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in this econemy?

Van Leeuwen, America’s fastest-growing dessert chain, is looking to expand abroad

The boutique ice cream chain is looking to open at least 300 new shops in South Korea over the next decade.

2/12/26 8:16AM

What started as a small ice cream truck on the streets of New York City in 2008 has now evolved into a scoop empire with over 100 store locations across California, Texas, Colorado, and Florida — and Van Leeuwen is now beginning to look beyond the US. The company signed a rare franchise agreement to open at least 300 new ice cream shops in South Korea over the next decade, starting with five store openings in the new market for this year.

For the boutique scoop shop chain where ice cream lovers can choose from more than 100 flavors, including some eyebrow-raising limited-time specials like Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, expanding its footprint has become a top priority, per a recent Bloomberg interview with CEO and cofounder Ben Van Leeuwen.

Indeed, the company’s impressive expansion in its home country, having nearly quadrupled its store count in the four years up to 2025, is helping it scoop more revenue to add to its top line. In 2024, Van Leeuwen’s sales had grown 39% year on year to $65 million, per estimates from food service industry tracker Technomics, while the parlor chain also ranked as the fastest-growing dessert concept from the top 500 American restaurants tracked by Technomics last year.

It’s also found success tapping into retail channels like Walmart and Whole Foods, selling pints of its speciality ice cream to 12,000 grocery stores as of the end of last year — up from just 100 stores in 2018.

Sundae scaries

Zooming out, there might be another reason that Van Leeuwen is putting more stock in reaching new overseas markets, with a previously attempted experiment in Singapore and now in Korea: Americans might well be falling out of love with ice cream.

Per the US Department of Agriculture, per-capita ice cream consumption has been on a downward trend for decades, dropping 34% as of 2024 since the USDA started collecting data in 1975. South Korea, on the other hand, has seen domestic ice cream sales and imports rebound in recent years, according to the department’s Foreign Agricultural Service Report.

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.”

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The Switch 2 launched on this day in 2025. Amid a rough year for consoles, Nintendo has logged a good one.

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.