King & Spalding achieved a significant ruling in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the dismissal of a securities class action against Vitacost.com. The class action arose after the company experienced manufacturing logistics problems in early 2010 and its stock price dropped. The purported lead plaintiff brought claims under Section 11 of the Securities Act of 1933, a virtually strict-liability statute, for alleged material misstatements and omissions in the company's prospectus filed in connection with its 2009 IPO. The plaintiffs' complaint spanned 105 pages and contained statements by 11 confidential witnesses, including the company's founder and former chief executive officer. Despite the lengthy complaint and multiple witness statements, King & Spalding successfully argued that the complaint stated no Section 11 violation. The Eleventh Circuit agreed and affirmed the Southern District of Florida's dismissal with prejudice. The court held that alleged omissions relating to employee terminations were immaterial and the plaintiff failed to plead any omissions relating to a relocation of distribution facilities and Food and Drug Administration compliance. The court issued its ruling on May 6.

Vitacost.com, Inc. reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. For the quarter, the company reported net sales of $97,756,000 compared to net sales of $83,592,000 for the same period a year ago. Net sales excluding adjustments was $97,756,000 compared to net sales of $83,592,000 for the same period a year ago. Operating loss was $3,006,000 compared to $6,573,000 last year. Operating loss excluding adjustments was $2,871,000 compared to $6,003,000 last year. Loss before income taxes was $2,986,000 compared to $6,541,000 last year. Loss before income taxes excluding adjustments was $2,851,000 compared to $5,971,000 last year. Net loss was $2,999,000 or $0.09 per basic and diluted share compared to $6,554,000 or $0.21 per basic and diluted share last year. Net loss excluding adjustments was $2,864,000 or $0.09 per basic and diluted share compared to $5,984,000 or $0.20 per basic and diluted share last year. Adjusted EBITDA was loss of $400,000 in the first quarter of 2013, a significant improvement from the $4 million loss posted in the first quarter of 2012. In the first quarter of 2013, total net sales increased 17% over the last year to a quarterly record of $97.8 million, as third-party product sales grew 20% and proprietary product sales grew 8% in the quarter.

Vitacost.com, Inc. announced the launch of the ARO Black Series, a new proprietary sports nutrition line. ARO, which stands for "Attack, Recover and Optimize," offers specially designed formulas and superior quality products at everyday low prices for the elite as well as the everyday athlete. The new line includes pre- and post-workout formulas, protein powders, flavored glutamine, creatine, and branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), in addition to other general health items designed to support athletic performance. All items in the line are free of artificial colors and gluten and contain no hidden ingredients, an increasingly important characteristic for sports nutrition products. The new ARO line initially will contain 27 SKUs with additional products to be added throughout the year, including a line of meal replacement products marketed under the "ARO Lean" brand name.