Of the approximately 7,300 U.S. stores opened, or planned to open in 2020 and 2021, 43% are dollar stores, according to Coresight Research. Dollar General opened 1,000 new stores in 2020 and has 1,050 more …
Food companies have had to get creative to attract workers during the ongoing labor shortage. An Oregon McDonald’s is now even looking to hire teen workers as young as 14, according to a report from …
Chronic labor shortages and mandatory overtime appear to be fueling union unrest as the economy bounces back from the pandemic, with workers realizing they aren’t as powerless as they once were. “With the pandemic and …
The COVID-19 pandemic simply accelerated Americans’ shift to a home-centric lifestyle, according to a new report by The NPD Group. But the tendency to largely hunker down at home was already apparent prior to the …
It seems like every few weeks food delivery apps are finding themselves in hot water. Most recently, Chicago officials accused both DoorDash and Grubhub of harming city restaurants and customers through high fees and other deceptive …
Loyalty programs continue to gain traction across the food industry as restaurants and retailers implement new offerings to capitalize on customer allegiance. The increase is widely tied to pandemic-induced spikes in digital commerce along with …
Bojangles closed all of its company-owned stores today and will do so again on September 13 in an effort to give its employees and managers a “well-deserved break.” However, employees will not be paid for …
With daily COVID cases up 11% since last week in the U.S., signs of the pandemic’s staying power threaten to disrupt the nascent effort to attain some semblance of normalcy. The Delta variant has turned …
Albertsons Cos. has begun piloting an Instacart-powered online grocery pickup service in six major cities. The new click-and-collect service, which is currently available in 40 stores, will work in tandem with Albertsons’ Drive Up & …
Walmart plans to open up its in-house delivery platform, Spark Driver, to other businesses. The retailer is doing so to allow the independent contractors out delivering Walmart merchandise to make additional deliveries along the way, …
With July U.S. retail sales off 1.1% overall, Walmart bucked the trend, reporting a second-quarter increase of 2.4%, compared to last year, while Amazon missed revenue estimates for the first time in nearly three years. …
What will the post-pandemic future hold for wine retailers? The global wine sector is large and highly fragmented, so it’ll take some time to fully measure and understand COVID’s impact on the segment. For wine …
With ESG topics becoming increasingly important to consumers, food companies are noticeably increasing their efforts. Below are a few recent examples of new ESG initiatives in the industry. MCCORMICK ADVANCES SUSTAINABILITY STANDARD McCormick & Company …
Editor’s note: Juan Ruiz is a finance and investment professional with over 30 years’ experience collecting and reviewing wines. He’s a graduate of New York’s Institute of Culinary Education’s Intensive Sommelier Program and a certified …
As pandemic restrictions eased, pent-up consumer demand kept inflation elevated. In July, the overall consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.5%, a somewhat moderate gain relative to recent increases. Yet, over the past 12 months, price …
Restaurant menus – like so much of society amid the pandemic – have undergone a whirlwind of change in recent months. The coronavirus has required as much, with restaurants having to deal with supply uncertainties …
Hiring and retaining employees has been a battle throughout the coronavirus pandemic, so companies are upping their game, waving perks like signing bonuses at workers. Now, the latest trend entails major employers like McDonald’s offering …
Since acquiring Whole Foods for $13.7 billion in 2017, Amazon has been looking to further expand into the $900 billion U.S. grocery industry through its Amazon Fresh stores. And, with online grocery delivery growing about …
In a major merger announced Thursday, Panera Bread joined forces with Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels to form Panera Brands. The new group includes more than 4,000 fast-casual restaurants. The pact sent reverberations throughout …
Kroger and ghost kitchen start-up Kitchen United have teamed to provide shoppers with on-demand takeout and delivery food. Through the partnership, Kitchen United will feature up to six restaurant brands inside select Kroger locations. The …
One of the most successful limited time offerings (LTOs) over the past year has been McDonald’s “Famous Orders” celebrity collaborations. McDonald’s has been utilizing LTOs to attract consumers for years with items such as the …
COVID-weary Americans thought the summer would bring freedom from face masks, but the Delta variant – more contagious than its predecessors – has put the kibosh on that, threatening the nascent recovery in the food …
With a slew of earnings being released over the past week, The Food Institute looked into which companies are thriving, as well as which companies are experiencing issues. EARNINGS ‘WINNERS’ McDonalds (MCD) Global comparable sales …
Maryland without crab cakes. An ahi tuna shortage in Hawaii. Clams missing from the menu in Massachusetts. Are we running out of fish? “Yes, there is a shortage of fish, in some part, because of …
Eighty-four percent of consumers globally order chicken from a restaurant at least once a month, according to new research by Technomic. The latest chicken product in high demand appears to be nuggets. POPEYES DEBUTS NUGGETS …
Starting Thursday, hundreds of San Francisco bars will require patrons to show proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test before they can drink inside. The decision was made by the San Francisco Bar Owner …
While grocery stores are experiencing an uptick in foot traffic this summer, most salad stations have stayed dark. Many grocers, including Hy-Vee’s, Wegmans, and Stop & Shop have no plans to reopen them anytime soon, …
Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: higher inflation and COVID-19 infection rates, public health policy changes, vaccine passport, the …
Consumers in over 400 cities can now have their groceries delivered by Uber. The company’s Uber Eats division recently partnered with 1,200 Albertsons-owned stores, as well as 25 Costco locations across Texas—marking Uber’s first pilot …
Instacart is developing a media retail network ahead of its highly anticipated public offering and is positioned to raise ad revenue by 30% — or $700 million — in 2022, reported The Wall Street Journal …
There’s no denying plant-based food has had a big year. However, the pandemic’s full impact on plant-based momentum in restaurants remains unclear. While the gears of product development are starting to turn again, some major brands have …
Taco Bell is the latest restaurant chain to be hit by significant ingredient shortages. “Sorry if we can’t feed your current crave,” reads an orange banner atop the fast-food chain’s website. “Due to national ingredient …
Panera Bread is now catering to remote and hybrid employees as it moves to regain sales in the once high-ticket sector. The chain’s new program, Panera Connects, enables companies to host catered meetings regardless of …
Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: an interview with Wells Fargo agricultural economist Dr. Michael J. Swanson on a …
French restaurant owners and workers are worried: Are they about to turn into the virus police? Retailers don’t understand how they’ll keep people who haven’t had a COVID-19 vaccination out. France is in the forefront …
In today’s omnichannel world, customer loyalty is difficult to earn and just as tough to maintain. With that, keeping pace with customers’ evolving tastes is an undeniably tall task. These issues were analyzed recently during …
