Welcome to Food Week January 23 – 29, 2023. Very busy week with lots of fun content. Scan & go not working for many retailers. A grill that cooks a steak in under 4 minutes. Canada’s strategic maple syrup reserve. The weirdness around M&Ms. Solomangarephobia and more. Enjoy!
MACRO
Inflation slows further. But some items – like food – are resisting.
But Walmart – the nation’s largest employer raised wages to a $14 minimum
Clean energy investment equaled old energy foe the first time. Let’s hope it’s not too late.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
The future of scan and go – particularly for grocers – is murky.
Artiisinal food shops struggling to differrntiate.
What Aldi does especially well.
Coke extends into mixers with Simply line. I have used lime and grapefruit for years and they really are the best of this ilk. However, the company needs to address PFAs…
M&Ms stopping advertising with characters because of weird culture wars attemtion. Or is it a stunt for Super Bowl.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
Tech may be laying off but restaurants continue to hire. The hard truths of being a server.
A guide to dining in Paris. Or Naples.
Solomangarephobia: The fear of eating alone in public.
New grill will allow Chili’s to cook a streak in 4 minutes and a burger in under 2.
You can’t be a cook if you can’t smell or taste. Long COVID can be a crisis.
McDonald’s follows Starbuck’s lead with straw-less lid.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
The drought issue in the West is as much about storage as anything else.
Governments have stockpiles of key food commodities. For the US, it’s cheese. For the Chinese, pork. And for the Canadians, maple syrup, of course.
CRISPR should be world changing. Hopefully resistance won’t prevent that.
California trying to upgrade school lunch menus.
FOOD WEEK LAGNIAPPE JANUARY 23
Spicy foods can’t cure your illness but they can make the symptoms more bearable. And the argument for ginger ale when you are sick.
Ain’t no Fireball whiskey in Fireball.
Keto the most researched diet plan (still)..
Foods to usher in the Year of the Rabbit.
Celebrate Burn’s Day with Haggis. Unless you are in the US where it is illegal. And the madness of King Henry’s diet. Punchline: lotsa lampreys.
Pocket coffee – saw a version of this at Fancy Food last week. If you don’t love coffee but like the buzz, this is for you.