After a Good but Mixed 2025, PepsiCo Cutting Prices

Dollar sales increased but volume in all key categories was down; management thinks it can return to growth with “surgical” price cuts on key brands. The sales and profits were pretty good, but the big news from PepsiCo’s full-year financial report – at least for general consumption – was talk of price cuts. Some news…

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Energy drinks surge ahead with better-for-you options and new audiences

Clean formulations, innovative formats and social media trends drive growth in the $15.5B c-store segment Energy drinks, the undisputed pacesetter of the convenience-store cold vault, are finding renewed vim and vigor with new products and new audiences. Not only are the leaders of the energy space—Red Bull, C4, Monster, Rockstar and others—helping fill the retail…

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Early Warning for Wine Spoilage Glows in the Dark

A “living biosensor” allows wineries to catch problems before flavor and quality are damaged. New research, led by Hebrew University PhD student Yulia Melnik-Kesler under the guidance of Professor Yael Helman and in collaboration with Professor Oded Shoseyov, has developed a new biological sensor that can detect wine spoilage at an early stage, potentially saving…

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Cookie Plant Blast Kills 5 Workers

Investigators believe that the overnight explosion started near the facility’s ovens. An explosion and fire at a cookie plant in Greece killed five workers and injured seven earlier this week, according to local authorities. The Associated Press reported that the blast occurred during the night shift at the Violanta production facility in Trikala, located in…

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Starbucks is kicking off 2026 with more brand partnerships

Starbucks unveiled its 2026 winter menu this week, complete with drinks inspired by various trends in CPG like an iced Dubai chocolate mocha. But it also announced that it would be carrying products from two new vendor brands — Khloé Kardashian’s Khloud popcorn and Ellenos Greek yogurt — to tap into the high-protein craze. It’s…

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RFK Jr.’s new food guidelines could boost beaten down fast-casual chains like Chipotle and Sweetgreen

Key Points The restaurant industry had mixed reactions to new federal nutrition guidelines, which recommend reduced intake of processed foods and sugary drinks. One lobbying executive read the guidelines as encouraging Americans to not dine out. The National Restaurant Association and Sweetgreen issued statements of support for the new guidelines. New federal dietary recommendations have…

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Understanding AI’s Real Impact on Restaurants

By proactively mitigating certain risks, restaurants will tap into AI’s true value. A one-size-fits-all approach isn’t what customers want. The restaurant industry finds itself at a crossroads, navigating a dynamic landscape fraught with supply chain disruptions, economic instability, labor scarcity, and evolving customer tastes, requiring unprecedented agility. Enter artificial intelligence (AI), whose meteoric rise was…

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Restaurant employment topped pre-pandemic levels in November

Overall restaurant employment surpassed pre-pandemic levels, but the extent of the industry’s recovery varies significantly by segment. Restaurant job growth was choppy in recent months, but the latest data suggests the industry finally returned to pre-pandemic employment levels in November. That was thought to be the case in September, before the preliminary data was revised…

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