Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The protein bar arms race (NYT)
• The little food lab fueling the big protein boom (NYT)
• Fowl play: Inside a chicken processor's tangled battle with Popeyes (Globe and Mail)
• Welcome to the grocery store where prices change 100 times a day (WSJ)
• More expensive cage free eggs are booming in the U.S., despite Trump's efforts (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• The problem with rewards credit cards (The Atlantic)
• A hot protein bar company has added a wild new product: Frozen cod fillets (WSJ)
• Productivity at the core: How COOs deliver strategy (McKinsey)
• Why selling a brand is about getting back to basics (Monocle)
• Is Dubai chocolate the new pumpkin spice (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategy & non-financial KPIs (Medium)
• Coke with cane sugar is coming. Corn syrup isn't going away (WSJ)
• The demise of China's hottest online shopping craze (Wired)
• Why Amazon wants an AI bracelet that records everything you say (WSJ)
• Tomato season is different this year (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Pepsi introduces prebiotic cola months after Poppi acquisition (CNBC)
• 7-Eleven parent fires back over 'highly misleading' statement after deal talks break off (Globe and Mail)
• As consumers lose their appetite, food brands fight to keep Wall St. happy (NYT)
• After pledging to keep prices low, Amazon hiked them on hundreds of essentials (WSJ)
• Health-Ade Kombucha sells for $500 million (WSJ)

 Stephan' Friday Picks

• Pietro Satriano's three-act journey at U.S. Foods (BCG)
• The learning organization. How to accelerate AI adoption (McKinsey)
• As ready-to-drink cocktails grow in popularity, some are getting stronger (CBC)
• Your morning coffee, in a bucket (NYT)
• From the archives (2008): How Loblaw's leadership triumvirate fell apart (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• How strategy champions win (McKinsey)
• The great black plastic spatula panic (Strategist)
• For the privileged few, airport food hits a new height of luxury (NYT)
• Novo's Wegovy demand raises grocer fears over Denmark food sales (Bloomberg)
• Scaling the 21st century leadership factory (McKinsey)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Meet the fully autonomous farm (WSJ)
• Has Japan's 'rice minister' brought down prices enough to keep his job (NYT)
• Walmart plans to sell Vizio TVs exclusively as a private brand (Bloomberg)
• Froot Loops, Apple Jacks to cut synthetic dyes by 2027 (Bloomberg)
• The Trader Joe's tote bags have made it to London (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Misplaced shoulds in strategy (Medium)
• Kraft Heinz's $4.3 billion pension gives company leverage as it considers options (Bloomberg)
• Target to end price matching policy (Bloomberg)
• The problem with the U.S. using sugar in soda? It doesn't make enough (WSJ)
• Canada shores up New Zealand trade with dairy concessions in the face of U.S. pressure (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Alimentation Couche-Tard looking for other targets after pulling Seven & i bid (Globe and Mail)
• Were Americans ever really healthy (Bloomberg)
• Reckitt sells homecare brands to Advent in $4.8 billion deal (Bloomberg)
• Customers griped about high grocery prices. The grocer agreed (NYT)
• Carrefour said to tap Rothschild for potential Italy unit sale (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• America's protein obsession is transforming the dairy industry (NYT)
• The truth about salt and sodium levels in restaurant food (Grub Street)
• Starbucks employees to return to the office four days a week - or take a payout (CNBC)
• Trump says Coca-Cola to use cane sugar in Coke (WSJ)
• From the archives (1959): The making - and selling - of Coca-Cola (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• How Starbucks' CEO plans to tame the rush-hour free for all (Bloomberg)
• Couche-Tard abandons $46 billion bid to buy 7-Eleven owner (Bloomberg)
• Goodles thinks mac and cheese shouldn't be adults' secret meal anymore (WSJ)
• The quest for a hangover free buzz (Bloomberg)
• Manitoba woman files proposed class action against Loblaw over alleged underweight meat sales (CBC)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Buffett's Kraft Heinz bet marks rare flop as company weighs breakup (Bloomberg)
• U.S. dairy industry presses Canada for changes to quota (Globe and Mail)
• Hudson's Bay Co. heads to court to fight motion to cut off Ruby Liu lease deal (Globe and Mail)
• Food banks are running out of food exactly when more Americans will need them (WSJ)
• Shoppers are slowly turning away from plastic packaging (WSJ)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategy, artificial intelligence, and entry-level hires (Medium)
• Amazon delays Alexa's debut (Washington Post)
• Trump's purge of foreign workers arrives at Amazon's warehouses (NYT)
• In America's return to office, women are falling behind (WSJ)
• Kraft Heinz breakup primed to split its ketchup from its hot dogs (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• CVS was so worried about shoplifting that it stole its own soul (Washington Post)
• Kraft Heinz is planning a breakup (WSJ)
• Ulta Beauty enters UK with retail chain Space NK's acquisition (Reuters)
• Ferrero strikes roughly $3 billion deal for maker of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes (WSJ)
• The pants cost $20. They explain $86 billion of Costco sales (WSJ)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Can Bloomingdale's bring the magic back to department stores (McKinsey)
• He's not the milkman. He's the Milk Guy (Grub Street)
• When omnichannel retailers don't deliver what customers ordered (HBR)
• Amazon asks corporate workers to 'volunteer' help with grocery deliveries as Prime Day frenzy approaches (The Guardian)
• From the archives (2013): A history of the chocolate chip cookie (The New Yorker)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• How brands are taking back social media from influencers (NYT)
• How Clorox learned to love AI (WSJ)
• Increasingly acidic seas threaten oyster farming (NYT)
• Kennedy's battle against food dyes hits a roadblock: M&Ms (NYT)
• Shein files for Hong Kong listing (Reuters)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Amazon turns Prime Day into Prime Week (WSJ)
• Hudson's Bay lenders file motion to dismiss Ruby Liu lease deal (Globe and Mail)
• Hershey recruits collab-loving Wendy's boss as CEO (WSJ)
• A 36-year old beauty mogul is South Korea's newest billionaire (Bloomberg)
• The dairy industry's outsized political influence (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Going on the offensive with creative strategy (Medium)
• Does anyone still clip coupons (CBC)
• Pistachios are everywhere right now, not just in Dubai chocolate (Bloomberg)
• Michelob Ultra is the one bright spot in a gloomy beer market (WSJ)
• Jersey Milk chocolate bars discontinued amid low consumer demand (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• How new revenue streams are transforming traditional retail (BCG)
• Move over $100 lobster salad, these melons cost $400 (NYT)
• Why Krispy Kreme and McDonald's broke up (WSJ)
• Why beef prices have hit a record (WSJ)
• Gen Z's alcohol consumption is growing in Canada, report says (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Lululemon sues Costco over clothing 'dupes' (NYT)
• While 'Buy Canadian' fades for many businesses, it's going strong among some industries (Globe and Mail)
• New York is hungry for a big grocery experiment (The Atlantic)
• The battle to keep consumers means smaller bags of cookies and chips (WSJ)
• From the archives (1928): The man who gave America the hot dog (The New Yorker)

Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Make healthy food more appealing, government tells supermarkets (BBC)
• Jell-O with natural dyes? It's not easy being green (NYT)
• Snoafers, a hybrid sneaker-loafer, become footwears hottest trend (Bloomberg)
• Home Depot wins bidding war to buy GMS for $4.3 billion (WSJ)
• Saks is at a crossroads, facing creditor and vendor unease (NYT)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The writing vs editing distinction (Medium)
• Strategic and annual planning in chaotic times (BCG)
• Inside Gap's last-ditch, tariff-addled, turnaround push (Bloomberg)
• The CMOs comeback: Aligning the C-suite to drive customer-centric growth (McKinsey)
• Amazon is on the cusp of using more robots than humans in its warehouses (WSJ)