The restaurant industry’s recovery and labor challenges are running the same race today. According to Datassential, 62 percent of operators are concerned about finding skilled workers as they staff up to meet surging demand. While retention and recruitment solutions, from wages to benefits to referrals, and so forth, remain heart to the labor conversation, the… read more

A group of 70 congressional lawmakers, led by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Representatives Jim Hagedorn (R-Minn.) and Dusty Johnson (R-SD), penned a letter recently that urged the US Department of Agriculture and the Department of Justice to pursue legal action and push back on a recent federal court ruling regarding US pork processing plants’… read more

Bipartisan legislation introduced in the US Senate on May 19 would ensure hemp-derived CBD (cannabidiol) products are regulated by the Food and Drug Administration like other legal products used in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages. The bill, the Hemp Access and Consumer Safety Act, was sponsored by Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, Senator Rand Paul… read more

We are living through an unprecedented time in which the pandemic has accelerated, altered, or accentuated trends in many spheres of food and beverage culture. As we move forward into the summer of 2021 — in the context of promising trends in vaccinations and states opening fully for business — many of these behavioral changes… read more

Just as Americans are congregating again and enjoying time with friends and family at their favorite restaurants, the restaurant industry is in the middle of another major roadblock — the labor crisis. Continued concerns about safety, pay and opportunity, as well as the enhanced federal unemployment payments, create real challenges for everyone in the industry…. read more

Chick-fil-A is the latest restaurant to face supply chain shortages over a product: its sauces. The quick-service chicken chain’s famous sauces are now being limited to one per order, the company said Wednesday. A “shortage of select items” at the Atlanta-based chain has led to this new development, according to the chain. “Due to industry-wide… read more

The coronavirus pandemic has snarled global supply chains and scrambled supply and demand forecasting for manufacturers across all sorts of industries, from electronics to lumber to poultry. Factory closures, shipping delays, and logistics challenges, coupled with major changes in consumption patterns thanks to lockdowns, capacity and travel restrictions and fear, have created a series of… read more

Starbucks claims that its U.S. sales have now fully recovered from the economic effects of the pandemic, reporting positive same-store sales growth of 9% for the second quarter ended March 28. It’s the first time Starbucks’ U.S. sales have trended positively since the pandemic began and represents a significant improvement over -5% same-store sales decline… read more