Will AI Ordering Go Mainstream at Restaurants?

In response to labor shortages, some restaurants are turning to AI-powered bots that answer phones and communicate with customers.

Amid Labor Shortage, Gen Z Demanding ‘EWA’ Pay

Companies like McDonald’s are allowing workers to access hourly pay on demand in the hopes of shoring up the ongoing labor shortage.

Alternative Seafood Investments Are on the Rise

Investment in plant-based, fermented or cell-based “alternative seafood” amounted to $178.2 million between January and mid-July this year, as interest in the sector continued to grow. (Fish Farming Expert, July 28) In fact, the alternative …

CASE STUDY: How Pan’s Mushroom Jerky Scaled During COVID

Looking ahead, Pan’s plans to stay true to its core values of reducing meat consumption by making nutritious foods from mushrooms.

Supermarket Stocks Flip the Script on Big Box Retailers

The trend of pure play grocers struggling has flipped since 2020, with supermarket stocks for grocers like Albertsons holding their own.

Can Oatly, the Latest Plant-Based Company to Miss Its Targets, Rebound?

Oatly Group AB shares fell nearly 21% on Monday after the plant-based dairy company reported a third-quarter revenue miss and issued a revenue warning for the year. The company, which had a net loss of $41.2 …

What’s Driving Beyond Meat’s Slide?

What’s going on at Beyond Meat? A week ago, the company’s stock price fell 12% after it warned that third-quarter revenue should come in at $106 million—far lower than its prior outlook and the nearly …

Is the Plant-Based Market Showing Signs of Decline?

Despite interest in the plant-based space by investors, the category appeared to lose a bit of luster in the second quarter, as both Beyond Meat and Maple Leaf Foods noted sales of their plant-based offerings …

Digesting This Week’s Earnings from McDonald’s and Other Food Companies

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 …

EARNINGS UPDATE: Coca-Cola Reports Strong Second Quarter Results

Coca-Cola Co. released its second quarter earnings this week—and sales rebounded faster than expected. HIGHLIGHTS: Net Revenues grew 42% Organic Revenues (Non-GAAP) grew 37% Operating Income grew 52% Operating Margin was 29.8% versus 27.7% in …

Conagra Latest CPG Brand to Increase Prices

With the Consumer Price Index rising 0.9% in June, food brands are raising prices to keep up with inflation. The latest major company to follow suit is Conagra. Conagra recently cut its fiscal 2022 outlook …

Food Industry Financials: GenZ Unemployment, McCormick, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: Gen Z Unemployment, Robinhood and new generation of investors, earnings from McCormick (MKC), …

EARNINGS UPDATE: McCormick Reports Strong Second Quarter Sales

McCormick & Co. today reported financial results for its fiscal second quarter ended May 31, 2021. KEY HIGHLIGHTS Sales rose 11% in the second quarter from the year-ago period. In constant currency, the company grew sales …

EARNINGS UPDATE: General Mills, Constellation Brands

General Mills and Constellation Brands both reported earnings today. Here’s a closer look at highlights from both reports: GENERAL MILLS Fourth Quarter 2021 Highlights Net sales declined 10 % to $4.5 billion and organic net …

Food Industry Financials: Retail Sales, Darden Restaurants, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: retail sales, supply crunch, global forecast, earnings from Darden Restaurants (DRI), and more. …

Food Industry Financials: Inflation, KR, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: inflation analysis, food commodities outlook, The Kroger Co. (KR) earnings digest, and more. …

Food Industry Financials: Inflation, CPB, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: inflation analysis, earnings from Campbell Soup Company (CPB), Chewy, Inc. (CHWY), and more.   …

BREAKING NEWS: Campbell Reports Third-Quarter Fiscal 2021 Results

Campbell’s Soup released its third-quarter results and updated full-year guidance this morning.  Shares of the company (Ticker: CPB) are trading down close to 7% pre-market as of 8am ET as investors react to the results: Net …

Food Industry Financials: Employment, SJM, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: employment, earnings from The J. M. Smucker Company (SJM) and more. Is America …

Food Industry Financials: Inflation, CBRL, SAFM, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: food inflation, earnings from Cracker Barrel (CBRL), Sanderson Farms (SAFM), Costco (COST) and …

As Retail Spending Rises, Target Growth Rates Best Walmart 

Big-box retailers have reported surprisingly strong first-quarter results as consumers – with more money from stimulus checks and rising optimism about a return to normal life – spent more in-store and online as COVID-19 cases fell and vaccination rates increased. And, while Walmart posted sector-leading earnings that surged past Wall Street estimates …

Food Industry Financials: Inflation, TSN, ARMK, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: CPI, PPI, small business optimism, Tyson Foods, Inc. (TSN), Aramark (ARMK), Utz Brands, …

Food Industry Financials: PPP, Inflation, EM, SYY, SHAK, BYND and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: PPP, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, lumber shortage and inflation, hiring recovery, inflation in Brazil, …

Food Industry Financials: American Families Plan, MCD, ADM, KHC, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: American Families Plan, restaurant reservations, McDonald’s (MCD), Archers-Daniel-Midland Company (ADM), Kraft Heinz Company …

Food Industry Financials: Surging Commodities, Coca-Cola, and more

Here are trending economic and food industry data points, as well as major economic and company earnings releases for the coming week: unemployment benefits, global debt, surging commodities, restaurant reservations, Coca-Cola (COKE), and more Trending …

Earnings Update: Sales Rising for Retailers Publix, Dollar Tree, and Grocery Outlet

Several retailers have released results for their final quarters of 2020, as well as their fiscal years. Among the noteworthy takeaways were the following: Publix says the pandemic increased fiscal 2020 sales by 12.1% Dollar …

Foodservice Distributors Heavily Impacted by COVID-19

Sysco Corp.’s fiscal second-quarter results came in below analysts’ estimates on pandemic-related constraints, with the Houston-based food distributor posting adjusted earnings of $0.17 per share, well under the Zacks consensus estimate of $0.35 per share …

Restaurant Earnings Show Continued Recovery  

Foodservices’ latest quarters have seen mixed results as restaurants continue to cope with pandemic-related losses. In 2020, restaurant and foodservice industry sales fell by $240 billion, from an expected level of $899 billion, according to …

ADM Fourth-Quarter Profit Bolstered By Growth in Nutrition Segment

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company reported fourth quarter earnings of $687 million. Here are some highlights from the report: NUTRITION ADM’s Nutrition business delivered 24% year-over-year operating profit growth. “Our Nutrition business continued to harvest investments, lead in …

Beyond Meat’s Third Quarter Results Disappoint, while Foodservice Opportunities are Looking Up

Beyond Meat shares plummeted 22% in after-hours trading following the release of the company’s third quarter results, reported Yakima Herald Republic (Nov. 9). The company noted U.S. retail sales of Beyond Meat slowed in the …

Positive Quarterly Earnings Results Reported for the Food Industry

Companies in various sectors of the food industry reported positive quarterly results. Foodservice Starbucks expects to recover and return to growth in 2021 after a fourth quarter where its same-store sales in the Americas declined …

QSRs Benefit From Economic Growth

The U.S. economy grew at a record pace in the third quarter, reported The Wall Street Journal (Oct. 29). It increased 7.4% over the prior quarter and at a 33.1% annual rate—recovering about two-thirds of …

Food Businesses’ Earnings Beat Expectations

Several major food companies recently reported earnings, beating analyst expectations. Chipotle Quarterly same-store sales growth was more than 8% at Chipotle Mexican Grill, with digital sales more than tripling, reported CNBC (Oct. 21). However, a shift to delivery …

CPG Brands Continue to Profit as Consumers Stay Home

Several CPG brands recently released quarterly earnings, displaying high demand for snacks and ingredients as consumers cook at home.   PepsiCo Quarterly sales for PepsiCo grew by more than 5%, fueled by higher sales of …

Kroger Beats Earnings Expectations

Kroger forecasted growth of more than 13% for 2020 in its latest earnings report. Sales were up 8.2% to $30.5 billion in second quarter, with growth up 139% excluding fuel. Identical store sales increased 14.6%, …