Stephan's Monday Picks

• Weston family funding launch of a national digital media startup, sources say (Globe and Mail)
• Who's really ordering all that DoorDash (The Argument)
• Empire reports third-quarter loss amid shift in e-commerce strategy (Globe and Mail)
• Japan loses its thirst for vending machines (FT)
• The dieting myth that won't die (The Atlantic)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Why are Target and Walgreens slashing prices (The Cut)
• Ultra-cheap meals from China's delivery giant are hugely popular. Deliver drivers are bearing the cost (Rest of World)
• Canadian agri-tech tackles food insecurity with AI and automation (Globe and Mail)
• Canadian retailer Simons is expanding. Can it succeed where its peers couldn't (CBC)
• Japan runs on vending machines. It's about to break millions of them (NYT)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: The doctrine of relentless utility (Medium)
• The return grift is over (The Cut)
• FTC sues to stop Kroger-Albertsons grocery store deal (NYT)
• Vending machine error reveals secret face image database of college students (Ars Technica)
• A foreign grocer does not simply walk into the Canadian market (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: How to thwart strategy masquerades (Medium)
• Why Michelin-starred restaurants are putting 'millets' on the menu this year (Bloomberg)
• How Modelo beat Bud Light after a decade of transformation (NYT)
• End of the bartender? The UK vending machine pouring pints for the masses (The Guardian)
• What Jose Andres's lab-grown chicken tastes like (Vox)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Yes, investing in ESG pays off (HBR)
• A day in the life of (almost) every vending machine in the world (The Guardian)
• GoPuff buys time for its 30-minute or less grocery promise (NYT)
• The FDA's food failure (Politico)
• Our food system isn't ready for the climate crisis (The Guardian)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• Instant delivery startup Jokr in talks to sell its New York City operations (The Information)
• What is the Good Jobs Strategy (Medium)
• Is going vegan enough to make you - and the planet - healthier (The Guardian)
• A normal supply chain. It's unlikely in 2022 (NYT)
• There's a vending machine for that: Why automated retail is becoming the norm (CBC)

 Stephan's Tuesday Picks

• Roger Martin: Strategy and transformation (Medium)
• Restaurants increase wages and offer signing bonuses (NYT)
• Vending machine steaks and sausages become butcher's pandemic success (Bloomberg)
• The new science on how we burn calories (NYT)
• Restaurants across Canada face labour shortages as growing number of hospitality workers leave industry (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Thursday Picks

• The state of grocery in North America (McKinsey)
• Flipkart is in talks to raise $3 billion (Bloomberg)
• Rome is getting its first vending machine pizza. Will Romans bite (NYT)
• As grocery prices rise, alt-meat takes a bigger bite out of Big Meat's burger (Washington Post)
• Climate change might be threatening the future of apples (Bloomberg)

 Stephan's Monday Picks

• Is American dietetics a white bread world (NYT)
• The walk-in kitchen pantry is the new designer shoe closet (WSJ)
• How 2020 turned the store inside out (Bloomberg)
• How tight is the Christmas tree supply? An 8-footer can fetch $2,000 (WSJ)
• Vending machine pizza and robotic coffee in vogue as pandemic accelerates restaurant automation (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Automats make a comeback in COVID-19 pandemic (WSJ)
• Amazon charged with antitrust violations by European regulators (NYT)
• Beyond Meat plunges as pantry loading ends (Bloomberg)
• McDonald's unveils McPlant line (CNBC)
• Premium Brands, coalition of Mi'kmaq First Nations acquire Clearwater Seafoods (Globe and Mail)

 Stephan's Friday Picks

• Pret A Manger will try anything to survive (NYT)
• Japan vending machines struggle amid pandemic (Bloomberg)
• The surprising origins of fried chicken (BBC)
• Loblaw to refer shoppers to health services, ties loyalty points to wellness behaviours (Globe and Mail)
• From the archives (2004): Workers assail night lock-ins by Walmart (NYT)

Stephan's Wednesday Picks

• Second Cup to change name to Aegis Brands (Globe and Mail)
• French baguettes from a vending machine. 'What a tragedy' (NYT)
• Amazon confirms plans to launch grocery store under new brand (Bloomberg)
• Alibaba seals $38 billion Singles Day record (Bloomberg)
• How targeted ads and dynamic pricing can perpetuate bias (HBR)

Stephan's Friday Picks

• Purina wants your dog to save the planet by eating fish heads (Bloomberg)
• Landlords relish - or fear - JC Penney store closings (WSJ)
• The wackiest vending machines in the world (CBC)
• How chicken became the rich world's most popular meat (The Economist)
• From the archives (2010): Dollarama aims to keep it simple (Globe and Mail)

Stephan's Monday Picks

• Everything you need to know about Daniel Zhang, Alibaba's new king (Wired)
• Walmart eyes Mexico grocery delivery with $225 million purchase (Bloomberg)
• Can Tesco's secret plan defeat Aldi and Lidl (The Guardian)
• Walmart expands test of its giant grocery vending machine (Food Dive)
• Management consulting's AI-powered existential crisis (MIT SMR)