Food Stuff June 1 Update
Welcome to Food Stuff for June 1. Another month of higher oil but the more intractable inflation is still working through the supply chains and cost structures. And that’s before El Nino, so hold onto your hats. This week Othorexia (impress your friends), spam sushi, alt cocoa, good for you snacks, good for you trans fats and, as always, good for you coffee. And more. Enjoy!
● Trump Administration decides Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) are okay for grocery stores, climate be damned.
● Food inflation builds and builds.
● Orthorexia. The unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.
Retail and consumer
● Will dynamic pricing avoid regulation?
● Spam getting into sushi and hot dogs?
● Grocery stores trying to steal a march on restaurant industry.
● Discontinued foods no one will miss: Mountain Dew Cake Smash.
● Discontinued food I am sorry I missed: Ben & Jerry’s Pecan Pie.
Nutrition and health:
● Are there any bigger chumps than MAHA voters? The EPA eliminates limits on forever chemicals in drinking water.
● I love stories about coffee is good for you. I have been a health nut for years with out even knowing it.
● Natural trans fats do not raise cholesterol.
● Bad snacks that are good for your health.
● How additives get into food without governmental scrutiny. .
● Best fish to eat for your health.
Restaurant and Foodservice
● Fast Casual got eaten by slop bowls . Now, nobody wants slop bowls. ● El Califa de Leon, the Mexican street taqueria with the Michelin star, doesn’t have one any more.
● Should the FTC block the acquisition of Restaurant Depot by Sysco? After their competitors - GFS, US Foods - have been operating cash and carry outlets for years. ● Restaurants are down stream from gas prices but not very far.
● High end bartenders form a union.
● Beyond Plastics wanted to see how many of Starbuck’s “Widely Recyclable’ cups made it to a recycling facility. Answer? None.
Food Supply Chain
● Managing supply when an ingredient demand goes nuts.
● El Nino looms.
● Agri Stats was a company that was basically a vehicle for price collusion in the beef industry. The Justice department just settled a price fixing suit with no consequences. ● About alt cocoas.
● How far will it fall? Plant based meat still taking a beating.
Drinks
● The best at the best: star drinks at star bars.
● Brown Forman stops production at its Irish Distillers as demand fades. ● In a nod to their cultural tradition of contrarianism, the French started drinking more beer. ● Trifurcating mezcal..
● The Gin Blossom. The Sawyer. The Cherry Kalimotxo. The John McClane. The Bitter Velvet.
FoodStuff June 1 Lagniappe
● Pasteli - honey and sesame snacks from Greece. And, well actually, the Greeks don’t use vinegar in their salad.
● These appetizers are called retro but in many places, they haven’t gone anywhere. ● About Bologna. The lunch meat, not the city.
● Tony is a biopic about Anthony Bourdain’s early years.
● Using an onion to clean your grill.
● Ethiopian recipes.
FoodStuff March 1, 2026
Welcome to the FoodStuff March 1. On the menu this month, tariffs, Roundup, fake colors, eels, smuggled garlic, but no soda to wash it down. Enjoy!
Macro
Tariffs 15% across the board. For now.
Policy by oppositional defiance: The HHs has released guidelines that recategorizes alcohol as not actually a health hazard but something that is reasonable if ‘moderate’. The ability to claim no artificial colors loosened, causing surprise and anger. It may have something to do with the FDA/USDA brain drain. And MAHA? Ha Ha - Trump administration approves expanded use of Glyphosate.
Flat growth ahead in 2026 for food, save for inflation. And what is what is affordability anyway?
Is breakfast still a thing?
Retail and Consumer:
Trader Joes continues to grow, to add 20 more stores in 2026: 9 bottles of good wine for under $200. And the chain is being sued again, this time by Smuckers, for knocking off products.
What is the impact of GLP-1 drugs on food brands?
Dear marketers, please stop it with the word simply.
Russians bomb Oreo factory in Ukraine.
Actually Costco is cheaper than Walmart.
Almost 2 million fewer people receiving SNAP under Trump administration. New SNAP restrictions will impact manufacturers of soda and candy. The question is the scale.
Nutrition and health:
The benefits of Creatine.
Combining fiber and kefir is an anti-inflammation hack.
Do sugary drinks cause anxiety?
Managing cortisol may be more important than managing calories
Buying plant based can actually be cheaper than traditional diet.
Describing ultra-processed food takes you to some traditional and nutritious foods.
Restaurant and Foodservice
Restaurant meal design in a GLP-1 world.
The expensive burger era is dead and gone. So McDonald’s is launching a ne premium concept, the Big Arch.
Restaurant employment holds its own in a pre-recessionary economy.
Sweetgreen is in big trouble, like other bowl concepts.
AI is wonderful for publicity stunts, impact on cuisine yet to be seen.
You probably never heard of Bjorn Frantzen but he has three different 3 Michelin star restaurants.
Food Supply Chain
Eggs, at least at wholesale, fall through the floor; in some markets falling almost 90% since last January. Here are some of the reasons.
New dietary guidelines are great for the meat industry. However the loss of pasture lands due to climate change are not
Faster line speeds proposed by USDA. Tired workers working with very sharp knives- what could go wrong?
US farmers trying to normalize soybean sales to China while others are betting on corn.
Drinks
The great drying out:
Breweries try to adapt as both the diminishment of drinking culture and the end of the craft beer boom.
Napa giants laying off workers. A bloodbath..
Diageo cuts sales and profit outlook.
Hemp based drinks are doomed.
Extending the life of your citric cocktail mixers
The classic Daiquiri; The Airmail; Satan’s Whisker's; the Alaska; the Pink Elephant
Lagniappe March 1
Garlic smuggling? Tariffs have funny effects.
Boy kibble. Boy kibble?
Preserving historical Black recipes.
Costco always has large sizes but a 10lb. Chocolate Easter bunny?
The best non-toxic, non-stick pans. 8 other kitchen implements that can be toxic
Eels are fascinating and not just because the whole world eats them except th US.
Octagon battle for best all purpose butter: Trader Joe’s brand surprise winner.
FoodStuff December 15, 2025
Welcome to FoodStuff December 15, 2025. Gonna be a lean Christmas this year, kids. Prices are up and healthcare increases haven’t even kicked in yet. There’s too many Korean Coffee shops and not enough cows. There’s an imminent feta shortage, bowl restaurants are screwed, drinking is down but the cocktails are classic. I can’t make sense of any of it. Enjoy
MACRO
Costco sues Administration over tariffs.
Unable to explain pesistent food inflation, Trump administration launches probe in to price fixing.
Administration taketh (tariffs) and giveth back back (bailout) with $12 billion for US farmers.
RETAIL AND CONSUMER
How Family Dollar and Dollar General (same company) screw their low income customers with misleading and inaccurate prices.
On the other hand, raising prices doesn’t fix Campbell’s revenue slide.
Kroger’s merger fell apart but they are doing just fine without Albertson’s.
Costco prices hold fast even with tariffs
Ending the government shutdown led to a short term spike in retail food sales in November.
RESTAURANTS AND FOODSERVICE
The Starbuck’s vs. union war grinds on
Speaking of exhausted ideas, the original Dick’s Last Resort closes in Dallas
South Korea is overrun with coffee shops.
This probably doesn’t change your plans but Olive Garden will be closed Christmas Day
FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN
Are there PFAs (forever chemicals) in recently approved pesticides? FDA says no but it depends on how you define ‘forever’.
Asian Swine Fever detected in Spain for first tine
Beef continues to soar. Big problem: not enough cows.
How about goat pox and sheep pox? Greece’s feta industry in crisis because of outbreak
DRINKS
Port. How to.
What does make it skate mean when you are talking about a martini?
Everyone knows Gen Z is drinking less, by about 20% than Millenials. But there’s also been a rise in productivity. Correlation or causation? Older generation appears to holding up their end.
Brown Forman sees a 62% drop in Canadian sales of US booze.
What’s old is new. Classic cocktail revival continues. Here are ome retros. Here’s A Miseltoe Margarita. The Bebbo. Tierra Roja. The Old Etonian .And to warm you up, Le Verte Chaud.
FOOD WEEK December 15,LAGNIAPPE
Melelkouni: the ancient Greek snack that checks a lot of modern boxes.
I am not sure he thought this through: Guy steals some credit card numbers, orders $65,000 worth of liquor on line and then drives to over 200 locations to pick up the orders.
While diet doesn’t have a huge impact on your cholesterol, here are 15 good things to eat and 5 bad things.
The meat industry contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than all of Western Europe
Side effects from taking Omega 3s.
Cheese dreams for your holiday parties
The concept of house butter.
To the Berglinds: Starting from scratch, but this time with experience.
The scariest part of business adventure is starting from scratch, no clients, no guarantees, and no backups. With experience the pressure mounts in a different way, the knowledge that your work and abilities are up to the task at hand, means that failure seems non-negotiable. We keep that in mind for Forkpitch, keeping confidence in our abilities while we embark on this mew journey.