Long before viral food mashups like the cronut and ramen burger, Americans were gaga for the fusion of two staples from Italian and Jewish cuisines: the pizza bagel. Its origin is, as Moment magazine put it, “a mess of competing claims,” with bakeries in California and Massachusetts claiming to have invented the pizza bagel in the 1970s, and yet another in Cleveland saying it did so in the 1950s.

But Carmine’s, the New York-based Italian restaurant chain that has a line of jarred tomato sauces, is focused less on the pizza bagel’s past than its future. The brand is partnering with Tompkins Square Bagels to put pizza bagels on the menu at the bagel shop’s four locations , all of which are located in Manhattan, for the month of May.

For Carmine’s, it’s about getting consumers to consider using its sauces on foods in addition to spaghetti.

“We’re really creating new reasons, and I would say new moments, to use it with family and friends,” Erin Pepper, who heads the retail and product marketing arm at Carmine’s, told Retail Brew. “We really like to think of Carmine’s as a sauce that’s more of a pantry staple. So ‘Carmine’s,’ you think pasta, but it’s not just a pasta sauce.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

Loyalty programs have long been a staple for many retailers, but for the value-driven shopper today, they are more important than ever.

Per new research from LoyaltyLion, 91% of respondents said that being part of a loyalty program drives them to make repeat purchases from the same e-commerce brand.

The survey, which included responses of 2,000 US consumers, also found that shoppers enrolled in retailers’ loyalty programs on a weekly (58%) and often daily (15%) basis.

According to LoyaltyLion, the average member consumer is part of more than three e-commerce loyalty programs, and that doesn’t even include supermarkets or coffee shops.

Keep reading here.—JS

No fewer than 7 in 10 tweens (70%) have purchased products from inside video games or virtual worlds, more than the 58% who’ve purchased from brands’ e-commerce sites. So says a new report on 8- to 12-year-olds from YPulse, a market research firm focused on young consumers.

If you’re a brand without a presence in games or virtual worlds like Roblox, the message of the report is not that you might need a wake-up call so much as a defibrillator.

“The in-app economy is training an entire generation in what spending feels like, what brands feel like, and what a transaction is,” the report stated. “And most of that education is happening without most brands in the room.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

Kara Silver, VP of Ecommerce at Tecovas, is stepping into the world of seamless omnichannel strategy. From DTC growth to blending digital and in-store experiences, Kara will share how Tecovas is walking the line between heritage retail and modern commerce—without missing a step. Join us in New York and grab your ticket now.

Tired of one-size-fits-all job boards? CollabWORK highlights roles that reflect your interests and goals—delivered through communities like Retail Brew. Click here to explore the full job board.