Stephan's Monday Picks

• He was supposed to break up Kraft and Heinz. Then he changed his mind (NYT)
• Why Kraft Heinz's CEO decided not to split up the company (WSJ)
• Food megamergers hardly ever work. Could McCormick-Unilever be different (WSJ)
• The global food crisis unleashed by the war (FT)
• Dutch retailer Action targets US market by 100-store rollout by 2028 (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Larry Fink's annual chairman's letter to investors (BlackRock)
• Kraft Heinz to invest $250 million in Montreal factory to boost capacity amid increased demand (Globe and Mail)
• The corporate strategy function in an AI-first world (BCG)
• Dollar General falls after naming CEO (Bloomberg)
• From the archives (1996): The science of shopping (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• How Amazon is bringing fast delivery to rural America (WSJ)
• Commerce media at an inflection point (McKinsey)
• Red Lobster's last gasp (Bloomberg)
• Danone to buy protein shake maker for $1.2 billion (WSJ)
• Vertical farming tried to compete with open field farming. It's not going well (NYT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Target plans to tighten dress code rules for store employees (Bloomberg)
• McCormick to go all in on mayo with potential Unilever deal (Bloomberg)
• Why mayo and soap no longer mix for Unilever (WSJ)
• Fast food's math problem: Making burgers cheap with beef at records (WSJ)
• Project 'Buff Baby' transformed a Huggies diaper. Not it could change the way we shop (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Store traffic expected to rise across U.S. Circle K stores despite surging gasoline prices, Couche-Tard CEO says (Globe and Mail)
• Unilever in talks to separate food business and combine it with McCormick (WSJ)
• Snack brands jockey to invent the next hit chip (Bloomberg)
• Blank Street bets on bigger storefronts (Bloomberg)
• Topo Chico might be hard to get this summer (Texas Monthly)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Walmart wins patents to give algorithms more sway over prices (FT)
• Unilever, Kraft Heinz held talks over food merger uniting ketchup and mayo (FT)
• Artificial intelligence is coming for sommeliers (NYT)
• Canada's first butter bar is coming to Port Credit (Toronto Life)
• Macy's CEO points to E-shaped economy, signaling consumer shift (WSJ)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Canada reports first annual population decline on record (Globe and Mail)
• Restaurants are struggling as Americans drink less (NYT)
• How Danone is reinventing FMCG operations (McKinsey)
• Looking for rotisserie chicken heaven? It's in Montreal (NYT)
• From the archives (2020): Nothing compares to yuzu (The New Yorker)