CPG stories caught SmartBrief readers’ attention this week, starting with an interview with Mondelez International CEO Dirk Van de Put that touches on growing demand for his company’s comfort food brands. The maker of Oreos, Chips Ahoy! cookies and other snack foods is gearing up for a second wave of the pandemic, Van de Put told Bloomberg.
Fairlife, the ultra-filtered milk brand owned by Coca-Cola, also made news with the launch of fairlife Light Ice Cream, a line of lactose-free ice cream in seven flavors. King Arthur Flour’s name change to King Arthur Baking Co., and new products from brands including Trolli, Nestle and Good Catch also made this week’s top 10 list.
Grocery stories proved popular too, starting with the news that Trader Joe’s plans to rebrand its Trader Ming’s Chinese food products and Trader Jose’s Mexican food products, in response to online petitions pushing for the retailer to rethink the names.
ALDI’s plans to add 70 or more new US stores by the end of the year also drew in readers. The discount grocer has grown to 2,000 locations in the US and it aims to become the country’s third-biggest grocer by number of stores over the next two years.
A couple of restaurant stories related to the pandemic caught readers attention. Some restaurants around the country aren’t rushing to reopen their dining rooms, opting to continue focusing on takeout and delivery instead of adding the expense of dine-in service with so many consumers reluctant to resume dining out.
Also in restaurant news, Yelp reported that about 16,000 of the 26,000 US restaurants that closed because of the pandemic won’t reopen.
Read the entire Top 10:
- Mondelez prepares for 2nd pandemic wave
- Fairlife makes foray into ice cream category
- Trader Joe’s moves forward with rebrand of ethnic foods
- Schools worry USDA won’t extend free meals program
- ALDI pushes ahead with big US expansion plans
- Trolli, Nestle, GoGo squeez, Good Catch debut products
- Eateries take a wait-and-see approach to reopening
- Yelp: Pandemic permanently shutters 16K US restaurants
- King Arthur Baking Co. debuts new name, logo
- Publix, Instacart expand “digital deli counter”
Related stories:
- Meal kit industry shines during pandemic
- MFHA Town Hall: How the industry can address racism, drive change
- Private label plays a growing role in plant-based grocery trends
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