audit Committee receives periodic reports from management on potential cybersecurity risks and threats. The Audit Committee reports to the full Board of Directors regarding its activities, including those related to cybersecurity. The full Board of Directors also receives briefings from management on the cybersecurity risk management program as needed.

Management is responsible for assessing and managing our material risks from cybersecurity threats. Management has primary responsibility for our overall cybersecurity risk management program and supervises both the internal cybersecurity personnel and external cybersecurity consultants.

The management team supervises efforts to prevent, detect, mitigate, and remediate cybersecurity risks and incidents through various means, which may include briefings from internal security personnel, threat intelligence and other information obtained from governmental, public or private sources, including external consultants; and alerts and reports produced by security tools deployed in the IT environment. Our cybersecurity incident response plan governs our assessment and response upon the occurrence of a material cybersecurity incident, including the process for informing senior management and our Board of Directors.

Properties

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Our executive office is located at 580 N. Berry Street, Brea, California and our telephone number is (714) 784-6369.

As of December 31, 2025, we had 10 Company-owned retail locations across California and in Malaysia, all of which are leased.

As filed, 1,676 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

There are no material proceedings to which any director or officer, or any associate of any such director or officer, is a party that is adverse to our Company or any of our subsidiaries or has a material interest adverse to our Company or any of our subsidiaries. No director or executive officer has been a director or executive officer of any business which has filed a bankruptcy petition or had a bankruptcy petition filed against it during the past ten years. No current director or executive officer has been convicted of a criminal offense or is the subject of a pending criminal proceeding during the past ten years. No current director or executive officer has been the subject of any order, judgment or decree of any court permanently or temporarily enjoining, barring, suspending or otherwise limiting his involvement in any type of business, securities or banking activities during the past ten years. No current director or officer has been found by a court to have violated a federal or state securities or commodities law during the past ten years.

We are subject to various legal proceedings from time to time as part of its business. We are not presently a party to any legal proceedings that, if determined adversely to us, we believe would individually or in the aggregate have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition or cash flows. However, legal proceedings are inherently uncertain. As a result, the outcome of a particular matter or a combination of matters may be material to our results of operations for a particular period, depending upon the size of the loss or our income for that particular period.

Management's discussion and analysis

As filed, 28,218 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations is intended to assist in understanding and assessing the trends and significant changes in our results of operations and financial condition. Historical results may not be indicative of future performance. The statements in this discussion regarding industry outlook, our expectations regarding our future performance, liquidity and capital resources and all other non-historical statements in this discussion are forward-looking statements and are based on the beliefs of our management, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, our management. Actual results could differ materially from those discussed in or implied by forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including those discussed below and elsewhere in this report, particularly in “Risk Factors” or in other sections of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Business

Reborn Coffee is focused on serving high quality, specialty-roasted coffee at retail locations, kiosks and cafes. We are an innovative company that strives for constant improvement in the coffee experience through exploration of new technology and premier service, guided by traditional brewing techniques. We believe Reborn differentiates Coffee itself from other coffee roasters through its innovative techniques, including sourcing, washing, roasting, and brewing our coffee beans with a balance of precision and craft.

Founded in 2015 by Jay Kim, our Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Kim and his team launched Reborn Coffee with the vision of using the finest pure ingredients and pristine water. We currently serve customers through our 9 retail stores and 1 franchisee located in California, 1 store in Korea, and 1 store in Malaysia.

Reborn Coffee continues to elevate the high-end coffee experience, and we received 1st place traditional still in “America’s Best Cold Brew” competition by Coffee Fest in 2017 in Portland and 2018 in Los Angeles.

Current Operations

We have a production and distribution center at our headquarters that we use to process and roast coffee for wholesale and retail distribution.

We have the following ten retail coffee locations as of December 31, 2025:

  • La Floresta Shopping Village in Brea, California;
  • La Crescenta, California;
  • Corona Del Mar, California;
  • Home Depot Center in Laguna Woods, California;
  • Manhattan Village at Manhattan Beach, California.
  • Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, California;
  • Intersect in Irvine, California;
  • Diamond Bar, California; and
  • Anaheim, California
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Components of Our Results of Operations

Revenue

We recognize revenue in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. Our net revenue primarily consists of revenues from our retail locations and wholesale and online stores. Accordingly, we recognize revenue as follows:

  • Retail Store Revenue

Retail store revenues are recognized at the point of sale when payment is tendered. Retail store revenues are reported net of sales, use, or other transaction taxes collected from customers and remitted to taxing authorities. Sales taxes payable are recorded as accrued liabilities within other current liabilities. Retail store revenue represents approximately 73.5% of the Company’s total revenue.

  • Wholesale and Online Revenue

Wholesale and online revenues are recognized when products are delivered and title passes to the customer or to wholesale distributors. When customers pick up products at the Company’s warehouse or when products are delivered to wholesale distributors, title transfers and revenue is recognized at that time. Wholesale and online revenues represent approximately 1.4% of the Company’s total revenue.

  • Service Income – Reborn Logistics

Service income is primarily derived from Reborn Logistics’ freight forwarding and logistics services. The Company recognizes service revenue when shipment transactions are delivered. Each shipment transaction or service order generally represents a separate contract with a customer. A performance obligation is established once a customer agreement with an agreed-upon transaction price exists. The transaction price is typically fixed and is not contingent upon the occurrence or non-occurrence of future events, and payment is generally due within 45 to 60 days from the invoice date.

The Company’s transportation arrangements involve organizing the movement of freight to a customer’s destination. Transportation services, including certain ancillary services such as loading and unloading, freight insurance, and customs clearance, represent a single performance obligation, as these services are not distinct in the context of the contract. This performance obligation is satisfied and revenue is recognized as control of the services transfers to the customer during the transit period, as the customer’s goods move from origin to destination.

The Company evaluates whether it controls the transportation services provided to determine whether it is acting as a principal or an agent. The Company has determined that it acts as the principal in its transportation service arrangements, as it controls pricing, manages all aspects of the shipment process, and assumes the risks associated with delivery and collection. Accordingly, service income is presented on a gross basis in the consolidated statements of operations. Service income represents approximately 11.5% of the Company’s total revenue.

  • License Income

The Company has entered into license agreements that allow licensees to operate and market Reborn Coffee branded stores and products under the Reborn Coffee trademarks. Under these agreements, the Company provides ongoing services, including training, marketing support, system updates, and other operational assistance. As the Company is required to provide these ongoing services, license revenue is recognized over the term of the license agreement. License agreements typically have initial terms of three years and may be renewed for additional periods. License income represents approximately 13.6% of the Company’s total revenue.

Product, Food and Drink Costs – Stores, Wholesales and Online

Product, food and drink costs – stores and cost of sales – wholesale and online primarily include the costs of ingredients of food and beverage sold and related supplies used in customer service. The wholesale and online sales also include costs of packaging and shipping.

Cost of service income – subcontractors (Reborn Logistics)

Cost of service income – subcontractors mainly represent the cost of independence contractors and third-party carriers in the performance of its freight forward and transportation services.

General and Administrative Expense

General and administrative expense includes store-related expense as well as the Company’s corporate headquarters’ expenses. These include rent and utilities, payroll and benefits, and depreciation expenses.

Reverse Stock Split

On January 12, 2024, we filed the Certificate of Amendment to our Certificate of Incorporation to effect the Reverse Stock Split of our issued common stock in the ratio of 1-for-8. The common stock began trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on a Reverse Stock Split-adjusted basis at the market open on Monday, January 22, 2024.

Results of Operations

The following tables present the summary of historical consolidated financial data for Reborn Coffee, Inc. and its subsidiaries for the periods and at the dates indicated. Historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results expected for any future period. You should read the summary of historical consolidated financial data below, together with our audited consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto.

For the Year Ended December 31, 2025 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2024.

Net revenues: Years Ended December 31, 2025 Amount% 2024 Amount% Changes Amount%
Stores $5,952,061 73.5% $5,573,247 94.0% $378,814 6.8%
Wholesale and online 113,577 1.4% 355,286 6.0% (241,709) (68.0)%
Service income 928,990 11.5% - 0.0% 9288,990 100%
License income 1,100,000 13.6% - 0.0% 1,100,000 100%
Total net revenues 8,094,628 100.0% 5,928,533 100.0% 2,165,095 36.5%
Operating costs and expenses:
Product, food and drink costs - stores 2,376,017 29.4% 2,204,574 37.2% 171,443 7.8%
Cost of service income - subcontractors 650,293 8.0% - 0.0% 650,293 100%
General and administrative 7,751,594 95.8% 6,862,729 115.8% 888,865 13.0%
Professional fees 1,626,238 20.1% 693,563 11.7% 932,675 134.5%
Stock compensation expense 1,484,333 18.3% 787,213 13.3% 697,120 88.6%
Total operating costs and expenses 13,888,475 171.6% 10,548,079 177.9% 3,340,396 31.7%
Loss from operations (5,793,847) (71.6)% (4,619,546) (77.9)% (1,174,301) 25.4%
Other income (expense):
Other income 146,508 1.8% 55,140 0.9% 91,368 165.7%
Interest expense including amortization of debt discount (156,093) (1.9)% (215,140) (3.6)% 59,047 (27.4)%
Interest expense - debt discount (1,067,028) (13.2)% - 0.0% (1,067,028) 100.0%
Gain on sale of property 45,673 0.6% - 0.0% 45,673 100.0%
Loss on debt extinguishment (722,972) (8.9)% - 0.0% (722,972) 100.0%
Derivative expense 297,176 3.7% - 0.0% 297,176 100.0%
Asset impairment loss (1,647,229) (20.3)% (25,602) (0.4)% (1,621,627) 6334.0%
Total other expense, net (3,103,965) (38.3)% (185,602) (3.1)% (2,918,363) 1572.4%
Loss before income taxes (8,897,812) (109.9)% (4,805,148) (81.1)% (4,092,664) 85.2%
Provision for income taxes 109,279 1.4% 800 0.0% 108,479 13559.9%
Net loss $(9,007,091) -111.3% $(4,805,948) (81.1)% $(4,201,143) 87.4%

Net Revenues – Revenues were approximately $8.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025, compared to $5.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, representing an increase of approximately $2.1 million, or 36.5%. The increase in sales for the period was primarily driven by new stream of service income from Reborn logistics and the license income along with the continued focus on marketing efforts to grow brand recognition.

Product, Food and Drink Costs (stores) – Product, food and drink costs were approximately $2.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $2.2 million for the comparable period in 2024, representing an increase of approximately $0.2 million, or 7.8%. The increase in costs was mainly driven by the increase of product costs and the overall increase in sales for the period.

Costs of Service Income – Subcontractors – Costs of service income were approximately $0.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2025. The costs of service income – subcontractors were mainly representing the cost of independence contractors and third-party carriers in the performance of its freight forward and transportation services.

General and Administrative Expenses – General and administrative expenses were approximately $7.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $6.9 million for the comparable period in the prior year, representing an increase of approximately $0.9 million, or 13.0%. The increase was mainly caused by increased occupancy expenses and labor costs from the store locations.

Professional Fees – Professional fees were approximately $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $0.7 million for the comparable period in the prior year, representing an increase of approximately $0.9 million, or 134.5%. The increase was primarily related to legal and accounting services during 2025 in connection with the convertible debts and other related equity activities.

Stock Compensation Expenses – Stock compensation expenses were approximately $1.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $0.8 million for the comparable period in the prior year, representing an increase of approximately $0.7 million, or 88.6%. The increase was mainly driven by increased activities during 2025.

Other Expense – Other expense primarily includes debt discount, derivative expenses, gain on debt extinguishment and asset impairment loss. Other expense was $3.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2025 compared to $0.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024, an increase of $2.9 million or 1,572.4%. The increase was contributed by $1.1 million of debt discounts expense from the convertible debt, $0.7 million of loss on debt extinguishment, $1.6 million of asset impairment loss, offset by other income of $0.3 million.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

We have a history of operating losses and negative cash flow in operating activities. We have incurred recurring net losses, including net losses from operations before income taxes of $8.9 million and $4.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. We used $6.5 million and $3.5 million cash for operating activities during the years ended December 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively. These factors raise substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern, and our independent registered public accounting firm has included a going concern explanatory paragraph in our audit report for 2025.

On February 6, 2025, we entered into a Debenture Purchase Agreement with the purchasers named therein (the “Debenture Investors”). Under the Debenture Purchase Agreement, we agreed to issue 10% original issue discount secured convertible debentures (“Debentures”) in a principal amount of up to $10,000,000, divided into up to four separate tranches that are each subject to certain closing conditions (the “Debenture Transaction”). The conversion price per share of each Debenture, subject to adjustment as provided therein, is equal to 92.5% of the lowest daily VWAP (as defined in the Debentures) of our shares of common stock during the five trading day period ending on the trading day immediately prior to delivery or deemed delivery of the applicable Conversion Notice (as defined in the Debentures). The Debentures accrue interest at a rate of 10% per annum paid in kind, unless there is an event of default in which case the Debentures will accrue interest at a default rate.

Upon the consummation of the closing of each tranche, we also agreed to issue common stock purchase warrants (the “Debenture Warrants”) to each Debenture Investor who participates in such closing. The Debenture Warrants will: (i) provide for the purchase by the applicable Debenture Investor of a number of shares of common stock equal to 20% of the total principal amount of the related Debenture purchased by the Debenture Investor on the applicable closing date divided by 92.5% of the lowest daily VWAP of common stock for the five consecutive trading day period ended on the last trading day immediately preceding such closing date and (ii) be exercisable at an exercise price equal to 92.5% of the average of the lowest daily VWAP of the common stock over the consecutive trading days immediately preceding the delivery of the applicable Notice of Exercise (as defined in the Debenture Warrants).

As of the date of this Report, we have conducted four closings pursuant to the Debenture Purchase Agreement and sold Debentures in the aggregate principal amount of $ $4,166,665 for a purchase price of $3,750,000, representing an original issue discount of ten percent (10%). We also issued to the Debenture Investors 1,041,667 Debenture Warrants in connection with the closings. In addition, on March 31, 2026, we issued an additional 250,000 common stock purchase warrants to the Debenture Investor, which have an exercise price of $2.00 per share, in exchange for waiver and forbearance of certain terms under the Debentures, the details of which are set forth on Forms 8-K filed by the Company on April 6, 2026 and April 21, 2026.

In addition, we entered into an ELOC Purchase Agreement with Arena whereby, we may, subject to various terms and conditions, including, without limitation that we maintain an effective registration statement covering shares issuable pursuant to the ELOC Agreement, at our discretion, direct Arena to purchase up to $50.0 million of shares of our common stock under the ELOC Agreement from time-to-time. The purchase price per share for the shares of common stock that we may elect to sell to Arena under the ELOC Agreement will fluctuate based on the market prices of our common stock for each purchase made pursuant to the ELOC Agreement, if any. Accordingly, it is not currently possible to predict the number of shares that will be sold to Arena, the actual purchase price per share to be paid by Arena for those shares, if any, or the actual gross proceeds to be raised in connection with those sales. As of the date hereof, we have not drawn down on the ELOC Purchase Agreement.

The extent to which we rely on Arena and/or the Debenture Investors as a source of funding will depend on a number of factors including, the prevailing market price of our common stock and the extent to which we are able to secure working and other capital from other sources. If obtaining sufficient funding from ELOC Agreement were to prove unavailable or prohibitively dilutive, we may need to secure another source of funding in order to satisfy our working and other capital needs. Even if we were to sell to Arena all of the shares of common stock available for sale to Arena under the ELOC Agreement and conduct the remaining closings pursuant to the Debenture Purchase Agreement, we may still need additional capital to fully implement our business, operating and development plans. Should the financing we require to sustain our working capital needs be unavailable or prohibitively expensive when we require it, the consequences may be a material adverse effect on our business, operating results, financial condition and prospects.

Our cash needs will depend on numerous factors, including our revenues, completion of our product development activities, customer and market acceptance of our product, and our ability to reduce and control costs. We expect to devote substantial capital resources to, among other things, fund operations and continue development plans.

To support our existing and planned business model, we need to raise additional capital to fund our future operations. We have not experienced any difficulty in raising funds through loans and have not experienced any liquidity problems in settling payables in the normal course of business and repaying loans when they fall due. Successful renewal of our loans, however, is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties. In addition, the increasingly competitive industry conditions under which we operate may negatively impact on our results of operations and cash flows. Additional financing is anticipated to fund our operations in near future. However, other than the ELOC Agreement and the Arena Debenture Transaction, there are no current agreements or understandings with regard to the form, time or amount of such financing and there is no assurance that any of these financing can be obtained or that we can continue as a going concern.

Statement of Cash Flow Data: Years Ended December 31, 2025 2024
Net cash used in operating activities (6,505,426) (3,452,224)
Net cash used in investing activities (2,976,195) (977,217)
Net cash provided by financing activities 11,918,112 4,423,355

Cash Flows Used in Operating Activities

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2025 was approximately $6.5 million, which mainly resulted from net loss of $9.1 million, non-cash charges of $1.5 million for stock compensation, $0.4 million for depreciation, $1.1 million debt discount expense, $1.6 million asset impairment loss and net cash inflows of $2.5 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities.

Net cash used in operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2024 was approximately $3.5 million, which resulted from net loss of $4.8 million, non-cash charges of $0.8 million for stock compensation, and $0.4 million for depreciation, and net cash inflows of $0.2 million from changes in operating assets and liabilities.

Cash Flows Used in Investing Activities

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2025 was $3.0 million, which primarily resulted from $2.0 million of loan receivables from related party and $1.0 million of long-term prepayment.

Net cash used in investing activities for the year ended December 31, 2024 was $1.0 million. The expenditure is primarily related to purchases of property and equipment in connection with current and future location openings and maintaining our existing locations.

Cash Flows Provided by Financing Activities

Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2025 was $11.9 million, which was primarily due to proceeds from issuance of common stock, gain on debt settlement and issuance of convertible debt.

Net cash provided by financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2024 was $4.4 million, which was primarily due to proceeds from issuances of common stock and off-set by repayments of loans payable.

Credit Facilities

Economic Injury Disaster Loan

On May 16, 2020, we executed the EIDL Loan from the SBA under its EIDL assistance program in light of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. As of December 31, 2025, the loan payable, EIDL Loan noted above is not in default.

Pursuant to the SBA Loan Agreement, we borrowed an aggregate principal amount of the EIDL Loan of $500,000, with proceeds to be used for working capital purposes. Interest accrues at the rate of 3.75% per annum and will accrue only on funds actually advanced from the date of each advance. Installment payments, including principal and interest, are due monthly beginning May 16, 2021 (twelve months from the date of the SBA Loan Agreement) in the amount of $731. The balance of principal and interest is payable thirty years from the date of the SBA Loan. In connection with this, we also received a $10,000 grant, which does not have to be repaid. During the year ended December 31, 2020, $10,000 was recorded in Economy injury disaster loan (EIDL) grant income in the Statements of Operations. The schedule of payments on this loan was later deferred to commence 24 months from the date of loan and we have paid the payments since May 2022.

In connection therewith, we executed (i) a loan for the benefit of the SBA, which contains customary events of default and (ii) a Security Agreement, granting the SBA a security interest in all of our tangible and intangible personal property, which also contains customary events of default (the “SBA Security Agreement”).

Paycheck Protection Program Loan

In May 2020, we secured a loan under the PPP administered by the SBA in the amount of $115,000. In February 2021, we secured a second loan under this program in the amount of approximately $167,000. The interest rate of the loan is 1.00% per annum and accrues on the unpaid principal balance computed on the basis of the actual number of days elapsed in a year of 360 days. Commencing seven months after the effective date of each PPP Loan, we are required to pay the Lender equal monthly payments of principal and interest as required to fully amortize any unforgiven principal balance of the loan by the two-year anniversary of the effective date of the loan. The PPP Loan contains customary events of default relating to, among other things, payment defaults, making materially false or misleading representations to the SBA or the Lender, or breaching the terms of the PPP Loan. The occurrence of an event of default may result in the repayment of all amounts outstanding under the PPP Loan, collection of all amounts we owe, or filing suit and obtaining judgment against us. Under the terms of the CARES Act, PPP loan recipients can apply for and be granted forgiveness for all or a portion of the loan granted under the PPP. Such forgiveness will be determined, subject to limitations, based on the use of loan proceeds for payment of payroll costs and any payments of mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. Recent modifications to the PPP by the U.S. Treasury and Congress have extended the time period for loan forgiveness beyond the original eight-week period, making it possible for us to apply for forgiveness of our PPP loan. The Company was granted forgiveness for the initial PPP Loan prior to December 31, 2021.

Leases

Operating Leases

We currently lease all company-owned retail locations. Operating leases typically contain escalating rentals over the lease term, as well as optional renewal periods. Rent expense for operating leases is recorded on a straight-line basis over the lease term and begins when Reborn has the right to use the property. The difference between rent expense and cash payment is recorded as deferred rent on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. Pre-opening rent is included in selling, general and administrative expenses on the accompanying consolidated statements of income. Tenant incentives used to fund leasehold improvements are recorded in deferred rent and amortized as reductions to rent expense over the term of the lease.

Income Taxes

We file income tax returns in the U.S. federal and California state jurisdictions. We also file income tax returns in South Korea and Malaysia related to our subsidiaries located in those countries. Income taxes in South Korea and Malaysia is not material.

Upon the closing of this offering, we will be taxed at the prevailing U.S. corporate tax rates. We will be treated as a U.S. corporation and a regarded entity for U.S. federal, state and local income taxes. Accordingly, a provision will be recorded for the anticipated tax consequences of our reported results of operations for U.S. federal, state and foreign income taxes.

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

We do not have any off-balance sheet arrangements that we are required to disclose pursuant to these regulations. In the ordinary course of business, we enter into operating lease commitments, purchase commitments and other contractual obligations. These transactions are recognized in our financial statements in accordance with GAAP.

Critical Accounting Estimates and Policies

The preparation of financial statements requires management to utilize estimates and make judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. These estimates are based on historical experience and on various other assumptions that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. The estimates are evaluated by management on an ongoing basis, and the results of these evaluations form a basis for making decisions about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Although actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions, management believes that the estimates used in the preparation of our financial statements are reasonable. The critical accounting policies affecting our financial reporting are summarized in Note 2 to the financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

We have determined that all other issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements are inapplicable or insignificant to us and once adopted are not expected to have a material impact on our financial position.

Market risk

As filed, 180 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Under SEC rules and regulations, because we are considered to be a “smaller reporting company”, we are not required to provide the information required by this item in this report.

Controls and procedures

As filed, 6,208 characters, with its headings, lists and tables. Extracted from the main document; charts and exhibits are in the original on sec.gov.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Our management has evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), as of December 31, 2025. Based on such evaluation, our both of our Co-Chief Executive Officers and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of December 31, 2025, our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act (a) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by SEC rules and forms and (b) is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Co-Chief Executive Officers, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding any required disclosure.

Management has identified control deficiencies regarding inadequate accounting resources, the lack of segregation of duties and the need for a stronger internal control environment. Our management believes that these material weaknesses are due to the small size of our accounting staff. The small size of our outsourced accounting staff may prevent adequate controls in the future due to the cost/benefit of such remediation.

To mitigate the current limited resources and limited employees, we rely heavily on direct management oversight of transactions, along with the use of external legal and accounting professionals. As we grow, we expect to increase our number of employees, which will enable us to implement adequate segregation of duties within the internal control framework.

These control deficiencies could result in a misstatement of account balances that would result in a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement to our financial statements may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. In light of this material weakness, we performed additional analyses and procedures in order to conclude that our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025 included in this Report were fairly stated in accordance with GAAP. Accordingly, management believes that despite our material weaknesses, our financial statements for the quarter ended December 31, 2025 are fairly stated, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting as defined in Securities Exchange Act of 1934 Rule 13a-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

  • pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of our assets;
  • provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
  • provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of the inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2025. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the 2013 Treadway Commission (“COSO”) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based upon this assessment, our Chief Executive Officer concluded that as of December 31, 2025 our internal controls over financial reporting were ineffective.

Management has identified such deficiencies regarding inadequate resources, the lack of segregation of duties and the need for a stronger internal control environment. Our management believes that these material weaknesses are due to the small size of our staff. The small size of our outsourced staff may prevent adequate controls in the future due to the cost/benefit of such remediation.

To mitigate the current limited resources and limited employees, we rely heavily on direct management oversight of transactions, along with the use of external legal and accounting professionals. As we grow, we expect to increase our number of employees, which will enable us to implement adequate segregation of duties within the internal control framework.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during our most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Limitations on Effectiveness of Controls and Procedures

In designing and evaluating the disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, management recognizes that any controls and procedures, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable assurance of achieving the desired control objectives. In addition, the design of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints and that management is required to apply judgment in evaluating the benefits of possible controls and procedures relative to their costs.

Figures reported in this filing

Standardized line items from the XBRL in this filing, for the period ended 2025-12-31. Comparative periods it repeats are left out.

Figures reported in this filing
Line itemPeriodValueXBRL concept
Revenue12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31$8.1mus-gaap:Revenues
Cost of revenue12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31$650.3kus-gaap:CostOfGoodsAndServicesSold
Operating income12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31−$5.8mus-gaap:OperatingIncomeLoss
Interest expense12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31$156.1kus-gaap:InterestExpenseNonoperating
Income tax12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31$109.3kus-gaap:IncomeTaxExpenseBenefit
Net income12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31−$9.1mus-gaap:NetIncomeLoss
Diluted EPS12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31−$1.73us-gaap:EarningsPerShareDiluted
Basic EPS12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31−$1.73us-gaap:EarningsPerShareBasic
Diluted shares (weighted)12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-315,294,587 sharesus-gaap:WeightedAverageNumberOfDilutedSharesOutstanding
Operating cash flow12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31−$6.5mus-gaap:NetCashProvidedByUsedInOperatingActivities
Capital expenditure12 months2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31$51.2kus-gaap:PaymentsToAcquirePropertyPlantAndEquipment
Cash and equivalentsAt period end2025-12-31$2.6mus-gaap:CashAndCashEquivalentsAtCarryingValue
Current assetsAt period end2025-12-31$6.9mus-gaap:AssetsCurrent
Total assetsAt period end2025-12-31$13.2mus-gaap:Assets
Current liabilitiesAt period end2025-12-31$6.7mus-gaap:LiabilitiesCurrent
Total liabilitiesAt period end2025-12-31$8.5mus-gaap:Liabilities
Long-term debtAt period end2025-12-31$500.0kus-gaap:LongTermDebt
Shareholders' equityAt period end2025-12-31$4.6mus-gaap:StockholdersEquityIncludingPortionAttributableToNoncontrollingInterest

Source: SEC EDGAR, the filing index for accession 0001213900-26-046490. Last ingested by Listed: Oct 24, 2026, 15:07 ET. Listed shows no prices and gives no investment advice.