Unilever is strongly encouraging employees to overcome "vaccine hesitancy," while also considering a plan to share its COVID-19 vaccine purchases with developing countries, said CEO Alan Jope. Meanwhile, Tyson Foods President and CEO Dean Banks described the company's collaboration with Matrix Medical Network to distribute the vaccine on-site at plants and update employees about the vaccine's safety as "a critical part of our ongoing commitment to put the health and safety of our team members first."

Chobani is entering the ready-to-drink coffee category with the launch of a cold brew line featuring its dairy and oat milk creamers, as well as a black variety, in multiserve cartons. The entry into coffee was a natural progression for the brand, as "cold brew pairs beautifully" with its creamers, said Chobani President Peter McGuinness.

Employee absenteeism is threatening the consumer packaged goods supply chain and increasing pressure on the federal government to create a uniform vaccine rollout program, said Geoff Freeman, CEO and president of the Consumer Brands Association. The current state-run process "is the Wild West right now, and we see the results of that," said Freeman.

Unilever's 7.3% sales increase for North America during 2020's first half was buoyed by a 177% increase in e-commerce sales. A 26% jump in second-quarter ice cream sales benefited from Unilever's Ice Cream Now and third-party delivery services with more people ordering ice cream from home, said CEO Alan Jope.

Unilever has pledged to cut the amount of new plastic it uses in half by 2025 and to collect and process around 600,000 tons of plastic each year. "It requires us to introduce new and innovative packaging materials and scale up new business models, like re-use and re-fill formats, at an unprecedented speed and intensity," said CEO Alan Jope.