Make Imports Expensive Again

Welcome back Food Junglers. This week, Q1 earnings have stirred the pot as food giants reveal how they’re bracing for a spike in import costs. Meanwhile, efforts to make packaged food healthier gain momentum and Florida serves up fresh controversy by green-lighting cultivated meat. Let’s dig in.

THE BREAKDOWN…

Artificial Dyes: Yogurt maker Danone is looking to remove artificial dyes from its US portfolio.

Cultivated Meat: UPSIDE Foods has secured a significant ruling from the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida, allowing its challenge against the state’s ban on cultivated meat to proceed.

Salmonella Cuts: The U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) is withdrawing a Biden-era rule aimed at reducing salmonella contamination in raw chicken and turkey products, due to significant implementation costs.

Private Equity Buyout: Conagra Brands has agreed to sell its packaged pasta sauce brand – Chef Boyardee – to private-equity firm Brynwood Partners for $600 million.

Deliveroo Earnings: Deliveroo shares closed at three-year highs after the London-listed food-delivery company said it received a $3.59 billion takeover approach from DoorDash.

Coca Cola Earnings: Coca Cola says that it can manage the effects of tariffs, but that lower sales to Hispanic consumers dented its sales in the US and other markets, due to rumours of removing illegal workers from its factories.

Mondelez Earnings: The Oreo maker posted higher sales in the first quarter despite a decline in North America, while profit took a hit from what its chief executive called unprecedented cocoa costs.

Starbucks Earnings: Starbucks global same-store sales for the first three months of the year fell 1% from a year earlier, an improvement from recent quarters. CEO, Brian Niccol, says the company is still in the middle of a huge turnaround.

YUM Brands Earnings: The KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell’s parent company reported mixed quarterly results as Pizza Hut’s same-store sales dropped more than expected and KFC's sales also shrank in the US. Shares of the company fell more than 1% in premarket trading.

Kraft Heinz Earnings: Kraft Heinz trimmed its annual sales and profit outlook, citing worsening consumer sentiment and the cost of tariffs.

Hershey Earnings: The Hershey Company's first-quarter earnings fell and the company expects to take a hit from tariffs of up to $20 million this quarter.

McDonald’s Earnings: Earnings for the golden arches suffered this quarter, as sales and revenue declined, with an E.coli outbreak, tariffs, and an increasingly price-conscious middle-to-lower class customer base being the main reasons.

FOOD IN PICTURES
BIG FOOD WILDLY UNDERPERFORMS…