After successive quarters of steepening same-store sales declines, Sweetgreen is offering a $10 deal that may turn its luck around. Critiques of the app’s user experience, and friction from tech-enabled back-end efficiencies may be the source of its turmoil.
In late 2025, premiumization has come to mean clarity, convenience, and storytelling. From blockchain packaging to sashimi-grade salmon, premium brands winning trust are those turning transparency and narratives into irresistible consumer experiences.
Agentic AI is shifting retail from answers to actions – transforming discovery, consideration, and conversion. For food brands, metadata mastery and AI literacy are now imperatives.
Subway’s revived Sub Club promises free subs and flashy perks, but franchisees warn of profit risks. The loyalty gamble highlights the tension between corporate marketing ambitions and operators’ bottom-line realities.
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on the future of fast-casual restaurant chains that rely on so-called “slop bowls.”
Barry Thomas, senior thought leader at Kantar, unpacks the rapid rise of agentic AI — a new class of AI systems that don’t just generate information, but take action on behalf of the user.
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on projections for a sizable uptick in Cyber Monday shopping.
Former Oatly U.S. President Mike Messersmith explores how Lasso’s SpinTech could transform food processing, creating sustainable, high-protein, clean-label innovations with new textures and ingredient possibilities.
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on the growing list of restaurant chains and operating groups that have filed for bankruptcy.
The latest FI Fast Break news podcast touches on restaurants’ growing popularity with consumers on Thanksgiving day.
Mike Seidel of Performance Foodservice Corporate, shares how the company developed its most recent Mediterranean food brand Zebec.
The latest FI Fast Break industry news podcast discusses how inflation is reshaping Thanksgiving plans this year.
Robyn Carter, founder and CEO of Jump Rope Innovation, explores the concept of the “return to real” in today’s food industry.
