I’m speaking with Phil Thomas, CEO of Long Island Iced Tea Corp. (LIIT) (Nasdaq: LTEA), today about the company and where it is headed. LIIT makes an assorted selection of iced tea drinks which can be found in numerous supermarkets, mostly in the eastern part of the country. These iced teas are also available online at Amazon.

Ilene: What makes your product, Long Island Iced Tea, special?

Philip Thomas: We use premium, non-GMO ingredients including cane sugar (not high fructose corn syrup) in our proprietary recipes. Our diet teas do not contain Aspartame. We sell these high-quality, great tasting drinks at very affordable prices.

Ilene: Your sales are up triple digits from last year, but expenses are up around that much too. How and when do you see sales surpassing expenses?

Philip Thomas: Expenses were high due to our building a platform for growth ahead of the revenue growth we are hoping for. Also, a large amount of the financial expenses are one time and non-cash, stock-based expenses. We expect expenses to normalize as a percent of sales as we grow.

Ilene: At what rate do you anticipate growing revenue during the next couple of years?

Philip Thomas: We would hope to maintain our current growth rate for as long as possible during the near future.

Ilene: Your net loss for the past two years has been a little over $3 million per year. Will losses decrease next year? When do you expect your company to become profitable?

Philip Thomas: Profitability will depend on how much operating cash flow we decide to reinvest into the business, which will depend on how fast we grow. At this point it’s hard to tell when profitability will occur, as we plan to reinvest operating cash flow into our brand for the foreseeable future.

Ilene: Will you need to sell shares of stock or take out loans before LIIT reaches profitability?

Philip Thomas: This will depend on how fast we will grow and how much we reinvest into our brand.

Ilene: You have a group of very experienced individuals on your management team. Can you tell me more about you and your team members’ roles at other beverage companies and at LIIT?