PODCAST: UK Beef Chat Episode 5

This week Mike Nesbitt and Jay Alletto are joined by Joe Muldowney and Bill Smith to discuss the UK beef market. Topics include the tight cattle supply’s impact on price negotiation, social distancing at plants, and...

ANALYSIS: Do Large Forward Sales Help Future Spot Prices -- Strip Loin Rally in 2021

The January rally in strip loins has been fierce, with gains of 27 percent so far since the start of the year, compared to...

National Restaurant Association Releases 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report

The National Restaurant Association released its 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry Report, which measures the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the restaurant industry and examines the current state of key pillars including technology and off-premises, labor, and menu trends across segments based on a survey of 6,000 restaurant operators and consumer preferences from a survey of 1,000 adults. The report also provides a look at the path to recovery for chains, franchises, and independents and the year of transition ahead.

Key findings regarding the impact of coronavirus on the restaurant industry include...

Grains Supply to Argentine Export Hub Normalizing After Truckers Strike

Delivery of grains and oilseeds to Argentine export hub Rosario was slowly returning to normal on Monday after a week of protests by truckers who blocked roads leading from the farm belt to port, two industry sources told Reuters.

Drivers are demanding a review of their costs, including tolls, insurance rates, taxes and fuel prices.

They were scheduled to meet with Sergio Massa, president of the lower House of Congress, to discuss their demands while the government news site Telam reported a delay in a proposed fuel tax increase. Both gestures appeared to help calm tensions, although...

NRF Says 2020 Holiday Sales Grew 8.3 Percent Despite Pandemic

Retail sales during 2020’s November-December holiday season grew an unexpectedly high 8.3 percent over the same period in 2019 to $789.4 billion, exceeding the National Retail Federation’s holiday forecast despite the economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, NRF said. The numbers include online and other non-stores sales, which were up 23.9 percent at $209 billion.

“Despite unprecedented challenges, consumers and retailers demonstrated incredible resilience this holiday season,” NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay said. “Faced with rising transmission of the virus, state restrictions on retailers and...

U.S. Restaurant Industry Ends 2020 Making Its Way Out of the Steep Declines Caused by Pandemic

The U.S. restaurant industry closed one of the most unpopular years in history moving its way out of the steepest declines the industry has experienced since the Great Recession, reports The NPD Group. Customer transaction declines at major restaurant chains in December were down -10% compared to same period year ago, a 27-point improvement from April, the height of the shelter-at-home and restaurant dine-in closure mandates, when transactions declined by -37% from a year ago, according to NPD’s CREST® Performance Alerts, which provides a rapid weekly view of chain-specific transactions and share trends for 75 quick service, fast casual, midscale, and casual dining chains representing...

The Catering Sector in France Adapts and Absorbs the Shock from COVID-19 Lockdowns

According to the latest data from The NPD Group, the share of “take-out” visits in France has doubled in catering, comprising 35% of total visits between March and October 2020, versus 17% over the same time period last year.

Restaurant owners have been able to adapt in order to develop their offerings toward take-out. They have reviewed the composition of the menus, developed the product mix, worked on the packaging and found new ways of communicating with...

China’s Shifting Retail Landscape Signals the Permanence of Change Post-COVID-19

China’s rebound from COVID-19 has been unique. It came faster and with more demonstrable economic tailwinds for the economy than other markets. But it has also been a bellwether that has helped point to consumer behaviors elsewhere that have inevitably followed China’s lead. An example is the rebalancing of retail playing out around the world.

Pandemic-led shifts to further online adoption and an increased focus on neighborhood and small-format stores have become an ongoing normal. Though different to other markets, China helps us understand...

Barco Uniforms Partners with National Restaurant Association and ServSafe to Distribute Masks

Barco Uniforms, a recognized leader of design innovation in the premium Healthcare apparel industry, announced it has partnered with National Restaurant Association and ServSafe to donate and distribute 20,000 reusable face masks to restaurant operators across the United States.

While Barco has focused on designing and manufacturing premium Healthcare apparel for more than 90 years, it has expanded its product line to support essential workers and everyday heroes who do their part to keep their community safe, including...

Changed Beef Consumption Habits Following COVID-19 Create Opportunities

The global Covid-19 pandemic and African swine fever (ASF) have changed beef consumption patterns through 2020. While total beef consumption has not seen too much change, we have seen distribution channels change, benefiting some at the expense of others. As the impacts of ASF are overcome and disruptions from Covid-19 subside, old distribution channels will recover.

“It is likely that many consumers will revert to their previous habits, but we do see opportunities for...

Church's Chicken Reinvents Brand Standards Measurement

When Church's Chicken re-imagined its restaurant-level brand standards measurement program to comply with COVID-19 travel restrictions, the goal was simple – make sure restaurants keep a high level of quality and service, without in-person visits from regional management and field teams. In just 60 days, the Global OPS Services team transformed the 5+ hour in-person Operation Excellence Review (OER) into a streamlined, Remote OER visitation that can now be implemented remotely. This enhanced evaluation of a restaurant's operation provides operators a detailed action plan with specific recommendations on improving brand standards. Since these Virtual OERs are much shorter than the standard visit, the brand can now conduct more visits more frequently, allowing the Operations team in the domestic and international business to provide added support for their franchisees.

"COVID-19 has caused us to innovate in so many ways. We realized that we can't send our field teams to the restaurants like we've done for years – we had to figure out how to conduct our visits remotely. These virtual visitations allow the field team to measure the operations using our proprietary mobile app called...

Sysco Eliminates Minimum Delivery Requirements and Offers Services to Support Restaurant Industry

Sysco Corporation announced it will eliminate minimum delivery size requirements for customers’ regularly scheduled delivery days as part of the company’s Restaurants Rising campaign. This change is effective on Nov. 16 for all U.S. Broadline, FreshPoint, Buckhead Meat and Newport Meat customers.

Removing minimum delivery requirements is yet another way Sysco is leading the industry in supporting the success of restaurants, providing operators significant added flexibility in managing their business and making it easier to...