UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒ ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from ______ to ______

Commission file number: 001-39727

REBORN COFFEE, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware		47-4752305
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)		(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

580 N. Berry Street, Brea, CA		92821
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)		(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (714) 784-6369

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of each class		Trading Symbol(s)		Name of each exchange on which registered
Shares of Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share		REBN		The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC (Nasdaq Capital Market)

Securities registered pursuant to section 12(g) of the Act: None.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports); and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

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 check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to § 240.10D-1(b). ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $10.9 million based on the closing sales price on the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on June 30, 2025, the last business day of the registrants most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

As of April 22, 2026, there were 8,213,455 shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, issued and outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

None.

		Page

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements		ii
PART I
Item 1.	Business	1
Item 1A.	Risk Factors	7
Item 1B.	Unresolved Staff Comments	39
Item 1C.	Cybersecurity	39
Item 2.	Properties	40
Item 3.	Legal Proceedings	40
Item 4.	Mine Safety Disclosures	40
PART II
Item 5.	Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Shareholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities	41
Item 6.	[Reserved]	42
Item 7.	Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations	42
Item 7A.	Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk	47
Item 8.	Financial Statements and Supplementary Data	47
Item 9.	Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosures	47
Item 9A.	Controls and Procedures	47
Item 9B.	Other Information	48
Item 9C.	Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections	48
PART III
Item 10.	Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance	49
Item 11.	Executive Compensation	54
Item 12.	Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Shareholder Matters	56
Item 13.	Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence	57
Item 14.	Principal Accounting Fees and Services	58
PART IV
Item 15.	Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules	59
Item 16.	Form 10-K Summary	60
SIGNATURES		61

CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Report”) contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, (the “Securities Act”) and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (the “Exchange Act”) that are based on our management’s beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management, and which statements involve substantial risk and uncertainties. All statements contained in this Report other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding our future operating results and financial position, our business strategy and plans, market growth and trends, and objectives for future operations are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or our future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential,” or “continue” or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern our expectations, strategy, plans or intentions.

These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, risks related to:

	●	our inability to successfully identify and secure appropriate sites and timely develop and expand our operations;

	●	our inability to protect our brand and reputation;

	●	our dependence on a small number of suppliers;

	●	our inability to protect against security breaches of confidential customer information;

	●	our expectations regarding our future operating and financial performance;

	●	the size of our addressable markets, market share, and market trends;

	●	our ability to compete in our industry;

	●	changes in consumer tastes and nutritional and dietary trends;

	●	our ability to effectively manage the continued growth of our workforce and operations;

	●	our inability to open profitable locations;

	●	our failure to generate projected same location sales growth;

	●	the sufficiency of our cash, cash equivalents, and investments to meet our liquidity needs;

	●	our dependence on long-term non-cancelable leases;

	●	our relationship with our employees and the status of our workers;

	●	our inability to maintain good relationships with our future franchising partners;

	●	the effects of seasonal trends on our results of operations;

	●	our vulnerability to global financial market conditions, including the continuing effects from the recent recession;

	●	our ability to attract, retain, and motivate skilled personnel, including key members of our senior management;

	●	our vulnerability to adverse weather conditions in local or regional areas where our locations are located;

	●	the increased expenses associated with being a public company; and

	●	the other factors set forth under “Risk Factors” in this Report.

You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. We have based the forward-looking statements contained in this Report primarily on our current expectations and projections about future events and trends that we believe may affect our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects. The outcome of the events described in these forward-looking statements is subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors described in the section titled “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this Report or to conform such statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.

Summary Risk Factors

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk because our business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, as further described below. The occurrence of any such risks could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The principal factors and uncertainties that make investing in our common stock speculative or risky include, among others:

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We have incurred recurring losses and may not be profitable in the future.

●

The report of the independent registered public accounting firm includes a going concern uncertainty explanatory paragraph.

●

Evolving consumer preferences and tastes may adversely affect our business.

●

Our financial condition and quarterly 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.

●

We may not be able to compete successfully with other coffee locations, QSRs and convenience locations, including the growing number of coffee delivery options. Intense competition in the foodservice and restaurant industry 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.

●

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

●

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

●

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

iii

●

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.

	●	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.

	●	A reduction in overall freight volume reduces our opportunities for growth. In addition, if a downturn in our customers’ business causes a reduction in the volume of freight shipped by those customers, our operating results could be adversely affected.

●

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.

●

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

●

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.

●

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

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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.

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

●

Our operating results and growth strategies will be closely tied to the success of our future franchise partners and we 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.

PART I

Item 1. Business

Corporate History and Background

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

●

Reborn Global Holdings, Inc. (“Reborn Holdings”) – a California corporation incorporated in November 2014. Reborn Holdings is engaged in the operation of wholesale distribution and retail coffee stores in California to sell a variety of coffee, tea, Reborn brand name water and other beverages along with bakery and dessert products.

●

Reborn Coffee Franchise, LLC (“Reborn Coffee Franchise”) – a California limited liability company formed in December 2020, is a franchisor providing premier roaster specialty coffee to franchisees or customers. Reborn Coffee Franchise continues to develop the :Reborn Coffee System” for the establishment and operation of Reborn Coffee stores using one or more Reborn Coffee marks. Reborn Coffee Franchise does not have any franchisees as of December 31, 2025.

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Reborn Realty, LLC (“Reborn Realty”) – a California limited liability company formed in March 2023, is an entity which acquired a real property located at 596 Apollo Street, Brea, California.

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Reborn Logistics, Inc. (the “Reborn Logistics”) – a California corporation incorporated in September 2025. Reborn Logistics provides trucking, transportation and logistics services. Reborn holds a 51% interest in Reborn Logistics.

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Reborn Coffee Korea, Inc. (“Reborn Korea”) – a Korea corporation located in Daejeon, South Korea formed in October 2023, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Reborn Holdings.

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Reborn Malaysia, Inc. (“Reborn Malaysia”) – a Malaysian corporation located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia formed in October 2023, is majority owned subsidiary of Reborn Holdings with one retail coffee store under the brand name of Reborn Coffee.

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

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

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

Our Company

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Experience, Reborn

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

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

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

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

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

Branding

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

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

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

Our Menu and Products

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

Our Retail Locations

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

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

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

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

Franchise Operations

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

Expanding Sales Channels

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

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

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

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

Our Growth

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

Since our founding, we have focused on delivering:

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Quality. We source the highest quality whole beans globally. We meet with coffee farmers, test coffee bean samples, and roast the beans in our headquarters in Southern California.

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Service. We provide the highest quality service to our customers. We pride ourselves on training our baristas and improving their knowledge of the art of coffee, which in turn allows us to deliver outstanding products and service to our customers.

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Innovation. We are a leader in the “Fourth Wave” premium coffee movement. We introduced our premium pour over pack coffee in 2017 and continue to innovate, recently introducing our unique cold brew system into our retail stores.

Experienced Leadership Team

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

Our Commitment to Our Team

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

Our Highly Engaged Customers

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

Digital Channels

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

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

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

In-Person Marketing Engagement

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

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

Our Growth Strategies

Corporate and Franchise Expansion

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

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

B2B Strategy

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

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

Corporate Information

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

Item 1A. Risk Factors

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

Risks Related to Our Business

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

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

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

Evolving consumer preferences and tastes may adversely affect our business.

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

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

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

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increases in real estate or labor costs in certain markets;

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consumer preferences, including those described above;

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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;

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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

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adverse outcomes of litigation.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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identify available and suitable sites;

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compete for such sites;

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reach acceptable agreements regarding the lease of locations;

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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;

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respond to unforeseen engineering or environmental problems with leased premises;

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avoid the impact of inclement weather, natural disasters and other calamities;

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hire, train and retain the skilled management and other employees necessary to meet staffing needs;

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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

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control construction and equipment cost increases for new locations and secure the services of qualified contractors and subcontractors in an increasingly competitive environment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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consumer awareness and understanding of our brand;

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general economic conditions, which can affect location traffic, local labor costs and prices we pay for the beverage and other supplies we use;

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consumption patterns and beverage preferences that differ from region to region;

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changes in consumer preferences and discretionary spending;

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difficulties obtaining or maintaining adequate relationships with distributors or suppliers in new markets;

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increases in prices for commodities, including coffee, and milk;

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inefficiency in our labor costs as the staff gains experience;

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competition, either from our competitors in the beverage industry or our own locations;

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temporary and permanent site characteristics of new locations;

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changes in government regulation; and

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other unanticipated increases in costs, any of which could give rise to delays or cost overruns.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Risks Related to Our Brand

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Risks Related to People and Culture

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Unionization activities may disrupt our operations and affect our profitability.

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

Risks Related to Regulation and Litigation

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

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

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

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

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

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

	●	changes in the valuation of our deferred tax assets and liabilities;

	●	expected timing and amount of the release of any tax valuation allowance;

	●	changes in tax laws, regulations or interpretations thereof; or

	●	future earnings being lower than anticipated in jurisdictions where we have lower statutory tax rates and higher than anticipated earnings in jurisdictions where we have higher statutory tax rates.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Data Protection Laws are, and are likely to remain, uncertain for the foreseeable future, and our actual or perceived failure to address or comply with these laws could: increase our com

SEC Form 10-K filed by Reborn Coffee Inc.