Welcome to Food Week August 30, 2024. Very full update with a lot of info and a lot about Kroger, most of it, um, no bueno. The Company admitted they jacked up prices above inflation, illegally charged fees for cash back, lost control of their employee discount code and are trying to spin off stores to a company that probably can’t operate them. And a lot more to peruse. Enjoy.

MACRO

• Stocks rally so that, after a lot of drama, August ends up being positive

• Economic growth is now running higher than pre-COVID projections. CPI has fallen so that average bag of groceries in now below 2015 levels

• Kroger admits price gouging during inflationary spike. Prices are still sticky even though inflation is way down.

RETAIL AND CONSUMER

• The world’s most valuable food brand is…. Nestle

• 7-Eleven using Japanese ‘core industry’ law to fend off takeover bid.

• Target plans on getting bigger in food and beverage

• Kroger, other retailers, caught charging fees for cash back at register, which is, you know, illegal.

• C&S is the key to the Kroger Albertson’s deal. But can they operate the 579 stores that Kroger wants to spin off? They really don’t run that many stores. And the last company to got store spun off from a grocery merger went bankrupt.

• On the consolidation front, Mars is facing some resistance on their latest acquisition

RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE

• The fight over tip rule heads to court.

• Sorry but an all you can eat Wagyu restaurant sounds too good to be true.

• After $20 minimum wage law, California has more fast food jobs than ever.

• Chipotle illegally withheld raises from workers at unionized location.

• Is customization killing Starbucks?

• A restaurant called Burger King in Pune India wins trademark suit against Burger King the corporation after 13 years

FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN

• Processed meat linked to Type 2 diabetes.

• The livestock industry is using all the tools in their arsenal to fight lab grown meat

• There is a program for getting workers in meat plants protective gear for Avian Influenza but plant operators aren’t bothering.

• Boars Head Listeria death count up to 9. Apparently the entire operation was disgusting.

• And now we’ve learned about corn sweat.

DRINK CORNER

• Strong and sweet, malt liquor is about to have a moment.

• The Spritz is the fastest growing cocktail in the US. Here are some variations, And the Vampiro, which requires Squirt which is not available in a lot of American market sbut apparently is in Mexico.

• The story of the Gamay grape, Burgundy and the war they started.

• Viche – a traditional sugar cane distillation made by Afro-Colombians in the Amazon region – is becoming so hot people are smuggling it out. The women who make it are called transformadoras!

• I am curious, well read and pretentious but I had never heard of any of the three ingredients in the Tiny Sparrow cocktail. Also ways to use Creme de Violette other than in an Aviation

• A clear ice primer.

FOOD WEEK August 30 LAGNIAPPE

• Taking your coffee to go really isn’t the global norm.

• Erithrytol linked to blood clots and hear t disease. And don’t microwave your food in plastic containers.

• The health benefits of pickle juice.

• Today we have air fryer recipes; during the Depression it was ice box cakes.

• The employee discount code at Kroger gets passed around.