Welcome to FoodStuff October 15, 2025. Things herein that might make you cranky: The Cracker Barrel ‘controversy,’ Inflation (duh), clickbait articles in the Atlantic, Matcha, radioactive shrimp, Dirty Martinis, ubiquitous tipping and renaming the brand Maxwell Apartment. But fun stuff too. Enjoy!
MACRO
- Investment in AI is not driving as much of the economy as people think. However the S&P is another story.
- The Trump administration administers an own goal on Soybeans. After hit with 100% tariffs, China hasn’t bought a bushel all year. Then the Adminstration bailed out one it’s main soybean competitors – Argentina. And now, the plan is now to bail out the farmers rather than resume negotiations.
- Poor people spend a lot more of their income on food than wealthy people. Here are the facts. Grocery prices keep rising. Actually things were heading in the right direction inflation-wise and then the tariffs hit.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
- Start up brands are bullying big CPG.
- Trader Joe’s ripping off brand concepts agaim, this time Uncrustables from Smuckers
- Short video that makes the point that while there is a lot more variety in the egg case, there are actually fewer egg producers, that just make more variances.
- Epogee is fat substitue that from the same ultra-processed tree as Olestra, has found great use in protein bar formulation. The founder of the David Bar bought EPG, the only maker of Epogee and in order to fuel David’s growth, started restricting supply to other protein bar makers. Which is both uncool and perfectly rational.
- Maxwell House is becoming Maxwell Apartment. No, really.
- California’s Governor vetoes ban PFAs (Forever chemicals) in cookware.
- Zabar’s owner dies at 97
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
- The backlash agaisnt the Cracker Barrel logo seemed kind of artificial. It seemd the hostility was because it was a woman CEO more than any real reflection on what was (once) a very forgettable logo. Well, it was artificial, mostly driven by Bots and AI
- Small govenment indeed. Nando’s customers limited to one soda thanks to government pressure.
- From what I know about Ethiopian food I think it pair well with texas BBQ. Also, how Big Red Soda has become a staple in Texas Smokehouses.
- Chick-fil-A wins on drive thru
- Mixing art and food. Literally.
- Even bartenders don’t want to tip everyone for everything.
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
- The end of farming in Texas?
- Australia culls its kangaroos to prevent overpopulation. They then sell the meat to Europe. This seems reasonable but others don’t think so.
- American demand for beef is outstripping supply
- More radioactive shrimp.
- 200,000 of strawberries produced on a single acre thanks to vertical farming.
- Learn about food forests, darling of sustainable advocates.
- Coffee is up 40% thanks to demand climate and tariffs. But this is a dumb article from the Atlantic; downplaying its value for nutrtional metrics and as just another energy alternative tells me that you haven’t done your homework or are just .engaging in clickbait
DRINKS
- A Seed Library grows in Manhattan
- The leading producer of non-alcoholic beer is…Germany??
- Sure, you could invent a drink with red wine and coke. But would you have come up with the name Kalimatxo?
- The domestic wine industry is hosed. Demand and exports are down, costs are up. Producers are tryinf to figure ot the next step.. Similar woes for craft breweries.
- I have never understood Dirty Martinis. Why would you take a delicate, complex liquor like gin and add what is surely Incredible Hulk of mixers. I guess Vodka is kinda better but the idea of something with one dominant, and frankly boring, ingredient perplexes me. But the good news is they are going out of fashion. Better cocktails (low bar): The Alimony. The Rusty Nail
FOODSTUFF October 15 LAGNIAPPE
- Sweeteners undermine weight loss by destroying gut biota. If you haven’t been yelled at recently for not having enough fiber in you diet, here’s a place to go.
- The ways in which olive oil shaped ancient Greece.
- Goat is the OG of BBQ. And some old schools appys.
- Matcha is misunderstood, misused and mislabelled. In fact it is often fake. But it is trendy.
- Finally, the salted maple whipped Dr. Pepper. When you just don’t want diabetes. You need diabetes