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)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Kraft Heinz puts focus on struggling brands after ditching split (Bloomberg)
• Lululemon scrambles to revive yoga pants empire amid fight with founder (NYT)
• Unilever considers potential separation of food assets (Bloomberg)
• Amazon plans drastic cut in packages sent via already struggling postal service (WSJ)
• General Mills posts lower sales, profit amid turnaround (WSJ)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Target's tech chief has a big role to play in the retailer's turnaround (WSJ)
• JD.com's European push pits Chinese retailer against Amazon (Bloomberg)
• Pop Mart bets on new toys as Labubu mania fades (Bloomberg)
• Big bargains and 'white knuckle' buying: Inside the rise of TJ Maxx (FT)
• Amazon launches 1-hour delivery in hundreds of U.S. cities (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Becoming an EI augmented enterprise (Substack)
• The dark side of Japan's convenience stores (FT)
• How Jeff Bezos upended The Washington Post (NYT)
• South Korea fell hard for this dessert, but that was so last month (NYT)
• JBS beef plant workers begin industry's largest strike in years (WSJ)