Poking The Bear (Market)

Welcome back Food Junglers. While Mr. Trump may have declared a liberated world, the rest of the world seems to feel quite the opposite. This week, countries grapple with the effects of US tariffs, food prices rise in the UK, and Hershey tries to dominate healthy snacking. Let’s dig in.

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THE BREAKDOWN…

UK Food Inflation: The rising price of store cupboard staples and alcoholic drinks has lifted UK food inflation to a nine-month high.

Hooters Bankruptcy: Hooters, the casual bar and dining franchise known for its female waitstaff dressed in orange shorts, has filed for bankruptcy after changing consumer preferences left it unable to stay good on its debts.

Pizza Merger: Domino's and DoorDash have announced a partnership, with the world's largest pizza company to join the largest local commerce platform in North America.

Ice Cream Saga: The founder of Ben & Jerry's - Ben Cohen - has declared efforts to line up like-minded investors to buy the ice cream the brand from Unilever as the European consumer giant prepares to spin off its ice cream assets.

Gaza Famine: The United Nations has closed 25 bakeries across Gaza, with the World Food Program having distributed its last food parcels at the end of last week.

Cultivated Meat: A British cultivated fat startup - Hoxton Farms - has partnered with Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation to bring its lab grown pork fat to Japan, the world's largest consumer of pork, and the wider Asia-Pacific region.

British Sweeteners: The UK Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition has recommended that younger children should not be given any drinks containing artificial sweeteners, such as stevia or saccharin.

Tariff War: Canada will not impose retaliatory tariffs on most US food and other essentials or on components essential to avoiding job loss in key sectors of the economy.

Snacking Acquisition: The Hershey Company has agreed to a roughly $750 million deal for the popcorn brand LesserEvil in a bid to freshen up its snacking portfolio.

Crop Gene Editing: Switzerland is considering a change of its rules to allow gene editing, reflecting a broader shift across Europe aimed at increasing crop yields, to make crops more resistant to pests and climate change.

Chinese Tariffs: China has suspended chicken products imports from two American producers, part of retaliatory measures against US tariffs.

US Meat Shortage: US meat companies are embracing “white bone” programs, as the country’s cattle supply is at its lowest level since 1951.

Global Food Prices: Food prices were broadly unchanged in March, as notably more expensive vegetable oil offset price falls in cereal and sugar, data from the FAO of the United Nations has shown.

FOOD IN PICTURES
COFFEE STILL CLOSE TO RECORD HIGHS…