Welcome to Food Week December 12. A compendium of year end recaps and lists and ‘best-ofs’. Plus the lingering effects of high food prices on the industry and the economy. Enjoy
MACRO
Inflation is slowing considerably but food is the biggest hurdle to a return to normalcy.
The argument that the lack of competition is a main driver of inflation.
Thursday has become just about as popular as Friday as a work-from-home day. Too much hump day fever?
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
A lot of people think that an expiration date is when a product is no longer safe to eat. This is wrong. Manufacturers set these dates for freshness and viability. That standard is arbitrary as all get out.
Nestle invests in Ukraine.
Brilliant list building app from Walmart translates reminders into purchases.
Coca Cola is using its freestyle machines for product development concepts.
Price crunches really hurt SNAP recipients.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
Winners and losers of the year in the restaurant business. Chicago’s beloved Italian Beef became a star. ALsoTrends in street food.
It was the Year of Unionization in foodservice.
Best and worst states for tipping. During COVID, everyone was super-generous.
Speaking of Chicago, here is a list of 25 best restaurants. These things come out all the time but this one is intersting because it actually has great neighborhood joints and places that really respect the food they serve.
Did you know that Burrata was Ukrainian? Neither did the restaurant reviewer. (for good reason).
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
Brazil may be the world’s biggest beef exporter but that doesn’t mean Brazilians want to eat more beef. Quite to the contrary. 2/3rds of Brazilians ate less animal protein than in the year before,
As referenced above, vegetable prices are up over 40%.
Eggo plant releases gas into plant, neighborhood.
Peru is the world biggest exporter of blueberries but political turmoil threatens the supply.
FOOD WEEK DECEMBER 12 LAGNIAPPE
Fancy lab grown seafood. Perhaps the premium approach is the key to entry into the marketplace.
A quicky mulled wine primer.
Are meat substitutes as nutritionally bio-available as regular meat? A Swedish study says NO.
For cheese-aholics, there is always the tartiflette.
Top food articles of 2022.