S-3 1 ea186679-s3_reborncoffee.htm REGISTRATION STATEMENT

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 18, 2023

Registration No. ___________

 

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM S-3

 

REGISTRATION STATEMENT
UNDER
THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

Reborn Coffee, Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

 

47-4752305

(I.R.S. Employer Identification Number)

 

580 N. Berry Street

Brea, CA 92821

Telephone: (714) 784-6369

(Address, including zip code, and telephone number, including area code, of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

with a copy to:

 

Matthew Ogurick

Pryor Cashman LLP

7 Times Square

New York, New York 10036

(212) 326-0243

 

From time to time after effectiveness of this registration statement

(Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public)

 

If the only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to a dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box: ☐

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box: ☒

 

If this Form is to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering: ☐

 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box: ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box: ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

Large accelerated filer Accelerated filer
Non-accelerated filer Smaller reporting company
  Emerging growth company

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by checkmark if the registrant has not elected to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

 

THE REGISTRANT HEREBY AMENDS THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT ON SUCH DATE OR DATES AS MAY BE NECESSARY TO DELAY ITS EFFECTIVE DATE UNTIL THE REGISTRANT SHALL FILE A FURTHER AMENDMENT WHICH SPECIFICALLY STATES THAT THIS REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL THEREAFTER BECOME EFFECTIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 8(a) OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED, OR UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON SUCH DATE AS THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, ACTING PURSUANT TO SAID SECTION 8(a), MAY DETERMINE.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and we are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED OCTOBER 18, 2023

 

PROSPECTUS

 

 

Reborn Coffee, Inc.

$20,000,000

 

COMMON STOCK

PREFERRED STOCK

DEBT SECURITIES

RIGHTS

WARRANTS

UNITS

 

From time to time, we may offer and sell up to an aggregate amount of $20,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in combination, in one or more offerings. We may also offer securities as may be issuable upon conversion, redemption, repurchase, exchange or exercise of any securities registered hereunder, including any applicable antidilution provisions.

 

We will provide the specific terms of these offerings and securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, and any related free writing prospectus, as well as any documents incorporated by reference, before buying any of the securities being offered.

 

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the trading symbol “REBN.” On October 17, 2023, the last reported sale price of our common stock was $0.42 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to other listings, if any, on the Nasdaq Capital Market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

The aggregate market value of our outstanding common stock held by non-affiliates is $1,872,316.32 based on 13,263,126 shares of outstanding common stock, of which 8,805,230 are held by affiliates, and a per share price of $0.42 based on the closing sale price of our common stock on October 17, 2023. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, in no event will we sell our common stock in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of our public float in any 12-month period so long as our public float remains below $75,000,000. We have not offered any securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.6. of Form S-3 during the prior 12 calendar month period that ends on and includes the date of this prospectus.

 

The securities may be sold directly by us to investors, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers, on a continuous or delayed basis. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section entitled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus. If any agents or underwriters are involved in the sale of any securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such agents or underwriters and any applicable fees, commissions, discounts and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

 

Our principal executive office is located at 580 N. Berry Street, Brea, CA 92821, and our telephone number is (714) 784-6369.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. You should review carefully the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” on page 2 of this prospectus and any similar section contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, and under similar headings in the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

 

This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

This prospectus is dated _____________, 2023

 

 

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

 

  Page
About This Prospectus 1
Risk Factors 2
Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements 27
Our Business 28
Use of Proceeds 30
Description of Capital Stock 31
Description of Common Stock 31
Description of Preferred Stock 34
Description of Debt Securities 34
Description of Rights 38
Description of Warrants 39
Description of Units 40
Plan of Distribution 41
Legal Matters 43
Experts 43
Where You Can Find More Information 43
Information Incorporated by Reference 44

 

i

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement on Form S-3 that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, using a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may, from time to time, offer and sell, either individually or in combination, in one or more offerings, up to a total dollar amount of $20,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus.

 

This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain more specific information about the terms of that offering. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. In each prospectus supplement, we will include the following information:

 

the number and type of securities that we propose to sell;

 

the public offering price;

 

the names of any underwriters, agents or dealers through or to which the securities will be sold;

 

any compensation of those underwriters, agents or dealers;

 

any additional risk factors applicable to the securities or our business and operations; and

 

any other material information about the offering and sale of the securities.

 

The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you may also add, update or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in the documents that we have incorporated by reference into this prospectus. We urge you to read carefully this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement and any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering, together with the information incorporated herein by reference as described under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Information Incorporated by Reference,” before buying any of the securities being offered.

 

This prospectus may not be used to consummate a sale of securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

 

You should rely only on the information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement, along with the information contained in any free writing prospectuses we have authorized for use in connection with a specific offering. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information. You must not rely upon any information or representation not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus, the accompanying prospectus supplement or in any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so.

 

The information appearing in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplement or any related free writing prospectus, or any sale of a security. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.

 

This prospectus contains and incorporates by reference market data and industry statistics and forecasts that are based on independent industry publications and other publicly available information. Although we believe that these sources are reliable, we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this information and we have not independently verified this information. Although we are not aware of any misstatements regarding the market and industry data presented in this prospectus and the documents incorporated herein by reference, these estimates involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change based on various factors, including those discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and under similar headings in the other documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on this information.

 

This prospectus contains summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described herein, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described below under the section entitled “Where You Can Find More Information.”

 

As used in this prospectus, unless context otherwise requires, the words “we,” “us,” “our,” “the Company,” “Reborn Coffee,” “Registrant” refer to Reborn Coffee, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Also, any reference to “common share” or “common stock,” refers to our $0.0001 par value common stock.

 

Unless otherwise stated, the information which appears on our web site www.reborncoffee.net is not part of this report and is specifically not incorporated by reference.

 

1

 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in the applicable prospectus supplement, and described under the section titled “Risk Factors” contained in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, as well as any subsequent filings with the SEC, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, together with other information in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference. The risks described in these documents are not the only ones we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations. Past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results or trends in future periods. If any of these risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flow could be materially adversely affected. This could cause the trading price of our securities to decline, resulting in a loss of all or part of your investment. For more information, see “Where You Can Find More Information.” Please also carefully read the section titled “Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

 

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 $3.5 million and $2.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively, and we had an accumulated deficit of $12,031,801 at December 31, 2022. 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 2022. 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. In August 2022, the Company consummated the IPO of 1,440,000 shares of its common stock at a public offering price of $5.00 per share, generating gross proceeds of $7,200,000. Net proceeds from the IPO were approximately $6.2 million after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and other offering expenses of approximately $998,000. To support our existing and planned business model, the Company needs to raise additional capital to fund our future operations. 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 debt financing is anticipated to fund the Company’s operations in near future. However, 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 this financing can be obtained or that the Company can continue as a going concern.

 

Evolving consumer preferences and tastes may adversely affect our business.

 

Reborn Coffee’s 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 Reborn Coffee’s 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 Reborn Coffee’s specialty coffee and could harm our business.

 

2

 

 

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 the Reborn Coffee business model, our customers may be drawn to those competitors for their beverage needs and our business could be harmed.

 

3

 

 

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 October 17, 2023, Reborn had 14 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 2024, we expect to open up to 10 company-operated retail 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.

 

4

 

 

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 Reborn Coffee’s 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 the Reborn 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 Reborn Coffee 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 Reborn Coffee location openings, or we may decide to close locations that we are unable to operate in a profitable manner.

 

5

 

 

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 Reborn Coffee 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.

 

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

 

We plan to open additional company-operated Reborn Coffee 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 Reborn Coffee 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 Reborn 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.

 

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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, 2022, all of our company-operated locations 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.

 

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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.

 

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.

 

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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.

 

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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 Reborn 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.

 

Our operations have been and we expect will be disrupted when employees were suspected of having COVID-19 or other illnesses since this required us to quarantine some or all such employees and close and disinfect our impacted locations. 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.

 

The COVID-19 pandemic and mitigation measures have also had an adverse impact on global economic conditions, which have had an adverse effect on our business and financial condition. Our sales and operating results may be affected by uncertain or changing economic and market conditions arising in connection with and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including prolonged periods of high unemployment, inflation, deflation, prolonged weak consumer demand, a decrease in consumer discretionary spending, political instability or other changes. The significance of the operational and financial impact to us will depend on how long and widespread the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the corresponding response to contain the virus and treat those affected by it, prove to be.

 

We do not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on our business, operations or the global economy as a whole. While there have recently been vaccines developed and administered, and the spread of COVID- 19 may eventually be contained or mitigated, we cannot predict the timing of the vaccine roll-out globally or the efficacy of such vaccines, and we do not yet know how customers or our future franchise partners will operate in a post COVID-19 environment. In addition, new strains and variants of the virus have caused a resurgence and an increase in reported infection rates, particularly in areas with lower vaccination rates, which may impact the general economic recovery. 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 the COVID-19 pandemic or a similar 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 the COVID-19 pandemic, these efforts may not be effective, and any protracted economic downturn will likely limit the effectiveness of our efforts. Accordingly, it is not possible for us to predict the duration and extent to which this 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 the Reborn brand may be less well known, we believe we must preserve, grow and leverage the value of our brand across interactions.

 

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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, such as COVID-19, 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 Reborn 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 Reborn 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 Reborn action or inaction 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 Reborn 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 Reborn 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.

 

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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 Reborn 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.

 

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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. Furthermore, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we could experience a shortage of labor for location positions as concern over exposure to COVID-19 and other factors could decrease the pool of available qualified talent for key functions. In addition, our wages and benefits programs, combined with the challenging conditions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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.

 

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Reborn continues to be led by our Founder, Jay Kim, who plays an important role in driving our culture, determining the strategy, and executing against that strategy across the company. If Mr. Kim’s services became unavailable to Reborn 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.

 

GAAP is subject to interpretation by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the 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.

 

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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.

 

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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.

 

Additionally, Congress has a legislation proposal in process that could shift more liability for franchise partner employment practices onto franchisors. The federal PROAct would codify the Browning-Ferris decision that redefined joint employment to include a broader category of conduct by the franchisor, thereby increasing the possibility of Reborn being held liable for our future franchise partners’ employment practices.

 

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, stockholders 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.

 

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Risks Related to Our Organizational Structure, this Offering and Ownership of Our Common Stock

 

Reborn Coffee, Inc. is a holding company.

 

Reborn Coffee, Inc. will be 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 Reborn Global and Reborn Franchise.

 

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 stockholders;

 

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.

  

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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 the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. 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 the Nasdaq Capital Market, 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.

 

Future sales or other dilution of our equity could depress the market price of our common stock.

 

Sales of our common stock, preferred stock, warrants, rights or convertible debt securities, or any combination of the foregoing, in the public market, or the perception that such sales could occur, could negatively impact the price of our common stock.

 

In addition, the issuance of additional shares of our common stock, securities convertible into or exercisable for our common stock, other equity-linked securities, including preferred stock, warrants or rights or any combination of these securities pursuant to this prospectus will dilute the ownership interest of our common shareholders and could depress the market price of our common stock and impair our ability to raise capital through the sale of additional equity securities.

 

We may need to seek additional capital. If this additional financing is obtained through the issuance of equity securities, debt securities convertible into equity or options, warrants or rights to acquire equity securities, our existing shareholders could experience significant dilution upon the issuance, conversion or exercise of such securities.

 

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Our management will have broad discretion over the use of the proceeds we receive from the sale our securities pursuant to this prospectus and might not apply the proceeds in ways that increase the value of your investment.

 

Our management will have broad discretion to use the net proceeds from any offerings under this prospectus, and you will be relying on the judgment of our management regarding the application of these proceeds. Except as described in any prospectus supplement or in any related free writing prospectus that we may authorize to be provided to you, the net proceeds received by us from our sale of the securities described in this prospectus will be added to our general funds and will be used for general corporate purposes. Our management might not apply the net proceeds from offerings of our securities in ways that increase the value of your investment and might not be able to yield a significant return, if any, on any investment of such net proceeds. You may not have the opportunity to influence our decisions on how to use such proceeds.

 

We have received two letters from Nasdaq notifying us that we have fallen out of compliance with their listing standards and that failure to cure these deficiencies may subject our securities to delisting. We may be unable to regain compliance in the applicable period thereby subjecting our common stock to delisting.

 

On April 28, 2023, we received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff notifying us that the minimum bid price per share for our common stock has fallen below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days and that we therefore no longer meet the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2). We have until October 25, 2023 to regain compliance with the minimum bid price continued listing standard and failure to do so could ultimately lead to our common stock being delisted by Nasdaq.

 

Additionally, on September 5, 2023, we received another letter from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff notifying us that the amount of stockholders’ equity in our Company has fallen below the $2,500,000 required minimum for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1). The letter also warned that we do meet the alternatives of market value listed securities or net income from continuing operations that could be used in lieu of the stockholders’ equity criteria. We have until October 20, 2023 to submit a plan to regain compliance which may lead to an extension of up to March 3, 2024.

 

A delisting due to either deficiencies would have a negative effect on the price of our stock and impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. While the Company is evaluating various courses of actions and intends to formulate and execute a strategy to regain compliance on both deficiencies, there can be no assurances that our plan would succeed. Neither can we make any assurances that any strategy would be acceptable to Nasdaq or that any appeals we make of their decisions will be successful.

 

Our failure to meet the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq could result in a delisting of our common stock in the future.

 

Even if we are able to cure both deficiencies, we may in the future be unable to satisfy the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq. If we fail to meet requirements such as the corporate governance requirements or the minimum closing bid price requirement, Nasdaq may take steps to delist our common stock. Such a delisting would likely have a negative effect on the price of our common stock and would impair your ability to sell or purchase our common stock when you wish to do so. In the event of a delisting, we would take actions to restore our compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements, but we can provide no assurance that any such action taken by us would allow our common stock to become listed again, stabilize the market price or improve the liquidity of our common stock, prevent our common stock from dropping below the Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement or prevent future non-compliance with Nasdaq’s listing requirements.

 

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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.

  

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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, 2022, 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, $144,375 in principal outstanding under the Paycheck Protection Program Loan administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration and $50,898 in principal outstanding under our loans with Square Capital, LLC.

 

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 are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the rules and regulations of the applicable listing standards of the Nasdaq Exchange. 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. For example, as we have prepared to become a public company, we have worked to improve the controls around our key accounting processes and our quarterly close process. 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.

 

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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 the Nasdaq Exchange.

 

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.

 

The Company has identified material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting which could result in a material misstatement in the Company's financial statements.

 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that as of June 30, 2023, our disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective at providing reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by us in reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act (a) is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) rules and forms and (b) is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, 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. Management of the Company believes that these material weaknesses are due to the small size of the Company’s accounting staff. While we will attempt to cure these deficiencies, there is no assurance that we will be successful. These deficiencies could lead to a material misstatement of our financial statements which could negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects.

 

We may engage in merger and acquisition activities, which would require significant management attention, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder 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.

 

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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 stockholders 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 stockholders’ 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 stockholders, and existing stockholders 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 stockholders, which could limit our stockholders’ 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:

  

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 stockholder’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 stockholder 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.

 

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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 stockholder rights plan; and

 

eliminating the ability of stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders.

 

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 stockholders 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, stockholders 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 particular, the COVID-19 pandemic, including the reactions of governments, markets, and the general public, may result in a number of adverse consequences for our business, operations, and results of operations, many of which are beyond our control. 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.

 

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SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Certain statements in this prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, may constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Our forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management team’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intends,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements in this prospectus may include, for example, statements about:

 

  our ability to continue as a going concern;
     
  our reliance on third party vendors;
     
  our dependence on our executive officers;
     
  our financial performance guidance;
     
  material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting;
     
  regulatory developments in the United States and foreign countries;
     
  the impact of laws, regulations, accounting standards, regulatory requirements, judicial decisions and guidance issued by authoritative bodies;
     
  our estimates regarding expenses, future revenue and cash flow, capital requirements and needs for additional financing;
     
  our financial performance;
     
  the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of our business combination and/or divestitures; and
     
  the effect of COVID-19 on the foregoing.

 

The forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus are based on current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our inability to identify, recruit and retain qualified individuals for our locations; our inability to expand into new domestic markets; conflicts with our franchise partners; unionization efforts; interruptions to our supply chain of coffee; increases in the cost of high quality coffee beans; failure to deliver high quality customer service; increased competition in our industry and those factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus, our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as any subsequent filings with the SEC. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Some of these risks and uncertainties may in the future be amplified by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and there may be additional risks that we consider immaterial or which are unknown. It is not possible to predict or identify all such risks. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.

 

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OUR 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 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 retail store locations in California: Brea, La Crescenta, Huntington Beach, Corona Del Mar, Arcadia, Laguna Woods, Riverside, San Francisco, Cabazon, Manhattan Beach, two locations in Irvine, Diamond Bar and Anaheim with one location in development.

 

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

 

The Experience, Reborn

 

As leading pioneers of the emerging “Fourth Wave” movement, Reborn Coffee is 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 Reborn Coffee 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 Reborn Coffee Pour Over Packs to hotels. With the introduction of our Pour Over Packs to major hotels (including one hotel company with 7 locations), our B2B sales increased as these companies recognized the convenience and functionality our Pour Over Packs serve to their customers.

 

Reborn Coffee’s 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 its core values of service, trust, and well-being, Reborn Coffee delivers 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. Reborn Coffee proactively distinguishes 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, Reborn Coffee creates opportunities to develop transparency by paying homage to origin stories and sparking new conversations by building cross-cultural communities united by a passion for the finest coffee.

 

Through a broad product offering, Reborn Coffee provides 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 2021, the retail market for coffee in the United States is expected to be $46.2 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. Reborn aims to capture a growing portion of the market as we expand and increase consumer awareness of our brand.

  

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Plan of Operation

 

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

 

Currently, we have the following fourteen retail coffee locations:

 

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.

 

Cabazon, California;

 

Huntington Beach, California;

 

Santa Anita Westfield Mall in Arcadia, California;

 

Galleria at Tyler in Riverside, California;

 

Stonestown Galleria in San Francisco, California;

 

Intersect in Irvine, California;

 

  Dupont Drive in Irvine, California;
     
  Diamond Bar, California; and

 

Anaheim, California

 

Employees and Human Capital Resources

 

Reborn Coffee has 113 full-time employees as of October 17, 2023.

 

Reborn Coffee believes in mentoring and developing the next generation of premium coffee baristas. Through our in-depth training, we aim to train dedicated employees who understand the science and art behind every cup of coffee. We also expect to form a training school specializing in creating passionate baristas and coffee connoisseurs, 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 2023.

 

Corporate Information

 

Our principal executive office is located at 580 N. Berry Street, Brea, CA 92821, and our telephone number is (714) 784-6369. Our Internet website address is www.reborncoffee.net

 

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USE OF PROCEEDS

 

Except as described in any applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of the securities under this prospectus for working capital and other general corporate purposes. We have not determined the amount of net proceeds to be used specifically for such purposes. As a result, our management will retain broad discretion over the allocation of net proceeds. We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement our intended use for the net proceeds received from the sale of any securities. Pending the use of the net proceeds, we may temporarily invest the net proceeds in a variety of capital preservation instruments, including investment grade instruments, certificates of deposit or direct or guaranteed obligations of the U.S. government, or may hold such proceeds as cash, until they are used for their stated purpose.

 

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DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

 

The following summary of certain provisions of our securities does not purport to be complete and is subject to our certificate of incorporation, bylaws and the provisions of applicable law. Copies of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws are filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.

 

Common Stock

 

Authorized Capitalization

 

General

 

The total amount of our authorized share capital consists of 40,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share.

 

Common Stock Rights

 

Holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to one vote for each share held of record on all matters on which stockholders are entitled to vote generally, including the election or removal of directors. The holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors.

 

Holders of shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends at the same rate when, as and if declared by our board of directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to any statutory or contractual restrictions on the payment of dividends and to the rights of the holders of one or more outstanding series of our preferred stock.

 

Upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, and after payment in full of all amounts required to be paid to creditors, the holders of shares of our common will be entitled to receive pro rata our remaining assets available for distribution.

 

All shares of our common stock that will be outstanding at the time of the completion of the offering will be fully paid and non-assessable. The common stock will not be subject to further calls or assessments by us. Holders of shares of our common stock do not have preemptive, subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. The rights, powers, preferences and privileges of holders of our common stock will be subject to those of the holders of any shares of our preferred stock or any other series or class of stock we may authorize and issue in the future.

 

No shares of common stock will be subject to redemption or have preemptive rights to purchase additional shares of common stock. Holders of shares of our common stock do not have subscription, redemption or conversion rights. There will be no redemption or sinking fund provisions applicable to the common stock. Upon consummation of this offering, all the outstanding shares of common stock will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

 

Because our stockholders do not have cumulative voting rights, stockholders holding a majority of the voting power of our shares of common stock will be able to elect all our directors. A special meeting of stockholders may be called by a majority of our board of directors, the chair of our board of directors, or our chief executive officer. Our bylaws establish an advance notice procedure for stockholder proposals to be brought before an annual meeting of our stockholders, including proposed nominations of persons for election to our board of directors.

 

This will make it more difficult for another party to obtain control of us by replacing our board of directors. Since our board of directors has the power to retain and discharge our officers, these provisions could also make it more difficult for existing stockholders or another party to effect a change in management. This is intended to preserve our existing control structure following this offering, facilitate our continued product innovation and the risk-taking that it requires, permit us to continue to prioritize our long-term goals rather than short-term results, enhance the likelihood of continued stability in the composition of our board of directors and its policies and to discourage certain types of transactions that may involve an actual or threatened acquisition of us. These provisions are also designed to reduce our vulnerability to an unsolicited acquisition proposal and to discourage certain tactics that may be used in proxy fights. However, such provisions could have the effect of discouraging others from making tender offers for our shares and may have the effect of deterring hostile takeovers or delaying changes in our control or management. As a consequence, these provisions may also inhibit fluctuations in the market price of our stock that could result from actual or rumored takeover attempts.

 

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Delaware Anti-Takeover Law

 

We are subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, or Section 203. Section 203 generally prohibits a public Delaware corporation from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years after the date of the transaction in which the person became an interested stockholder, unless:

 

  prior to the date of the transaction, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;
     
  the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding upon consummation of the transaction, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (a) shares owned by persons who are directors and also officers and (b) shares owned by employee stock plans in which employee participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or
     
  on or subsequent to the consummation of the transaction, the business combination is approved by the board and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66 2/3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

 

Section 203 defines a business combination to include:

 

  any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;
     
  any sale, transfer, pledge or other disposition involving the interested stockholder of 10% or more of the assets of the corporation;

 

  subject to exceptions, any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect of increasing the proportionate share of the stock of any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder;
     
  subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder; and
     
  the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits provided by or through the corporation.

 

In general, Section 203 defines an interested stockholder as any entity or person beneficially owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation and any entity or person affiliated with or controlling or controlled by the entity or person.

 

Exclusive Forum

 

Our bylaws contain an exclusive forum provision providing that the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware will be the sole and exclusive forum for: (1) any derivative action or proceeding brought on our behalf, (2) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by, or other wrongdoing by, any of our directors, officers, employees, agents or stockholders, (3) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation or our bylaws, or (4) any action asserting a claim that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine. However, the exclusive forum provision states that it shall not apply to actions arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”).

 

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In addition, Section 22 of the Securities Act creates concurrent jurisdiction for federal and state courts over all suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder. As a result, the exclusive forum provision will not apply to suits brought to enforce any duty or liability created by the Securities Act or any other claim for which the federal and state courts have concurrent jurisdiction, and our stockholders will not be deemed to have waived our compliance with the federal securities laws and the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

Any person purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in any shares of our capital stock shall be deemed to have notice of and to have consented to this provision included in our bylaws. The exclusive forum provision, if enforced, may limit a stockholder’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, which may discourage such lawsuits. Alternatively, if a court were to find the exclusive forum provision to be inapplicable or unenforceable in an action, we may incur additional costs associated with resolving such action in other jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and growth prospects. For example, the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware recently determined that a provision stating that U.S. federal district courts are the exclusive forum for resolving any complaint asserting a cause of action arising under the Securities Act is not enforceable.

 

Corporate Opportunities

 

Our certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce any interest or expectancy in the business opportunities of our officers, directors, agents, stockholders, members, partners, affiliates and subsidiaries and each such party shall not have any obligation to offer us those opportunities unless presented to one of our directors or officers in his or her capacity as a director or officer.

 

Limitations on Liability and Indemnification of Officers and Directors

 

Our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that limit the liability of our current and former directors for monetary damages to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Additionally, a director is not personally liable for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director (i) for any breach of his or her duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, (iii) under Section 174 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit.

 

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes us to indemnify our directors, officers, employees and other agents to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law. Our bylaws provide that we are required to indemnify our directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware law and may indemnify our other employees and agents. Our bylaws also provide that, on satisfaction of certain conditions, we will advance expenses incurred by a director or officer in advance of the final disposition of any action or proceeding, and permit us to secure insurance on behalf of any officer, director, employee or other agent for any liability arising out of his or her actions in that capacity regardless of whether we would otherwise be permitted to indemnify him or her under the provisions of Delaware law. We have entered and expect to continue to enter into agreements to indemnify our directors, executive officers and other employees as determined by our board of directors. With certain exceptions, these agreements provide for indemnification for related expenses including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and settlement amounts incurred by any of these individuals in any action or proceeding. We believe these provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws and these indemnification agreements are necessary to attract and retain qualified persons as directors and officers. We also maintain customary directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.

 

The limitation of liability and indemnification provisions in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. They may also reduce the likelihood of derivative litigation against our directors and officers, even though an action, if successful, might benefit us and other stockholders. Further, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent that we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against directors and officers as required by these indemnification provisions.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted for directors, executive officers or persons controlling us, we have been informed that, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is therefore unenforceable.

  

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

Our transfer agent and registrar is Securities Transfer Corporation. The transfer agent’s address is 15500 Roosevelt Blvd, Suite 104, Clearwater, Florida 33760 and the telephone number is (469) 633-0101. The transfer agent for any series of preferred stock that we may offer under this prospectus will be named and described in the prospectus supplement related to that series.

 

Listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market

 

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “REBN”. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on the Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities market or other exchange of the preferred stock covered by such prospectus supplement.

 

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Preferred Stock

 

General Description

 

Under the terms of our certificate of incorporation, our board of directors have the authority, without further action by our stockholders, to issue up to 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each such series, to fix the rights, preferences and privileges of the shares of each wholly unissued series and any qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereon, and to increase or decrease the number of shares of any such series, but not below the number of shares of such series then outstanding. The powers, preferences and relative, participating, optional and other special rights of each series of Preferred Stock, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof, if any, may differ from those of any and all other series at any time outstanding.

 

Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of Preferred Stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of our common stock. The purpose of authorizing our board of directors to issue Preferred Stock and determine its rights and preferences is to eliminate delays associated with a stockholder vote on specific issuances. The issuance of Preferred Stock, while providing flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us and may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting rights and other rights of the holders of our common stock. It is not possible to state the actual effect of the issuance of any shares of Preferred Stock on the rights of holders of Common Stock until the board of directors determines the specific rights attached to that Preferred Stock.

 

As of October 17, 2023,  no shares of our preferred stock had been designated any rights and we had no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.

 

Description of Debt Securities

 

We may issue debt securities from time to time, in one or more series, as either senior or subordinated debt or as senior or subordinated convertible debt. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any debt securities offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Unless the context requires otherwise, whenever we refer to the indenture, we also are referring to any supplemental indentures that specify the terms of a particular series of debt securities.

 

We will issue the debt securities under the indenture that we will enter into with the trustee named in the indenture. The indenture will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, or the Trust Indenture Act. We have filed the form of indenture as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and supplemental indentures and forms of debt securities containing the terms of the debt securities being offered will be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or will be incorporated by reference from reports that we file with the SEC.

 

The following summary of material provisions of the debt securities and the indenture is subject to, and qualified in its entirety by reference to, all of the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements and any related free writing prospectuses related to the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as the complete indenture that contains the terms of the debt securities.

 

General

 

The indenture does not limit the amount of debt securities that we may issue. It provides that we may issue debt securities up to the principal amount that we may authorize and may be in any currency or currency unit that we may designate. Except for the limitations on consolidation, merger and sale of all or substantially all of our assets contained in the indenture, the terms of the indenture do not contain any covenants or other provisions designed to give holders of any debt securities protection against changes in our operations, financial condition or transactions involving us.

 

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We may issue the debt securities issued under the indenture as “discount securities,” which means they may be sold at a discount below their stated principal amount. These debt securities, as well as other debt securities that are not issued at a discount, may be issued with “original issue discount,” or OID, for U.S. federal income tax purposes because of interest payment and other characteristics or terms of the debt securities. Material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to debt securities issued with OID will be described in more detail in any applicable prospectus supplement.

 

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of debt securities being offered, including:

 

  the title of the series of debt securities;

 

  any limit upon the aggregate principal amount that may be issued;
     
  the maturity date or dates;
     
  the form of the debt securities of the series;
     
  the applicability of any guarantees;
     
  whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt;
     
  whether the debt securities rank as senior debt, senior subordinated debt, subordinated debt or any combination thereof, and the terms of any subordination;
     
  if the price (expressed as a percentage of the aggregate principal amount thereof) at which such debt securities will be issued is a price other than the principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount thereof payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof, or if applicable, the portion of the principal amount of such debt securities that is convertible into another security or the method by which any such portion shall be determined;
     
  the interest rate or rates, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the dates interest will be payable and the regular record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;
     
  our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;
     
  if applicable, the date or dates after which, or the period or periods during which, and the price or prices at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional or provisional redemption provisions and the terms of those redemption provisions;
     
  the date or dates, if any, on which, and the price or prices at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund or analogous fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities and the currency or currency unit in which the debt securities are payable;
     
  the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof;
     
  any and all terms, if applicable, relating to any auction or remarketing of the debt securities of that series and any security for our obligations with respect to such debt securities and any other terms which may be advisable in connection with the marketing of debt securities of that series;
     
  whether the debt securities of the series shall be issued in whole or in part in the form of a global security or securities;
     
  the terms and conditions, if any, upon which such global security or securities may be exchanged in whole or in part for other individual securities, and the depositary for such global security or securities;

 

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  if applicable, the provisions relating to conversion or exchange of any debt securities of the series and the terms and conditions upon which such debt securities will be so convertible or exchangeable, including the conversion or exchange price, as applicable, or how it will be calculated and may be adjusted, any mandatory or optional (at our option or the holders’ option) conversion or exchange features, the applicable conversion or exchange period and the manner of settlement for any conversion or exchange;
     
  if other than the full principal amount thereof, the portion of the principal amount of debt securities of the series which shall be payable upon declaration of acceleration of the maturity thereof;
     
  additions to or changes in the covenants applicable to the particular debt securities being issued, including, among others, the consolidation, merger or sale covenant;
     
  additions to or changes in the events of default with respect to the securities and any change in the right of the trustee or the holders to declare the principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to such securities to be due and payable;
     
  additions to or changes in or deletions of the provisions relating to covenant defeasance and legal defeasance;
     
  additions to or changes in the provisions relating to satisfaction and discharge of the indenture;
     
  additions to or changes in the provisions relating to the modification of the indenture both with and without the consent of holders of debt securities issued under the indenture;
     
  the currency of payment of debt securities if other than U.S. dollars and the manner of determining the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars;
     
  whether interest will be payable in cash or additional debt securities at our or the holders’ option and the terms and conditions upon which the election may be made;
     
  the terms and conditions, if any, upon which we will pay amounts in addition to the stated interest, premium, if any and principal amounts of the debt securities of the series to any holder that is not a “United States person” for federal tax purposes;
     
  any restrictions on transfer, sale or assignment of the debt securities of the series; and
     
  any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities, any other additions or changes in the provisions of the indenture, and any terms that may be required by us or advisable under applicable laws or regulations.

 

Conversion or Exchange Rights

 

We will set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our common stock or our other securities. We will include provisions as to settlement upon conversion or exchange and whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of shares of our common stock or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.

 

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Consolidation, Merger or Sale

 

Unless we provide otherwise in the prospectus supplement applicable to a particular series of debt securities, the indenture will not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of our assets as an entirety or substantially as an entirety. However, any successor to or acquirer of such assets (other than a subsidiary of ours) must assume all of our obligations under the indenture or the debt securities, as appropriate.

 

Form, Exchange and Transfer

 

We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we provide otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indenture provides that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, or another depositary named by us and identified in the applicable prospectus supplement with respect to that series. To the extent the debt securities of a series are issued in global form and as book-entry, a description of terms relating to any book-entry securities will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.

 

Subject to the terms of the indenture and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange, we will impose no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.

 

We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

 

If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

 

  issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or
     
  register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part.

 

Information Concerning the Trustee

 

The trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under an indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the trustee must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indenture at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.

 

Payment and Paying Agents

 

Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.

 

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We will pay principal of and any premium and interest on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make interest payments by check that we will mail to the holder or by wire transfer to certain holders. Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the trustee as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

 

All money we pay to a paying agent or the trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities that remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the debt security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.

 

Description of Rights

 

This section describes the general terms of the rights to purchase common stock or other securities that we may offer to stockholders using this prospectus. Further terms of the rights will be stated in the applicable prospectus supplement (or applicable free writing prospectus). The complete terms of the rights will be contained in the rights agreements we enter into with rights agents. These documents will be included or incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part. You should read the rights agreements and any related documents. You also should read the prospectus supplement, which will contain additional information and which may update or change some of the information below. The following description and any description of the rights in a prospectus supplement (or applicable free writing prospectus) may not be complete and is subject to and qualified in its entirety by reference to the terms of any agreement relating to the rights.

 

Rights may be issued independently or together with any other security and may or may not be transferable. As part of any rights offering, we may enter into a standby underwriting or other arrangement under which the underwriters or any other person would purchase any securities that are not purchased in such rights offering. If we issue rights, each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent, that will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. Further terms of the rights will be stated in the applicable prospectus supplement. The rights agent will act solely as our agent and will not assume any obligation to any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The rights agreements and rights certificates will be filed with the SEC as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part or as an exhibit to a filing incorporated by reference in the registration statement. See “Where You Can Find Additional Information” for information on how to obtain copies of the rights agreements and rights certificates.

 

The prospectus supplement relating to any rights we offer will describe the specific terms of the offering and the rights, including the record date for stockholders entitled to the rights distribution, the number of rights issued and the number of shares of common stock that may be purchased upon exercise of the rights, the exercise price of the rights, the date on which the rights will become effective and the date on which the rights will expire, and any applicable U.S. federal income tax considerations.

 

In general, a right entitles the holder to purchase for cash a specific number of shares of common stock or other securities at a specified exercise price. The rights are normally issued to stockholders as of a specific record date, may be exercised only for a limited period of time and become void following the expiration of such period. If we determine to issue rights, we will accompany this prospectus with a prospectus supplement that will describe, among other things:

 

  the record date for stockholders entitled to receive the rights;
     
  the number of shares of common stock or other securities that may be purchased upon exercise of each right;
     
  the exercise price of the rights;

 

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  the terms for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price, if any;
     
  whether the rights are transferable;

 

  the period during which the rights may be exercised and when they will expire;
     
  the steps required to exercise the rights;
     
  whether the rights include “oversubscription rights” so that the holder may purchase more securities if other holders do not purchase their full allotments;
     
  whether we intend to sell the shares of common stock or other securities that are not purchased in the rights offering to an underwriter or other purchaser under a contractual “standby” commitment or other arrangement;
     
  our ability to withdraw or terminate the rights offering;
     
  any material United States federal income tax consequences; and
     
  other material terms, including terms relating to transferability, exchange, exercise or amendment of the rights.

 

If fewer than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised rights will become void.

 

Description of Warrants

 

The following description, together with the additional information we may include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer under this prospectus and the related warrant agreements and warrant certificates. While the terms summarized below will apply generally to any warrants that we may offer, we will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we indicate in the prospectus supplement, the terms of any warrants offered under that prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below. Specific warrant agreements will contain additional important terms and provisions and will be incorporated by reference as an exhibit to the registration statement, which includes this prospectus.

 

General

 

We may issue warrants for the purchase of common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities in one or more series. We may issue warrants independently or together with common stock, preferred stock and/or debt securities, and the warrants may be attached to or separate from these securities.

 

We plan to evidence each series of warrants by warrant certificates that we will issue under a separate warrant agreement. We will enter into the warrant agreement with a warrant agent. We will indicate the name and address of the warrant agent in the applicable prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of warrants.

 

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of warrants, including:

 

  the offering price and aggregate number of warrants offered;
     
  the currency for which the warrants may be purchased;

 

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  if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security;
     
  if applicable, the date on and after which the warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable;
     
  the number of shares of common stock, shares of preferred stock and/or debt securities purchasable upon the exercise of one warrant and the price at which these securities may be purchased upon such exercise;
     
  the effect of any merger, consolidation, sale or other disposition of our business on the warrant agreement and the warrants;
     
  the terms of any rights to redeem or call the warrants;
     
  any provisions for changes to or adjustments in the exercise price or number of securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants;
     
  the periods during which, and places at which, the warrants are exercisable;
     
  the manner of exercise;
     
  the dates on which the right to exercise the warrants will commence and expire;
     
  the manner in which the warrant agreement and warrants may be modified;
     
  if applicable, a discussion of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations of holding or exercising the warrants; and
     
  any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of or restrictions on the warrants.

 

Description of Units

 

We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other securities described in this prospectus or in any prospectus supplement in any combination. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder, with the rights and obligations of a holder, of each security included in the unit. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date or upon the occurrence of a specified event or occurrence.

 

The applicable prospectus supplement relating to units offered under this prospectus will describe the following terms, where applicable, of such units:

 

  the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately;
     
  any unit agreement under which the units will be issued;
     
  any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units; and
     
   whether the units will be issued in fully registered or global form.

 

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PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

 

We may sell the securities covered hereby from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, direct sales to the public, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. A distribution of these securities offered by this prospectus may also be effected through the issuance of derivative securities, including without limitation, warrants. We may sell the securities to or through underwriters or dealers, through agents, or directly to one or more purchasers. We may distribute securities from time to time in one or more transactions:

 

  through agents;

 

  to or through underwriters;
     
  to or through broker-dealers (acting as agent or principal);
     
  in “at the market offerings” within the meaning of Rule 415(a)(4) of the Securities Act, to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market, on an exchange, or otherwise;
     
  directly to purchasers, through a specific bidding or auction process or otherwise; or
     
  through a combination of any such methods of sale.

 

Agents, underwriters or broker-dealers may be paid compensation for offering and selling the securities. That compensation may be in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions to be received from us, from the selling stockholder, from the purchasers of the securities or from both us and/or the selling stockholder and the purchasers. Any underwriters, dealers, agents or other investors participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be “underwriters,” as that term is defined in the Securities Act, and compensation and profits received by them on sale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting commissions, as that term is defined in the rules promulgated under the Securities Act.

 

Each time securities are offered by this prospectus, the prospectus supplement, if required, will set forth:

 

  the name of the selling stockholder and its relationship to us;
     
  the name of any underwriter, dealer or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities;
     
  the terms of the offering;
     
  any discounts concessions or commissions and other items constituting compensation received by the underwriters, broker-dealers or agents;
     
  any over-allotment option under which any underwriters may purchase additional securities from us; and
     
  any initial public offering price.

 

The securities may be sold at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, at market prices prevailing at the time of sale, at prices relating to the prevailing market prices or at negotiated prices. The distribution of securities may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions, by means of one or more of the following transactions, which may include cross or block trades:

 

  transactions on the NASDAQ Capital Market or any other organized market where the securities may be traded;
     
  in the over-the-counter market;
     
  in negotiated transactions;
     
  under delayed delivery contracts or other contractual commitments; or
     
  a combination of such methods of sale.

 

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If underwriters are used in a sale, securities will be acquired by the underwriters for their own account and may be resold from time to time in one or more transactions. Our securities may be offered to the public either through underwriting syndicates represented by one or more managing underwriters or directly by one or more firms acting as underwriters. If an underwriter or underwriters are used in the sale of securities, an underwriting agreement will be executed with the underwriter or underwriters at the time an agreement for the sale is reached. This prospectus and the prospectus supplement will be used by the underwriters to resell the shares of our securities.

 

If 5% or more of the net proceeds of any offering of our securities made under this prospectus will be received by a FINRA member participating in the offering or affiliates or associated persons of such FINRA member, the offering will be conducted in accordance with FINRA Rule 5121.

 

To comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, the securities offered by this prospectus will be offered and sold in those states only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.

 

Agents, underwriters and dealers may be entitled to indemnification by us against specified liabilities, including liabilities incurred under the Securities Act, or to contribution by us to payments they may be required to make in respect of such liabilities. The prospectus supplement will describe the terms and conditions of such indemnification or contribution. Some of the agents, underwriters or dealers, or their respective affiliates, may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business. We will describe in the prospectus supplement naming the underwriter the nature of any such relationship.

 

Certain persons participating in the offering may engage in over-allotment, stabilizing transactions, short-covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We make no representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that such transactions may have on the price of the securities. For a description of these activities, see the information under the heading “Underwriting” in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

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LEGAL MATTERS

 

The validity of the issuance of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for us by Pryor Cashman LLP, New York, New York.

 

EXPERTS

 

Our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 and the related consolidated statement of operations, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021 incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been audited by Kreit & Chiu CPA LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, as indicated in their report with respect thereto, and have been so included in reliance upon the report of such firm given on their authority as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

This prospectus is part of the registration statement on Form S-3 we filed with the SEC under the Securities Act and does not contain all the information set forth in the registration statement. Whenever a reference is made in this prospectus to any of our contracts, agreements or other documents, the reference may not be complete and you should refer to the exhibits that are a part of the registration statement or the exhibits to the reports or other documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus for a copy of such contract, agreement or other document. Neither we nor any agent, underwriter or dealer has authorized any person to provide you with information that is different from that contained in this prospectus nor in any free writing prospectus we may authorize to be delivered or made available to you. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front page of this prospectus, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of the securities offered by this prospectus.

 

We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. The SEC maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including Reborn Coffee. The address of the SEC website is www.sec.gov. We maintain a website at www.reborncoffee.net. Information contained in or accessible through our website does not constitute a part of this prospectus. Because our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market, you may also inspect reports, proxy statements and other information at the offices of the NASDAQ Capital Market.

 

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INFORMATION INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information into this prospectus, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to another document filed separately with the SEC. The documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus contain important information that you should read about us.

 

The following documents are incorporated by reference into this document:

 

  our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with the SEC on April 11, 2023;
     
 

our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on May 11, 2023;

     
 

our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2023, which was filed with the SEC on August 14, 2023;

     
  our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 13, 2023, May 2, 2023, July 24, 2023 (as amended on October 17, 2023), September 11, 2023, and October 17, 2023 (other than information “furnished” under Items 2.02 or 7.01, or corresponding information furnished under Item 9.01 or included as an exhibit); and
     
  the description of our common stock contained in the registration statement on Form 8-A, dated August 11, 2022, File No. 001-41479, and any other amendment or report filed for the purpose of updating such description.

 

All filings filed by us pursuant to the Exchange Act after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated by reference into this prospectus.

 

We also incorporate by reference any future filings (other than current reports furnished under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed on such form that are related to such items unless such Form 8-K expressly provides to the contrary) made with the SEC pursuant to Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, including those made after the date of the initial filing of the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part and prior to effectiveness of such registration statement, until we file a post-effective amendment that indicates the termination of the offering of the securities made by this prospectus and will become a part of this prospectus from the date that such documents are filed with the SEC. Information in such future filings updates and supplements the information provided in this prospectus. Any statements in any such future filings will automatically be deemed to modify and supersede any information in any document we previously filed with the SEC that is incorporated or deemed to be incorporated herein by reference to the extent that statements in the later filed document modify or replace such earlier statements.

 

We will provide to each person, including any beneficial owner, to whom a prospectus is delivered, without charge upon written or oral request, a copy of any or all of the documents that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus but not delivered with the prospectus, including exhibits which are specifically incorporated by reference into such documents. You should direct any requests for documents to:

 

Reborn Coffee, Inc.

580 N. Berry Street

Brea, CA 92821

Telephone: (714) 784-6369

Attention: Chief Financial Officer

 

44

 

 

 

 

REBORN COFFEE, INC.

 

$20,000,000

 

COMMON STOCK

PREFERRED STOCK

DEBT SECURITIES

RIGHTS

PURCHASE CONTRACTS

WARRANTS

UNITS

 

PROSPECTUS

 

__________, 2023

 

 

 

 

 

PART II. INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 14. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.

 

The aggregate estimated (other than the registration fee) expenses payable by the Company in connection with a distribution of securities registered hereby are as follows:

 

Securities and Exchange Commission Registration Fee  $2,952.00 
Legal Fees and Expenses  $* 
Accountants’ Fees and Expenses  $* 
Miscellaneous  $* 
Total  $2,952.00 

 

All fees and expenses other than the SEC registration and filing fee are not know and cannot be estimated.

 

Item 15. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

Section 145 of the Delaware General Corporation Law provides that a corporation may indemnify directors and officers as well as other employees and individuals against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with any threatened, pending or completed actions, suits or proceedings in which such person is made a party by reason of such person being or having been a director, officer, employee or agent to the registrant. The Delaware General Corporation Law provides that Section 145 is not exclusive of other rights to which those seeking indemnification may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. The registrant’s bylaws provide for indemnification by the registrant of its directors, officers and employees to the fullest extent permitted by the Delaware General Corporation Law.

 

Section 102(b)(7) of the Delaware General Corporation Law permits a corporation to provide in its certificate of incorporation that a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to the corporation or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, except for liability (i) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders, (ii) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (iii) for unlawful payments of dividends or unlawful stock repurchases, redemptions or other distributions, or (iv) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. The registrant’s certificate of incorporation provides for such limitation of liability.

 

We have purchased and intend to maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director or officer of our company against any loss arising from any claim asserted against him or her and incurred by him or her in any such capacity, subject to certain exclusions.

 

We have entered, and intend to continue to enter, into separate indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers to provide these directors and executive officers additional contractual assurances regarding the scope of the indemnification set forth in the registrant’s amended and restated certificate of incorporation and amended and restated bylaws and to provide additional procedural protections. At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving a director or executive officer of the Company regarding which indemnification is sought. The indemnification provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, amended and restated bylaws and the indemnification agreements entered into or to be entered into between the registrant and each of its directors and executive officers may be sufficiently broad to permit indemnification of the registrant’s directors and executive officers for liabilities arising under the Securities Act. Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of ours pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, we have been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable.

 

At present, there is no pending litigation or proceeding involving any of our directors, officers or employees in which indemnification is sought, nor are we aware of any threatened litigation that may result in claims for indemnification.

 

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Item 16. Exhibits.

 

Exhibit

Number

  Description
1.1   Form of Underwriting Agreement*
4.1   Form of Indenture, including form of Note*
4.2   Form of Warrant Agreement, including form of Warrant*
4.3   Form of Unit Agreement*
4.4   Form of Pledge Agreement*
4.5   Form of Rights Certificate*
5.1   Opinion of Pryor Cashman LLP**
23.1   Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, Kreit & Chiu CPA LLP**
23.2   Consent of Pryor Cashman LLP (included in legal opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1)**
24.1   Powers of Attorney (included on signature page)
25.1   Form T-1 Statement of Eligibility of the Trust Under Debt Indenture*
107   Filing Fee Table**

 

* To be filed, if applicable, by amendment or as an exhibit to a report filed pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and incorporated herein by reference.
   
** Filed herewith

 

Item 17. Undertakings.

 

a.The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes:

 

1. To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

i. To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

 

ii. To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement.

 

iii. To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the Registration Statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

Provided however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the SEC by the Registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration statement.

 

2. That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

3. To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

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4. That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:

 

i. Each prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

ii. Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the Registration Statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the Registration Statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

5. That, for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the Securities Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities, the undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

i. Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

ii. Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned Registrant;

 

iii. The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant; and

 

iv. Any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned Registrant to the purchaser.

 

6. The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that:

 

i. For purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(1) or (4) or 497(h) under the Securities Act shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective.

 

ii. For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

The undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

If and when applicable, the undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the Act.

 

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SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements of filing on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in Brea, California on October 18, 2023.

 

  Reborn Coffee, Inc.
     
  By: /s/ Jay Kim
    Jay Kim
    Chief Executive Officer

 

SIGNATURES AND POWER OF ATTORNEY

 

We, the undersigned officers and directors of Reborn Coffee, Inc., hereby severally constitute and appoint Jay Kim as our true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments) to this registration statement (or any other registration statement for the same offering that is to be effective upon filing pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act of 1933), and to file the same, with all exhibits thereto and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorney-in-fact and agent, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises, as full to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming that said attorney-in-fact and agent or his substitute or substitutes may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Signature   Title   Date
         
/s/ Jay Kim   Chief Executive Officer   October 18, 2023
Jay Kim   (principal executive officer)    
         
/s/ Stephan Kim   Chief Financial Officer   October 18, 2023
Stephan Kim   (principal financial and accounting officer)    
         
/s/ Farooq M. Arjomand   Chairman, Director   October 18, 2023
Farooq M. Arjomand        
         
/s/ Andy Nasim   Director   October 18, 2023
Andy Nasim        
         
/s/ Sehan Kim   Director   October 18, 2023
Sehan Kim        

 

 

 

II-4