Welcome to Food Week May 24, 2024. A little late this week after the National Restaurant Show, which takes a lot out of us. Headline: DID SHRIMP KILL LOBSTER? In truth, no. It was Private Equity. There’s more. Enjoy
MACRO
- Will commercial real estate drag down the economy? Not if consumers have naything to do with it,
- Super Size Me guy dies at 53,
- Forecaster predicting a very active hurricane season. They may go throught the whole alphabet.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Trying to get to more truthful nutritionals on labels. On the other hand, supplement makers rolling out a variety of products to participate in the mania for the new weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
- Trend among grocers like Target is to start rolling back prices as consumers have chnaged patterns in response to higher prices. Competition is a good but increasingly rare thing.
- The Farm Bill is almost done but GOP wants to cut SNAP – food for mothers and children – by $30 billion.
- Walmart mandating workers come into office – thereby reducing headcount through ‘quiet firing’.
- More problems for Sriracha, this time not by their own doing.
- The Foxtrot closing and acution stills seems fishy.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- Red Lobster closing stores and declaring bankrupcy. The purported culprit on the failure of Red Lobster was the all you can eat shrimp promotion. (The stories are wild.) But there’s a history here – Private equity tried to sink another Darden brand – Olive Garden – when really it just wanted to make a bunch of money selling the real estate. Just like the previous owners of Red Lobster.
- The relationship between chains, their conpetitors and franchise groups is a little more entangled than you might think.
- Taco stand in Mexico City awarded Michelin star.
- American’s are cutting back on eating out but 64% of people say they would eat out at a restaurant every day if they could.
- Starbuck’s bad month.
- A reminder that Anthony Bourdain’s favortie was Katz’s Deli.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- The search for a substitute for chocolate is underway. And the Swiss are highly motivated to find an answer.
- Britain’s Prime Minister demands domestic farmers grow more fruits and vegetables. He does know what climaate they live in, right? RIght?
- Texas used to be a major producer of sugar. There’s even a town called Sugarland. But climate changes has ended all that.
- Raw milk consumption is up 65% because people are very stupid. But at least the government is throwing more resources at the Avian Influenza problempread into cattle.
- Climate change, bananas and infrastructure; the complexity – and waste – that is India’s food supply.
- Trying to build sustainable feed mills
DRINK CORNER
- Storing wine in the fridge is worse than just leaving it out. The temperature in the refrigerator is too cold.
- The most under-rated macro beers.
- Ah, the diaquiri. One of the greats.
- Cannabis surpasses alcohol as daily drug of choice. The Federal Government is moving to have it removed from the most dangerous drug list.
FOOD WEEK MAY 24 LAGNIAPPE
- Chain superfan weirdos.
- WIth the beginning of grilling season, a guide to different steak cuts.
- Why there were milkmen and why there aren’t anymore
- I have never had Duke’s mayonnaise but chefs say it’s the best
- Medical researchers weigh in on the real dangers of gas stoves.