Frito-Lay North America, a business unit of PepsiCo, Inc., Purchase, N.Y., sells approximately 18 million units per day spread across numerous product categories. To build sales velocity and advance the company’s financial objectives, Frito-Lay’s marketing team is focusing on serving individual consumers with personal experiences. Smartphones have changed the expectations of how consumer-packaged goods companies… read more

McDonald’s Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Dynamic Yield, a company specializing in personalization and decision logic technology based in New York and Tel Aviv, Israel. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. McDonald’s plans to use Dynamic Yield’s decision technology to provide a more personalized customer experience, the fast-food company said…. read more

The founders of Press Waffle Co. — Bryan and Caleb Lewis — had the sharks from ABC’s television series, “Shark Tank,” in a frenzy during Sunday’s episode when the brothers pitched their Dallas-based fast casual concept. “Being fans of the show, we have seen how vicious the sharks can be to young companies, so we were… read more

The Time Out Group PLC revealed the first round of restaurants coming to Time Out Market Chicago, the largest of five food halls the media company is planning to open this year. The 50,000 square-foot, three-level Chicago market will feature 18 restaurants, three bars and a demo kitchen. Eight eateries, hand-selected by Time Out editors,… read more

As the number of restaurants in the US continues to climb and unemployment levels decline, operators are turning to several tactics to attract and retain employees. The restaurant and foodservice industry will provide 16.3 million jobs by 2027, an increase of 1.6 million positions from the estimated 14.7 million industry jobs in 2017, The National… read more

Houston’s largest Taco Bell franchisee is positioned to get even bigger after selling a controlling take to a New York private equity firm. New York-based Bessemer Investment Partners, which traces its roots to the Carnegie Steel fortune, purchased a majority interest in Houston-based KorMex Foods through its newly formed MAS Restaurant Group. Terms were not… read more

New York City residents can’t lob a bagel without hitting a food cart, bodega or restaurant of some sort. But if they’re aiming for outlets of the national quick-service chains, fuhgeddaboudit. The Big Apple ranks low among all U.S. cities in penetration by dominant fast-food brands, a dubious distinction shared by the likes of restaurant… read more

Two units were opened outside of the United States in January. The venture was conceived primarily as an international growth vehicle, but “We will open some locations in the Tampa market to monitor and fine-tune the concept as needed,” a spokeswoman for Bloomin’ said in an email to Restaurant Business. Among the unique operational features of Aussie Grill… read more

Patxi’s Pizza, a family-friendly chain specializing in Chicago-style deep dish pizzas that was recently purchased by Elite Restaurant Group, has introduced a new and improved menu at all 17 locations in California, Colorado, and Washington. The menu revamp is part of the brand’s efforts to refocus on hospitality and create a memorable experience for guests…. read more

US Foods Holding Corp. announced the company’s newest US Foods Scholars scholarship recipients. Seven students from four cities across the U.S. were selected to receive up to $20,000 each to support their continued culinary education, in addition to hands-on training opportunities with US Foods culinary professionals. The US Foods Scholars program was developed to inspire… read more