orange fruit on tree

Food Week September 20 – 26, 2021

Welcome to Food Week September 20 – 26. 2021. COVID is still impacting restaurant sales and the supply chain. Fruit sales are up, food-borne illnesses are down and the Great British Baking Show is back. Diet can help Alzheimers and Llamas may save us all. Enjoy.

MACRO

  • Food Week September 20 finds employment is still stagnant.

RETAIL AND CONSUMER

  • Fruit sales are over-indexing versus retail growth in general but this is likely a function of people being in stores. When it comes to produce, we don’t trust delivery.
  • Hard to not be cynical and think that Walmart’s green bond is nothing more than greenwashing.
  • If it seems like there are more and more shootings in supermarkets, it is because there are. But when they ban guns, they get boycotts.
  • Consolidation of the meat industry means cheaper production but it also means producers keep consumer prices high.

RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE

  • Restaurants are at a do-or-die moment with the fall upon us. Either people will go to restaurants or they will fail. Chains grapple with reopening dining rooms as the Delta variant drives Covid-19 infections.
  • Perhaps Subway’s new strategy is working. Sales are up. But I wonder what all those celebrities on TV are costing? Is it sustainable?
  • Canadians hate Orange Julius most? That’s like saying I hate Packard’s as a car brand: Obscure and long in the past. What did Orange Julius ever do to Canada?

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

  • Under-emphasized in these supply chain stories is the commitment to Just-in-Time management… Empty shelves and high prices are reminders that middle-class Americans aren’t insulated. JIT is great with short and reliable supply chains but is terrible for short shelf life things like food.

FOOD WEEK LAGNIAPPE

  • The wide variance of rice uses across ethnic cuisines is amazing.

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