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Tag: kinds of foods and beverages

  • SunnyD Vodka Seltzer will officially be sold in stores | CNN Business

    SunnyD Vodka Seltzer will officially be sold in stores | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    SunnyD, the flavorful orange drink chugged from childhood by millennials, is embracing one of its more collegial cocktail combinations.

    There’s now a vodka seltzer version of the drink that was created because of “popular demand,” the brand said. SunnyD Vodka Seltzer becomes the latest entrant into the canned cocktail craze that has customers thirsting for flavor-packed adult beverages over their malt-based seltzer siblings.

    The vodka seltzer is 4.5 percent alcohol by volume, has 0 grams of sugar and only 95 calories. But there’s not actual SunnyD in the drink, rather the company said it has the “same great orange taste” as SunnyD that uses “real fruit juice and natural ingredients.”

    SunnyD was first developed in 1963, but later boomed in popularity in the 1990s garnering it a loyal fan base because of its tangy orange flavor that is likened to a much sweeter tasting (and sugar packed) version of regular orange juice. SunnyD was sold to Harvest Hill Beverage Company in 2017, the privately owned manufacturer of Juicy Juice, with sales of the orange drink growing more than 30% since 2019.

    “Consumers are passionate about this iconic brand, rooted in nostalgia but with a taste that resonates today,” said Ilene Bergenfeld, chief marketing officer of Harvest Hill, in a release. “Many have told us that they enjoy SunnyD as a mixer and asked for this product. So, we looked at the hard seltzer category, and thought, good, but we can do better.”

    SunnyD Vodka Seltzer is sold in single cans for $1.99 and in a 4-pack of 12-ounce slim cans for $9.99. It hit shelves beginning Saturday at some Walmart stores.

    Fruit juice-based drinks are growing in popularity in the alcohol industry. Simply Spiked recently expanded its lineup beyond lemonade to add a peach flavor, Bud Light Seltzer is using fruit juice for the first time in its new flavors and NÜTRL, a Anheuser-Busch brand, has seen sales of its vodka seltzer drink mixed with fruit juice, explode over the past year.

    In total, sales of premixed cocktails grew 42% last year to $1.6 billion, according to Distilled Spirits Council of the US because drinkers are loving the new flavors and convenience they offer.

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  • There’s a new Reese’s in town, hold the dairy | CNN Business

    There’s a new Reese’s in town, hold the dairy | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Vegan Reese’s are happening.

    Hershey, which makes Reese’s along with Hershey bars, Kisses and other chocolates and candies, announced two new dairy-free products on Tuesday: Reese’s plant-based peanut butter cups, and a vegan chocolate Hershey bar with almonds and sea salt, each made with oats instead of dairy and designed to taste like milk chocolate. The new Reese’s variety will be available nationally this month, and the new Hershey bar is arriving in April.

    The company is the latest to introduce a vegan chocolate in hopes that it will attract more customers. But Hershey is a little late to the game.

    Nestlé

    (NSRGY)     introduced KitKat V, a vegan version of the chocolate bar, in 2021. Mondelez

    (MDLZ)     acquired Hu, a company which makes vegan chocolate, that year, as well. Hershey also initiated a test of a version of its product in 2021.

    In prepared remarks discussing the company’s fourth-quarter results, CEO Michele Buck said that “better for you,” which includes plant-based items, presented an opportunity for the company and will “receive greater levels of support this year.”

    “We are excited to introduce these delicious, plant-based options,” Teal Liu, brand manager of Better For You at Hershey

    (HSY)    , said in a statement announcing the launch Tuesday, adding that the new products offer more options for “chocolate lovers looking for plant-based alternatives.”

    By focusing on vegan alternatives to milk chocolate, specifically, Hershey may have a better chance of setting its products apart from others in the market.

    “As the vegan chocolate space gets more crowded, claims beyond plant-based may be necessary,” Kelsey Olsen, consumer insights analyst for food & drink at market research firm MIntel, told CNN in an email. “While many plant-based items previously launched have been dark chocolate varieties, brands should explore the areas of plant-based milk chocolate and white chocolate.”

    Touting oat as an ingredient could also help.

    Confectioners “can take advantage of oat milk’s unique properties to appeal to a larger consumer base, whether vegan or not,” Olsen said.

    Chocolate as a category has been resilient in the past few years, with people reaching for treats during the stress of the early pandemic and seeing it as a relatively affordable splurge even as prices rise.

    But it’s not clear that an oat-based chocolate will do the trick. “The majority of consumers are not focused on added [better for you] components to chocolate,” Olsen noted in a Mintel report last year.

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  • This is the dynamic that could decide the 2024 GOP race | CNN Politics

    This is the dynamic that could decide the 2024 GOP race | CNN Politics

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    CNN
     — 

    The same fundamental dynamic that decided the 2016 Republican presidential primaries is already resurfacing as the 2024 contest takes shape.

    As in 2016, early polls of next year’s contest show the Republican electorate is again sharply dividing about former President Donald Trump along lines of education. In both state and national surveys measuring support for the next Republican nomination, Trump is consistently running much better among GOP voters without a college education than among those with a four-year or graduate college degree.

    Analysts have often described such an educational divide among primary voters as the wine track (centered on college-educated voters) and the beer track (revolving around those without degrees). Over the years, it’s been a much more consistent feature in Democratic than Republican presidential primaries. But the wine track/beer track divide emerged as the defining characteristic of the 2016 GOP race, when Trump’s extraordinary success at attracting Republicans without a college degree allowed him to overcome sustained resistance from the voters with one.

    Though the early 2024 polls have varied in whether they place Trump or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the lead overall (with the latest round tilting mostly toward Trump), that same overriding pattern of educational polarization is appearing in virtually all of those surveys, a review of public and private polling data reveals.

    “Trump does seem to have a special ability to make this sort of populist appeal [to non-college voters] and also have a special ability to make college-educated conservatives start thinking about alternatives,” GOP pollster Chris Wilson said in an email. “I think we’ll continue to see a big education divide in his support in 2024.”

    The stark educational split in attitudes toward Trump frames the strategic challenge for his potential rivals in the 2024 race.

    On paper, none of the leading candidates other than DeSantis himself seems particularly well positioned to threaten Trump’s hold on the non-college Republicans who have long been the most receptive audience for his blustery and belligerent messaging. By contrast, most of the current and potential field – including former Governors Nikki Haley and Chris Christie; current Governors Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Glenn Youngkin of Virginia; former Vice President Mike Pence; and Sen. Tim Scott – appear better suited to attract the white-collar Republicans who have always been the most skeptical of Trump.

    That could create a situation in which there’s too little competition to Trump for voters on the “beer track” and too many options splintering the voters resistant to him on the “wine track.” That was the dynamic that allowed Trump to capture the nomination in 2016 even though nearly two-thirds of college-educated Republicans opposed him through the primaries, according to exit polls, and he didn’t reach 50% of the total vote in any state until the race was essentially decided.

    While the political obstacles facing Trump look greater now than they were then, his best chance of winning in 2024 would likely come from consolidating the “beer track” to a greater extent than anyone else unifies the “wine track” – just as he did in 2016. In each of the past three contested GOP presidential primaries, the electorate have split almost exactly in half between voters with and without college degrees, analyses of the exit polls have found.

    “Right now, unless somebody cracks that code to get competitive with Trump there [among blue-collar Republican voters], it could fall into the old pattern which is the best scenario for him,” said long-time GOP strategist Mike Murphy, who directed the super PAC for Jeb Bush in the 2016 race.

    Jennifer Horn, the former GOP state chair in New Hampshire, added that while Trump’s ceiling is likely lower than in 2016, he could still win the nomination with only plurality support if no one unifies the majority more skeptical of him. “He isn’t going to need 50% to win,” cautioned Horn, a leading Republican critic of Trump.

    The wine track/beer track divide has been a consistent feature of Democratic presidential primary politics since 1968. Since then, a procession of brainy liberal candidates (think Eugene McCarthy in 1968, Gary Hart in 1984, Paul Tsongas in 1992 and Bill Bradley in 2000) have mobilized socially liberal college-educated voters against rivals who relied primarily on support from non-college educated White voters and racial minorities (Robert F. Kennedy, Walter Mondale, Bill Clinton and Al Gore in those same races). In the epic 2008 Democratic primary struggle, the basic divide persisted in slightly reconfigured form as Barack Obama attracted just enough white-collar White and Black voters to beat Hillary Clinton’s coalition of blue-collar Whites and Latinos. Joe Biden in 2020 was mostly a beer track candidate.

    Generally, over those years, the educational divide had not been as important in Republican primary races. More often GOP voters have divided among primary contenders along other lines, including ideology and religious affiliation. Both the 2008 and 2012 GOP races, for instance, followed similar lines in which a candidate who relied primarily on evangelical Christians and the most conservative voters (Mike Huckabee in 2008 and Rick Santorum in 2012) ultimately lost the nomination to another who attracted more support from non-evangelicals and a broader range of mainstream conservatives (John McCain and Mitt Romney).

    The conservative columnist Patrick J. Buchanan, in his long-shot 1992 and 1996 bids for the GOP nomination, pioneered a blue-collar conservatism centered on unwavering cultural conservatism and an economic nationalism revolving around hostility to foreign trade and immigration. Huckabee and even more so Santorum advanced those themes, clearing a path that Trump would later follow – with a much harsher edge than either.

    In 2008, there was no educational divide in the GOP race: McCain won exactly the same 43% among Republican voters with and without a college degree, according to a new analysis of the exit poll results by CNN polling director Jennifer Agiesta. But by 2012, Santorum’s blue-collar inroads meant Romney won the nomination with something closer to the Republican equivalent of a wine-track coalition: Of the 20 states that conducted exit polls that year, Romney won voters with at least a four-year college degree in 14, but he carried most non-college voters in just 10.

    Wilson, the GOP pollster, said that an educational divide also started appearing around that time in other GOP primaries for Senate, House and governor’s races more frequently though by no means universally.

    “This wasn’t always the driving demographic or ideological difference in primaries before Trump,” Wilson said. “Sometimes a candidate [who] was particularly strong in sounding populist themes would create this type of gap, but often a more traditional issue difference either on social issues or on issues like tax increase votes or support for Obamacare or something adjacent to it would be a stronger signal in a primary.”

    In 2016, Trump turned this traditional GOP axis on its head. He narrowed the big divisions that had decided the 2008 and 2012 races. He performed nearly as well among voters who identified as very conservative as he did among those who called themselves somewhat conservative or moderate, according to a cumulative analysis of all the 2016 exit polls conducted by ABC’s Gary Langer. Likewise, Trump performed only slightly better among voters who were not evangelicals than those who were, Langer’s analysis found.

    Instead, Trump split the GOP electorate along the wine-track/beer-track divide familiar from Democratic primary contests over the previous generation. According to Langer’s cumulation of the exit polls, Trump won fully 47% of GOP voters without a four-year college degree – an incredible performance in such a crowded field. Trump, in stark contrast, carried only 35% of Republican voters with at least a college-degree across the primaries overall. But the remainder of them dubious of him never settled on a single alternative. Sen. Ted Cruz, who proved Trump’s longest-lasting rival, captured only about one-fourth of the white-collar GOP voters, with the rest splitting primarily among Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Trump himself.

    In October 2015, I wrote that Trump’s emerging strength in the GOP nomination race could be explained in two sentences: “The blue-collar wing of the Republican primary electorate has consolidated around one candidate. The party’s white-collar wing remains fragmented.” That same basic equation held through the primaries and largely explained Trump’s victory. The question now is whether it could happen again.

    There’s no question that some of the same ingredients are present. Recent national polling by the non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute, according to detailed results shared with CNN, shows that Republicans without a college degree are more likely than those with advanced education to agree with such core Trump themes as the belief that discrimination against Whites is now as big a problem as bias against minorities; that society is growing too soft and feminine; and that the growing number of immigrants weakens American society.

    The educational divide is also appearing more regularly in other GOP primaries for offices such as senator or governor, especially in races where one candidate is running on a Trump-style platform, Republican strategists say. It is also reappearing in polls measuring GOP voters’ early preferences for 2024. Recent national polls by Quinnipiac University, Fox News Channel and Republican pollsters including Whit Ayres, Echelon Insights and Wilson have all found Trump still running very strongly among Republicans without a college degree, usually capturing more than two-fifths of them, according to detailed results provided by the pollsters. But those same surveys all show Trump struggling with college-educated Republican voters, usually drawing even less support among them than he did in 2016, often just one-fourth or less.

    Wilson, for instance, said that in his national survey of prospective 2024 GOP voters, Trump’s support falls from about half of those with a high school degree or less, to about one-third of those with some college experience, one-fourth of those with a four-year degree and only one-fifth of those with a graduate education. In a recent national NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll, half of Republicans without a college degree said nominating Trump again would give the party the best chance of winning in 2024; two-thirds of the Republicans with degrees said the party would have a better chance with someone else.

    State polls are showing the same pattern. The latest University of New Hampshire survey showed Trump attracting about two-fifths of GOP voters there without a high school degree, about one-third of those with some college experience, and only one-sixth of those with a four-year or graduate degree. A recent LA Times/University of California (Berkeley) survey in that state produced very similar results. Trump also ran much better among Republicans without a degree than those with one in the latest OH Predictive Insights primary poll in Arizona, according to detailed results provided by the firm.

    Craig Robinson, the former GOP state party political director in Iowa, said he sees the same divergence in his daily interactions. “The people that I hang out with or have breakfast with on Saturday, it’s the more business, more educated guys, and they are like, ‘Hey, we just want to move on [from Trump],’” Robinson told me. “But if I go back home to rural Iowa, they are not like that. They are looking for the fighter; they are looking for the person that they think will stand up for them and that’s Trump by and large.”

    Republicans who believe Trump is more vulnerable than in 2016 largely point to one reason: the possibility that DeSantis could build a broader coalition of support than any of Trump’s rivals did then. In many of these early state and national polls, DeSantis leads Trump among college educated voters. And in the same polls, DeSantis is generally staying closer to Trump among non-college voters than anyone did in 2016. “DeSantis may be able to do some business there,” said Murphy, referring to the GOP’s blue-collar wing.

    When DeSantis spoke on Sunday at the Ronald Reagan presidential library about an hour northwest of Los Angeles, he smoothly displayed his potential to bridge the GOP’s educational divide. For the first part of his speech, he touted Florida’s economic success around small government principles – a message that could connect with white-collar GOP voters drawn to a Reaganite message of lower taxes and less regulation. In the speech’s later sections, DeSantis recounted his clashes with what he called “the woke mind virus” over everything from classroom instruction about race, gender and sexual orientation, to immigration and crime and his collisions with the Walt Disney Co. Those issues, which drew the biggest response from his audience, provide him a powerful calling card with GOP voters, especially those without degrees, drawn to Trump’s confrontational style, but worried he can’t win again.

    “There is a lot of energy in the party right now around these cultural issues,” said GOP consultant Alex Conant, who served as the communications director for Marco Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign. “If you watch Fox prime time, they are not talking about tax cuts and balancing budgets. They talk about the same cultural issues that DeSantis is putting at the core of his campaign.”

    The risk to DeSantis is that by leaning so hard into cultural confrontation on so many fronts he could create a zero-sum dynamic in the race. That approach could allow him to cut into Trump’s blue-collar base, but ultimately repel some college educated primary voters, who view him as too closely replicating what they don’t like about Trump. (If DeSantis wins the nomination, that same dynamic could hurt him with some suburban voters otherwise drawn to his small government economic message.)

    That could leave room in the top tier of the GOP race for another candidate who offers a sunnier, less polarizing message aimed mostly at white-collar Republicans. “I think there is absolutely room for more than two candidates, especially two candidates who are both competing very hard for the Fox News audience,” Conant said. Almost anyone else who joins the race beyond Trump and DeSantis (assuming he announces later this year) may ultimately conclude that lane represents their best chance to win.

    In many ways, Trump looks more vulnerable than he did in the 2016 primary. But assembling a coalition across the GOP’s wine-track/beer-track divide that’s broad enough to beat him remains something of a Rubik’s Cube, and the countdown is starting for the field that’s assembling against him to solve it.

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  • Molson Coors’ funny ad went too far, regulator says | CNN Business

    Molson Coors’ funny ad went too far, regulator says | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Beer ads try to be funny, but a regulatory group has determined that Molson Coors went too far with a recent ad that compares rivals’ light beer to water.

    The National Advertising Division, which is part of the Better Business Bureau, sided with Anheuser-Busch, which challenged a 2022 ad for Miller Lite that uses the phrase “light beer shouldn’t taste like water, it should taste like beer.” The agency said that Molson Coors should “discontinue” the ad because is “not puffery or a mere opinion.”

    In the 15-second spot, a cyclist takes a break from riding uphill, cracks open a beer and douses himself with it. No specific beers were mentioned, however the beer uses a similar blue color that adorns Bud Light packaging. NAD said that it “determined that tasting ‘like water’ is a measurable attribute” and that customers might “reasonably expect that the statement is supported by such evidence.”

    NAD said the ad should be discontinued because Molson Coors “did not submit evidence supporting the claim that any other light beers ‘taste like water.’”

    In response, Anheuser-Busch said it “appreciates” NAD’s decision.

    “True stewards of the beer industry should be working together to strengthen the beer category instead of resorting to misleading attacks that denigrate products enjoyed by millions of beer drinkers,” an Anheuser- Busch spokesperson said in a statement.

    Molson Coors is appealing the decision, saying it “vehemently disagrees with this decision because we believe light beer should taste like beer, not water, and we are well within our right to share that belief.” A spokesperson also questioned to Anheuser-Busch’s “sudden concern” with the ad since it hasn’t aired since last August.

    NAD’s decisions aren’t legally binding, however most advertisers comply with their decision. If an advertiser doesn’t comply, the ads are referred to the Federal Trade Commission for further scrutiny.

    This isn’t the first time Molson Coors and Anheuser-Busch, which are the top-selling beer makers in the US, have challenged each other. Molson Coors sued Anheuser-Busch in 2019 over Super Bowl ads that accused the Miller Lite and Coors Light maker for saying its beer was sweetened with rice rather than corn syrup. The case was dismissed.

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  • It’s never been this warm in February. Here’s why that’s not a good thing | CNN

    It’s never been this warm in February. Here’s why that’s not a good thing | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    As parts of the West and Northern US face a winter storm with blizzard conditions and significant snowfall, much of the rest of the country is experiencing a summer-like heat that has never been felt before during the month of February.

    More than 130 cities from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes could set new records for daily and monthly high temperatures this week. Highs will climb up to 80 degrees as far north as Ohio and West Virginia — certainly unusual, but becoming less so in the warming climate.

    Here’s a stark example: Before this decade, Charleston, West Virginia, had only hit 80 degrees before March three times in more than 100 years of record-keeping. But this week’s incredible warmth will mean that four of the last six years will have logged temperatures of 80 degrees, which is its normal high on June 1, in February.

    Record warmth in February — a time that’s supposed to still feel like winter — might not sound like such a bad thing, but its negative consequences spread across the plant world, sports, tourism and agriculture. And it is another clear sign that our planet is warming rapidly, experts say.

    “Whenever we get these events, we should always be thinking there’s the possibility or likelihood that human-induced climate change is increasing the likelihood of strange weather,” Richard Seager, climate researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, told CNN. “The more it goes on, the more they can bring such tremendous damage.”

    A satellite image taken on February 13 shows just around 7% of the Great Lakes are covered in ice -- significantly lower than average for this time of year.

    On the Great Lakes, ice coverage reached a record low for this time of the year — the same time that the annual maximum extent of ice usually occurs. As of last week, only 7% of the five freshwater lakes were covered in ice, a sharp difference from the 35 to 40% ice cover typically expected in mid-to-late February, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

    Great Lakes ice is on a downward trend, NOAA scientists report. A recent study found a 70% decline in the lakes’ ice cover between 1973 and 2017.

    The decline in Great Lakes ice each winter may not seem like it has any harmful impact, but that ice acts as a buffer for large, wind-driven waves in the winter, scientists have reported. Without the ice, the coastlines are more susceptible to erosion and flooding.

    Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome, a research scientist at NOAA’s Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research at the University of Michigan, said low ice coverage could also set the stage for another severe lake-effect snow storm like the one Buffalo, New York, experienced in December.

    “The moisture and heat from the lake surface water are absorbed into the atmosphere by storm systems, and then fall back to the ground as snow in the winter,” Fujisaki-Manome said in a statement.

    The Lake Champlain shoreline on February 16. The lake near the access area is covered with ice, but officials are warning anglers to stay off the lake because unseasonably warm temperatures have made it unsafe.

    The thin ice has already had deadly consequences in New England.

    At Vermont’s Lake Champlain, the annual ice fishing tournament was cancelled last weekend when three fishermen died after falling through the ice. One man’s body was found hours after he was expected to return home from the lake, while the other two died after their utility vehicle broke through the ice.

    Montpelier, Vermont, had its warmest January on record this year since 1948, with Burlington recording its fifth warmest January since 1884, according to the Burlington National Weather Service.

    Robert Wilson, a professor of geography and environment at Syracuse University, said the Northeast as a whole is now a “fast-warming region,” with winter seasons warming faster than summers due to the climate crisis.

    And he underscored how this trend is threatening some of New England’s most cherished winter activities.

    “In coming decades, winter — as most people understand it — will get shorter and warmer, with less snow and more rain,” Wilson said. “This poses a serious threat to winter recreation: snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and downhill skiing.”

    Daffodils bloom in Norfolk, Virginia, on Tuesday.

    Plants are blooming way earlier than usual across much of the country, a clear sign that spring is either right around the corner — or it has already arrived, in some places.

    “Spring is coming early in much of the Southern and Eastern US,” Brad Rippey, meteorologist with the US Department of Agriculture, told CNN. “Here in the mid-Atlantic, that means everything from budding trees to crocuses in bloom to spring peepers making lots of noise — and in February, no less.”

    Many plants species — including daffodils, witch-hazel, forsythia and even cherry blossoms — are beginning to leaf out in the East. Theresa Crimmins, director of the USA National Phenology Network, said it’s the plants responding to very early warm temperatures.

    “Plants, especially those of temperate systems, respond to a number of cues in order to wake up in the spring, including exposure to chill in the winter, exposure to warmth in the spring, and day length,” she told CNN.

    Dead or dying peach trees at Carlson Orchards in Massachusetts. Temperatures dropped below freezing in recent weeks, after abnormal warmth in January, threatening the crop.

    If another cold snap occurs after an early warm spell, Crimmins said it could be disruptive and damaging for the plants’ cycle. As flower buds develop, many species lose their ability to tolerate cold temperatures, which means a freeze could kill blooms and leave fruit crops and other commodities vulnerable to spring freezes.

    Rippey said warm winters followed by a spring freeze has become more common in recent years. In 2017, for instance, a severe spring freeze in March damaged several fruit crops — peaches, blueberries, apples and strawberries — in states including Georgia and South Carolina, which carried an economic toll of roughly $1.2 billion.

    “As nice as it feels to have temperatures in the 70s and 80s this time of year, the fact that it’s not ‘normal’ can have a profound impact on the ecosystem,” Rippey said. “Even a typical spring freeze can damage commercial and back-yard fruit crops that have been pushed into blooming by late-winter warmth.”

    India issued its first heatwave alert, with temperatures in some states reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit) – up to 9 degrees Celsius (16.2 Fahrenheit) above normal, according to data released by the India Meteorological Department on Monday.

    “The heatwave warnings as early as February is a scary situation,” Krishna AchutaRao, a professor at the Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, told CNN.

    It has raised fears of a repeat of last year’s deadly heatwave, which scorched swaths of India and Pakistan.

    Blistering heat has devastating consequences for people’s health, for water supplies and for crops; last year, crop yields were reduced by as much as a third in some parts of the country. As temperatures soared last spring, India banned exports of wheat, dashing hopes that the world’s second-largest wheat producer would fill the supply gap caused by the war in Ukraine.

    Commuters cover their faces with clothes to protect themselves from sun as temperatures soar in Hyderabad, India, on Wednesday.

    This February, with high temperatures hitting wheat-producing states, including Rajasthan and Gujarat, India has set up a committee to monitor the impact of rising temperatures on the crop, according to Reuters.

    Europe, too, has seen unusually high temperatures, kicking off 2023 with an extreme winter heatwave that broke January temperature records in several countries. Low levels of snow and rainfall have fueled concerns about the region’s rivers and lakes.

    The River Po, which winds through northern Italy’s agricultural heartland, fed by snow from the Alps and rainfall in the spring, is at very low levels, while water in Lake Garda in northern Italy has reached record lows. There are fears Italy, which declared a state of emergency last year after its worst drought in 70 years, may face another drought.

    The unusually warm weather has also left ski resorts across the Alps with little or no snow. In February, top skiers wrote an open letter to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation demanding action on the climate crisis.

    “The seasons have shifted,” they wrote. “Our sport is threatened existentially.”

    While ski resorts have adapted to warming by relying on artificial snow – a process that uses a lot of water and energy – Wilson noted that resorts would still need cold nighttime temperatures to make it.

    “The long-term survival of skiing and other winter recreation will depend on nations lowering their carbon emissions to avoid the more dire consequences and severe warming in the future,” he said.

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  • Why UK supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables | CNN Business

    Why UK supermarkets are rationing fruit and vegetables | CNN Business

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    Major UK supermarkets have started rationing the sale of some staple fruits and salad vegetables, blaming poor weather that has depressed production in Spain and north Africa.

    Tesco

    (TSCDF)    , the UK’s biggest supermarket, confirmed to CNN Wednesday that it had temporarily capped the number of packs of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers to three per customer.

    Asda told CNN that it was temporarily limiting purchases of some items to three packs per customer. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce.

    “Like other supermarkets, we are experiencing sourcing challenges on some products that are grown in southern Spain and north Africa,” an Asda spokesperson said.

    Morrisons told CNN that it had imposed a cap of two packs per customer on tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and lettuce. Aldi, a German discount grocery chain, announced Wednesday that it would also introduce a limit of three packs per person on peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes in its UK stores.

    Asda, Morrisons and Aldi are Britain’s third-, fourth- and fifth-biggest supermarket chains respectively, according to market share data from Kantar.

    Sainsbury’s

    (JSAIY)    , the United Kingdom’s second-largest food retailer, told CNN it had no plans to ration the sale of fruit and vegetables.

    The rationing is another knock for British shoppers already grappling with record grocery price rises, which have inflamed the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades.

    In the four weeks to January 22, food price inflation hit 16.7%, according to Kantar. That’s its highest level since the data company started tracking the indicator in 2008.

    “The more we face shortages, the more it will drive food inflation,” Minette Batters, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), which represents more than 46,000 farming and growing businesses, told the BBC Wednesday.

    A spokesperson for the UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement: “We understand public concerns around the supply of fresh vegetables. However, the UK has a highly resilient food supply chain and is well-equipped to deal with disruption.”

    So what explains the empty shelves?

    Asda and Morrisons pointed the finger at poor weather in key growing regions as the main driver of the shortages.

    Andrew Woods, a sub-editor at Mintec, a commodities data company, told CNN that hotter-than-average weather in Spain and Morocco last fall, combined with a cold snap over the past two weeks, had hit production.

    The tomato crop in southern Spain is 20% smaller than a year ago, he said.

    The poorer harvests are problematic for UK retailers, reliant as they are on imports to fill their stocks at this time of year.

    According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), a trade group, UK supermarkets import 95% of their tomatoes and 90% of their lettuce in December, and typically import the same proportions in March.

    James Bailey, executive director of supermarket Waitrose, told LBC radio Monday that snow and hail in Spain, as well as hail in parts of north Africa, had “wip[ed] out a large proportion” of key crops.

    The high-end supermarket chain told CNN that it was “monitoring the situation” but had no plans to introduce rationing.

    “Give it about [two weeks] and the other growing seasons in other parts of the world will have caught up and we should be able to get that supply back in,” Bailey added.

    The BRC also says it expects the current disruption to last a few weeks before home-grown produce arrives to fill the gaps on UK store shelves.

    “Supermarkets are adept at managing supply chain issues and are working with farmers to ensure that customers are able to access a wide range of fresh produce,” Andrew Opie, the BRC’s director of food and sustainability, told CNN.

    High input costs have contributed to the shortages of fruit and vegetables, the NFU says, as well as reduced production across the farming sector more broadly.

    “Labor shortages and soaring energy prices are hitting the poultry industry, already reeling from avian influenza, as well as horticultural businesses and pig farms,” Batters said in a speech Tuesday.

    The price of natural gas — a key input for nitrogen-based fertilizers — shot up following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year. Though gas prices have fallen back in recent weeks, they are still triple their historical average, while fertilizer costs are up 169% since 2019, Batters noted.

    Empty fruit and vegetable shelves at an Asda store in London on February 21, 2023.

    According to the NFU, the production of tomatoes and cucumbers is expected to fall to the lowest levels since the union started keeping records in 1985, on the back of crippling input costs.

    Woods at Mintec said processing and storing vegetables, such as tomatoes, was “energy intensive.”

    Europe, too, has wrestled with many of the same problems in recent months.

    “Across Europe, supplies [of tomatoes] are reportedly tight, and growers continue to grapple with higher fertilizer, energy and labor costs,” Mintec said in a note.

    Yet, currently, there are few indications — in media reports or on social media — that retailers in other countries are rationing sales.

    But Defra said in its statement Wednesday that “similar disruption is also being seen in other countries,” and that it was helping UK growers by expanding a visa scheme for seasonal workers to fill labor gaps.

    UK supermarkets have not cited Brexit as a reason for the supply crunch. But the NFU and some campaign groups argue that it has worsened labor shortages.

    Direct subsidy payments to UK farmers from the European Union are being phased out, which has increased uncertainty for farmers, Batters said in her speech. The United Kingdom plans to fully implement its own subsidy scheme by 2024.

    — Julia Horowitz contributed reporting.

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  • 145,000 cans of Enfamil ProSobee infant formula recalled over bacterial risk | CNN

    145,000 cans of Enfamil ProSobee infant formula recalled over bacterial risk | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Reckitt, one of the main formula manufacturers in the US, said Monday that it is recalling two batches of Enfamil ProSobee Simply Plant-Based Infant Formula because of possible cross-contamination with Cronobacter sakazakii bacteria.

    The recall is being conducted out of an abundance of caution, the company says, as tests of the product have been negative for the bacteria and no illnesses have been reported.

    Reckitt is recalling about 145,000 12.9-ounce cans of formula manufactured between August and September and distributed to stores across the US, Guam and Puerto Rico. They have a use-by date of March 1, 2024, on the bottom, along with the codes ZL2HZF or ZL2HZZ.

    Consumers should throw out these products or return them to the place of purchase for a refund. No other ProSobee or Reckitt products are affected.

    The company says that the cause of the issue “was linked to a material from a third party” and that it has taken “all appropriate corrective actions, including no longer sourcing this material from the supplier.”

    Cronobacter was behind a recall of Abbott Nutrition formula last year that exacerbated a nationwide shortage. Cronobacter infections are rare, but they can be serious and even fatal, especially in newborns. The bacteria lives in the environment, but infections in infants are often linked to powdered formula.

    The US Food and Drug Administration received reports of four Cronobacter illnesses and two deaths in three states last year. The infants had all consumed powdered formula made at Abbott’s Sturgis, Michigan, plant. The FDA identified Cronobacter in the plant, but genetic testing did not match it to the sick babies.

    In the wake of the recall and shortage, the FDA said it is working on a plan to enhance its surveillance of baby formula for Cronobacter.

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  • Mars Wrigley fined after two workers fell into a tank of chocolate | CNN Business

    Mars Wrigley fined after two workers fell into a tank of chocolate | CNN Business

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    London
    CNN
     — 

    US regulators have fined Mars Wrigley, the maker of Snickers and Skittles, after two workers fell into a tank of chocolate at its Pennsylvania factory last June.

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the confectionery and chewing gum maker $14,500 for the incident, which it described as “serious” in a report.

    “Employees of an outside employer, I.K. Stoltzfus Service Corp., cleaned tanks, including the Dove chocolate batching 20 micron tank, owned by the onsite/host employer, Mars Wrigley,” the report said.

    Mars Wrigley failed to provide the contractors with adequate safety training, the document added.

    According to Penn Live, a local news site, firefighters rescued the workers by drilling a hole in the bottom of the tank and pulling them out. The chocolate was about waist-high, it reported.

    Mars Wrigley did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment.

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  • Trader Joe’s asked customers to rank their nine top products. Here they are | CNN Business

    Trader Joe’s asked customers to rank their nine top products. Here they are | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Trader Joe’s asked its customers a simple question: If you were to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island, which nine Trader Joe’s products would you take with you?

    More than 18,000 customers responded to its 14th annual survey ranking the grocery store’s most popular items in nine different categories.

    There were some caveats this year: Gone from the running were five products that have won many times in the past (think Mandarin Orange Chicken and dark chocolate peanut butter cups), and instead are featured in its Product Hall of Fame.

    The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena, California, in 1967. Its founder Joe Coulombe (yes, Joe was a real guy), was a convenience store owner who wanted to open a grocery chain to appeal to a niche market of well-educated, well-traveled consumers. The idea led him to create a cult-favorite grocery empire.

    Here are the products customers voted their favorites, in categories from cheese to entrees.

    Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, spicy corn chips, swept the competition this year, taking home the top prize. Runners-up included the hash browns, chicken soup dumplings, Everything but the Bagel sesame seasoning blend, and chocolate croissants.

    See the all-time favorites included in Trader Joe’s Hall of Fame

    The chips also won in the poll’s favorite snack category. Customers were also fans of the Organic Elote Corn Chip Dippers, Organic Corn Chip Dippers, World’s Puffiest White Cheddar Corn Puffs and Crunchy Curls, which were all among the top vote-getters.

    The Sparkling Honeycrisp Apple Juice was the fans’ favorite beverage, though it is seasonal. The canned drink is a simple three-ingredient blend of apple juice, water and bubbles.

    Following is the Triple Ginger Brew, Sparkling Peach Black Tea with peach juice, Sparkling Cranberry & Ginger Beverage and the Non-Dairy Brown Sugar Oat Creamer.

    Trader Joe's Cheddar Cheese with Caramelized Onions

    Now that Hall of Famer Unexpected Cheddar is no longer an option in the poll, the store’s cheddar cheese with caramelized onions took home top accolades.

    See the full list of customer choice award winners

    Runners-up included Syrah Soaked Toscano, seasonal Baked Lemon Ricotta, Blueberry & Vanilla Chèvre and its various bries.

    Replacing the longtime Mandarin Orange Chicken is Trader Joe’s Butter Chicken – spiced chicken in a tomato and cream sauce with basmati rice.

    Indian is popular with Trader Joe’s customers. Second runner-up was Chicken Tikka Masala, followed by Kung Pao Chicken, Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese and BBQ Teriyaki Chicken.

    Seasonal candles won out in this category. Its seasonal scents include Peony Blossom, Cedar Balsam, Honeycrisp Apple and Vanilla Pumpkin.

    Runners-up: Daily Facial Sunscreen, Ultra-Moisturizing Hand Cream, Tea Tree Tingle Shampoo & Conditioner, and Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Mask.

    Unsurprisingly, customers voted bananas as their top choice. The chain is known for its 25-cent organic bananas and 19-cent regular bananas. Following choices were Teeny Tiny Avocados, Honeycrisp Apples, Brussels Sprouts and Organic Carrots of Many Colors.

    The tiny and crunchy Hold the Cone! Mini Ice Cream Cones won top dessert, followed by Danish Kringle, Sublime Ice Cream Sandwiches, Chocolate Lava Cakes and Brookie.

    Trader Joe's Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto spread onto a grilled Portabella mushroom burger, topped with roasted red peppers and fresh greens

    Among its many vegan and vegetarian options, the Vegan Kale, Cashew & Basil Pesto came out on top. Vegetable Fried Rice, Beefless Bulgogi, Palak Paneer, Cauliflower Gnocchi followed.

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  • Madison Square Garden CEO doubles down on use of facial recognition tech | CNN Business

    Madison Square Garden CEO doubles down on use of facial recognition tech | CNN Business

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    CNN
     — 

    The chief executive of the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corporation has doubled down on using facial recognition at its venues to bar lawyers suing the group from attending events.

    Speaking to Fox 5 on Thursday, MSG Executive Chairman and CEO James Dolan said Madison Square Garden is a private company and therefore entitled to determine who is allowed to enter its venues for events.

    “At Madison Square Garden, if you’re suing us, we’re just asking of you – please don’t come until you’re done with your argument with us,” he said. “And yes, we’re using facial recognition to enforce that.”

    His comments come after New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday sent a letter to MSG Entertainment requesting information regarding its use of facial recognition technology to prohibit legitimate ticketholders from entering venues. The letter said the attorney general’s office has reviewed reports MSG Entertainment has used facial recognition to identify and deny entry to multiple lawyers affiliated with law firms involved in ongoing litigation with the company. The letter indicates thousands of attorneys from around 90 law firms may have been impacted by the policy, and said the ban includes those holding season tickets.

    The attorney general’s letter raised the concern that banning individuals from accessing venues over ongoing litigation may violate local, state, and federal human rights laws, including laws prohibiting retaliation. The letter also questions whether the facial recognition software used by MSG Entertainment is reliable and what safeguards are in place to avoid bias and discrimination.

    In a press release, James said, “MSG Entertainment cannot fight their legal battles in their own arenas. Madison Square Garden and Radio City Music Hall are world-renowned venues and should treat all patrons who purchased tickets with fairness and respect. Anyone with a ticket to an event should not be concerned that they may be wrongfully denied entry based on their appearance, and we’re urging MSG Entertainment to reverse this policy.”

    MSG Entertainment owns and operates several venues in New York, including Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the Hulu Theater, and the Beacon Theatre. Madison Square Garden is the home of the New York Knicks, Rangers, professional boxing, and college basketball teams.

    In a statement Thursday, an MSG spokesperson told CNN, “To be clear, our policy does not unlawfully prohibit anyone from entering our venues and it is not our intent to dissuade attorneys from representing plaintiffs in litigation against us. We are merely excluding a small percentage of lawyers only during active litigation.”

    “Most importantly,” the spokesperson added, “to even suggest anyone is being excluded based on the protected classes identified in state and federal civil rights laws is ludicrous. Our policy has never applied to attorneys representing plaintiffs who allege sexual harassment or employment discrimination.”

    In the Fox 5 interview Thursday, Dolan said when the attorneys suing MSG finish their litigation, they will be welcome back to the venues. “If your next door neighbor sues you, if somebody sues you, right, that’s confrontational. It’s adversarial and it’s fine, people are allowed to sue,” he said. “But at the same time, if you’re being sued, right, you don’t have to welcome the person into your home, right?”

    Dolan defended the use of facial recognition technology, saying it’s useful for security and noting that he believes Madison Square Garden to be one of the safest venues in the country. “Basically, anytime that you go out in public, you’re on camera,” he said. “Believe me, you walk down the street, you’re on camera, you’re on 10 cameras. What facial recognition does is looks at, you know, recognizes your face, and says you know, are you someone who’s on this list.”

    Dolan claimed the State Liquor Authority has threatened MSG’s license over its use of facial recognition technology. The New York State Liquor Authority told CNN it issued a “letter of advice” to MSG, after receiving a complaint in mid-November over attorneys engaged in litigation against the company not being allowed to enter its premises.

    “After receiving a complaint, the State Liquor Authority followed standard procedure and issued a Letter of Advice explaining this business’ obligation to keep their premises open to the public, as required by the Alcoholic Beverage Control Law,” Joshua Heller, a State Liquor Authority spokesperson, told CNN.

    The SLA told CNN an investigation into the matter is “ongoing”.

    During the Fox interview, Dolan apparently threatened to shut down sales of liquor during an unspecified upcoming New York Rangers game, and said he would direct any upset patrons to the liquor authority to complain.

    Dolan also pushed back at the suggestion that he’s being “too sensitive.”

    “The Garden has to defend itself,” Dolan said. “If you sue us, right, you know we’re going to tell you not to come.”

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  • There’s actually a presale for Oreo’s newest flavor | CNN Business

    There’s actually a presale for Oreo’s newest flavor | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    In the past, Oreo has partnered with Lady Gaga, Pokémon and Ritz on new limited-time flavors. Now, it’s working with … itself. And Martha Stewart.

    The cookie brand’s latest limited-edition cookie is an Oreo stuffed with Oreos.

    Dubbed “the Most OREO OREO,” the cookie is made with the usual chocolate wafers, filled (to the “Most Stuf” extreme) with a creme that has Oreo bits mixed in, for a meta cookies-n-creme experience. The flavor is available for pre-sale through the Oreo website starting Tuesday, and will hit shelves at major retailers nationwide starting on January 30 for a suggested retail price of $4.99.

    The packages come with a QR code that allows buyers to access online games and chances to win prizes in the so-called Oreoverse — Oreo’s entrée into the metaverse, a virtual space where people interact through avatars. Those with VR headsets can use them to access the Oreoverse. Others can just use their phones or computers.

    For brands, the metaverse promises a whole new way to reach young customers, and Oreo isn’t the only brand trying to market to people using new online spaces.

    Coca-Cola

    (KO)     has paired its high-concept limited-edition flavors like Starlight, Byte and Dreamworld with online experiences including virtual concerts, digital outfits and custom places within video games like Fortnite. Kraft Heinz

    (KHC)     has placed Lunchable logos in Roblox, and Heinz-sponsored rest areas in Call of Duty.

    Oreo sees it as a new way to reach consumers, and for them to interact.

    Martha Stewart with the Most Oreo Oreo.

    “We love to create new opportunities for our fans to connect with each other,” said Julia Rosenbloom, Oreo’s senior brand manager, in a statement announcing the new flavor, noting “we’re so excited to enter the metaverse!”

    To help launch the Oreoverse, Oreo tapped Martha Stewart and Ryan McCallister, her gardener and quarantine buddy. On Monday, Stewart and McCallister will share their Oreoverse experiences on Oreo’s social media channels.

    Stewart also recently partnered with Tito’s Handmade Vodka on a tongue-in-cheek campaign that offers those observing dry January other ways to make use of vodka, llke putting a splash (or two) in a marinara sauce or deodorizing stinky boots.

    — CNN’s Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.

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  • Best drip coffee maker in 2023 | CNN Underscored

    Best drip coffee maker in 2023 | CNN Underscored

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    CNN
     — 

    There are so many brewing methods to choose from (French press, the currently trendy dalgona whipped, pour-over), but many coffee lovers still rely on the classic, automatic drip for their daily fix. That’s why we tested the best-rated drip coffee makers using a wide range of criteria (outlined below) over the course of several weeks. Bags upon bags of dark roast, light roast and medium roast coffee beans were ground and brewed. We made full carafes, half carafes and single cups. And we tasted the results black, with cow’s milk, almond milk, sweetened condensed milk, cold-brew strength over ice — you name it.

    Many, many pots of coffee later, we settled on four standout drip coffee machines.

    Best drip coffee maker overall

    The Braun KF6050WH BrewSense Drip Coffee Maker produced consistently delicious, hot cups of coffee, brewed efficiently and cleanly, from sleek, relatively compact hardware that is turnkey to operate, and all for a reasonable price.

    Runner-up with a modern bent

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_cuisinart product card

    This was, to our eye, the most handsome and minimally designed of the straightforward auto-brewers, delivering a clean, tasty cup. It lost first place only because the touchscreen may not be for every consumer, and brew time is significantly longer than the other machines we tried out.

    Luxury pick for the design-obsessed

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_moccamaster product card

    In just near five minutes, the Technivorm Moccamaster 59636 KBG Coffee Brewer turns out a whole pot of pretty perfectly brewed coffee, and the process is as entrancing as a targeted Netflix trailer.

    Best affordable drip coffee maker

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_mr coffee product card

    One of the cheapest options we tested, the Mr. Coffee 12-cup brewer is compact, simple to operate and yields a very competitive cup. ​

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_braun body

    We brewed countless pots of coffee with the BrewSense, ranging from light to dark roast, and each one yielded a strong, delicious cup with no sediment, thanks to the gold tone filter, designed to remove the bitterness from coffee as well reduce single-use paper-filter waste. The machine we tested was white — a nice option for those with a more modern kitchen design — but it also comes in black, and it’s compact enough to fit under the cabinets in a smaller space compared to some of the more cumbersome machines we tested.

    The BrewSense is straightforward to operate: It’s designed like a traditional automatic drip machine with manual operating buttons, but with a sleek, modern upgrade. The hardware is a sophisticated combination of brushed metal and plastic, with a glass carafe that feels comfortable in the hand.

    The BrewSense doesn’t have a lot of bells and whistles compared to some of the machines we tested, and that functional ease helped elevate it to the top of our list. You could unbox this machine, flush it through with water once, and be drinking a freshly brewed cup within 15 minutes, all without reading the manual. Brewing is also a nearly silent process, which can be pleasing on early mornings. Some consumers may want a machine loaded with special features, but for those who just want delicious, hot coffee every morning, without spending over a hundred bucks, this is your best bet.

    The BrewSense isn’t perfect: It’s not the fastest we tested — to brew a full pot of 12 cups took upwards of 11 minutes. And we found an annoying error in the instruction manual around how to program the clock (call us rigid, but we insisted on programming the time before using each of the machines!); the directions read to press and hold CLOCK and then SET, but that didn’t work. We had to simply press and hold the CLOCK button and then sort of trial and error our way through the hours and minutes. Meanwhile, the auto-program setup is not as obvious as we’d have liked; though once we got it, it worked like a dream. But otherwise, we found this machine intuitive and easy to operate even without the instruction manual.

    Cleanup could at times be a little messier than some of our other machines. The hot water comes up through the filter basket and spreads the grounds up to the top of the cone, and during one brewing, a tiny bit rose up outside the cone so the top of the brew apparatus needed a little wipedown. Overall, though, for less than $80, this machine delivers the best bang for your buck of anything on the market.

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_cuisinart body

    Coming in just a few points behind the Braun BrewSense was one of the three Cuisinart automatic drip machines we tested: the Touchscreen 14-Cup Programmable.

    We rated all three Cuisinarts highly, but the Touchscreen ranked highest for its combination of progressive design and everyday efficacy. All the Cuisinart products we encountered were well designed, but this one feels special, like when you unbox a brand-new Apple product: Its all-black, shiny surfaces and touchscreen control panel look and feel next-level for an everyday coffee maker (and the price, $235 at Macy’s, more than three times that of the Braun, reflects that).

    But this isn’t just a fancy, aesthetically pleasing machine: It brewed strong, delicious coffee that tasted cleanly filtered but rich. It’s also relatively easy to program and use, given its tech-centric platform. The touchscreen panel features cute little icons signifying one-touch commands to help customize your brew: If you like your coffee bolder, you can select the BOLD feature; if you’re brewing less than half a pot, select the 1 to 4 cups feature for a slower brew with the proper extraction time; adjust the hot plate temperature to low, medium or high; turn the audible brew-cycle-finished tone on or off.

    That tech-centric design is also one of the reasons this didn’t come in at number one, however. As exciting and different as it felt, we did feel that this machine — the only touchscreen model we tested — would feel less intuitive and more laborious than some consumers would want as part of their morning coffee routine. The touchscreen goes dark during the brew process, which yes, is nice-looking, but also feels a bit jarring, like you’re literally in the dark, asking yourself, “What’s going on? Is coffee brewing?” The settings and operating buttons are clear enough when illuminated, but it did take us a few times brewing to get used to how much pressure you need to apply with your fingertip to the touchscreen. We could easily think of people in our own lives who would be flummoxed by this machine if left alone with it and a bag of coffee — and for that, it lost a few points in functionality.

    Also, like its Cuisinart cousins we tested, this one’s a slower brewer. We clocked 11 minutes for eight cups, and if you’re watching your coffee maker brew like, well, a watched pot, it seems like it … takes forever. We understand the appeal of a slower brewing process (pour-over and Chemex fans, we hear you!), but 12 to 14 minutes for a full pot of coffee seems like a long time to wait when you’re thirsty for your morning Joe and you’re not doing it by hand. Finally, not everyone will want to spend more than $200 on a coffee maker. But many may.

    While some consumers might be flummoxed by the technology of this higher-end product, others will embrace it and make it a centerpiece of their kitchen, and rightly so. Form plus function equals morning happiness here.

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_moccamaster body

    We had heard about the Technivorm Moccaster, a machine beloved for its innovative and old-school industrial design, handmade and tested in the Netherlands since 1968, even before we received it for this story. Multiple friends reached out upon hearing that we were testing a Moccamaster, singing the brand’s praises, and one declared it superlative via Instagram DM: “Moccamaster? Test over!” And the Moccamaster arrives with its own best PR too. Its user manual applauds buyers: “Congratulations on your purchase of the World’s Finest Coffee Brewer!” (If you’re spending more than $300 on a coffee maker, perhaps the enthusiasm feels validating.)

    Once we got the apparatus set up — which takes a little focus and time, to be honest — it really did pay off, with possibly the most delicious, hot, fresh cup of coffee we have ever tasted from a home-brewed machine. What’s more, you barely have time to peruse the morning news headlines before the process is done. The Moccamaster brewed 10 cups in less than six minutes, and, on a second trial, six cups in under four minutes. The brew function is almost jarringly fast: Once you turn on the machine, the brewing starts immediately. Then, seeing the water heat in the tank and bubble up through the water transfer tube into the brewer was a throwback to middle-school science experiments in the most pleasing way, like if a lava lamp produced fresh hot coffee after a few mesmerizing undulations.

    We discovered much to love about the Moccamaster, but there also were elements we didn’t adore. Perhaps ironically, they’re about the design. Some love a more hands-on coffee-making process, but some might find that there are just too many moving parts here, literally. We needed to read the directions pretty closely to assemble the parts. Once assembled, and once we digested what was happening brew-process-wise, the machine became fairly easy to operate.

    But each time you use this machine, you have to take the brew basket apart to add a new paper filter (yes, it requires a paper filter, if that makes a difference to you) and coffee grounds, and that basket removal sometimes disrupts the outlet arm and the reservoir lid — not a huge deal, but it could feel like you have to put your coffee maker back together from scratch every morning. Also, the basket lid and outlet arm, through which the hot water travels from the tube to the brew basket, get very hot during the process. It’s fine if you’re aware and cautious, but you wouldn’t want someone to wander up and unknowingly touch the hot part of the brewer.

    And finally, perhaps our most significant beef with this model: When you return the glass carafe to hotplate in between pours, the glass scrapes the warmer in a slightly cringey way.

    The coffee that this striking machine yields, though, may diminish other distractions — we found ourselves moving this maker back to the kitchen counter time and again, because the brew process and its results were superior. If you, like us, are a fan of the Moccamaster, you’re likely to be one for many years to come, which will amortize the steep price tag accordingly.

    CNN Underscored_drip coffee makers_mr coffee body

    We won’t go on and on about the Mr. Coffee 12-Cup, but it brewed a very workable 12 cups, in both taste and temperature, in just nine minutes. The machine came packaged in some pretty intense plastic and cardboard — the unboxing took a full five minutes and a pair of scissors — but once separated from its packaging, this machine’s a breeze to put together. The hardware is very easy to use (and to program to brew at a specific time), even without reading the directions. It’s compact — one of the best small drip coffee makers we tested — and durable, and the lid, brew basket, carafe and removable top half are all dishwasher safe, which wasn’t common among the machines we tested.

    The testing process for these coffee makers was intensive, lasting more than a month. We evaluated each machine based on what would be most important to the user — namely, functionality, durability and design. We tested each machine at least twice (but four to eight times for some) with both dark and light roast freshly ground beans, did a programmed/timed brew when available, and tested the additional functions of the more specialty machines (single-cup, cold brew, tea, milk frothing). We jotted notes about every machine’s unboxing, read every instruction manual, handled and rehandled the hardware, timed the brew of each machine, noted the temperature of the resulting coffee, and tasted and had others taste and weigh in on user experience. We tried to get as acquainted as possible with each of these machines, became fond of a good many of them — and as a result, we drank way too much coffee over the month in question.

    Read on for the categories and their breakdowns.

    Brew function

    • Optimal temperature: We didn’t take the actual temperature of the coffee from each machine, because we don’t think that’s how the average coffee drinker evaluates home brewing — experts recommend that coffee be brewed at between 195 and 205 degrees Fahrenheit, and served immediately, at 180 to 185 degrees — but we scored the perceived temp of each brew against all the others. We tasted each cup immediately after brewing, black, and then with added cold milk, and recorded the results.
    • Taste: The taste of coffee is, obviously, subjective. Two people could spend a lifetime tasting the different coffee varietals and never agree on one. That being said, we tested each machine with both a dark roast and a light roast, keeping the amount of grounds consistent to the machine’s directions. As a result, some machines that recommended using more grounds yielded stronger brews — in those instances, we retested those with less grounds accordingly.
    • Time to brew: For each carafe brewed, we timed the process on an iPhone timer, both for a full carafe and half. For those machines that made single cups, we timed that process as well.
    • Heat retention: We noted whether the machine brewed into a glass or a thermal carafe, and how hot the coffee remained a half hour to an hour after brewing.
    • User-friendliness: We did an initial scan of each machine, evaluating whether a new customer would be able to brew coffee without reading the instruction manual. We then assessed whether the design of each machine is immediately intuitive, and on a more micro level, assessed the settings and buttons on the face of the machine, the markings on the water tank and carafe, how easy the carafe is to fill, and the design of the brew basket.
    • Volume yield: We noted how many ounces each machine can brew.
    • Programmability: We recorded whether you can program the machine to brew at a set time.

    Durability

    • Everyday durability: For this category, we assessed how the machine responded to being handled during setup, filling the water tank, adding the grounds, removing and replacing carafe to serve, cleanup, and how durable the hardware felt.
    • Build quality: We noted what materials the machine is built from, e.g., plastic, metal, brushed metal, glass, and the tangible feel of each machine in a user’s hands.
    • Serviceability: We noted the ease of opening and taking apart the removable parts of each machine, in the case it would need to be serviced.

    Setup and breakdown

    • Ease of assembly: We observed how long it took to unbox the machine, put it together, and do an initial water flush before the product could be used.
    • Size of machine: We assessed how much counter space each machine took up, and how easy it is to move and store.
    • Ease of clean: After each brewing, we took note of how easy it was to clean the brew basket, the carafe, and the surrounding hardware.

    Aesthetic

    • First impression: We observed our first impression of each machine, noting details of design, color, size, feel — whether this machine looked attractive on our counter.
    • Color options: We researched if the machine came in any colors besides black.

    Warranty

    • We checked the number of years of warranty of each machine.

    Ninja Hot and Cold Brewed System ($179.99, originally $199.99; amazon.com)

    We tested two Ninja machines, both of which have some very appealing features. The hot and cold brew system brewed an excellent pot of hot coffee in less than five minutes, as well as a very tasty single cup (in multiple sizes), a less easy feat to perfect. It also brews coffee intended to be served directly over ice, an option that lots of consumers will like. We love the cool, minimalist glass carafe, though the lid features a big hole in the middle for pouring, which can lead to some splashing.

    This machine, though prolific in function, lost points because the water tank — plastic with prominent ridges — feels cheap and devolves the user experience a bit (with this machine, thankfully, the plastic tank is in the back, hidden from view, but does need to be handled every time you add water). Another problem with this machine: The water tank doesn’t have marking measurements, only half carafe, and full carafe, and two sizes of single cup. Without ounce or cup markings, how does one know how much water to add versus amount of coffee grounds? The Ninja machines come with a special-sized coffee scoop, different amounts on each end of the scoop, but it was bothersome that the water and the coffee amounts couldn’t be more standardized without relying only on the provided removable accessories (which, for the record, are cute — there’s a removable frothing wand). A lot of performance features with this machine also means a busy control panel that also feels a bit high-maintenance.

    Ninja Specialty Coffee Maker with Glass Carafe ($159.99; amazon.com)

    The Ninja Specialty is similar to the hot and cold brewed one, with one major difference: The water tank is adjacent to the brew basket, and visible to the eye. This one also brews a very nice cup of hot fresh coffee, and has nifty added functions, too, like myriad sizes of individual cups, half and full carafes, and an over-ice option. The placement of the water tank front and center here, though, makes this one less appealing than the hot and cold option; the tank, similarly, feels flimsy and cheap, a factor that’s difficult to overlook in user experience. For those who like the Ninja brand products (they make blenders and other items), though, there’s a lot of function for your buck here.

    Cuisinart PerfecTemp 14-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker ($99.95, originally $185; amazon.com)

    The most basic of the Cuisinart options we tested, this one brewed a nearly perfect cup at, for this reviewer, a perfectly hot temp (even after adding significant cold milk, we still had a steaming hot cup), thanks to an adjustable carafe temp. This machine is solid and well-designed, with one downside (for us): Brewing time was 14 minutes for eight cups, nearly double the time of some of the other brewers we tested.

    Cuisinart Coffee Center 10-Cup Thermal Coffee Maker and Single Serve Brewer ($200.98, originally $229; amazon.com)

    Our third Cuisinart brews only 10 cups into a thermal carafe, but has the handy bonus feature of a single-serve brew — with an attachment to use prepackaged coffee pods, or an adorable mini filter to use fresh grounds. (Note: The mini filter is a bit of a chore to clean because it is so small.) Like its Cuisinart siblings above, this machine makes good coffee, but the single-serve brewer does make the whole of the hardware more cumbersome. One annoying design issue: There’s an on/off switch on the side of the machine, whose placement feels not intuitive.

    Breville BDC450 Precision Brewer ($299.95; amazon.com)

    We were giddy upon opening this fancy brewer with much to offer: standard brew, fast, gold (what even is that, I wondered at first glance!), cold brew, single cup (with a sold separately attachment), and a customizable to your preferences setting. The options are exciting, but also overwhelming. The user is prompted to enter the consistency of their water, on a hard to soft scale — do all home coffee drinkers know the texture of their tap water? Also, does the average coffee drinker know what Gold Cup certification is? These feel like niche details for an automatic drip machine.

    Big picture, the Breville brewed a good pot of coffee, quite quickly, but we didn’t find it hot enough. The whole apparatus is beautifully designed, with sleek brushed metal and a lightweight, handsome carafe lovely enough to join a brunch table. But digging in further, we found this machine just to be … too much. Too much hardware — it doesn’t fit easily under our cabinets. Too many options — we needed to read up on a bunch of coffee wisdom before we could even set up the machine to our preferences. There are lots of users who would find this machine the sweet spot of function and sophistication, and enjoy exploring all of its specialties, but for those looking for turnkey coffee-making, this is a little extra.

    Black+Decker 12-Cup Programmable Coffeemaker, Black, CM1160B ($19.99; target.com)

    The most affordable automatic drip machine we tested, the Black & Decker 12-cup, is also a solid choice. It brewed eight tasty cups in eight short minutes — overall a good user experience. Hardware-wise, it felt a bit less durable than its closest rival, the Mr. Coffee, but it’s programmable and super easy for near the cost of two lattes with an extra shot.

    Bonavita Connoisseur 8-Cup One-Touch Coffee Maker ($145.99; amazon.com)

    The Bonavita Connoisseur has its fans, but we had multiple issues with the machine. This pleasingly retro-looking apparatus brews a nice cup quickly and at a good temperature, but the user experience leaves much to be desired. Simply put, the design feels flawed. The lid of the carafe needs to be removed before brewing, so the coffee just brews directly into a wide-open carafe — this was so counterintuitive to us, even after three or four brew tries, that it diminished the experience of the brew process. The brewer also gets very hot during brewing — so hot that we wondered if it might actually be a safety issue. Lastly, after brewing, we screwed the carafe lid back on and tried to return the carafe to underneath the brewer — sure, maybe we were still sleepy, maybe not enough caffeine yet — but the carafe doesn’t fit under the brewer with the lid on; the entire top of the machine popped off. This affects storage of the machine, too; because the carafe lid and the brew basket don’t both fit into the hardware at the same time, there’s always one piece loose.

    Read more from CNN Underscored’s hands-on testing:

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  • Myths and facts about treating a hangover | CNN

    Myths and facts about treating a hangover | CNN

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    Editor’s Note: Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN’s Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being.



    CNN
     — 

    Are you celebrating the first day of 2023 with a hangover?

    If so, you might be looking for a method to ease your misery. There are certainly a lot of so-called hangover cures, some dating back centuries.

    “The ancient Greeks believed that eating cabbage could cure a hangover, and the Romans thought that a meal of fried canaries would do the trick,” said Dr. John Brick, former chief of research at the Center of Alcohol Studies, Education and Training Division at Rutgers University in New Jersey, who authored “The Doctor’s Hangover Handbook.”

    “Today, some Germans believe that a hearty breakfast of red meat and bananas cures hangovers. You might find some French drinking strong coffee with salt, or some Chinese drinking spinach tea,” he said. “Some of the more unusual hangover cures are used by some people in Puerto Rico, who rub half a lemon under their drinking arm.”

    In truth, the only cure for a hangover is time, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

    “A person must wait for the body to finish clearing the toxic byproducts of alcohol metabolism, to rehydrate, to heal irritated tissue, and to restore immune and brain activity to normal,” according to the institute. That recovery process can take up to 24 hours.

    Are there things you can do to ease your transition? Possibly, experts say, but many common hangover “cures” may make your hangover worse. Here’s how to separate fact from fiction.

    Having another drink, or the “hair of the dog that bit you,” is a well-known cure for a hangover, right? Not really, experts say.

    The reason some people believe it works is because once the calming effects of alcohol pass, the brain on a hangover is overstimulated. (It’s also the reason you wake up in the middle of the night once your body has metabolized alcohol.)

    “You’ve got this hyperexcitability in the brain after the alcohol is gone,” said Dr. Robert Swift, a professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University’s Warren Alpert Medical School in Providence, Rhode Island.

    “If you look at the brain of somebody with a hangover, even though the person might feel tired, their brain is actually overexcited,” he said.

    Consuming more alcohol normalizes the brain again, “because you’re adding a sedative to your excited brain,” Swift said. “You feel better until the alcohol goes away and the cycle repeats in a way.”

    The answer is yes, depending on hangover symptoms, Brick said. If you’re a coffee drinker, skipping your morning cup of joe may lead to caffeine withdrawal on top of your hangover.

    But coffee can irritate the stomach lining, which is already inflamed by alcohol, Brick said. So if you are queasy and nauseous, coffee may only make matters worse.

    “If you have a hangover, have a quarter of a cup of coffee,” Brick suggested. “See if you feel better — it takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine to start to have some noticeable effect.

    “If coffee doesn’t make you feel better, don’t drink anymore. Obviously, that’s not the cure for your hangover.”

    Forget eating a greasy breakfast in the wee hours after a night of drinking — you’re adding insult to injury, Swift said: “Greasy food is harder to digest, so it’s probably good to avoid it.”

    Eating greasy food also doesn’t make much sense. The alcohol we drink, called ethyl alcohol or ethanol, is the byproduct of fermenting carbohydrates and starches, usually some sort of grain, grape or berry. While it may create some tasty beverages, ethanol is also a solvent, Brick said.

    “It cuts through grease in your stomach much the same way it cleans grease off oily car parts,” he said.

    Instead, experts suggest using food to prevent hangovers, by eating before you have that first drink.

    “Eating food loaded with protein and carbohydrates can significantly slow down the absorption of alcohol,” Brick said. “The slower the alcohol gets to your brain, the less rapid the ‘shock’ to your brain.”

    Alcohol dehydrates, so a headache and other hangover symptoms may be partly due to constricted blood vessels and a loss of electrolytes, essential minerals such as sodium, calcium and potassium that your body needs.

    If you’ve vomited, you’ve lost even more electrolytes, and all of this can lead to fatigue, confusion, irregular heart rate, digestive problems and more.

    Replacing lost fluids with water or a type of sports drink with extra electrolytes can help boost recovery from a hangover, Swift said.

    Taking over-the-counter pain meds can be dangerous, especially if you take too many while intoxicated, experts say. Taking an acetaminophen, such as Tylenol, can further damage your overtaxed liver, while aspirin and ibuprofen can irritate your stomach lining.

    “You should never, never take alcohol with acetaminophen or Tylenol,” Swift said. “You can actually cause liver damage from an overdose of Tylenol.”

    But aspirin, ibuprofen and naproxen are “theoretically” OK, he added.

    “Even though they tend to be anti-inflammatory in the body, they can cause inflammation in the stomach,” Swift said. “Don’t take them on an empty stomach; always take anti-inflammatories with food.”

    While most alcohol is handled by the liver, a small amount leaves the body unchanged through sweat, urine and breathing.

    Get up, do some light stretching and walking, and drink plenty of water to encourage urination, Brick said.

    “Before you go to sleep and when you wake up, drink as much water as you comfortably can handle,” he said. You can also take a multivitamin “before you hit the shower in the morning (to) replenish lost vitamins, minerals and other nutrients.”

    If you would rather have something warm and soothing, Brick suggested broth or other homemade soups.

    “These will also help to replace lost salts, including potassium and other substances,” he said, “but will not make you sober up faster or improve impairment due to intoxication or hangover.”

    Store shelves are packed with so-called hangover cures. Unfortunately, there’s no proof they work. In 2020, researchers published what they called the “world’s largest randomised double-blind placebo-controlled” trial of supplements containing vitamins, minerals, plant extracts and antioxidants and found no real improvement in hangover symptoms.

    Even if one solution works, it likely won’t fix all your symptoms, experts say.

    “The effects of alcohol and alcoholic beverages are so complicated, so complex,” Swift said, “that any solution might address one or two of the symptoms but won’t address them all.”

    What does work for a hangover? Time. It will take time for your body to release all the toxins causing your misery, experts say. And the only way to prevent a hangover is to abstain.

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  • The best food marketing stunts of the year | CNN Business

    The best food marketing stunts of the year | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN
     — 

    Comically oversized snack foods. A cocktail infused with processed cheese. And a fine dining establishment for feline lovers.

    In 2022, there were plenty of restaurants, food manufacturers and at least one artist collective that tried to break through with their shenanigans.

    These food stunts were often outrageous and sometimes regrettable. But only a few unleashed items that made us say, “wait, what? Why would you do that? Who would eat that?” And, occasionally: “that actually sounds pretty good.”

    Here’s what caught our attention this year.

    Over the summer, Kraft Heinz

    (KHC)     introduced a new cocktail: The Veltini, a martini made with Velveeta-infused vodka, olive brine and vermouth, garnished with Velveeta-stuffed olives and Velveeta-stuffed shells. The concoction was available for a limited time at BLT steakhouses in New York, Washington, D.C., Charlotte and elsewhere.

    The drink was part of Kraft Heinz’s broader efforts to reinvigorate the Velveeta brand after it saw sales of the processed cheese jump during the pandemic. To help Velveeta stage a comeback, the brand launched a new ad campaign, made tweaks to its logo and sold a cheese-scented nail polish.

    The Veltini made a splash, even though (or perhaps because) those brave enough to try it were unenthused.

    One Washington Post writer said it looked “like a deranged cheese monster, with olives as beady eyes and a dripping Velveeta cheese rim as a lopsided mouth.” The Today Show’s Hoda Kotb tried it on air, reluctantly, and was not a fan. “Yuck,” she said, “No, girl, no.” Her co-host, Jenna Bush Hager, said it wasn’t bad.

    This cereal is supposed to be eaten with orange juice.

    To be clear, this isn’t orange juice cereal: It’s cereal designed to be eaten with orange juice instead of milk. OJ-maker Tropicana sold the honey almond cereal for a limited time in May in honor of National Orange Juice Day.

    The brand acknowledged that people might not be into the combination. “Whether you hate it or love it, you won’t know until you try it,” Tropicana said. “It may not be for everyone.”

    One reviewer who gave the franken-breakfast a shot described it as “​​not bad,” adding “I can’t imagine eating a bowl of this every day.”

    Plus, she said, it didn’t taste like it was supposed to go with orange juice specifically. “There’s absolutely nothing different from other cereals.”

    Oscar Maye's

    In August, Oscar Mayer, also owned by Kraft Heinz, introduced the “Cold Dog”: A hot-dog flavored popsicle. The item was sold for a limited time at Popbar locations in New York City, New Orleans and elsewhere.

    The idea came from a June Instagram post by Oscar Mayer which asked followers whether the idea was “genius” or “stupid.” Comments on the post range from horrified to intrigued. Enough people were interested to give Oscar Mayer the green light.

    “After the overwhelming fan excitement for our beloved Cold Dog, it was a no-brainer to make this hot dog-inspired frozen pop a reality,” Anne Field, an Oscar Mayer spokesperson, said in a press release at the time.

    So how did it taste? In at least one reviewer’s opinion, pretty good.

    “I was beyond skeptical of how they could make a hot dog popsicle taste good. And somehow, they managed to do it!” according to a writer at Delish, who noted that Popbar uses gelato as the base for its pops. “The gelato is extremely creamy and has a strong smokey flavor that balances out the popsicle’s delicate sweetness. The sweet ‘mustard’ drizzle makes it taste more like a proper ice cream.”

    A Big Cheez-It is 16 times larger than a regular Cheez-It.

    In late June, Taco Bell tested out an item called a “Big Cheez-It Tostada.” As the name implies, it’s a tostada which used a Big Cheez-It — specifically, a Cheez-It 16 times larger than a regular one — as its base. The chain also tested out a “Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap Supreme,” which included the giant Cheez-It within the wrap.

    The items were available for a limited-time at one Taco Bell location. On July 3, within a week of the launch, Taco Bell reported that the items had already sold out. “The Big Cheez-It Tostada and Big Cheez-It Crunchwrap are in such Big demand that our limited offer is no longer available,” the chain said.

    Reviewers who tried the item were mixed. “Very cheesy, mmm” said one. Another concluded that “it’s not bad, it’s just weird.” Some noted that the Cheez-It, big though it may be, was not strong enough to maintain the weight of the toppings.

    A large Cheez-It was also utilized by Pizza Hut in 2019, when the pizza chain introduced its stuffed Cheez-It pizza. The limited-time item included “four baked jumbo squares” stuffed with cheese or pepperoni and cheese, and came with a side of marinara sauce for dipping.

    We're gonna need a bigger boat.

    Unlike the Big Cheez-It Tostada, the Big Froot Loop is an unauthorized creation, made by the artist collective MSCHF.

    The loop weighs nearly half a pound, is 930 calories and recently went on sale for $19.99. MSCHF tried to make the big loop taste as much as possible like the real thing, according to MSCHF’s co-founder Daniel Greenberg.

    “We look at things in culture and figure out how to make a twist on it,” Greenberg previously told CNN. The thinking behind the project was straightforward: “Let’s make a big f—ing fruit loop and that was it.” According to the MSCHF site, the item, which went on sale December 19, is already sold out.

    Kellogg’s, which makes actual Froot Loops, was not into it.

    “Kellogg Company does not have a relationship with MSCHF and we were not involved in the creation of the Big Fruit Loop,” Kellogg spokesperson Kris Bahner previously told CNN in a statement. “The campaign does not accurately depict the Kellogg’s brand.”

    Bahner added that “given the trademark infringement and unauthorized use of our brand, we have reached out to the company seeking an amicable resolution.”

    A dish at

    Over the summer, Fancy Feast invited people to answer the question: What does cat food taste like? Well, sort of.

    The cat food maker briefly opened a restaurant called “Gatto Bianco by Fancy Feast” in New York City in August. Gatto Bianco was open for just two nights, with four seatings per night.

    The restaurant dishes drew inspiration from Fancy Feast Medleys, cat food that is itself inspired by human food like salmon primavera and turkey florentine. The restaurant’s menu was created by Amanda Hassner, in-house chef for Fancy Feast, as well as restaurateur Cesare Casella, a Michelin star winner, according to a Fancy Feast press release.

    “Food has the power to connect us to others in meaningful ways and take us to places we have never been,” Hassner said in a statement at the time. “The same is true for our cats.”

    Hassner added that “the dishes at Gatto Bianco are prepared in ways that help cat owners understand how their cats experience food — from flavor, to texture, to form.” On the menu, according to OpenTable, were baked sea bass, spare ribs, salmon, braised beef and for dessert, panna cotta, almond cake and affogato.

    A Mashable reporter dined at the exclusive restaurant and reported that “the food is tasty,” and the atmosphere feline. “The design of the restaurant itself is practically an Instagram installation for the cat-obsessed, complete with ornate cat wallpaper, gold-embellished Fancy Feast cloth napkins, and cat art (as in, artwork of cats, not art made by cats).”

    Papa Bowls are all topping, no crust.

    As a permanent addition to the Papa Johns menu, the no-crust, toppings-only Papa Bowls are technically not a stunt.

    But the menu offering was so polarizing when it launched in August that we had to give it a nod.

    The bowls were devised to help combat pandemic-induced pizza fatigue by giving Papa Johns customers an option that was, let’s say, pizza adjacent. The company also hoped that the bowls would eliminate the “veto vote,” when a restaurant is ruled out because it doesn’t have enough options for everyone in the dining party.

    The bowls come in three varieties: Chicken Alfredo; Italian Meats Trio with pepperoni, sausage and meatballs; and Garden Veggie. There’s also a build-your-own option.

    The announcement made quite a splash. Comedian Jon Stewart, who has made repeated jabs at Arby’s, said he owed an apology to the chain upon seeing news of the Papa Bowl. At least one YouTube reviewer panned the bowls, saying it was gross and slimy. But some people thought it was a good idea.

    And during a November analyst call, Papa Johns CEO Rob Lynch said the bowls are “performing well and in line with our expectations.”

    — Zoe Sottile and CNN’s Jordan Valinsky contributed to this report.

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  • You may be seeing a more ‘woke’ Santa this Christmas | CNN

    You may be seeing a more ‘woke’ Santa this Christmas | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    On a frigid December night outside a suburban Chicago church, a group of parents and wide-eyed children line up to see Santa Claus.

    He awaits them with the classic St. Nick look: pink, cherubic cheeks, twinkling eyes, a gray beard and a plump belly – squeezed into a red suit with white fur trim – that shakes “like a bowl full of jelly” when he laughs.

    But when a thin teenager with ripped jeans, tousled hair and a gray hoodie sits down next to him, it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary Santa.

    “Nice to meet you. I’m Trans Santa,” he says. He looks at the teenager and asks: “Pronouns?”

    “They, them,” the teen answers, looking up with surprise.

    What follows is not a kid asking for toys or dolls, but a young person asking for help. They tell Santa their Christmas wish is to come out fully to their parents and dress in a way that conforms to their gender identity.

    Later, Santa sighs as if he was the one who was handed a gift.

    “That definitely was an emotional moment for me,” Levi Truax, the man in the Santa suit, told CNN. Truax lives in Chicago, works at Starbucks and himself transitioned in his late 30s. “That would have made a difference for me when I was a kid. Just having the knowledge to put a name to what I felt as a kid would have been really empowering.”

    This scene comes from “Santa Camp,” a moving new documentary film about this push for diversity. The film airs on HBO Max, which like CNN is owned by Warner Bros. Discovery.

    Santa Claus has traditionally been portrayed as a jolly, white guy, but Truax represents a push for diversity in the Santa industry that has accelerated in recent years. In some parts of the US, the traditional definition of Santa as a straight White guy who heads out to work while Mrs. Claus stays at home baking cookies just won’t fly anymore.

    Just as there’s been a campaign to include more characters of color and LGBTQ characters in comic books and fantasy television series, there’s also been a drive to broaden traditional representations of Santa. These efforts include a Tex-Mex Santa named Pancho Claus, Asian Santas, a “Sensory Santa” for kids with special needs, and a recent ad depicting Santa Claus in a gay relationship.

    And, of course, there are Black Santas, who are in such high demand that one such Santa said he earns up to $60,000 each holiday season.

    These nontraditional Saint Nicks represent a new type of Santa who, as one T-shirt proclaims, “knows when you aren’t sleeping and knows when you aren’t woke.”

    “Santa Camp” follows a group of professional and apprentice Santas and Mrs. Clauses as they attend a summer camp organized by the New England Santa Society. The group said they invited Trans Santa, a Black Santa, and a Santa with special needs in part because of market demand — some parents these days are looking for Santas their kids will relate to.

    “How can one of the most beloved traditions in the world find its place in a changing America, and can it adapt?” said Nick Sweeney, the film’s director. “I think what we see in the film is that the answer is yes.”

    What others see, though, is something more disturbing. They see diverse Santas as something that could harm and confuse kids while ruining a cherished holiday tradition. The Mall of America in Minnesota faced a backlash on social media after it featured a Black Santa at a holiday event in 2016.

    Some started using the term “woke Santa” after a mall Santa in Illinois two years ago refused a boy’s request for a toy gun for Christmas.

    Their defense of a White Santa is part of a larger backlash against what some call “wokeism.” Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “woke” as being “aware and actively attentive” to systemic racial injustice and prejudice. Some critics, though, have redefined the term to mean a silly, overindulgent bow to political correctness.

    Some of those critics staged a counter demonstration against Trans Santa’s appearance at the Chicago church, chanting, “Save Santa!” and yelling, “You sit on a throne of lies.” Others left messages on the church’s voicemail, saying transgender people have mental issues and threaten the safety of children.

    A Santa Claus attending a Toys For Tots program on December 15, 2021 in New York City.

    Resistance to a more diverse Santa has been simmering for years alongside some conservatives’ complaints about the so-called secular “War on Christmas.” In 2013 former Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly declared that Santa, and Jesus, were white. One conservative blogger dismissed calls for a Black Santa, saying Santa should remain White because the origins of his legend reside in Northern Europe.

    “The real reason why black left-wingers object to a white Santa is that they are determined to condition black children to distrust white people and they cannot live with the image of our kids – especially the black ones – receiving gifts from a white man,” wrote Graham J. Noble.

    Another critic, responding to the mall Santa who declined to give a kid a toy gun, said the push for a diverse Santa is becoming absurd. Larry Keane, an advocate for the firearms industry, wrote in an essay that “all I want for Christmas is the real Santa, not a woke Santa.”

    Keane, who did not respond to an interview request, wrote:

    “Political correctness is has gone too far. It’s traveled from the Washington D.C. swamps to the frigid Arctic air of the North Pole. It’s infected Kris Kringle and next thing you know, Santa will be demanding the kids leave out nonfat soy milk and vegan snack bites in lieu of milk-and-cookies.”

    Some may find it curious that a jolly character like Santa inspires such sarcasm and anger. But the stories we tell children have long been a source of bitter debate. Some critics recently complained that the main character in a remake of “The Little Mermaid” shouldn’t be Black. The casting of a Black girl in an “Annie” remake drew similar controversy.

    Robin DiAngelo, author of the bestseller “White Fragility,” said in a recent interview that the debates over the color of fictional characters represents a larger issue: White supremacy insists that white people should be “the center” and “ultimate representation” of what it means to be human.

    “The irony,” DiAngelo told Yahoo News, is that “on the one hand, white people insist that ‘we don’t see color’ — and then we lose our minds when Santa is not the color that he’s ‘supposed’ to be.”

    Allan Siu, dressed as Santa Claus, emerges from his dressing room on December 8, 2022, at the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. Siu is the first Asian Santa the mall has ever had.

    She added, “Given that most white people live segregated lives, I think it’s really important — not just for Black children to see themselves reflected in valuable symbols, but it’s really important for white children to see it too.”

    One character in “Santa Camp” discovered firsthand how fraught the journey can be for a nontraditional Santa.

    Chris Kennedy made headlines several years back when he received a racist and threatening note for erecting a Black Santa on his lawn in Little Rock, Arkansas. The incident inspired him to don a Santa suit over his imposing frame and attend Santa Camp.

    The documentary shows Kennedy at a Christmas festival in Arkansas as a Black Santa, where his appearance sparks some strong reactions. In the film, the festival’s organizer says some White families refused to take their kids to see Kennedy because they believe Santa should be white.

    Yet the film also shows both Black and White families who say they brought their kids specifically to see a Black Santa. Black kids, in particular, jump for joy when they see him. So do some of their parents.

    “When I was little, Santa was white,” one Black mother tells a smiling Kennedy after he greets her with, “Bro, ho, ho.”

    “He was whatever someone else decided Santa to be,” she adds.

    In the film, Kennedy shakes his head after meeting the kids and their parents.

    “There were families that traveled over 300 miles to be here,” he says. “That was very rewarding. But it … also gave me a sense of sadness, that there are not Black Santas closer.”

    Some White parents who refused to see Kennedy might have changed their minds if they knew Santa’s history. The first Santa – or at least the man he was modeled after – was probably brown. The Santa legend can be traced back to a monk named St. Nicholas, who lived in modern-day Turkey and was known for his generosity and as a protector of children.

    An undated Coca-Cola advertising poster shows a young boy surprising Santa Claus.

    Santa has evolved in other ways. The name Santa Claus comes from a shortened version of Saint Nicholas in Dutch, “Sinterklaas.” Dutch immigrants later brought that tradition to America. The 19th-century authors Clement Moore and Washington Irving popularized Saint Nicholas stories.

    But it’s the Coca-Cola company which is widely credited with spreading the modern image of the twinkly-eyed, White Santa. In the 1930s, Coca-Cola hired an illustrator to create portraits of a cuddly Santa Claus in a red and white suit to boost sales during its slow winter season.

    The push for a more diverse Christmas, though, isn’t restricted to Santa. There’s also a campaign to “sleigh the patriarchy” by transforming Mrs. Claus into a feminist icon.

    Mrs. Claus plays a prominent role in “Santa Camp.” Trans Santa is accompanied by his wife, Heidi Truax, who goes by the name Dr. Claus (she has a doctorate) and has co-written a book for kids called “You Can Be a Claus Too: Lessons from Santa Camp.”

    The film also illuminates a growing wish by women to show their daughters more assertive representations of the traditional Mrs. Claus. More Mrs. Clauses are demanding equal pay and billing when they appear with Santa at events, the documentary shows.

    Levi Truax, known as Trans Santa, and his wife Heidi Truax, known as Dr. Claus, in a scene from

    One scene in “Santa Camp” shows a mother steering her daughters to Mrs. Claus and asking her to teach them that it’s okay to be assertive.

    “Young girls need to speak up and say what’s on their mind,” Dianne Grenier, who goes by Mrs. Merry Claus, tells the wide-eyed girls. “That’s why I spoke up to Santa and said, ‘You know I’ve been quiet all these years and being a good little wife, but now it’s my turn. See how you like sitting at home.’”

    The scene ends with a little boy looking on in silence, his brow bunched in confusion.

    The campaign for a more diverse Santa is also a push to remove sexism from the holidays, others say.

    Maureen Shaw, founder of sherights.com, an online magazine devoted to women’s rights, wrote an essay stating that sexism at Christmas “is as American as Santa, sugar cookies and caroling.”

    Women, for example, are expected to bear the brunt of holiday preparations, she said. Retailers “perpetuate gender binaries” by filling girls’ sections with frilly dresses and princess castles and boys’ sections with pants and electronic toys.

    “To assume that my daughter wants a doll or that my son wouldn’t be interested in a princess toy because of their sexes is problematic,” Shaw tells CNN. “It reinforces gender stereotypes, which implicitly sets limits on what they can or should take an interest in. It may seem silly to skeptics, but consistently gifting girls kitchen sets, dolls and princess toys lays the foundation for what’s expected of them as they grow up.”

    Those who say the more diverse representations of Santa betray the values of the holiday season may be forgetting about another iconic Christmas character: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

    Rudolph, if you recall, was mocked by his peers because his bulbous red nose made him different. But Santa Claus saw the value in Rudolph’s luminous nose and asked him to lead his sleigh that night, transforming him into a Christmas hero.

    The story of Rudolph was written in 1939 by a Jewish Chicago copywriter named Robert May, and was adapted into a stop-motion TV special that first aired in 1964. It has become one of the longest-running Christmas TV events in history. Paul Soles, who provided one of the voices in the television special, once explained why Rudolph’s story is so enduring.

    “Everybody’s been to some degree separated out, found wanting, not quite fully fitting in,” said Soles, who also grew up Jewish.

    Not fitting in is something that the Trans Santa outside the Chicago church can relate to. Truax said he grew up isolated and confused in suburban Detroit because he felt like he was in the wrong body. When he finally came out as transgender, he said his father was supportive.

    Others in his situation aren’t as lucky. Just over half of all transgender and nonbinary young people in the US contemplated taking their lives in 2020, according to The Trevor Project’s third annual National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health.

    Santa Claus waits for visitors at the King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania on November 22, 2019. One expert on race says White people can become upset

    The teenager who greets Trans Santa in the film hints at some of that struggle. They tell Santa they want to get a binder, a compression undergarment to flatten breasts for teens who identify as gender-nonconforming or transgender.

    Truax smiles and nods knowingly. As he talks, a string of Christmas lights on four evergreen trees behind them illuminate the December sky.

    “I know when I got my first binder, it changed me,” Truax tells his visitor. “It empowered me to have the body of the person I wanted to be.”

    The teenager looks up to Santa, their face brightening in a smile.

    “It’s very empowering being in your presence,” they say.

    They then stand up and pump their left fist in triumph, a new bounce in their step.

    For some, such a scene has nothing to do with the holiday. But for this kid, meeting a Santa who understands their journey might be one of best Christmas gifts ever.

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  • New York City’s ban on foie gras violates law, New York state says | CNN

    New York City’s ban on foie gras violates law, New York state says | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    The State of New York has determined that New York City’s ban on foie gras, stuffed goose or duck liver, violates state law, according to documents filed in New York City Superior Court.

    The state Department of Agriculture and Markets informed city officials Wednesday that the ban “unreasonably restricts” the operations of two farms that sued the city over the ban, La Belle Farm and Hudson Valley Foie Gras.

    New York City had originally passed a bill in 2019 to ban restaurants and retailers from selling the fatty duck or goose liver, considered a delicacy by some.

    In a letter to New York Mayor Eric Adams and Division of Legal Counsel Chief Stephen Louis, the department requested that the “City confirm that it will not enforce its ban on the sale of force-fed products” marketed by Hudson Valley Foie Gras and La Belle Farm.

    The city ban on foie gras was to go into effect November 25. However, a state Supreme Court judge in September put the ban on hold as the lawsuit by the two Upstate New York Farms proceeded through the courts.

    The original bill to ban foie gras called the luxury good a “force-fed product” and, in a statement to CNN in 2019, city Councilwoman Carlina Rivera – the prime sponsor of the bill – called force-feeding an “inhumane practice.”

    What makes foie gras so contentious is the method of preparation. Foie gras is made of fattened duck or goose liver, and it has long been considered a French delicacy – so much that France has protected it as part of its cultural heritage.

    But the product is made by force-feeding ducks or geese, a practice that many people, like Rivera, have found troubling.

    “As a lifelong advocate for animal rights, I am excited that the Council has voted to pass this historic legislation to ban the sale of these specific force-fed animal products,” Rivera said in 2019.

    Foie gras has long been a point of contention.

    In 2012, California’s foie gras ban went into effect, only to have the ban overturned in 2015. Then, in 2017, the ban was upheld by a circuit court judge – a decision that was backed by the US Supreme Court in January 2019.

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  • Why people in China are panic buying canned yellow peaches as Covid surges | CNN Business

    Why people in China are panic buying canned yellow peaches as Covid surges | CNN Business

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    Hong Kong
    CNN
     — 

    An unprecedented wave of Covid cases in China has sparked panic buying of fever medicines, pain killers, and even home remedies such as canned peaches, leading to shortages online and in stores.

    Authorities said Wednesday they had detected 2,249 symptomatic Covid-19 cases nationally through nucleic acid testing, 20% of which were detected in the capital Beijing. CNN reporting from the city indicates the case count in the Chinese capital could be much higher than recorded.

    Demand for fever and cold medicines, such as Tylenol and Advil, is surging nationally as people rush to stockpile drugs amid fears they may contract the virus.

    Canned yellow peaches, considered a particularly nutritious delicacy in many parts of China, have been snapped up by people looking for ways to fight Covid. The product is currently sold out on many online shops.

    Its sudden surge in popularity prompted Dalian Leasun Food, one of the country’s largest canned food manufacturers, to clarify in a Weibo post that canned yellow peaches don’t have any medicinal effect.

    “Canned yellow peaches ≠ medicines!” the company said in the post published Friday. “There is enough supply, so there is no need to panic. There is no rush to buy.”

    The People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, also tried to set the record straight. It published a long Weibo post on Sunday urging the public not to stockpile the peaches, calling them “useless in alleviating symptoms of illness.”

    Authorities also pleaded with the public not to stockpile medical supplies. On Monday, the Beijing city government warned residents that it was facing “great pressure” to meet demand for drug and medical services because of panic buying and an influx of patients at clinics.

    It urged the public not to hoard drugs or call emergency services if they have no symptoms.

    The rising demand and shortage of supply of Covid remedies have fueled bets on drugmakers.

    Shares of Hong Kong-listed Xinhua Pharmaceutical, China’s largest manufacturer of ibuprofen, have gained 60% in the past five days. The stock has so far jumped by 147% in the first two weeks of this month.

    “Our company’s production lines are operating at full capacity, and we are working overtime to produce urgently needed medicines, such as ibuprofen tablets,” Xinhua Pharmaceutical said Monday.

    Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat pain and fever. It is also known as Advil, Brufen, or Fenbid.

    The drug shortage has spread from mainland China to Hong Kong, a special administrative region which has a separate system of local government. On Sunday, the city’s health chief urged the public to refrain from panic buying cold medicines they do not need and urged residents “not to overact.”

    In some Hong Kong drugstores, fever drugs such as Panadol, the local brand name for Tylenol, have sold out. Most of the buyers were sending the medicines to their families and friends in the mainland, sales representatives told CNN.

    Shares of Shenzhen-listed Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceuticals, known for making cough syrup, have gained 21% this week and risen 51% so far this month. Yiling Pharmaceutical, the sole producer of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine recommended by the government for treating Covid, has also jumped more than 30% in the past month.

    Even providers of funeral services and burial plots have gotten a huge boost. Shares in Hong Kong-traded Fu Shou Yuan International, China’s largest burial service company, have soared more than 50% since last month.

    There is “strong pent-up demand for burial plots” in 2023, analysts from Citi Group said in a recent research report, adding that they’ve noticed increasing investor interest in the sector.

    They cited the existence of hundreds of thousands of cremated remains, which are being temporarily stored in government facilities awaiting burial. Lockdowns across much of the country have halted funeral services, they said.

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  • What’s gone wrong at Beyond Meat | CNN Business

    What’s gone wrong at Beyond Meat | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    A slew of problems have stalled the growth of Beyond Meat, once a darling of Wall Street whose top product became synonymous with plant-based burgers.

    Sales have been declining, sliding 22.5% in the third quarter compared to the previous year, and the company has laid off over 20% of its global staff since August. After an extremely successful market debut in 2019, Beyond Meat

    (BYND)     has lost favor with investors. The stock dropped about 77% so far this year.

    Some of the problems can be attributed to broader industry challenges. In the grocery store, interest in plant-based meats has waned as consumers, faced with inflation, focus on shopping for affordable basics.

    At the same time, restaurant traffic is dipping. Cash-strapped customers are pulling back on dining out, making Beyond’s foodservice business more vulnerable. And Beyond is far from the only company to lay off staff as a possible recession looms.

    But Beyond is facing some unique challenges.

    The company recently parted ways with three members of its C-suite, one of whom allegedly bit someone’s nose. A recent LA Times report called into question the hygiene of a Beyond Meat facility in Pennsylvania, though the company stands by the cleanliness of the plant, saying that its “food safety protocols go above industry and regulatory standards.”

    Also, a promising partnership with McDonald’s

    (MCD)     has stalled in the United States. And fierce competition is squeezing sales, including in frozen, plant-based chicken, a category that is growing while refrigerated plant-based meat sales falter.

    The company’s plan is to focus on cash flow and profitability rather than growth, and become more strategic in its restaurant and marketing initiatives, among other things.

    “Despite the current headwinds facing our business and category, we remain confident in our ability to deliver on the long-term growth and impact expected from our global brand,” a Beyond Meat spokesperson told CNN Business in response to a request for comment.

    “They’ve got a big task ahead of them,” said Peter Saleh, restaurant analyst at financial services firm BTIG. Next year will be about “trying to get their financials in order to a place where they can sustain themselves,” he added. “It’s a tall order.”

    Last year, Beyond Meat announced a strategic partnership with McDonald’s, including working with the burger chain on the McPlant, a plant-based burger.

    Since then, the McPlant has been added to the McDonald’s menu permanently in some European markets.

    In the US, McDonald’s

    (MCD)     tested out the burger in some locations. But it hasn’t added the item to the menu, and it’s not clear if or when that will happen.

    “I don’t think it’s totally off the table, but I’m not sure that it’s going to be [Beyond’s] saving grace at this point,” said Saleh.

    Beyond has also lost its spot on the Dunkin’ menu. The coffee chain enthusiastically rolled out a breakfast sandwich with Beyond sausage nationally in 2019, but stopped working with Beyond last year.

    McDonald's tested the McPlant, but has not added it permanently to US menus.

    Beyond still has plenty of partnerships with restaurants, but many of them are limited-time tests.

    “In the last 12 months, we have had 25 trials for permanent menu launches with nine distinct products,” said Beyond CEO Ethan Brown during a November analyst call discussing the company’s third-quarter results.

    Brown positioned the launches as long-term investments, saying they won’t generate big sales in the short term but should pay off eventually. But getting a permanent menu spot might be challenging, noted Kathryn Fenner, principal at foodservice consulting firm Technomic.

    “Even if they sell, say 30 to 40 of these plant-based burgers a day … that still pales in comparison to their traditional proteins,” she said, speaking about plant-based burgers in general. And these days, making a limited-time offer permanent is a tough sell because operators have been slimming down their menus, she noted.

    Meanwhile, Burger King continues to sell the Impossible Whopper nationally. “We haven’t been experiencing what Beyond Meat and some of the other brands in the space have reported,” said Impossible foods spokesperson Keely Sulprizio. Impossible is private and is not required to share its sales data publicly.

    In the grocery store, Beyond is facing a swell of competition.

    Beyond has embraced competition in the past. But now, rivals are interfering with its bottom line.

    “We believe that healthy competition within plant-based meat is a good thing as it brings investment in marketing to the category,” said Brown during the November analyst call.

    “However, in the current environment, we are not seeing this benefit,” he said. “Instead, more companies are pursuing the same or fewer consumers.” Brown said Beyond is the leader in refrigerated plant-based meat, and that he expects some brands to pull back or consolidate in the future.

    It’s true that the plant-based meat pie is smaller these days. Retail sales of meat alternatives fell about 12% in the year through November 6, according to data from IRI. Ground plant-based meat fell about 19%, and patties were down 30% in that period.

    But frozen chicken alternatives are growing. Strips and cutlets sales increased about 16% and nuggets jumped nearly 28%.

    “Frozen plant-based chicken is the largest single subcategory in all of plant-based meats and continues to grow at a double-digit pace,” said Brown during the analyst call. “So we are pleased to be expanding our presence of additional chicken items.”

    Beyond Meat introduced plant-based chicken strips in retail in 2014, but pulled the product in 2019. It launched a retooled version, Beyond Chicken Tenders, in stores in 2021, and has built its plant-based chicken portfolio since then.

    But in the few years Beyond’s product was off the market, new entrants rushed into the space.

    Nuggs, a plant-based chicken nugget made by startup Simulate, has made a splash online thanks to its bold packaging over the last few years and has been expanding in retail.

    Daring, another plant-based chicken company, launched its product in the US in 2020. Daring’s chicken alternative became available at Whole Foods last year. Impossible and other legacy brands have offerings, as well.

    “Plant-based chicken is a good growth category,” said Saleh. “I would have liked to have seen [Beyond] double down.”

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  • Coca-Cola is getting into Christmas movies | CNN Business

    Coca-Cola is getting into Christmas movies | CNN Business

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    New York
    CNN Business
     — 

    Coca-Cola is hoping that this holiday season, families will crack open some Cokes, settle into a comfy spot and watch its first Christmas Anthology film series.

    The beverage company partnered with production firm Imagine Entertainment to create three short films, which are available to watch on Amazon Prime across the globe starting Wednesday.

    The venture is a continuation of Coca-Cola’s Real Magic platform, which takes an experimental approach to marketing the company’s core product.

    In the past year, Real Magic has focused on unusual, limited-time flavors such as Starlight, Byte and Dreamworld, which have been launched alongside digital experiences including a holographic concert and a debut in Fortnite. The Christmas Anthology is part of a new platform called Real Magic Presents.

    For Coca-Cola

    (KO)    , it’s important to do more than just sell soda — the soda giant has to connect with younger consumers and build new traditions, especially as interest in sugary, carbonated soft drinks stagnates.

    “We’re always exploring new ways to reach our audience,” said Selman Careaga, category president of Coca-Cola trademark, calling Christmas “a great canvas for creativity.” The anthology, he said, is “a new way to engage” with the holiday.

    Coca-Cola has a history of associating itself with Christmas, so much so that the company has an FAQ page for “Did Coca-Cola create Santa Claus?” (The answer: Sort of. In 1931, the company commissioned a painting of Santa that aligns with how he is portrayed in the US today, according to the page.)

    In more recent years, the company’s polar bears and brightly-lit trucks have been strongly linked with the holiday.

    This year, Coke is trying something a little more high-concept.

    After launching the Real Magic platform in 2021, Coca-Cola published a video on YouTube called “Real Magic at Christmas,” about a boy who bonds with his new neighbors by working together to build a chimney out of cardboard boxes.

    This year, the short films are longer — running between 10 and 12 minutes — and more ambitious.

    A vampire meets his girlfriend's family.

    There’s “Alma,” which shows a single mom who has cooled on Christmas being reminded of the joy of the holiday by a sentient computer; “Les Petits Mondes De Noël,” a moody love story about two exes who reunite in Paris; and “Christmas Bites,” about a vampire who wins over his girlfriend’s family when he steps in for Santa on Christmas Eve.

    A viewer wouldn’t necessarily know that these are Coca-Cola movies, except for the fact that each film features at least one character sipping a Coke.

    But for the company, the shorts are about more than just product placement. “It allows us to work on content that fits into our Real Magic platform,” said Careaga.

    The films are not your typical cheesy Christmas movie, and not only because they’re shorts. There are no overt love stories, fat snowflakes swirling around fake sets or ugly sweaters (at least, not too many).

    The Hallmark model may be popular in the United States, but it doesn’t necessarily have global appeal, said Marc Gilbar, EVP of brands and documentaries at Imagine Entertainment.

    Characters reconnect in

    “I mentioned Hallmark films” to members of the global team working on the project, Gilbar said. “That shorthand doesn’t mean much to someone in Spain or someone in Argentina. It’s more centered on our traditions.”

    The Coca-Cola anthology is designed to appeal to a global audience. “Alma,” set in Mexico, is in Spanish, and “Les Petits Mondes De Noël,” is in French. Only “Christmas Bites” is in English.

    And although these are certainly Christmas movies, they’re not overtly religious.

    “Christmas means different things to different people,” Gilbar said. “The religious aspect never really came up. It was more about other traditions.”

    As Coke dips its toes in film-making, rival Pepsi took another approach, partnering with “Falling for Christmas” star Lindsay Lohan to promote Pilk, or Pepsi plus milk, as a holiday tradition.

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  • Margot Robbie says tequila shots helped her film nude ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scenes | CNN

    Margot Robbie says tequila shots helped her film nude ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ scenes | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    According to Margot Robbie, she needed a little bit of liquid courage to film a now-famous scene in “The Wolf of Wall Street.”

    The Daily Mirror reported that during remarks at a BAFTA: A Life In Pictures recording, the Australian actress shared some of what happened behind the scenes when she starred as Naomi Lapaglia in the 2013 film opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life stockbroker Jordan Belfort.

    The pair had a pretty racy nude scene together, and Robbie reportedly said she reached for some tequila to prepare.

    “I’m not going to lie, I had a couple of shots of tequila before that scene because I was nervous – very, very nervous,” she said.

    The film went on to be pretty big, unlike what Robbie had imagined.

    “Honestly, I know it sounds silly now, knowing how big the movie became, at the time I thought, ‘No one is going to notice me in this film,” she said.“‘It kind of doesn’t matter what I do in this film because everyone is going to be focused on Leo [DiCaprio] and everything.’”

    The role in the 2013 film actually helped launch Robbie into stardom.

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