Of the many Facebook groups we (Erin here, hi!) have found ourselves in—a decade-old prom dress group, the now-defunct DeuxMoi group—the most intriguing and entertaining one is full of pictures of New York City food. There’s piles of focaccia from Eataly, soppressata pizza slices from Two Boots, and boxes of macarons from Maison Du Chocolat.

But what sets this apart from other NYC foodie groups is all that food has been secured through an app called Too Good to Go at “one-third” of the retail price, according to the company. The app is focused on preventing food waste by partnering with restaurants, cafés, and grocery stores to sell extra food to consumers in discounted “surprise bags.”

It’s reached an audience far beyond those interested in its environmental mission, taking off with consumers eager to score the best haul at the cheapest price, especially as food prices soar.

Budget crunch: David Niles is a massage therapist from Brooklyn and one of the ~11,700 members of the Too Good to Go NYC Facebook group, where users share where they went and what they got. He’s bought over 1,100 bags through the app. Why? “Because I’m a cheap bastard,” he told us. “I normally don’t eat out. So this has almost given me an excuse to be a consumer of food, which I don’t always like.”

Another member, Jane Kay, a Chelsea resident who works in financial services, told us that since joining TGTG, her credit card bill is “several hundreds of dollars” lower.

Good thing: While TGTG’s main priority is cutting food waste, discounts have “always been part of the reason why this is so fun,” its US head of impact, Gaeleen Quinn, told us. That’s especially true now, when food prices are sky high.

Keep reading here.—EC

Get ready for a loaded dose of nostalgia: The beloved (once) California-native brand Esprit is all set to make a comeback in North America after stores closed a decade ago.

For its American relaunch, the retailer is starting off with a colorful pop-up in Los Angeles that opened November 16, while a permanent store is on the books for early next year.

• The return is part of Esprit’s larger comeback strategy that kicked off with its Hong Kong-headquartered brand reopening stores across Asia earlier this year.
• Since last year, Esprit has focused on developing a revamped brand identity focused on sustainability and targeting Gen Z consumers with fresh styles.

But with the current economic climate and shifting consumer shopping habits, can it succeed this time around? “We’re coming out of Covid, where there’s been an extreme casualization of the workplace,” Nora Kleinewillinghoefer, associate partner in Kearney’s consumer practice, told Retail Brew, adding that China and the US are currently Esprit’s biggest markets, which should work in the brand’s favor.

Trial and error: While the brand’s Asian expansion strategy focuses on strengthening its e-commerce channels, the physical store seems to be the bigger focus in the US.

Keep reading here.—JS

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We’re living up to the “Brew” in our name by focusing on all things coffee with Kyle Mervau from Pennsylvania-based coffee company Electric City Roasting Co.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? It’s the most important job in the world! No one can do their jobs without a great cup of coffee, and we provide that! Joking aside, I tell people that I buy coffees from all over the world and work to provide people and businesses with incredible coffee every single time they brew it.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? The chain of relationships. Many people see [a] sales director or business development, but don’t see all of the relationships and people that are in this large line from “seed to cup” for specialty coffee. From farmers and their family, to logistics and importers, to warehouses and roasting, to training baristas, and finally, the end-user experience.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? I’ll say two: getting incredibly sourced specialty coffee into five of our local Wegmans locations and maintaining that relationship for over seven years. Secondly, any of our partner cafes who we assisted to help them build from the ground up their coffee shop dream. Working with customers from the very beginning stages is what we do best, and just selling coffee at the end of the day just wouldn't cut it for me anymore.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about this year, and why? It’s bittersweet, but I am most excited about all of the creativity in retail right now in navigating supply-chain bumps. It has been really cool to see how companies are really doubling down to make sure the end-user experience is more dialed in and more enhanced than ever before. This time is unique in our world, and I’m looking forward to continuing to see all of the innovation and creativity.

What’s your go-to coffee order? Are you serious? I have a coffee company! I could talk all day here! But I’ll give my boring yet honest answer: If I know it’s a great café that is serving well-roasted and cared-for coffees, I would love to just have a small black coffee and/or an espresso. I want to taste exactly what that coffee and the craft around it has to say.

Worst piece of advice you’ve received? You need to harden your heart and get tough in this industry. I honestly have seen so much success being exactly who I am and building transparent and friendly relationships with all of my customers and partners.

What was your favorite retail product when you were 15, and what’s your favorite retail product now? When I was 15, it was probably a skateboard...or a PS2. Now, I get pretty stoked about running shoes!

Today’s top retail reads.

Turkey trot: With turkey prices up a whopping 28% year over year, a look at how prices stack up across nine retailers. (Business Insider)

Meating your fate: Beyond Meat saw yet another tough quarter, leaving other plant-based meat makers fretting over an impending shakeout. (the New York Times)

Good as used: A new browser extension called Beni is encouraging secondhand shopping by recommending used alternatives to the brand new products consumers are looking at online. (Bloomberg)

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Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Why Black Friday may be a little “softer” this year
• Luxury outdoor brand Canada Goose is betting big on US brick-and-mortar
• Two-day shipping is a solution for a problem that probably doesn’t exist