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Hello, foie gras could soon be getting the boot from menus in Washington, DC. Under a measure dubbed “Initiative 86,” restaurants and retailers would be prohibited from selling foie gras or other products made from fattened bird livers, whether served on their own or as part of a dish. Violators could face fines ranging from $1,000 to $5,000, and the ban could take effect as early as July 2027. In today’s edition: —Andrew Adam Newman, Jeena Sharma, Courtney Vinopal, Jenna Movsowitz |
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MARKETING Kitchen consequential  GoodCook | The kitchenware brand GoodCook has been a mainstay since launching in grocery stores in 1987, then expanding to channels including big box retailers, drugstores, and online. But consumers with its tools rattling around in their kitchen drawers may not even register the GoodCook name. Instead, a peeler may be just a utilitarian tool—the memory of watching it travel down the supermarket checkout conveyor belt alongside the ingredients for carrot cake long forgotten. “It isn’t a brand historically that was consciously sought after by name,” Karen Schnelwar, SVP of brand strategy and marketing at Bradshaw Home, which owns GoodCook, said. “It was, ‘right place, right time.’” The brand assumed many guises, with subbrands that were exclusive to certain retailers including GoodCook Pro, GoodCook Ready, and GoodCook Touch. “There were subbrands upon subbrands upon subbrands that were created for individual retailers,” she said. To consumers, such an array of names, designs, and packaging may have looked more like a mishmash than a coherent brand. “It wasn’t registering in hearts and minds, and it was diluting the brand’s presence,” Schnelwar said. Keep reading here.—AAN |
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CONSUMER BEHAVIOR & TRENDS Puff piece  REI | The outdoors may be having a fashion moment at the moment, but REI is looking to its past to make its mark on the trend. The outdoor retailer has teamed up with Japanese fashion brand Beams to revive its Expedition Parka—from 1986, no less—giving the almost 40-year-old design a contemporary makeover. The limited-edition jacket, priced at $599, launched last month online and in select stores, with just 500 pieces as part of REI’s 2025 partnership with Beams and Swiss performance brand On. “One of [Beam’s] buyers really saw REI as the quintessential American outdoor brand, and I think, in some ways, helped us to really realize that in kind of a different way to see the co-op through someone else’s eyes,” Scott Mosher, creative director of brand at REI, told Retail Brew. Keep reading here.—JS |
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LABOR Green bill of health  Jeffrey MacMillan/Getty Images | A fast-casual chain favored by the office lunch set is sweetening compensation packages for managers at its restaurants. Starting next year, Sweetgreen managers will be eligible to earn more than $200,000 a year if they meet certain milestones set by the company. The new offering, which will be paid through a mix of base salary and equity, is intended to empower managers who contribute to the business’s success, and “[share] those wins with those that are driving it,” co-founder and CEO Jonathan Neman said. Keep reading here on HR Brew.—CV |
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Sponsored By Rithum  | Getting picked by AI. AI assistants can provide shoppers a few product recommendations that match their query, but how do you know if yours made the cut? Rithum’s infographic breaks down how AI shopping assistants decide what to recommend, how to test where your brand stands, + more. Check it out. |
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EXPRESS CHECKOUT CORNER  Little Spoon | The second great cereal renaissance is being led by a retailer. This week, Little Spoon launched Dolphin Divers, its first-ever kids’ cereal, exclusively at Target nationwide. On its own, this is yet another better-for-you kids brand expanding its set in a major retailer. But what’s actually happening is more interesting…because this wasn’t actually Little Spoon’s idea. Read the whole story in Express Checkout.—JM |
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swapping skus | Today’s top retail reads. Cold comfort: Canada Goose saw its quarterly losses deepen as higher expenses offset an uptick in sales. (the Wall Street Journal) Return to sender: Why Wendy’s rejected a $1.4 billion takeover deal. (CNBC) Splitting headache: CVS Health is breaking itself up into two separate companies starting in 2028. (the New York Times) Sync or swim: In the latest omnichannel guide from WooCommerce, learn how unified commerce systems turn visibility gaps into recovered revenue. Read the full guide and get unified.* *A message from our sponsor. |
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Jobs  | 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. |
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