Food Week March 14 means happy spring! What a week for food, with St. Patrick’s Day (Corned Beef), St Joseph’s Day (Zeppole) and the Ides of March (Caesar Salad). While plant -based and home delivery, two trends every one was sure about, have flattened, regenerative ag is the new hot button. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Concerns about inflation, but rising interest rates bring concerns about recession.
- Will daylight savings time be made permanent?
- Concerns as waste water finding increasing COVID in some places
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- The pandemic threw these meal delivery companies a life line. They still have not worked out a profitable model for a large enough audience. Meal-kit delivery companies flourished early in the pandemic, but are struggling now.
- Without sustained inflation for decades, we don’t know how consumers will react. This is particularly difficult for producers of perishable foods.
- Amazon Fresh is launching a line of plant based alt-proteins. Their timing is questionable (see below).
- Coffee consumption highest in two decades.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Protests outside a NY restaurant that still requests proof of vaccination. At some point are they merely pro-COVID?
- Denny’s is partnering with TikTok creators for new menu items. But what about people between 20 and 80?
- On the other hand, on-line ordering has come to senior living.
- The trends affecting restaurants are mostly about what damage from COID is permanent.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- We’ve been tracking this for months but plant-based meats are simply not growing. Is the plateau permanent? Confusion and skepticism are 2 hurdles.
- Between Ukraine and Russia, they normally consume 2 million boxes of bananas per week. For the short term this will cause a huge over supply, hurting prices for producers.
- The entire world food system is threatened by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. For the short term this will cause a huge over supply.
- Regenerative agriculture can be achieved by using traditional farming techniques.
FOOD WEEK LAGNIAPPE
- What we found this week: Hendrick’s Neptunia Gin, from its Cabinet of Curiosities line. Featuring “coastal botanicals and a smooth citrus finish.” We’ve seen coastal ingredients in other gins, such as Gray Whale Gin.
- Kumquats in your drinks. Relatedly, we have a little Panamanian Orange tree that produces delicious citrus we use the same way.
- The King of the Slice dies in NYC at 85.
- A pierogi recipe with Ukrainian roots