Hey Pies, so my group chat this week basically turned into a food-news fever dream. One friend's all about Ozempic and appetites shrinking on purpose. Someone else won't stop texting about sprouts, like, can we trust the produce aisle right now or not? Then policy shows up with candy dyes and fruit-flavored vapes, and out of nowhere China turns pecans into a trade story.

I know, it's a lot. But stick with me, because there's actually a thread running through all of it. People are still eating, still shopping, still curious, they're just done taking things at face value. Which, honestly? Good for them. Grab your coffee, let's get into it.

Stay Easy,

Riana & Team 🌱

QUICK BITES

Suppressed vs. Scared

Okay, on one side, GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound are quietly changing how much America even wants to eat. CNBC says it's roughly one in eight U.S. adults on a GLP-1 right now (CNBC), and yeah, you can see it in the grocery cart.

21% fewer calories, ⅓ less grocery spendGLP-1 USERS — KPMG

J.P. Morgan thinks this could pull $30 to $55 billion out of food and beverage sales by 2030. That's people choosing to eat less. Now here's the flip side, where people are eating less for reasons nobody signed up for.

15,716 confirmed cyclosporiasis cases828 HOSPITALIZATIONS, 2 DEATHS, 47 STATES PLUS DC AND PUERTO RICO SINCE MAY 1 — CDC

I want to say this carefully, because I'm not comparing a drug to a parasite, that would be a weird thing to do. What I'm actually pointing at is the same shopper, pulled in two directions. One person's choosing to eat less on purpose. Another's hesitating to eat at all, because the food system keeps giving them reasons not to trust it. Appetite and trust, tangled up together this year in a way I haven't seen before.

HOT PLATES

The Sense of Science. The new Sweet Phantom Heat Flavored Puffs go from cinnamon-sugar sweet to heat, tingle, numb, and a little fizz, all in one bag (PepsiCo). Surprise is officially a product attribute now, which means, come on, it needs a real sensory brief behind it, not just a spooky label slapped on the bag.

Volume +5%, revenue +7% to $13.4BCOCA-COLA Q2 2026, PLUS GAINED VALUE SHARE IN NONALCOHOLIC RTD BEVERAGES — COCA-COLA

Coke pulled off the harder trick this quarter, growing volume and revenue at the same time, which isn't nothing. Worth keeping an eye on the pack architecture and mix behind that number, not just the case count everyone likes to headline.

Pit stops to Pit lanes. A five-year deal makes it the official soft drinks and snacks partner of Silverstone and Formula 1, a venue that pulled 564,000 fans to the 2026 British Grand Prix alone (PepsiCo). Deals like this only actually pay off when the product's built for the ritual, portable, fast, easy to pass around a crowd, not just a logo stuck on somewhere.

Choosy Lover. Heinz's new cap lets you pick your "main squeeze" (Packaging Dive). Small detail, but it's a good reminder: the pack that wins is the one that does something in your hand, not just the one that says something on the shelf.

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