Welcome to Food Week July 4 – 10, 2022 . This short week update has Amazon beating Wal Mart and aligning with Grub Hub, THC seltzer, further litigation over price fixing, lingering port issues and Spam. No, the original one. Enjoy.
MACRO
Job market stays strong which makes fighting inflation harder. But maybe a recession can be avoided.
The dollar gets stronger, almost reaching parity with the Euro, which is why eating in Spain right now seems positively cheap. But it may hurt exports.
The pandemic not only caused a huge increase in grocery delivery, it allowed Amazon to reach new scales of efficiencies. Is Amazon delivery now cheaper than Wal Mart?
Relatedly, supermarket sales slowed for 2021, Not surprising as pandemic fears waned but also shopping patterns have changed.
Taller, skinnier cans all the rage. Even for beer makers.
And in that can, THC seltzer anyone? It will be available in Minnesota shortly.
Spam is on of the greatest triumphs in branding history.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
Smithfield settles for $42 million with food service for price fixing but admits no wrong doing. Okay. But poultry producers win their case.
Amazon Prime enters restaurant delivery service by aligning with Grub Hub. I suppose that if anyone can make money doing this, it is Amazon.
Severs forced to share tips with Managers in Hawaii. That’s a no-no
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
California is a huge dairy state. Dairy requires lots of water. See the problem here?
Speaking of things requiring water, there are a billion pounds of almonds sitting at the Port of Oakland. The bottleneck there means is is economically preferable for shipping companies to ship empty containers back to Asia rather than wait for loading. Almond growers in a state of panic as they don;t get paid until product is delivered.
Traceability is particularly hard in produce. Recalls often bring back loads of uncontaminated product as a result. Daily Harvest’s recall of its French Lentils + Leek Crumbles product brought back other ingredients in meal kits as well.
The FDA will allow importation of baby formula into US. The shortage was directly related to the lack of suppliers, so this should be a positive step and maybe bring additional competition.
FOOD WEEK LAGNIAPPE
A report showing that COVID related viruses can survive on frozen meat. Whether this is a threat has yet to be determined.
My tomatoes are coming in (or so I hear) and it is time to talk about tomato salad recipes. Because man does not live on Caprese alone
