The big thing on my mind today is those affected by the Central Texas floods, as someone based in Austin, I witnessed the intensity of the rains and the non-stop flash flood warnings throughout July 4th weekend. It was incredible to see how much HEB has grown their disaster relief operations, it made me teary to see them deploy faster than any government entity, which says a lot about our current state, check out this account’s pinned post for an extensive list of resources of how you can help, whether in Austin or not.
I was grocery shopping at Radius today I felt blessed to be able to get produce, dairy and meat from local farms thanks to this local grocer, there are so many good and hard working people all across this country, I hope to get to shine more of a light on them. In other major food news, Del Monte filed for bankruptcy, which has more to do with how much private label has encroched in brand as people opt for value in lieu of brand, and what did they expect when they have done no effort in trying to revatalize theirs, particularly to gain favor amongst the new apex demographics, Millennials and GenZ. Brands like Heyday Canning have been quietly revolutionizing the canned goods space, they are not afraid to embrace our generations yearn for exciting flavor profiles and making it equally as convenient, kimchi beans? Lasagna soup? Campbell should take notice if they don’t want their canned goods on the chopping block next.
Last week I put out a call for people to surprise me by sending over an insane product I have yet to come across, everyone that messaged me failed except for the guy who pitched me re-freezable ice, now that’s something I can’t even wrap my head around, but it sounds like selling “wet water” to people. I’ll let you decide, there is truth in the fact that our generation has a weird obssesion with ice, from making it for aesthetics and ASMR, to branded event ice and premium ice.
Buzzwords Come to Pasta
Protein, prebotic and fiber, now pasta brands are leveraging these buzzwords to try and stand out amongst a sea of sameness, see 3 Farm Daughters, Barilla, Tangle and Carbe Diem, and Kaizen. In the frozen category, Nissin recently launched Kanzen, a frozen noodle and pasta dishes brand aimed to hedge against GLP-1, boasting both fiber and protein.
Can Sous Vides Go Mainstream?
Remember when I told you we would see more RTE chicken breast brands rise out of the protein boom? It’s a billion dollar market in Asia, and US and UK have both taken notice, and see the opportunity of growing that market in their respective home turf. In true European fashion, Sous Feed is a brand that offers sous-vide style chicken breasts, claiming to be a healthier version than just RTE format. I’m excited to see they’ve launched a variety of flavors, this might just do it for me.
PMS? There’s a RTD for that.
Remember when I predicted there would be an RTD for every supplement out there? There’s now a beverage that promises to be a relief in your period. If you do get to try please report back, if you’re the founders behind the brand, I want to talk to you.
I've been saying for years that the sous vide will be the next air fryer, but I guess people don't even want to use one (even though they're only like 80$)