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Meal deals

Cash-strapped consumers are looking for cheap food options. Who will serve them?

6/20/24 3:56PM

American consumers are searching for cheap meals, and a battle is brewing over who will serve them.

More and more, companies that sell food are noticing that customers are looking for deals and value packages. Grocery stores are building off their value proposition versus eating out, while restaurants are introducing more value meals.

“While food inflation has impacted every meal occasion, inflation and food-away-from-home has been even higher than food-at-home inflation since 2019,” Kroger chief executive W. Rodney McMullen told analysts on an earnings call on Thursday. The grocery store chain reported better-than-expected earnings, in part because of a rise in private label sales and digital sales.

Companies like Kroger are navigating how to please a customer that’s been consistently gloomy. The University of Michigan consumer sentiment index showed consumer confidence slumped for the third month in a row as high prices and high interest rates weigh on their minds.

“Within our most budget-conscious households, we are starting to see positive momentum,” McMullen said. “Historic multi-year inflation across the economy, high interest rates, and reduced government benefits disproportionately affect these customers and are influencing their spending behaviors.”

Darden Restaurants, meanwhile, has resisted couponing or deep discounting amid a slowdown in sales at its Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse locations. “We're not going to do things to buy sales, even with the increasing discounting our competitors are doing,” Darden chief executive Ricardo Cardenas told analysts on Thursday.

While the price of most products has swelled in the past few years, cooking a meal at home remains solidly cheaper than picking up. The cost of groceries has risen 1% in the past year while the cost of eating out is up 4%, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index released June 12.

Still, consumers are spending more on eating out, Goldman Sachs economists said in a June 12 research note. That coincides with “a step-up in value competition” among fast food chains.

“Strong pricing tailwinds are beginning to fade and value competition is stepping up as we come out of the post-pandemic inflation surge,” they wrote.

Yum! Brands Inc, which owns Taco Bell, reported in its most recent earnings filing on May 1 that its Cravings Value Menu (a selection of 10 items under $3) has grown in popularity. Popeyes, owned by Restaurant Brands International, has pushed several family meal promotions for under $30.

McDonald’s has also entered the battle. After raising its prices beyond recognition, the chain is set to release a $5 meal deal later this month.

“We’re committed to winning the value war,” Joe Erlinger, president of McDonald’s, told Bloomberg News.

Investors are cheering that news, with the stock up about 2% on Thursday afternoon. Even so, there are worrisome signs that this so-called “war” to secure market share among value-conscious consumers is a zero, or even negative, sum battle when it comes to the fast-food industry at large. One need look no further than one of McDonald’s competitors: Chipotle, where shares are down more than 6% in their worst day of the year.

Tom Jones6/24/26

Prime Day is here again and Amazon’s subscription service has never been more popular

Well, it’s that time of year again: many have made their wish lists, people are scraping together the money they’ve saved to pick out a perfect gift, some are presumably leaving out refreshments for the weary delivery drivers and, more and more, drones.

It’s Amazon Prime Day — meaning that it’s the second day of the four-day promotional event that Amazon still calls Prime Day — of course, and it’s even come early this year, with the company bringing the period into late June from July, when it’s been traditionally held for the last five years.

The Prime Age

Alongside the eyes and endless clicks that the arbitrary stream of listicles on “The Best Prime Day Deals” that almost every media outlet pours into, Amazon will also be cheering the fact that there’s now more Prime users than ever before to devour the retailer and its sellers’ sometimes-contested “discounts.” Indeed, according to the latest annual estimates from Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP), there were just over 200 million American shoppers using Amazon’s massive subscription service at the end of 2025.

Max Knoblauch6/15/26

Electronic Arts launches a platform to put more ads in its games

Video game publishing giant EA launched a new platform on Monday designed to make the process of selling immersive ad space in its popular games easier.

The company says the platform, called EA Advertising, allows brands to “integrate directly into gameplay through dynamic, real-time placements, from stadium signage to custom in-game content.”

More so than other studios, EA has incorporated advertising into its most popular titles. As Kotaku points out, the company’s ad efforts stretch as far back as 2006. Several of its sports franchises already feature partnerships with brands like Visa, Lowe’s, Red Bull, and PepsiCo.

In-game advertising hasn’t exactly been embraced by fans, but industry experts expect it to ramp up as companies seek more revenue to offset higher games budgets and surging memory costs. EA rival Take-Two has taken a different approach, with CEO Strauss Zelnick recently saying the company was “not at risk of doing brand partnerships” in the forthcoming “Grand Theft Auto VI,” and that ads in full-price games seems “unfair.”

The $55 billion deal to take EA private, led by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, is set to close at the end of this month. Being the largest leveraged buyout in history, EA will likely look for more ways to boost revenue to cover interest payments.

Electronic Arts Makes Push for Ad Dollars Tied to Sports

Millie Giles6/11/26

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, the company sold $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

Max Knoblauch6/8/26

The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”