In a Bear Market, Investors Bet on Black: RoboBurger Raises Funds In a $10M Seed 2 Funding Round

RoboBurger Inc is the maker of the RoboBurger: the world's first fully autonomous robotic burger chef in a box, that grills, toasts, adds condiments and assembles a fresh burger, in about 4 minutes.

RoboBurger Inc, represented by DLA Piper, is excited to announce that it opened its Seed 2 round of funding in partnership with Promethean Investments LLP, a private equity firm headquartered in London. The new Seed 2 funding round will allow RoboBurger Inc to grow and scale up production...

Year-Over-Year Retail Sales Growth Continues

Retail sales remained strong on a monthly basis and saw another year-over-year gain in September despite an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve and continuing inflation, the National Retail Federation said today.

“September retail sales confirm that even with rising interest rates, persistent inflation, political uncertainty and volatile global markets, consumers are spending for household priorities,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “As we enter the holiday season, shoppers are increasingly seeking deals and discounts to make their dollars stretch, and retailers are already meeting this demand. However, the..." 

Conversing on Consumer Behavior with EVP of IRI, Chris Dubois

Chris DuBois is the EVP and Practice Leader for IRI’s Protein practice and leads IRI service, sales, and delivery for IRI’s large protein-focused clients.  In addition to leading IRI’s teams, he also works extensively with industry associations and media outlets to share research-based expertise and insights and is a frequent speaker and contributor. Chris Dubois is one of the esteemed presenters at this year’s Global Protein Summit in Chicago. Ahead of his presentation on consumer demand, Chris joined us to talk about the trends of the past year and what to expect in the future.

Restaurant365 Data Reveals Increase in 2022 Mid-Year Sales

Restaurant365, the leading all-in-one restaurant enterprise management software, reported that demand remained strong for restaurants in the second quarter of 2022, citing a 12% increase in its customers' sales from Q1 to Q2, despite the challenges of inflation and rising food costs.

"As economists discuss a potential economic slowdown, restaurants may not yet feel impacted because their sales continue to grow," stated Tony Smith, CEO and co-founder of Restaurant365. "A decline is still a very real possibility, so now is the best time for restaurants to take action..." 

Import Slowdown Continues as Fed Tries to Rein in Consumer Demand

With inflation continuing and the Federal Reserve hoping to cool demand through higher interest rates, imports at the nation’s major container ports are expected to fall below last year’s levels for the remainder of 2022, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report released by the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates.

“Consumers are still buying, but the cargo surge we saw during the past two years appears to be slowing down,” NRF Vice President for Supply Chain and Customs Policy Jonathan Gold said. “Cargo volumes are solidly..."

UNFI Offers New Meal Solutions to Help Retailers Meet Consumer Demand for At Home Food Options

United Natural Foods, Inc. today announced it has added two new meal solutions to its offering to better allow retailers to meet the growing demand for quick, restaurant quality meals, while reducing in-store labor and the time required to create similar products on their own. The meal solutions are available nationwide to the more than 30,000 customer locations UNFI services.

The new on-trend meal solutions, a fresh meal kit from Cook•Able and flash-frozen meals from Cadence Kitchen, allow UNFI to...