British Pubs Disappearing at Nearly Two Closures Daily
You can't really despise this government enough... British pubs closing at a rate of almost two per day in 2026 https://t.co/LtJHvzkykQ
Reformat Proven Products, Unlock Billion‑Dollar Valuations
Chad Janis just sold his gummy company Gruns to Unilever for $1.2B. His thesis is taking a tried and true concept, and packaging it in a new format. Example: Greens powder works, but it's a frothy mess on your countertop. So Chad turned...
Restaurant Prices Surge Far Faster Than General Inflation
Was doing some quick calculations on #restaurant menu prices. Compared to March 2026, menu prices are up: 🍔35% since 3/2020 🍔39% since 3/2019 🍔51% since 3/2016 All goods (including fuel/food) are +30% since 2019, +39% since 2016. Restaurants have an affordability crisis
Clerks to Shadow SNAP Shoppers Under New Rule
Rollins will soon issue a rule requring grocery store clerks to walk around stores with all 40 million SNAP recipients to see what they are putting in their shopping carts. #SNAPNanny
Pernod Ricard Resumes $32‑Share Bid for Brown‑Forman
BF/B $BF.B Pernod Ricard back in talks to acquire Brown-Forman for $32-share. Brown Forman working with Morgan Stanley Sazerac still involved. BETAVILLE
McDonald's Faces Beef Cost Pressure Amid Growth Opportunities
McDonald's earnings call summary: Value, value, value; But high beef costs are hurting profitability; Minecraft > K-Pop Demon Hunters; Gas prices hurting low-income consumers; Red Bull is going to be big; Same with the World Cup; Remodels are coming; Big Arch did OK. $MCD
McDonald's Confident in Expansion Amid Tough Market
"We have a tremendous amount of financial firepower in our system." McDonald's Chris K saying that the company has "no concerns" about its ability to open restaurants, etc., despite a tough environment. $MCD
Minecraft Promotion Beats K‑Pop, Drives McDonald’s Growth
McDonald's is pretty insistent that any April weakness is due to lapping the highly successful Minecraft Movie promotion from a year ago. Interesting, though, that the K-Pop Demon Hunters promotion couldn't get the company to year-ago levels. Minecraft > K-Pop...
NDLS Spikes While Other Restaurant Stocks Slide
Other premarket movers from the restaurant business: $BROS -7% $PZZA -6% $MCD up slightly $NDLS +18%
McDonald's Gears up for Red Bull Energy Drink Rollout
McDonald's expressing some enthusiasm about its upcoming energy drink partnership with Red Bull but noted that they had to do "some things" to meet demand at the restaurants. $MCD
Pricing Restraint and Labor Costs Squeeze McDonald's Margins
McDonald's says its company stores were "more restrained on pricing" and invested in labor, which contributed to their margin problems. $MCD
Fast‑food Giants Struggle with Thin Store Margins
McDonald's U.S. company store margins "were not acceptable." The company said it is working to improve performance. BTW Burger King also reported some pretty substandard company store profits. High beef costs hitting pretty hard. $MCD
McDonald's Rolls Out World Cup Marketing Across North America
McDonald's in the U.S., Canada and Arcos Dorados (the Latin American franchisee) have marketing plans for the upcoming World Cup. $MCD
McDonald's Warns Low‑income Customers Face Rising Costs
McDonald's expecting more pressure on low-income consumers this year because of gas prices and inflation. $MCD
Beef Price Surge Hits McDonald's Profits in Europe, US
Beef inflation is ore pronounced in Europe but is putting pressure on McDonald's franchisee profitability in the U.S., too. $MCD
McDonald's CEO Acknowledges Profit Pressure on Franchisees
"There's certainly a lot of pressure that we're trying to navigate with franchisees around their profitability." McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski. $MCD
Strong Revenue Growth Boosts Confidence in Margin Expansion
"When we generate solidd topline growth, we feel confident about our ability to grow margins over time." -McDonald's CFO Ian Borden. $MCD
McDonald's Claims Value Scores Have Risen in Six Months
McDonald's arguing that its value/affordability scores have improved over the past six months. "Because of the environment we're in, thank God we've got that in place." $MCD
Mcdonald's Q2 Sales to Slow, yet Two-Year Growth Remains
Comp sales in the U.S. and in top international markets were "slightly negative" in April because of tough comparisons. Company says that same-store sales in Q2 should decellerate but should be stronger on a two-year basis. $MCD
McDonald's CEO Warns Macro Environment Deteriorating
The macro environment "certainly isn't improving and may be getting a little worse," McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski noted. $MCD
India's Food Crisis: Clean Eating Ten Times Harder
I saw this firsthand on my first trip back to India in 2019 after a decade away. The metabolic decline since I lived there in the mid 90s was shocking. I have been back 6 times since and it has...
Wingstop Suffers Third Consecutive Sales Decline, 8.7% Drop
Wingstop's domestic same-store sales just dropped 8.7%. Worst quarter ever. Three straight quarters of declines. They couldn't grow even during NBA and NFL season. What's happening?
Cocoa Prices Surge 38% Monthly, Signaling Quad2 Inflation
Cocoa inflating more than +9% in a day to +38% in a month = #Quad2 Inflation Accelerating https://t.co/v93q9RpLgl
Iran War Triggers Diet Coke Can Shortage in India
"The Iran war has caused a shortage of Diet Coke in India, where it is sold only in aluminium cans that have run short because of delayed shipments from the Gulf caused by the Iran war." https://t.co/uky4g78BIA
Packaging Costs Surge, Threatening Product Shortages
Prices of bags, containers, cups and utensils have all soared, sparking fears of shortages as manufacturers struggle to source packaging for products such as instant noodles, beverages and cosmetics. https://t.co/P0b2R0HC7X
Cut Ultraprocessed Foods to Lower Heart Disease Risk
A consensus statement from @escardio today to limit intake of ultraprocessed foods for reduced risk of heart disease https://t.co/5spHDVmkb3 https://t.co/GvTvcVzzjD
Gas Price Hike Won’t Deter Food Delivery Spending
Anyone that believes consumers would get skidish after $5/gas prices should look at DoorDash and Uber Eats reports. These businesses exist because of consumer disposable income. If the consumer was going to be crushed by higher gas prices, we would...
Dutch Bros Texas Sales Jump 20% in Q1
Same-store sales at Dutch Bros in Texas were up almsot 20% in Q1. So they're like the anti-Portillo's that way. $BROS
Dutch Bros Claims Unmatched Strength in Energy Market
"We've never been stronger in the energy category." Christine Barone, CEO of Dutch Bros, again saying the company isn't worried about growing competition. $BROS
Dutch Bros' Clutch Reopenings Triple Sales, Spark Long Lines
Dutch Bros rebranded and reopened seven Clutch Coffee locations in Q1, generating long lines on reopening and generating more than 3x previous volumes. Sheesh. $BROS
Complaining About Prices While Ordering Costly Delivery Fuels Hikes
Insane to me that so many people complain about restaurant prices and yet continue to order delivery, which is more expensive and where the charges damage restaurant profitability, forcing operators to raise prices.
Dutch Bros Sees Low Turnover, 500 Operators in Pipeline
Operator turnover at Dutch Bros is in the "low single digits." The company has 500 people in its operator pipeline. $BROS
Dutch Bros Posts 8.3% Same‑Store Sales Rise, Boosts Guidance
Dutch Bros same-store sales up 8.3%, including 5.1% transaction growth. Revenues up 31%. Company raises guidance on (checks notes) roughly everything. $BROS
Most Americans Skeptical of Pesticide Risks; Dirty Dozen Debunked
Only 3 in 10 Americans believe the health benefits of eating conventionally grown produce outweigh the pesticide risk. In a 2024 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults, 7 in 10 were either ambivalent, opposed, or unsure. Every spring, the Environmental Working Group...
Subway Shuts 700+ Stores, Marks 10th Year Down
JUST IN: Subway closed over 700 locations last year, its 10th straight year of declining store counts
AI Will Let Anyone Launch a Restaurant
I think I want his "infinite sauce machine." Marc Lore says that AI will soon enable anyone open a restaurant https://t.co/VhhOXNxC17
Zero‑tariff Apples Land in Shenzhen, Boosting SA‑China Trade
The first shipment of South African apples arrived in Shenzhen, China on May 1. Benefiting from zero-tariff treatment, the 24-ton consignment received a tariff saving of approximately R50,000. More South African products are expected to enter the Chinese market as...
Burger King Steadies, Beef Costs Stay High
Restaurant Brands International earnings call summary: Burger King fixed operations before big marketing; Beef costs still suck and will probably suck for a while; Snow did not stop Tim Hortons; Popeyes sales improving; Spongebob brought repeat business; China improving. $QSR
90‑Year‑Old Jersey City Hot Dog Icon Faces Whole Foods Takeover
Oh, no, not Boulevard Drinks. #JerseyCity N.J. hot dog legend may be replaced by Whole Foods after 90 years. ‘We want to stay right here.’ https://t.co/rFkC6vyj0s
BK Delays Whopper Relaunch Until In‑store Experience Solid
Burger King waited to do its Whopper relaunch until the company felt confident that the in-store experience was strong enough. BK President Tom Curtis "nailed it," per Patrick Doyle. $QSR
Burger King Targets 85% Remodels After Reaching 60%
About 60% of Burger King locations are remodeled. Company plans to get to 85% plus. "It's going to take a little bit of time to get there." $QSR
Operator Quality Drives RBI Growth, New 30‑Unit Outperforms
RBI's "No. 1 criteria" as it refranchises restaurants is the quality of the operator. CEO Kobza noted that one new 30-unit operator is outperforming the system "by hundreds of basis points." Company getting "a ton of interest" in the stores....
RBI CEO Declares Consistent Outperformance of Burger QSRs
"We want to outperform the burger QSR segment consistently year upon year and we've started to do that." -RBI CEO Josh Kobza. $QSR
Burger King Hears Love, Promises Menu Innovation Roadmap
Burger King in Tom Curtis's listening tour heard a lot of "I love Burger King," but customers want it to do better. Company says it now has a "roadmap of menu innovation ideas" for years. $QSR
BK's Sales Surge via Spongebob Meal, Family Return, Whopper Upgrade
Burger King saw results progressively build with the Spongebob meal and the return of families, then the listening tour and Burger King's Whopper improvement. $QSR
Tim Hortons Canada Beats Q1 Sector by 150bps Despite Snow
Tims Canada outperformed the sector by about 150 basis points in Q1 despite heavy snow in Toronto. $QSR
Cucumbers
There is no world in which a cucumber should cost 99p, but somehow we live in that world.
Burger King China’s Sales Surge on Quality, Value Upgrades
Patrick Doyle on Burger King China: "Food quality is improving, the restaurants look good and they're hitting the mark on value and as a result sales are very, very strong." $QSR
Fundamentals Drive Exceptional Guest Outcomes, Says Doyle
Patrick Doyle notes that in almost 30 years "I've never seen better proof of how executing well on the fundamentals for guests can drive such differentiated outcomes." $QSR
Beef Prices Stay High for RBI Until 2027
Beef costs are not expected to ease until "closer to 2027," per Burger King owner RBI. BK's beef costs rose 20% last year. $QSR