Jamieson Wellness Inc

TSX:JWEL

Earnings Call Transcript 2021-Q3

[Operator]

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to the Jamieson Wellness conference call to discuss the financial results for the third quarter of 2021. [Operator Instructions] Please be advised that the reproduction of this call in whole or in part is not permitted without the written authorization from the company. As a reminder, today's call is being recorded. On the call today from management are Mike Pilato, President and Chief Executive Officer; and Chris Snowden, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Before I turn the call over to Mr. Pilato, please note that a press release covering the company's third quarter 2021 financial results was issued this afternoon. And a copy of that press release can be found in the Investor Relations section on the company's website. Please note that the prepared remarks, which will follow, contain forward-looking statements, and management may make additional forward-looking statements in response to your questions. These statements do not guarantee future performance, and therefore, undue reliance should not be placed upon them. We refer you to all risk factors that -- contained in Jamieson's press release issued this afternoon and in filings with the Canadian Securities Administrators for a more detailed discussion of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projections and any forward-looking statements. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly correct or update the forward-looking statements made during the presentation to reflect future events or circumstances, except as it may be required under applicable securities laws. Finally, we would like to remind listeners that the company may refer to certain non-IFRS financial measures during this teleconference. A reconciliation of these non-IFRS financial measures was included with the company's press release issued earlier today. Also, please note that unless otherwise stated, all figures discussed today are in Canadian dollars and are occasionally rounded to the nearest million. I will now turn the call over to Mr. Pilato to get started. Please go ahead, sir.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Thank you, Justin, and good afternoon, everyone. Thanks for taking the time to join us today to discuss our third quarter 2021 financial results. I'll begin with some high-level comments about our business, a brief overview of our third quarter results, and then I'll turn it over to Chris to go through the financials and guidance in more detail. Jamieson's global platform provides an excellent lens from which to gauge consumers' attitudes about health and wellness. It's no longer accurate to talk about a temporary elevation in demand. Vitamins, minerals and supplements have become a permanent part of the self-care routines of more consumers around the world. In the wake of COVID-19, we have experienced a true step change affecting consumers on a much broader and deeper level as they seek to optimize their health and well-being for the long term. At Jamieson, we continue to adapt, invest in and focus on meeting this rising demand across the growing base of consumers. Strategically, we remain focused on 3 core drivers. First is expanding our market-leading position in the domestic Canadian market. Second is our focus on continuing to build our brand in China, which we believe will be our single largest organic growth opportunity. And third is leveraging the power of our brand and platform to capitalize on existing and new opportunities in other international markets. Operational excellence is a core competency at Jamieson, and we continue to emphasize strategies and tactics to optimize performance across all aspects of our business, driving both top line and bottom line growth. We are operating successfully in unprecedented times and in an environment of unprecedented global supply chain pressures. As evidenced by our Q3 [ results ], our 2021 pricing actions impacting approximately 80% of our portfolio, our drive for internal efficiencies and our cost savings initiatives have allowed us to protect our strong margin position, so we can continue to invest in our brands. We remain committed to continuing our historical track record of margin expansion over the long term and continue to monitor the current supply chain environment. Similarly, we have been very forward leaning in our marketing efforts, broadening awareness, attracting more consumers to our brands and driving higher level of engagement with existing consumers. We've been investing in consumer education using an omnichannel approach that provides 360-degree connectivity across traditional, digital and social channels. Coupled with our ongoing initiatives to broaden distribution domestically and internationally, from e-commerce to traditional brick-and-mortar channels, we are meeting consumers where they want to be met. Based on our positive year-to-date results and our favorable demand outlook, we are increasing our revenue guidance and narrowing our adjusted EBITDA expectations to the top end of our previous range, which Chris will speak to in greater detail shortly. Now turning to our Q3 results. We had another successful quarter, increasing revenue by more than 6% to $112 million and adjusted EBITDA by 11% to over $25 million. We drove growth of 4% domestically with shipments trailing very strong consumption due to replenishment timing of retailer inventories in the second quarter. International was up 7% in constant currency, reflecting continued growth in China, partially offset by the timing of replenishments to other regions in the first and second quarter of 2021. Strategic Partners revenue increased 18% to over $27 million due to expanded programs with new and existing customers. We are extremely proud of our gross margin increase of 30 basis points in the third quarter led by our Jamieson Brands segment gross profit margin expansion of 130 basis points and Strategic Partners expansion of 40 basis points despite elevated logistics costs and supply chain headwinds. As Jamieson closes in on the century mark in delivering high-quality innovative products to our valued consumers, I'm struck by the hard work, dedication, tremendous energy and excitement around our entire organization and its positive implications for the future. We know that our best days certainly lie ahead. Our team continues to be united and energized by our vision to improve the world's health and wellness. And their dedication to this vision continues to drive exceptional results. In the face of incredibly challenging conditions throughout the pandemic, our team's proactive approach to safety was a critical factor, enabling us to continue providing the products our consumers need. We remain focused on the health and safety of our team and our communities as we continue to drive our brands forward. My sincere thanks to everyone. It's a privilege to lead this incredible organization, and I'm grateful for your ongoing support. With that, I'm going to turn the call over to Chris to discuss the third quarter financial results in more detail. Chris, over to you.

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Thank you very much, Mike, and good afternoon, everyone. As Mike highlighted, we had a solid quarter as consumers remain focused on their physical and mental well-being. In the third quarter, revenue increased by 6.4% to $112.4 million driven by continued growth across our Jamieson Brands and Strategic Partners segments. Revenue for the Jamieson Brands segment increased 4.8% on a constant currency basis or 3.1% on a reported currency basis to $85.2 million, including 4.3% growth in our domestic revenue, reflecting strong point of purchase activity on an expanded consumer base. Domestic revenue growth outpaced shipments in the quarter due to timing of customer and distributor inventory replenishments in the second quarter. International revenue for Jamieson Brands increased by 7% on a constant currency basis as continued growth in China was impacted by higher levels of replenishments to other regions earlier in the year. International growth was down 2.6% on a reported currency basis due to the strength of the Canadian dollar. Revenue in our Strategic Partners segment grew by 18.4% to $27.2 million, reflecting higher demand for our customers' branded products and expanded programs. Pricing and volume efficiencies offset supply chain, energy cost pressures, driving gross profit margin improvements in both segments. Jamieson Brands segment gross profit margin improved by 130 basis points to 44.3% as revenue growth and mix factors were partially offset by incremental supply chain, 3PL and ongoing expenses for incremental health and safety measures. Gross profit margin in the Strategic Partners segment rose 40 basis points to 11.5%. Consolidated gross profit margin increased 30 basis points to 36.3%, reflecting gains in both segments in proportion to their relative size and growth rates. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $19.2 million in the third quarter, up $0.2 million on a reported basis. Normalized SG&A was $19 million, up 4.2% or $0.8 million versus a year ago, reflecting additional resources to support our strategic initiatives in the Jamieson Brands segment, partially offset by the timing of marketing costs. Normalized costs of $0.2 million were mainly related to our rapid testing program established at our manufacturing facility as a component of our temporary COVID-19 measures. Third quarter operating income increased by 15.7% to $20.6 million due to higher revenue and gross profit as well as reduced SG&A as a percentage of revenue in the quarter. Operating margin improved by 140 basis points to 18.3%. Normalized for specified costs in both the current and the prior period third quarter, adjusted operating income increased by 12.2%, while adjusted operating margin improved by 90 basis points to 18.5%. Reported EBITDA increased 16.9% to $24.8 million, while adjusted EBITDA increased 11% to $25.5 million during the quarter. Adjusted EBITDA margin increased 100 basis points to 22.7% with gains in both segments and reduced SG&A as a percentage of revenue, partially offset by the timing and proportion of Strategic Partner volumes realized in the quarter. Net earnings of $14.3 million increased by 17.6% from a year ago due to higher revenue and improved margins. Adjusted net earnings, which excludes specified costs and foreign exchange, increased 11% to $14.1 million. Our earnings per diluted share was $0.34, and adjusted earnings per diluted share was $0.30 for the third quarter of 2021. A reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA and adjusted net earnings is provided at the end of today's press release announcing the third quarter results. Turning to the balance sheet and cash flow. We generated $10.1 million in cash from the quarter from operations compared to $4.6 million in the year-earlier period. Cash from operating activities before working capital considerations of $19.2 million was $3 million higher due to increased earnings in the quarter. Cash invested in working capital decreased by $2.5 million driven by favorable receivables collection, partially offset by higher inventory levels. On a year-to-date investment -- on a year-to-date basis, investment in working capital was -- will partially unwind in the fourth quarter as we sell through seasonally high inventories while maintaining higher levels of inventory in response to longer lead times, inconsistent shipping performance and the continued risk of supply during the COVID-19 pandemic. Capital expenditures during the third quarter were $6.6 million, mostly related to the purchase of manufacturing and production equipment to expand our capacity. We distributed approximately $6.1 million in dividends during the third quarter and ended the quarter with almost $110 million in cash and available operating lines and net funded debt of approximately $165 million. Based on our strong balance sheet and earnings growth, today, we have announced a dividend of $0.15 per common share for our upcoming quarterly distribution. Now turning to guidance. The company is increasing its outlook for fiscal 2021 and anticipates net revenue between $442 million and $447 million. This compares to $435 million to $445 million previously announced, representing top line growth of approximately 9.5% to 10.7%. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $98 million and $100 million, narrowed from our previous range of $97 million to $100 million, reflecting growth of approximately 11.4% to 13.6%. Adjusted earnings per diluted common share is expected to be between $1.29 and $1.32 compared with $1.27 and $1.32 previously announced. Our updated revenue guidance reflects strong growth in domestic brands as consumers' demand continues to exceed pandemic baseline levels and expanded programs within our new and existing customers. Adjusted EBITDA guidance reflects higher revenues, partially offset by increased operating costs as the global supply chain challenges continue to impact freight premiums, logistic and supply-related operating efficiencies. On a full year basis, revenue in the Jamieson Brands segment is expected to increase between 6.2% and 7.4%, including the impact of the strengthening Canadian dollar on our international sales. Domestic growth is expected to be in the range of 5.5% to 6.5%, and international growth is expected to be approximately 22.5% on a constant currency basis. Looking at the fourth quarter. In the Jamieson Brands segment, we are expecting domestic growth between 3.8% and 7.3% driven by strong volumes, while international growth is anticipated to be around 10% on a constant currency basis, reflecting strong distributor shipments earlier in the year ahead of seasonal demand. Revenue growth in our Strategic Partners segment is expected to increase by approximately 22.5% on an annual basis, which implies a reduction of approximately 10% in the fourth quarter. Normalized full year SG&A expenses are expected to increase by approximately 8.5% to 9.5% versus our previous forecast of up to 12% due to lower travel and entertainment as well as improved domestic marketing efficiencies. Also on a full year basis, we expect our gross profit margin in each of our segments to increase. In the Jamieson Brands segment, gross profit margins are expected to improve between 50 and 100 basis points due to volume-driven operating efficiencies, partially offset by continuing COVID-19 costs, higher depreciation and higher logistic costs, including the cost to operate our new 3PL and global supply chain challenges affecting container availability and energy costs. In the Strategic Partners segment, we expect gross profit margins to increase by approximately 100 basis points, reflecting efficiencies stemming from higher plant utilization related to our soft gel production. In closing, I would like to thank the entire Jamieson team for their unwavering commitment to ensuring our customer needs are met, continuing to manage the risk and challenges in this COVID-19 environment. Their dedication has been inspiring and a driver of our success today. With that, let me turn the call back to the operator for Q&A. Justin?

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] And our first question will come from Sabahat Khan with RBC Capital Markets.

[Sabahat Khan, Analyst]

I guess just to start off, can you maybe talk about what you're hearing from your retailers in terms of how they're managing inventory sort of heading into late this and early next year, how buying patterns evolved over the last year? And how responsive have they been just to some of the headlines around supply chain? Just want to get an understanding of how they're managing their sort of internal supply and so forth.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. Thanks, Saba, for the question. We continue to see -- and we mentioned it in the script there and in our release. We continue to see strength in demand in the category. We saw demand outpace shipments and really in line with some of the shipments we shipped in Q2. So continue to see strength there. From a retailer perspective, we see retailers continuing to build -- rebuild inventories from, I would say, historical low levels of the pandemic. But nothing out of the ordinary that we wouldn't have expected at this point. And some of the shipping [indiscernible] Q2 for those inventories as expected. All of our retailers continue to operate in the same environment as us, a very complex and challenged supply chain environment. They've all been and been -- continue to be collaborative in their approach with us. And we continue to [indiscernible] them daily to make sure that we're communicating everyone's understanding what is in the pipe, what's being produced, what's available to ship and where the consumer demands are today.

[Sabahat Khan, Analyst]

Okay. And then I guess just in terms of how you're managing your own production and so forth, I think at the beginning of the pandemic, you indicated that you accelerated some raw material purchases and so forth. I guess have you reacted given some of the headlines we've recently seen around supply chain and inflation and so forth?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. So we haven't really changed our approach since the beginning of the pandemic. If you go back 18, 19 months, we talked early on in the pandemic about how we've been bringing in raw materials earlier than needed due to longer lead times. We continue to carry higher levels of raw material inventory. We've increased capacity in our facilities over the last 18 months substantially to allow us to make more product. And we just really continue to stay ahead of it as much as we can. As you know, we also put in some pricing into the market in 2021. We currently have put in approximately -- pricing across approximately 80% of our portfolio in 2021. And I think you see some of those results in our margin expansion in Q3.

[Sabahat Khan, Analyst]

And was that pricing, I guess, just early on? Or have you done any in anticipation of a higher cost going forward as well for '22?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Well, over the last, call it, 8, 9 months, we've priced about 80% of our portfolio. So we started with our domestic product, our domestic Jamieson Brand as we've talked about over the last couple of quarters. We priced that early in the year. And if you go back to how we operate our business, our ingredients are pretty much contractually locked for the year. So where a lot of manufacturers are seeing rises on commodities and on ingredients, we're not seeing that. We plan for that increase in price to offset that. Over the course of the year, we've implemented some more pricing actions, most notably in our Strategic Partners business. And we continue to drive forward with our plans to expand margins in Q3 and in through Q4.

[Operator]

And our next question will come from Jaideep Kumar with BMO Capital Markets.

[Jaideep Kumar, Associate]

This is Jaideep Kumar on behalf of Peter Sklar. Can you maybe just provide us a further update on your activities in China and how those are going?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Yes. So we continue to perform as expected in the Chinese market. It certainly is a pillar of growth from an international business perspective. We continue to broaden our product assortment available in the retail channel as well. But I think that entire market is substantially being driven by cross-border e-commerce at this point in time.

[Jaideep Kumar, Associate]

Got it. And then maybe just going back on the price increases. And could you maybe just update us on the impact, if any, from labor shortages in your plants and rising logistics cost? And do you foresee any further price increases in the next quarter and the next fiscal year based on what you're seeing?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. So if you think about how the business is -- the cost structure of the business, it really comes down to 3 things. And the supply chain pressure we're hearing about in the marketplace globally is really around 3 things: It's around the rising cost of commodities and ingredients, of which I noted a few minutes ago that we contractually priced for this year on most of our ingredients; logistics increases, of which we are feeling some of that, but we have offset that through aggressive efficiencies and cost reductions in our business. And you've seen our expanded margins through Q3 and our plans for Q4; the third one is labor disruption. We have seen a very immaterial impact on our business around any labor disruptions or labor costs at this point. When it comes to the future, we continue to monitor and assess what happens from this point on moving forward and as we've done historically, protect our margins. And if we see the need to implement more pricing at any time, people do that either strategically targeted to products that may be more impacted or on a broader base. And right now, we'll continue to see where that goes as we work through our contractual pricing for 2022 this quarter [indiscernible].

[Operator]

And our next question will come from George Doumet with Scotiabank.

[George Doumet, Analyst]

I know you typically take prices every 2 to 3 years, but you put a pretty sizable price increase earlier in the year. But given -- I guess given today where input costs are and supply chains are, will you be most likely taking more price in the medium to longer term?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Well -- yes. So thanks, George. I mean I think I just answered that question. Right now, we have price to cover what we need to price. We have driven margin expansion in Q3 and Q4 as we continually drive on the offense in terms of our top line and bottom line growth. We will continue to monitor, as we do daily, the supply chain pressures going on around the world. And if we feel we need to price more through 2022 to offset any rising costs that we could have impact us, we will do that. Right now, we're monitoring the situation daily, and we'll continue to do that as we get through our Q4 negotiations on ingredient costs and continue to track where logistics costs go longer term.

[George Doumet, Analyst]

Okay. I guess a follow-up to that. Like how much higher are, I guess, current spot prices versus the -- I guess the contractual predetermined prices that you've secured for input costs on average?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Yes, George. So we're in the middle of our negotiation process. There are some commodities that are higher. There are certainly some offsets. So that story has not been fully vetted at this point in time. So we continue to negotiate that. We are not seeing substantial inflation entering 2022 at this point. But as you know, it's an absolutely dynamic environment, and we continue to monitor. The other thing I'll say about logistics costs is there's a number of those items that are widely expected to be temporary in nature. So we're not going to take a temporary price increase that we bear and put that onto our customers. So we would monitor that as well through 2022 and make sure that if that was a permanent increase, we would pass it along like Mike previously said.

[George Doumet, Analyst]

Okay. And maybe just for Mike, last one for me. What's your view overall on the cold and flu season this year versus last year? I know that last year was obviously a bit of a drag. But just your view there in terms of some of those immunity products maybe coming back.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. So I would say, George, we did not see a drag on cold and flu in our major markets last year, and we don't expect to see any this year. Something that has been very positive to see actually is since we've cycled out of that early Q1, Q2 pandemic buying period of -- a panic buying period of 2020 and then cycling against it in 2021, we've actually seen very strong resiliency in immunity and growth back in immunity over the last quarter from a POS perspective, led by vitamin D, but really showing resiliency across many of the immunity products. So we don't anticipate any real difference versus a year ago where we really didn't see an impact in cold and flu here in our major markets.

[Operator]

And our next question will come from Endri Leno with National Bank.

[Endri Leno, Associate]

A couple of quick ones for me. I'll start with China. You mentioned, both of you guys, that you are not seeing any major cost inflations as you negotiate now. But I wonder if you can talk a little bit about availability of raw materials for next year and more specifically as some of these products are produced largely in China, and they've had their power shortages. Have you seen any shortages in raw materials so far?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. Thanks, Endri. So we have not seen any material shortages in raw materials coming into our manufacturing facilities. We have seen longer lead times. So in our system, in our processes, we now plan for longer lead times. Our orders for what we need, need to go in earlier. We hold higher levels of raw material inventory at this time. And we just have to get and continue to be really good at forecasting where the demand is going and make sure that we work within the new world of these new longer lead times. So we haven't seen a shortage. We've just seen it taking longer to get here. And of course, some costs in getting here, too, which we noted in some increased logistics costs that we're seeing and manufacturers around the world are seeing.

[Endri Leno, Associate]

Got it. Great. The other question I wanted to ask, and as you said, you're maintaining more inventory, more specifically about China and the Double 11 festival or the sales that they have, I mean, do you expect any potential shortages or not getting your products in time there given the supply chain issues? Or do you have enough inventory in China to meet that demand that might come?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

Yes. All of the products that we are promoting in market for 11/11 Singles' Day is already in market. We're very excited about the breadth and depth of our consumer awareness and promotion. So we're very excited to see those results in the next couple of weeks.

[Endri Leno, Associate]

Okay. Great. And one last question for me. You talked in your prepared remarks, Mike, about expanding market condition in Canada, expanding the brand in China, but also opportunities in other international markets. And as we focus mostly in Canada and in China here, I was wondering if you can talk a bit about the international markets. Any color you can provide there, any new countries, demand and any color there?

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

We continue to see demand be resilient across most of the markets that we play in and continue to look for international expansion plans. We continue to look for and see expansion in Eastern Europe. Also through North America, as we've talked about before, we continue to stay active in our pursuit of a possible M&A target in the U.S. We would love to expand in the U.S. through some level of acquisition over the next, call it, 12 to 24 months. So we continue to pursue that. We are looking at some new countries to enter in 2022. And hopefully, early in 2022, we can share some of those markets with you.

[Operator]

[Operator Instructions] And our next question will come from Graeme Kreindler with Eight Capital.

[Graeme Kreindler, Principal]

Just as a follow-up to the discussion on international markets here. Understanding that 2022 is going to be a very pivotal year for how the business is going to position itself in China and the go forward, can you give any incremental color about what that's going to do in terms of potential step-change functions on acceleration of top line and margin expansion as you look to take further control of that business there?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

So we're -- right now, obviously, that contract comes to an end at the end of fiscal 2022. We are assessing all of our options to get closer to the consumer there and really take over that distribution business on a more direct basis. We really can't announce anything in terms of what impact that will have until we work through the structure of what that is going to look like, whether that is with another distributor, whether that is Jamieson as a stand-alone or there's some other type of partnership model in going to market in China. What I will tell you is all of that work has been underway for some time. It continues to progress. And we hope early 2022 to have some more concrete information for the market to reassure that our priority is that market and then we have a model to drive success in the future in the Chinese market.

[Graeme Kreindler, Principal]

Okay. Understood. And just as a follow-up here. I mean if we were to think about it from a very high level, is there any sort of broad expectation for what sort of time horizon the international revenue piece and definitely with a lot of heavy lifting coming out of the Chinese market could potentially reach a level where it's equal in size to the domestic sales right now?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

What we -- what -- I can't tell you that right now, but what I can tell you is we do look to reestablish some additional longer-term guidance when we announce our year-end results in February. And in that point in time, we'll be able to give you an indication of what our new expectation is for international growth at that point in time for years in the future.

[Operator]

And our next question will come from Justin Keywood with Stifel GMP.

[Justin Keywood, Director of Equity Research]

On the expanded distribution domestically, I noticed in the conference call slide presentation that the dollar store category and gas and convenience stores were new. I'm just wondering if you could characterize the level of penetration into these channels, if it was a certain amount of stores initially or if it was more broadly deployed on the onset.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. Thanks, Justin. So we launched into those different channels over the last couple of years. So I think the dollar channel was a couple of years ago, and we're cycling up about on a year on the convenience and gas channel. We did enter the country's largest dollar channel retailer, which really holds the commanding share of the dollar channel here in Canada. We launched there about 2 years ago. We launched in their full array of stores across the country. And if you go into their stores, you'll see a full dedicated section of Jamieson vitamins. And really, we're almost the only product in there. There's a few maybe odds and ends of other brands in there, but we really have the lion's share of shelf in there. It continues to do well for us. We have been through a full, I think, 2 years, pretty close to, and have had a full shelf reset with them in between and continue to bring some new energy to that section. We also manage with them to get some out of that set merchandising with some on-the-go products that you see in different areas of their store, which is exciting for us. We launched in the convenience and gas a year ago. We launched into thousands of stores. There's tens of thousands of stores in the country. We continue to expand that distribution and continue to be bullish on our continued expansion into multiple channels across the country.

[Justin Keywood, Director of Equity Research]

Okay. That's helpful context. And then just my other question, if there's any new product launches to highlight in the quarter or any other categories that you're seeing particular strength heading into the next year.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. So we typically launch our products through Q1 -- or like kind of Q1, Q2 and a little bit in Q3. So all of our innovations for the year are now in market. We've seen some really strong products hit the market this year. For example, our Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies have been doing well. We launched a new line of products around energy and calmness in the Iron Vegan line of products, which is our plant-based brand. We continue to see strength in our vitamin D innovation we launched earlier in the year with a higher potency of 2,500 IUs a year. We had a very robust year of innovation, and we are delivering exactly what we expected from innovation. As we enter into next year, you'll continue to see more innovation from us around categories that are trending. You'll continue to see more around plant-based. We continue to see strength in the categories I've said and resiliency around immunity. We continue to see strength around sleep, beauty, energy and digestion. And really no different than we've been talking about the last quarters -- the last few quarters. Those categories have really continued to grow, and we'll continue to drive products to them.

[Operator]

And our next question will come from John Zamparo with CIBC.

[John Zamparo, Associate]

I wanted to ask about e-commerce. And I wonder if you can give us some sense of growth in this channel or what percent of sales this generates versus a couple of years ago and particularly in the direct-to-consumer business and the subscription business. Any additional color you can provide there would be helpful.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. So e-comm continues to be a growing channel and the highest growing channel within our business. And we can kind of talk about it in 2 -- it's kind of easier to talk about it in 2 geographies. First off, in Canada. So in our domestic market, it continues to grow. It continues to show through strength across all 3 channels of what we call digital commerce. Traditional marketplace sites like Amazons of the world, Well.cas of the world continue to grow. We continue to drive growth with our brick-and-mortar partners who are into the online space in this category. And we're continuing to help them both drive growth but also bring some tools to them that we know work in the marketplace and convert consumers to purchase. And of course, we continue to see growth in our DTC channels here in Canada. I would say that, we've been saying this for the last couple of quarters, that business as a whole continues to become [indiscernible] material across all 3. And combined, it's getting very close to being double-digit percentage of our business. And we continue to invest, and it will continue to drive growth. When we talk about a market like China, it is so digitally advanced compared to Canada that a high percentage of our business is actually traded on e-commerce channels there, most notably cross-border e-commerce. We continue to invest in growth on those e-commerce platforms. We continue [indiscernible] our new e-commerce platform to expand to in China. And we continue to invest in both capabilities, marketing and promotions across those channels. So we are all in on digital. The category is looking [indiscernible] more there, and we will continue to increase our capabilities and take advantage of those. Sorry. You had a subscription question, too. Subscription, we continue to offer to consumers. We've talked about this a few times. It continues to be a piece of our business. It is not the highest growing piece of the business, so it's there for consumers who are interested in. The Canadian consumer where we offer that has shown that they are not -- they're not as interested in jumping into subscription right now. However, we continue to operate and continue to have that in our portfolio because we believe it could still be [indiscernible] to the business in the future as consumers get more comfortable with subscription-based products.

[John Zamparo, Associate]

Okay. That's helpful. And then one follow-up. There's a comment in the press release about improved efficiencies of domestic marketing investments. I'm wondering if you could add more color here.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Yes. We have a fully robust marketing plan here in Canada. We are fully funded, 365-day, 360-degree marketing plan here in Canada. And as we continue to get better and more robust data, either POS or through retailer data or just through our own research from our incredible insights team, we're able to drive higher ROIs on our investments and see more growth for our investment as we go. And we wanted to build that in there and really call out the great work that our marketing team is doing to drive great results as we invest both in traditional marketing avenues and also digital marketing avenues.

[Operator]

And our next question will come from Derek Lessard with TD Securities.

[Derek J. Lessard, Research Analyst]

I just -- I did have one question. It looks like you took down your planned international marketing spend in China by about $1 million. Just curious as to some of the thinking behind that.

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

So there is -- we still are investing significantly in China. But what we've decided to do is really focus that on more trade growth activity, particularly around the big trading days from an online perspective, particularly around 11/11 and 6/18 in China. And it was really -- it's still investment on our part, but it just gets reported on a different line.

[Derek J. Lessard, Research Analyst]

Okay. All right. That's clear. And maybe again on the margin side, when do you expect some of the safety and business costs to fall off more materially?

[Christopher Snowden, CFO & Corporate Secretary]

That really remains to be seen. It depends on how quickly our staff get vaccinated from a operational perspective. We continue to test those employees that are not double vaccinated, and we will have a level of inefficiency. The vast majority of those protocols have now subsided, so you will see -- you won't see the level of add back that you had in the past going forward for COVID cost as the efficiency impact of the COVID measures are already in cost of sales and in our P&L. But it was just those extra costs as it related to third-party costs and COVID, whether it be the third parties that did the external -- that did rapid testing or the incremental premiums from a wage perspective. That -- those are the key costs that we were adding back prior in the year.

[Operator]

Thank you. That does conclude the question-and-answer session. I'll now turn the conference back over to Mr. Pilato for any additional and closing remarks.

[Michael Pilato, President, CEO & Director]

Great. Thank you all for joining our call tonight. We continue to be encouraged by the permanency of the new consumer baseline and the continued growth of the category globally. We are and continue to be committed to our profitable growth trajectory and drive this category to new heights globally, and we are committed to continuing to drive that. We want to thank you all. Have a great evening, and talk to you all soon.

[Operator]

Thank you. And that does conclude today's conference. We do thank you for your participation. Have an excellent day.