Readers of SmartBrief’s newest weekly brief, The Friday Feed, pushed recipes and news headlines such as a zucchini cake with a lemon crunchy glaze and new celebrity wines like Cameron Diaz’s new “clean” wine line and Snoop Dogg’s new red wine to the top of the list. Check out last week’s issue for those stories. The new weekly is produced in partnership with the Culinary Institute of America and covers food news and recipes for anyone who loves food, whether it’s your job or not. The poll question last week was also a popular one: “How often do you order food from third-party delivery services?” Check out the poll results and subscribe now.
In B2B news, a mix of CPG, food retail and culinary stories made the list this week. Coming out on top was Mondelez’s news that it was cutting a whopping one quarter of its product varieties from its portfolio, according to CEO Dirk Van De Put. The move is expected to drive production efficiency during the coronavirus pandemic.
Other CPG news focused on new products, such as PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay North America division launching five Lay’s potato chip flavors inspired by famous dishes at five US restaurants for a limited time. The Flavor Icons line comprises Lay’s Wavy Carnitas Street Taco, Nashville Hot Chicken, Kettle Cooked New York Style Pizza, Philly Cheesesteak and Chile Relleno.
Conagra also launched over 24 new products across a slew of its brands, and bridging CPG and retail, Kroger found after a 12-week test program that plant-based meat sales grew when the items were displayed in the traditional meat department, instead of in their own niche sections. During the trial at 60 stores, the grocer saw sales of plant-based meats rose 23% when the products were placed alongside traditional meats.
Kroger made the top 10 list twice this week with other news about its cashiers refraining from giving change as a nationwide coin shortage, caused by falling cash sales in the pandemic, is crimping the supply of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. The grocer is giving shoppers the options of using credit or debit cards, having their change applied to a Kroger loyalty card, rounding up the total to support the company’s Zero Hunger|Zero Waste program or using exact change.
In a turn from the usual, some culinary stories made the list this week: the growing popularity of Japanese milk bread, and a piece on roasting in parchment paper.
Check out the rest of this week’s 10 most-clicked stories in Food & Beverage:
- Why Mondelez is dropping several SKUs
- Frito-Lay releases restaurant-inspired chip flavors
- Fluffy Japanese milk bread gains popularity in the US
- Kroger won’t give change amid national coin shortage
- Fish wrapped in parchment is a simple showstopper
- W.Va. education rules address cafeterias, buses
- Shake Shack sells summer camp in a box
- Amazon ranked tops in online grocery satisfaction
- Kroger: Plant-based meat sells best in meat cases
- Conagra launches products across multiple brands
Related stories:
- Meal kit industry shines during pandemic
- Series: How to deliver on what today’s adventurous food consumers want
- How plant-based food makers have adjusted to the pandemic
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