STORES

In 1917, during World War I, Eugenia Duke began making sandwiches in her kitchen in Greenville, South Carolina, to sell to nearby Army canteens. Thanks to demand for the mayo, she began bottling it in 1923.

Duke’s Mayo became popular in the Southeast over the next century, but in the last couple of years the brand has endeavored to expand nationally, and earlier this year Duke’s did exactly that, gaining national distribution at Walmart, Kroger, Albertsons, and Dollar General.

In the second quarter of this year, Duke’s rose to second in dollar sales in NielsenIQ’s US retail category for mayonnaise and sandwich spreads, behind Hellmann’s/Best Foods—the same Unilever mayonnaise sold under different regional names—according to data Duke’s provided to Retail Brew. Just a year earlier, in Q2 of 2025, Duke’s ranked fifth.

While Duke’s yellow-lidded jars are familiar in the South, it’s a newcomer these days in many supermarket aisles. So to boost its name recognition and get consumers to taste it, Duke’s is expanding its effort to be highlighted on restaurant menus.

Keep reading here.—AAN

      

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CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS

Tommy Bahama

Tommy Bahama has built an entire business around the idea of escape.

Since launching in 1992, the brand has expanded well beyond its signature camp shirts into a lifestyle business with men’s and women’s apparel, home goods, restaurants and, more recently, resorts.

Today, it has more than 160 stores worldwide, all tied into its core identity of the relaxed island lifestyle.

Doug Wood, who has spent the past 25 years at Tommy Bahama and now serves as CEO, spoke with Retail Brew about how the company has evolved, why women’s apparel has become one of its fastest-growing categories, and what role hospitality plays in the brand’s long-term strategy.

Keep reading here.—JS

      

COMMUNITY

Jenny Penich

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

Jenny Penich is global chief revenue officer at creator marketing agency Influencer.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I lead the teams responsible for growing our business globally and helping brands grow theirs. That means bringing together our commercial, creative strategy, performance, platform partnerships, and marketing science teams to turn creator marketing into measurable business results. As global chief revenue officer, my focus is on building a connected global commercial organization that combines regional expertise, data, and innovation to create a better client experience and accelerate growth. At its core, my job is about helping brands connect with people in ways that feel authentic—bringing together culture, community, commerce, and technology to drive real business impact.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Probably how much of my job is about connecting people, not just driving revenue. While my title is chief revenue officer, a huge part of what I do is bringing together teams across commercial, creative strategy, performance, platform partnerships, and marketing science around a shared vision. It’s about breaking down silos, aligning regional expertise, and helping incredibly talented people solve problems together. The best growth doesn’t come from one function working harder. It comes from every function working better together. That’s where I spend most of my time.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? One of my favorites has been helping brands rethink how they show up on YouTube, not just as an awareness channel, but as a full-funnel driver of both brand and performance.

Keep reading here.—EC

      

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swapping skus

Today’s top retail reads.

Testing the waters: World Cup hydration breaks sponsored by Coca-Cola helped boost the beverage maker’s quarterly performance. (Reuters)

Labor of Dove: Unilever hit a 16-year high in volume growth as its beauty and wellbeing and home care segments grew. (the Wall Street Journal)

Trade secrets: Shein’s US operations are under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission for an undisclosed reason, it reported in documents tied to its Hong Kong IPO filing. (CNBC)

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Erin Cabrey

Retail Brew chats with Natalie Acopian, founder of Colorful Natalie, on the NYC-themed apparel and how the pink exterior has caught the eyes of the city’s shoppers—and the Internet.