General

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and related notes and other information included in this report. The financial results reported herein do not indicate the financial results that may be achieved by us in any future period.

Other than the historical facts contained herein, this Quarterly Report contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, particularly statements relating to our expectations relating to, among other things, our results of operations, future plans and growth strategies. Our actual results regarding such matters may vary materially as a result of certain risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, please see our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008.

Background

Our Company was incorporated in June 1989 as a producer and wholesaler of refrigerated gourmet pasta and sauces to restaurants and grocery stores in the Monterey, California area. We have since expanded our operations to provide a variety of gourmet refrigerated food products to grocery and club stores throughout the United States, selected regions in Canada, the Caribbean, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Our overall strategic plan is to enhance the value of our brands by distributing our gourmet products through multiple channels of distribution.

Our product distribution to grocery and club stores increased from approximately 25 stores as of December 1989, to over 11,000 stores by March 31, 2009. During recent years we added retail and club distribution through internal growth and through Isabella's Kitchen, Emerald Valley Kitchen, CIBO Naturals, and Sonoma Cheese acquisitions. In 2004, our shareholders approved the change of the name of the Company to Monterey Gourmet Foods, Inc. The name change was made to more accurately define our strategic direction. The name change also announces to the investor community, our customers and consumers, our strategic direction to become a complete supplier of gourmet refrigerated foods.

Since 2004, we have launched many new product lines outside its core pasta/sauce business, including gourmet refrigerated entrees, fresh tamales, dips, spreads, and frozen One-Step meal entrees. We have also been able to increase distribution by introducing whole wheat, organic, and made with organic pastas which are higher in dietary fiber, have a favorable glycemic index, and are made with whole grains and organic items.

In January 2004, we acquired CIBO Naturals, a maker of sauces, dips and spreads. In January 2005 we acquired Casual Gourmet Foods, Inc. and we recently announced that we have shuttered this operation due to lack of sales and lack of profits. Sonoma Foods, Inc. acquired in April 2005, markets a line of refrigerated specialty cheese products that features its flagship line of traditional and flavored Sonoma Jack cheeses which have earned numerous awards over the years. We believe that the convenient gourmet food segment is growing rapidly as time-starved consumers seek high quality quick-meal solutions and that we, with our staff of culinary personnel, our food consultants, and our flexible manufacturing facilities, are well positioned to bring new products to these consumers.

In 2006, we focused on expanding distribution of our current products, consolidating production facilities in Salinas, improving the quality of our current products, hiring experts in product development and creativity to better utilize our production equipment, improving the synergies between our different brands, and reorganizing our brands into one operating unit. Also in September 2006, the Board of Directors of the Company appointed Eric Eddings as President and Chief Executive Officer of our Company.

In 2007, we focused on strategic growth, improving the synergies that are possible with one sales force for all brands, one marketing department, one finance department, one information systems department, one manager in charge of all our production plants, and one unified goal to improve our profitability. We focused on brand building with an emphasis on natural and/or organic products by expanding our product offerings of organic or made with organic ingredients as these products are being well received in the market place.

Also during 2008, we launched new items across all product lines, with the main focus on organic and made with organic products. Our goal is to gain incremental distribution points as soon as possible using promotional and sampling programs as vehicles. We also focused on Sonoma Foods and Casual Gourmet Foods because these two brands have lost significant amounts of money during the last two years. In March 2008, we reviewed the low margins and decreasing revenues being generated from the Sonoma Cheese products and determined, among other things, to buy out the minority interest and the employment contracts of the minority shareholders.

In 2009, we finished shuttering the Further Processed Protein reporting segment as it had declining sales and has not been able to generate a profit for several years. For the three months ending March 31, 2009, we recorded a loss of $26,000 to dispose of the remaining inventory and other expenses attributed to its closure. We have also benefited from our efforts to reduce costs including reducing employee counts, reducing costs, and discontinuing unprofitable products. We have also reacted to the current economic downturn by freezing wages, eliminating our 401K's matching contribution and other cost cutting initiatives.

The success of our efforts to increase revenue will depend on several key factors: (1) whether grocery and club store chains will continue to increase the number of their stores offering our products, (2) whether we can continue to increase the number of grocery and club store chains offering our products, (3) whether we can continue to introduce new products that meet consumer acceptance,
(4) whether we, by diversifying into other complementary businesses through new product offerings or acquisitions can leverage our strengths and continue to grow revenues at levels attractive to our investors, (5) whether our acquisitions perform as we planned, (6) whether we can maintain and increase the number of items we are selling to our two largest customers, and (7) whether we can fend off new competitors entering the U.S. retail market from international sources. Grocery and club store chains continually re-evaluate the products carried in their stores, and no assurances can be given that the chains currently offering our product will continue to do so in the future.

Club stores such as Costco and Sam's Club have been our largest customers, and we believe there is an opportunity to expand this business. In pursuit of this opportunity, we increased our attention to these accounts to ensure timely delivery of store favorites and exciting new products in each region.

We have assigned specific sales personnel for each brand in order to ensure the growth of each brand. For larger brands we have assigned sales personnel by region. In addition, we have set up a specialty food services category which is new for us and supports sales to specialty chains such as Starbucks and Panera Bread.

We believe that access to capital resources and increasing sales to offset higher fixed overhead, coupled with continued reduction of its administrative and production costs as a percent of sales revenue, will be key requirements in our efforts to enhance our competitive position and increase our market share. In order to support our expansion program, we continue to develop new products for consumers and revise advertising and promotional activities for our retail grocery and club store accounts. There can be no assurance that we will be able to increase our net revenues from grocery and club stores. Because we will continue to make expenditures associated with the expansion of our business, our results of operations may be affected.

Our overall objective is to be the nationally recognized leader in distinctively-flavored, premium-quality gourmet foods. The key elements of our strategy include the following targeted goals:

† Expand market share through same-store revenue growth, addition of new grocery and club stores, geographic diversification, and product line expansion, including creation of additional meal solutions using Monterey Gourmet Foods products.

† Introduce new products on a timely basis to maintain customer interest and to respond to changing consumer tastes. In order to maximize our margins, we will design new products that can be manufactured and distributed out of our Salinas, California, Eugene, Oregon, or Seattle, Washington facilities, or through co-packer arrangement where we can introduce new products quickly to meet customer requests.

† Ensure that we have the proper and sufficient staff to accomplish our goals in a timely manner including the enhancement of our marketing department.

† Reduce operating costs as a percentage of sales through continual evaluation of administrative and production staffing and procedures and consolidation of back office functions. We will consider additional capital improvements in order to increase production efficiencies and capacities, and to reduce our cost of goods on a per unit basis.

† Except for the Sonoma Cheese Products, operate as one reporting unit with a centralized sales force, marketing department, finance department and operational management.

† Create brand awareness by communicating to the consumer that we provide flavorful and nutritious lines of products, and promote repeat business by reinforcing positive experiences.

† Introduce new products to our major customers in order to demonstrate our innovative nature, keep the product line updated with new ideas from our creative chefs and outside culinary experts, and increase the number of items on the shelves from which consumers can choose.

† Utilize the existing distribution, customer service and selling capabilities we have for the products of new acquisitions in order to grow sales and maximize the results of all brands.

We will continue to direct our advertising and promotional activities to specific programs customized to suit our retail grocery and club store accounts as well as to reach target consumers. These will include in-store demonstrations, coupon programs, temporary price reduction promotions, and other related activities. There can be no assurance that we will be able to increase our net revenues from grocery and club stores.

Results of Operations

     Net revenues from operations were as follows (in thousands):


                                                         Three Months Ended

                                                March 31, 2009         March 31, 2008


Net Revenues                                 $             20,975    $            23,956
Percent Change in Net Revenues from
prior period                                                  -12 %                   -1 %

These results and comparisons are for continuing operations only. The quarterly decrease in first quarter 2009 revenues compared with first quarter 2008 revenues is due to a 39% decline in tamale revenues as a result of additional competition, together with a 29% decline in sales to our second largest customer, and a 13% reduction in pasta sales. We believe the main reason for the decline is due to the poor economic conditions.

Gross profit and gross margin were as follows (in thousands):

                                            Three Months Ended

                                     March 31, 2009     March 31, 2008

             Gross profit           $          5,850    $         5,700
             Gross margin percent               27.9 %             23.8 %

Gross margin percent for the year ended December 31, 2008 was 24.9%. The gross margin percent for the first quarter of 2009 increased compared to the first quarter of 2008 by 17%. This increase in gross margin percentage is due to lower raw material costs, higher efficiencies within our plants, and the cost reduction initiatives we have taken. The reduced costs are partially offset by lower revenues which reduced the plant overhead absorption.

                                                       Three Months Ended

                                                March 31, 2009     March 31, 2008

   SG&A Expense                                $          5,057    $         6,305
   SG&A Expense as a percent of net revenues               24.1 %             26.3 %

For the calendar year ended December 31, 2008, SG&A expenses were 27.6% of net revenues. SG&A as a percent of net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 was 24.1%. The decrease compared to the first quarter of 2008 is related to reduced costs from our initiatives to reduce costs and lower freight costs. SG&A expense in dollars was reduced by 20% or $1.3 million. The main components of the SG&A decrease are freight $557,000; legal fees $125,000; salaries and benefits $375,000; and travel costs $99,000.

Freight to customers is included in SG&A costs. Our freight costs for the three months ended March 31, 2009 and March 31, 2008 were $779,000 and $1,336,000 respectfully.

Depreciation and amortization expense, included in cost of sales and SG&A, was $773,000 or 3.7% of net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to $760,000 or 3.2% of net revenues for the three months ended March 31, 2008. The increase in depreciation expense in 2009 is associated with additional equipment and leasehold improvements associated with the new production facility in Kent, Washington.

Net interest income was $1,000 for the quarter ended March 31, 2009, compared to net interest income of $26,000 for the same quarter in 2008. The reduced income is a result of the lower interest rate being paid on our excess cash and lower excess cash.

Income taxes for the first quarter of 2009 reflect a tax expense of $32,000, which reflects a 4% tax rate compared with income tax benefit of $754,000 or approximately 35% of pretax loss for the same period in 2008. We determine our quarterly tax provision based on the expected annual effective tax rate by tax filing entities and jurisdictions. Overall we are projecting a profit for 2009 and because we have NOL carryover, we will only pay Alternative Minimum Taxes for federal tax purposes. We will also pay certain state taxes in California and some other states mainly because California suspended the loss deduction in 2009 but California allows the tax to be offset by 50% of the tax credits.

We continue to have a valuation allowance of 100% of our deferred tax assets at March 31, 2009. The full valuation allowance was established during the fourth quarter of 2008 as a result of the reassessment of the realizability of deferred tax assets.

We operate in two segments: Gourmet Foods Products and Sonoma Cheese Products.

     Gourmet Foods Products Results:


                                  Three Months Ended

                           March 31, 2009    March 31, 2008

Gourmet Foods Products
Net Revenues              $         19,592   $        22,543
Gross Profit              $          5,589   $         6,100
Operating Profit          $            748   $           372

Gross profit percentage               28.5 %            27.1 %
SGA percentage                        24.7 %            25.4 %

† Our tamale sales declined 39% or $360,000 less than the same quarter last year. This is due to increased competition for our sales of this item to Costco
† Our pasta sales declined 13% due to the weak economy.
† The gross margin percentage of 28.5% for the first quarter of 2009 increased compared to 27.1% for the first quarter of 2008 due mainly to low raw material costs and our initiative to reduce costs. The improvement was less than we anticipated due to lower net revenues.
† SG&A as a percent of net revenues for the first quarter ended March 31, 2009 was 24.7% compared to 25.4% for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008. The decrease in SG&A as a percent of net revenues for 2009 compared to 2008 is due to lower salaries and operating costs associated with our cost reduction initiatives offset by a decline in net revenues.

Sonoma Cheese Products results:

                                              Three Months Ended

                                       March 31, 2009     March 31, 2008

            Sonoma Cheese Products
            Net revenues              $          1,383    $         1,413
            Gross profit              $            261    $          (400 )
            Impairment                $              -    $        (1,606 )
            Operating profit (loss)   $             45    $        (2,583 )

            Gross profit percentage               18.9 %            -28.3 %
            SGA percentage                        15.6 %             40.8 %

Highlights for the first quarter of 2009:

† Packaged cheese products revenues declined 2% when comparing the first quarter 2009 with the first quarter of 2008. The decline reflects the discontinuation of certain items which did not contribute to our profitability.
† The gross margin percentage of 18.9% for the first quarter of 2009 increased compared to (28.3)% for the first quarter of 2008, which reflects lower cheese prices. In addition, in the first quarter of 2008, we exited certain processed cheese products and we wrote off inventory associated with these products.
† SG&A as a percent of net revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 was 15.6% compared to 40.8% for the quarter ended March 31, 2008. The decrease in SG&A for 2009 compared to 2008 is due to the restructuring efforts that took place in March 2008 and our efforts to reduce overhead.

Also, in the first quarter of 2008, we saw a significant reduction in sales in the Sonoma Cheese Products Segment. Due to the reduced sales in March and the accelerating losses from this segment, we determined that a triggering event under SFAS 142 occurred and therefore tested for the impairment of goodwill and other intangible assets during the first quarter of 2008. As a result of the impairment test, we recorded a pre-tax, non-cash charge of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2008 related to the impairment of intangible assets associated with the Sonoma acquisition on April 7, 2005.

In addition, on April 18, 2008, the Company, Sonoma Foods, Inc., and the shareholders of Sonoma entered into an agreement amending the Purchase Agreement dated April 7, 2005, pursuant to which we acquired all of the outstanding shares of Sonoma. Pursuant to the amendment, our purchase of the remaining 20% of Sonoma's outstanding shares not already owned by us was accelerated and the purchase price was set at $50,000, plus a potential earn-out based upon an agreed formula. At the same time, the Company and the shareholders terminated existing employment agreements with the shareholders and entered into severance arrangements which provide for payments and benefits substantially equivalent to those provided by the former employment agreements.