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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Fernando Machado is the CMO of NotCo, formerly of Burger King and Activision Blizzard.</li><li>He explains his approach to DEI and breaks down what most CMOs and agencies overlook in their strategies.</li></ul><p>Fernando Machado, CMO of NotCo, a plant-based food company, is known for his bold campaigns at Burger King and Activision Blizzard. His repertoire has often tackled current social issues like LGBTQ+ rights and representation of other minoritized groups.</p><p>In a conversation with Insider, Machado explained what most marketers overlook and how they can align their DEI strategies with agency partners.</p><p><em>This interview has been edited for length and clarity.</em></p><h3><strong>What's the biggest mistake CMOs make with diversity and inclusion initiatives?</strong></h3><p>You need to do before you talk. Diversity and inclusion must permeate the whole organization, and that's a much slower process than something like buying media. If you try something with DEI and inclusion, but have weaknesses internally, it shows. It can come across as very inauthentic, and you risk getting called out. DEI and inclusion starts internally, and continues internally forever.</p><p>We have a very diverse team at NotCo, with a good split among male/female and many Latinos. I do wish we had more African American representation.  </p><h3><strong>In terms of marketing, what does inclusion mean for a brand like NotCo? Do you tailor messages about plant-based food to every demographic?</strong></h3><p>If I had a very large budget, maybe I could cater communications specifically to different groups. But I don't want to spread the brand too thin and end up not doing anything meaningful to anyone. I think there are things that will resonate with different groups of people at the same time, and insights that cut across those groups. </p><h3><strong>How do you make sure your agencies are aligned with you on the DEI journey?  </strong></h3><p>Again, you can only push agency partners after you've pushed yourself internally. I can't demand from others what I haven't done myself. I can't demand from an agency to be diverse if I'm not diverse myself. At Burger King, we had agencies sign a pledge to reach certain targets [around diversity], but only because we had targets ourselves.</p><p>So put your house in order, then speak with your creative, media, and design partners. It's also not uncommon to have agency partners ahead of you. Learn from them.</p><h3><strong>Can you always make a business case for DEI?</strong></h3><p>On the brand side, having a diverse team with divergent points of view will always lead to better results.</p><p>With the consumer side, you need to serve your audiences. If it's a brand like Burger King or Popeye's, which overindexes on Black and Hispanic consumers, of course diversity and inclusion is a good thing for the business.</p><h3><strong>What if a CMO faces pushback on diversity and inclusion?</strong></h3><p>Different companies have different cultures, but you have more power than you think. Join company networks. Ask questions. Create benchmarks against other companies — there's a lot of data out there.</p><p>I always push people to be the change you want to see. People victimize themselves — "Oh, my company's not doing enough." There are ways you can frame these efforts and enlist people on the journey with you.</p>

NotCo CMO Fernando Machado, known for bold DEI-driven campaigns, explains what marketers overlook when trying to embed DEI into their work

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="10348622" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="notco">NotCo</keyword>'s plant-based <keyword id="10348621" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="notmilk">NotMilk</keyword> line, which includes a whole <keyword id="6362951" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="milk">milk</keyword> and a 2% reduced-fat milk, is now available at <keyword id="321410" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Whole-Foods">Whole Foods</keyword> stores across the US.</li><li>The NotMilks are made with the help of Giuseppe, NotCo's artificial intelligence algorithm.</li><li>Unlike nut and oat milks, the NotMilks are made with ingredients like pineapple, cabbage, chicory, and coconut.</li><li>"We have seen the plant-based growth trajectory accelerate in the current pandemic scenario as people increasingly looked for healthier and more sustainable alternatives to their diets," CEO and founder of NotCo Matias Muchnick told Business Insider in an email interview.</li></ul><p><a href="https://notco.com/us/">NotCo</a>, a self-described "food-tech" company, has rolled out its <keyword id="6400741" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Vegan">vegan</keyword> whole and 2% reduced-fat milk at over 450 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/wholefoods">Whole Foods</a> across the US.</p><p>Many popular alternative milk makers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-swedens-oatly-came-to-dominate-the-oak-drink-market-2019-8?r=bc-sub">have been relying on items like nuts or oats</a> to serve as the base of their vegan milks. NotCo, however, has taken a different approach to develop its non-dairy milk.</p><p>Instead of creating a milk with a single food profile, like almond milk or oat milk, NotCo's milk uses a mix of non-traditional ingredients that were in-part decided by the company's artificial intelligence program named "Giuseppe."</p><p>These ingredients include cabbage, peas, and pineapple. </p><p>"In the case of NotMilk, the unexpected combination of pineapple and cabbage brings the <keyword id="6393794" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="dairy">dairy</keyword> taste notes that we are used with regular milk," Matias Muchnick, the CEO and founder of NotCo, told Business Insider in an email interview. "Chicory and coconut help with the texture and peas bring up the protein so that we have a balanced product for people to have in their diets."</p><p><strong><em>Source: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/danone-north-america-big-bet-on-sustainable-dairy-milk-alternatives-2020-3?r=bc-sub"><em>Danone is betting on sustainable dairy to bring back millennials and Gen Zers flocking to milk alternatives. Here's an inside look at their ambitious plan.</em></a></p><p>According to NotCo, this variety gives the NotMilks a taste and texture that rivals that of "real" milk without using dairy products. This authenticity in flavor and feel is an important aspect of the alternative milk as the company says 33% of vegan milk purchasers in the US end up buying dairy milk again due to a "compromise in taste." </p><p>This is also why the NotCo team — which recently announced an $85 million funding round with investors like Bezos Expeditions and L Catterton — decided to stray away from the popular "nut milk" route.</p><p>"More and more consumers are looking for including healthier and more sustainable products in their diets, but the alternatives in the market miss something – whether that be look, taste or texture," Muchnick wrote. "But NotMilk has it all."</p><h2>NotCo's goal is to "disrupt" three sections: eggs, dairy, and meat.</h2><div type="image" title="NotMilk by NotCo" height="1119" width="2238" msid="79464871" hostid="261"></div><p>NotCo currently has two types of vegan milk in its product line: the NotMilk whole and NotMilk 2% reduced-fat. According to Muchnick, the alternative milk has already started selling out at several <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-has-unveiled-a-turkey-insurance-ahead-of-thanksgiving-2020-11">Whole Foods Markets</a> across the country, noting that each variety is seeing sales.</p><p><strong><em>Source: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-brewers-are-using-leftover-barley-to-create-dairy-alternative-2020-9?r=bc-sub"><em>Barley is the star of new dairy alternatives created by brewing giants Anheuser-Busch and Molson Coors to compete with oat milk and cash in on the $21.4 billion industry</em></a></p><p>NotCo's Giuseppe technology was also used to create the <a href="https://notco.com/cl/products">company's other products </a>— including the NotIceCream, NotBurger, and NotMayo — and NotCo will continue to "explore" different food products with the help of artificial intelligence.</p><p>The company's NotMeat line is already being used in Papa John's vegan pizza in Chile, and by Burger King in the Rebel Whopper in the UK.</p><p>Right now, the NotMilk is the company's most popular product offering, but Muchnick is expecting to also see the NotBurger grow in popularity now that it's been unveiled in Brazil, Chile, and Argentina.</p><p>"We have seen the plant-based growth trajectory accelerate in the current pandemic scenario as people increasingly looked for healthier and more sustainable alternatives to their diets," Muchnick wrote.</p><p>The company is also planning to expand to other retailers, restaurants, and the fast-food industry in the "near future," according to Muchnick.</p><h2>The crossroads between environmentally conscious food products, food science, and artificial intelligence</h2><div type="image" title="NotMilk by NotCo" height="1249" width="2500" msid="79464872" hostid="261"></div><p><a href="https://notco.com/us/sustainability">According to NotCo's website</a>, the NotMilk uses 92% less water, 74% less energy, and emits 74% fewer emissions than regular dairy milk.</p><p>"We believe that replicating animal products we all love to eat but made from plants gives us all an opportunity to reduce our environmental impact without even realizing it," <a href="https://www.notco.com/us/faq">NotCo wrote in its frequently asked questions page</a>.</p><p>According to Muchnick, two NotCo teams,  the "AI Chef Team" and the "Food Science" team, use Giuseppe, which is named after Italian painter Giuseppe Arcimboldo.</p><p>The AI Chef Team is in charge of trialing the new prototyped formulas to create a product that's "sensorially similar" to dairy milk, while the Food Science team focuses on the "functional and molecular properties of ingredients" by testing the different ingredient mixes in their laboratory.</p><p>The company's AI Team also created software that helps analyze the ingredients Giuseppe proposes in order to "optimize the design of their experiments," according to Muchnick.</p><p><strong><em>Source: </em></strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vegan-food-strong-root-walmart-2020-9?r=bc-sub"><em>Vegan food startup Strong Roots has won a deal to sell its products in more than 2,000 Walmart stores following Oatly and Beyond Meat</em></a></p><p>These experiments then help the artificial intelligence algorithm to "further understand the large landscape of food science," Muchnick wrote.</p><p>"As our artificial intelligence continues to evolve its cognitive skills, we will continue to improve our processes even further, getting new products faster to market and entering more categories in the near future," Muchnick wrote in the interview.</p>

A Bezos-backed plant-based milk made with AI, cabbage, and pineapple is now available at Whole Foods — see how it's made

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shake Shack is launching three plant-based menu options this week.</li><li>The new items include a veggie burger created by Shake Shack chefs and two desserts with recipes designed by AI.</li></ul><p>While artificial intelligence is already being used to <a href="https://www.insider.com/chatgpt-creates-easy-to-make-upscale-pasta-recipe-with-shrimp-2023-4">help inspire recipes at home</a>, the technology is now helping fast-food giants like Shake Shack develop new plant-based menu items. </p><p>The fast food chain is rolling out a new <a href="https://shakeshack.com/blog/our-food/introducing-our-veggie-shack-non-dairy-chocolate-shake-and-non-dairy-frozen-custard#/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Veggie Shack burger, non-dairy chocolate shake, and non-dairy frozen custard</a> this week. The desserts were conceptualized with help from the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/notmilk-plant-based-milk-available-whole-foods-2020-11">Jeff Bezos-backed food tech startup NotCo</a> and its AI program "Giuseppe," which comes up with plant-based alternatives to animal-based foods, including its NotMilk, NotBurger, and NotChicken products. </p><p>Shake Shack's new milkshake and soft-serve options, which became available nationally on May 2 after they were first tested in select markets, use the company's non-dairy milk.</p><p>"Our Non-Dairy Chocolate Shake and Non-Dairy Frozen Custard are made with NotMilk , a sustainable, plant-based beverage that tastes, cooks, and blends just like milk from our friends at NotCo," Shake Shack's Tuesday announcement read.</p><p>According to the NotCo site, recipes for its plant-based products were created by <a href="https://notco.com/us/about/giuseppe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asking Giuseppe prompts</a> that helps it analyze "the structure of animal-based food at its molecular level and replicate it using only plant-based ingredients." </p><p>"It looks for matches in flavor, texture, nutrition and functionality, among other characteristics," the site reads. "Each recipe is different and there are some that match better than others."</p><p>The new veggie burger was "born out of testing many different veggie burger iterations" and includes "mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, farro, and quinoa, topped with American cheese, crispy onions, pickles and ShackSauce," <a href="https://shakeshack.com/blog/our-food/introducing-our-veggie-shack-non-dairy-chocolate-shake-and-non-dairy-frozen-custard#/">Shake Shack said in a statement</a>. It will be available for purchase beginning on May 5. </p><p>Shake Shack's partnership with NotCo began in May 2022 when the company first introduced its <a href="https://vegnews.com/2023/5/shake-shack-first-dairy-free-milkshakes" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dairy-free milkshakes and frozen custards at 10 select locations in the US,</a> Vegan news outlet VegNews reported.</p><p>"Partnering up with Shake Shack used to be a dream of mine and one of the most ambitious milestones for NotCo," Matias Muchnick, CEO and co-founder of NotCo, said in a statement, per VegNews.</p><p>He added: "Having a tailored NotCo product in Shake Shack stores nationwide is a clear statement of our ability to create elevated tailored-made delicious and profitable versions of products in record time that appeal to the mass market."</p><p><em><strong>Correction, May 3, 2023 —</strong> A previous version of this article and headline said the veggie burger was created using NotCo's AI technology. It has been revised to show AI was used only for the non-dairy chocolate shake and non-dairy frozen custard.</em></p>

Shake Shack is rolling out new plant-based menu items including dairy-free shakes with AI-designed milk

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The hot-dog giant <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oscar-mayer-says-goodbye-historic-weinermobile-new-frankmobile-hot-dogs-2023-5">Oscar Mayer</a> is entering the plant-based industry with vegan hot dogs and<em> </em>sausages.</li><li>Bloomberg reported that they'd probably cost 40% to 60% more than the brand's traditional hot dogs.</li></ul><p>Oscar Mayer is entering the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meats-sales-plant-based-meat-sales-fall-revenues-vegan-2023-8">plant-based-meat category</a> — but choosing the vegan option is going to cost you.</p><p>The company is<strong> </strong>launching non-animal-meat hot dogs and sausages<strong> </strong>at retailers nationwide in the US later this year, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-06/oscar-mayer-vegan-hot-dog-kraft-heinz-khc-joins-with-bezos-backed-startup?srnd=homepage-americas&amp;embedded-checkout=true">Bloomberg</a> reported that they'd most likely cost 40% to 60% more than the brand's traditional hot dogs.</p><p>A four-pack of bun-length Oscar Mayer NotHotDogs has a suggested retail price of $5.99, a spokesperson for the Kraft Heinz Not Company told Business Insider. But on Wednesday, an eight-pack of bun-length hot dogs made with meat was selling for $2.84 to $7.99 online at retailers in the Washington, DC, region.</p><p>Oscar Mayer NotSausages have a suggested retail price of $7.99 for a four-pack.</p><p>The <a target="_blank" href="https://ir.kraftheinzcompany.com/news-releases/news-release-details/hot-dog-kraft-heinz-not-company-launches-first-ever-plant-based">NotHotDogs and NotSausages</a> (with the latter available in Bratwurst and Italian flavors) are being developed through a partnership between Kraft Heinz, Oscar Mayer's parent company, and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/notco-raises-110-million-plant-based-nestle-for-millennials-2020-9?r=US&amp;IR=T">NotCo</a>, a Chilean plant-based-food company backed by Amazon's founder, Jeff Bezos.</p><p>Lucho Lopez-May, the CEO of the joint venture, told Bloomberg that creating a non-meat hot dog was a "massive technological accomplishment."</p><div type="image" title="Oscar Mayer plant-based sausage products at a picnic" height="1687" width="3000" msid="108298284" hostid="261"></div><p>Still, the launch comes at a time when non-animal-meat sales have been waning after enjoying high demand during the early pandemic in 2020. Total US plant-based-meat sales slid 1% year-on-year to $1.4 billion in 2022, the latest year for which sales information is available, according to <a target="_blank" href="https://plantbasedfoods.org/2022-retail-sales-data-plant-based-food#:~:text=Our%20most%20recent%20data%20set,%2C%20and%20animal%2Dbased%20foods.">the Plant Based Foods Association</a>, a trade group.</p><p>One reason: Many plant-based meats — such as the NotHotDog — still <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meat-healthy-taste-price-impossible-layoffs-2023-2">cost more than their animal-derived equivalents</a>.</p><p>While manufacturers such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have refined their recipes and manufacturing processes to become more efficient over the past several years, making soy, corn, and other ingredients taste like meat is still one of the most expensive parts of the process, according to a report by <a target="_blank" href="https://www.new-foodinnovation.co.uk/price-parity">New Food Innovation</a>, a UK-based startup accelerator.</p><p>On their own, soy and other ingredients tend to be much cheaper than animal meats, per the report. But the fats, oils, flavorings, and other additions that make a plant-based burger look and taste like beef or other meats represent as much as 40% of the manufacturing cost. Meantime, the plant-based proteins themselves account for about 20%.</p><p>"Beef as an ingredient is more expensive, but it comes with inbuilt flavor, structure and fat, which plant-based options find costly to replicate," the report said.</p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meat-vegan-plant-based-fake-meat-inflation-prices-restaurants-2023-2">Food inflation has also hit plant-based meat sales</a>, with some consumers picking less expensive forms of protein to save money.</p><p>Retailers have been trying to narrow the price gap. Nearly five years ago, Beyond Meat CEO Ethan Brown set a goal: sell at least one of the company's products for the same price as its animal-based counterpart.</p><p>Technically, Beyond did "achieve price parity with certain products in certain markets recently," Brown said during the company's February earnings call. But back in November,<strong> </strong>he said Beyond's attempts to reduce prices — and get customers to buy its burgers and sausages as part of their weekly grocery haul instead of just as an occasional novelty — had largely fallen short of expectations.</p><p>And now, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/beyond-meat-price-increases-hikes-vegan-falling-sales-cost-margin-2024-2?r=US&amp;IR=T">Beyond is planning to raise prices</a> as it contends with sales declines.</p><p>It tried to move from "the niche, early-adopter consumer that we do so well with to the mainstream consumer," Brown said in November, but "it didn't work."</p>

A Jeff Bezos-backed startup and Oscar Mayer want to charge you a lot more for a meatless hot dog than a meaty one

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>We live in a world of cheap, low-quality food where the crowning achievement in taste and convenience is the Dorito.<p>But it doesn't have to be this way, according to Matias Muchnick, the CEO and co-founder of a startup called NotCo (The Not Company) that aims to replace foods made with unhealthy animal products with vegetable-based ones that taste the same.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.thenotcompany.com/">Chilean company</a> currently sells an eggless mayonnaise called "Not Mayo" in several countries in South America and plans to launch in American stores including Walmart in 2019.</p><p>The startup also has plans to roll out its next products, which include vegetarian yogurt ("Not Yogurt"), cream cheese ("Not Cheese"), and milk ("Not Milk") in the next few months.</p><p>"We want to change the way we make the food we love, rather than changing the food we love," Muchnick told Business Insider at a demo day in San Francisco organized by <a href="http://indiebio.co/">biotech accelerator Indie Bio</a>. The accelerator picks out promising startups and helps provide them with the training and funding they need to bring their products to fruition.</p><p>With that in mind, I tasted samples of three of their offerings - yogurt, chocolate mousse, and three kinds of eggless mayo.</p><p>First up was the mayonnaise, NotCo's flagship product. They offered three samples - spicy (slightly orange in color and pictured below), regular, and garlic (off-white) - in giant, gooey globs.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>I'm not typically a fan of mayo - especially not when it's served like sprayable cheese - but this stuff was delicious. It tasted very similar to the regular stuff, but a bit lighter. As someone who usually mixes their mayo with Sriracha, the spicy flavor was, not surprisingly, my favorite.</p><p>Surprised by how tasty the vegetable-based product was, I picked up a bottle of the stuff to see what was inside. The chief ingredient was garbanzo beans. The mayo was also pretty healthy, judging by its nutrition label. Roughly 70 calories per tablespoon with a small amount of fat and some protein. I had to ask Camila Sepúlveda, NotCo's head of innovation, what made their product different from the eggless mayo made by Hampton Creek.</p><p>"It's healthier," she said. "It's made from real ingredients that are good for you, not fillers and artificial things."</p><p>In comparison to NotCo's Not Mayo, whose chief ingredients are garbanzo beans, water, and salt, Hampton Creek's mayo is produced with canola oil, water, and lemon juice from concentrate. Hampton Creek's mayo also has <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hampton-creek-ceo-complaints-2015-7">more fat than NotCo's and no protein</a>, something NotCo's product likely gets from the garbanzo beans.</p><p>Next, I tried the yogurt, which isn't for sale yet.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>It had a nice, sweet vanilla flavor, but didn't quite taste like yogurt to me - more like a creamy dessert topping of some kind.</p><p>Clearly, deciding on the right mix of vegetable ingredients to put into a product that seeks to resemble the original, which is made from animal products, is tough work. This is where NotCo employs a technique called machine learning, a programming method where algorithms "learn" from data sets. The more data you feed the algorithm, the more knowledge it builds and the more the product adapts to your desires - at least in theory. NotCo has a name for its machine. He's called Guisseppe.</p><p>"We wanted a fun name, and then we found this artist who paints images using only vegetables," Karim Pichara, the company's co-founder, told Business Insider. "His name was Guiseppe."</p><p>Next up was NotCo's chocolate mousse, which also isn't available in stores yet.</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>This stuff exceeded my expectations. It was rich, sweet, and creamy - exactly what I'd expect in a chocolate mousse. There's no way I'd be able to distinguish this from a non-vegetarian mousse. I wished I could have taken some home.<p>While NotCo hasn't released the ingredients of all of its products (since they're still in the testing phase), Guisseppe selected mushrooms, coconut, and quinoa for a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chilean-startup-uses-machine-learning-for-meat-subsitutes-2016-4">chocolate product</a> it was creating last year.</p><p>"We take milk, break it down molecularly, and use Giuseppe to predict which plant-based ingredients will result in something that tastes identical to the animal-based food," said Muchnick.</p><p>As it turns out, that process is very similar to a technique that Hampton Creek appears to be using. Last week, the <a href="http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&amp;Sect2=HITOFF&amp;d=PALL&amp;p=1&amp;u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&amp;r=1&amp;f=G&amp;l=50&amp;s1=9760834.PN.&amp;OS=PN/9760834&amp;RS=PN/9760834">company received a patent</a> for its method of using artificial intelligence, a proprietary plant database, and something called "predictive modeling" to scan and pick out the plant proteins it uses to make its products, according to a filing with the US Patent Office.</p><p>Both companies are responding to a growing appetite among millennials and other people for healthier and more sustainable alternatives to animal-based products, which often produce large amounts of waste.</p><p>Hampton Creek has <a href="http://fortune.com/2014/12/18/hampton-creek-funding/">raised more than $120 million</a> since it was founded in 2011. After soaring to become the third-largest mayo producer in Chile within five months, NotCo is currently in the process of raising $4 million for its first seed round, which is expected to close in the next few days.</p><p>When it comes down to it, "tasting is believing," Muchnick said.</p><div>    </div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/hurricane-irma-lightning-space-footage-2017-9">Incredible footage from space shows massive lightning storms in Hurricane Irma</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

An eggless mayo startup is out to beat Hampton Creek - here's the verdict

<p>Happy Friday! </p><p>It's been a busy week as always on the <keyword id="6354851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="retail">retail</keyword> team. If this is your first time reading <keyword id="9923880" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="insider-retail">Insider Retail</keyword>, welcome to Business Insider's weekly round-up of everything that's happening in restaurants and retail. If you haven't already subscribed, you can do so <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/click/19921095.876/aHR0cDovL25ld3NsZXR0ZXIuYnVzaW5lc3NpbnNpZGVyLmNvbS9qb2luLzRucC9kcml2ZXRocnU_bnJfZW1haWxfcmVmZXJlcj0xJnV0bV9zb3VyY2U9U2FpbHRocnUmdXRtX21lZGl1bT1lbWFpbCZ1dG1fY29udGVudD1Ecml2ZVRocnU/5c818d302ddf9c27c19a8b1aB1c4ef4a7">here</a> to get this newsletter — from me, Kate Taylor, and my colleague, Shoshy Ciment — in your inbox every Friday. </p><p>Now, if you will let me write a bit about a story that I have been obsessed with for the last month... </p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-mcdonalds-ex-ceo-steve-easterbrook-2020-9">The rise and fall of McDonald's ex-CEO</a></h2><div type="image" title="McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook" height="1334" width="1778" msid="78069250" hostid="261"></div><p>I spent the last few weeks digging into the rise and fall of former <keyword id="6378093" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="mcdonalds">McDonald's</keyword> CEO Steve Easterbrook, who is currently being sued by the company. What I found is essentially a fast-food soap opera, complete with sex scandals, cover-ups, and office politics that are comparable to "the court of Henry VIII," as one source put it. </p><p>A few tidbits: </p><ul><li>McDonald's filed a lawsuit against Easterbrook in August, alleging he covered up sexual relationships with three employees when the company investigated his relationship with <em>another </em>McDonald's employee back in 2019. Some insiders wonder why the first investigation fell short. "The very lawsuit against Mr. Easterbrook places the integrity of that first investigation into some question," an attorney specializing in executive misconduct cases said.</li><li>Denise Paleothodoros, Easterbrook's ex-girlfriend, told me their relationship eroded as he began to socialize more frequently with a group of men within the McDonald's system after he became CEO. An ex-McDonald's employee told me Easterbrook and his crew were known for hanging out in the so-called Viagra Triangle, a neighborhood filled with bars where older wealthy men pick up younger women. </li><li>McDonald's recently revealed its former head of HR was fired shortly after Easterbrook's termination for making women uncomfortable. "We just thought he was a sad man who drank too much and weirdly didn't have friends outside of people who worked for him," an employee on the global HR team told me.</li><li>McDonald's new CEO Chris Kempczinski is all about values. His reputation is so squeaky clean that a source told me that he was internally referred to by some as the human version of the McDonald's vanilla ice cream cone. But, some insiders still don't trust him. </li></ul><p><em><strong>My coworkers have listened to me talk about this drama for weeks, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-rise-and-fall-of-mcdonalds-ex-ceo-steve-easterbrook-2020-9">but you can just read the full story here instead! </a></strong></em></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-ceo-warns-of-months-order-delays-overwhelming-demand-2020-9"><strong>Peloton thrives in the pandemic </strong></a></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="Peloton 8" height="1321" width="1762" msid="78069251" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><p><keyword id="240276" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Peloton">Peloton</keyword> had a big week, and Bethany was all over the news.</p><p>On Tuesday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-is-reportedly-launching-cheaper-treadmill-and-a-premium-bike-2020-9">the company announced</a> it was launching a cheaper version of its treadmill and a new premium stationary bike. The cost of the original Peloton is dropping to $1,895, down from $2,245. </p><p>On Thursday, Peloton reported a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-ceo-warns-of-months-order-delays-overwhelming-demand-2020-9">whopping 172% year-over-year sales increase</a> in the most recent quarter. But, massive demand has also fueled supply chain problems. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-will-sell-used-bikes-treadmills-could-offer-rentals-ceo-2020-9">CEO John Foley said the company plans to start selling used bikes</a> and may offer rental options. </p><p>"While we had expected demand to moderate, the unexpected resurgence of COVID-19 cases in many states has perpetuated the imbalance of supply and demand," Foley wrote in a letter to shareholders. </p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-ceo-warns-of-months-order-delays-overwhelming-demand-2020-9">Read the full story here.</a></strong></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maker-of-miller-lite-announces-new-slate-non-alcoholic-beverages-2020-9">A beer giant is betting on probiotic seltzer and barley milk</a></h2><p>Catherine and Alex got the exclusive on Molson Coors Beverage Company announcing a new slate of four premium non-alcoholic products which they've developed in partnership with L.A. Libations. </p><p>"Forty percent of the growth in the beverage industry is coming from brands in categories that didn't exist five years ago," Danny Stepper, CEO and co-founder of L.A. Libations said. "Consumers are definitely reaching for new things. They want to explore, they want to treasure hunt."</p><p><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maker-of-miller-lite-announces-new-slate-non-alcoholic-beverages-2020-9">Get all the details here.</a></strong></p><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-workers-slam-new-attendance-policy-2020-9">Whole Foods workers call a new policy a "slap in the face" </a></h2><div type="image" title="Whole Foods" height="1666" width="2223" msid="78069253" hostid="261"></div><p>Hayley spoke with Whole Foods workers who are infuriated by a policy at the grocery chain that uses a point system to track attendance. While these points normally are supposed to expire, the company extended the expiration date for points that were earned before the pandemic, according to interviews with four Whole Foods employees and internal documents.</p><p>"It's a slap in the face to everyone who showed up during the height of the pandemic," said an employee of a Philadelphia Whole Foods store, who spoke to Business Insider on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. "To say those hours we came in didn't count — it's completely cruel."</p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/whole-foods-workers-slam-new-attendance-policy-2020-9">Read the full story here. </a></p><h2><strong>Everything else you need to know</strong></h2><p><strong><div type="image" title="New York Chinatown business pandemic Chinatown ice cream factory" height="1666" width="2222" msid="78069254" hostid="261"></div></strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-100-people-transforming-business-series-leaders-driving-innovation-in-retail">Read about the people transforming the retail industry in 2020! </a></li><li>Hobby Lobby is facing new boycott threats. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/furious-shoppers-call-for-hobby-lobby-boycott-pro-trump-display-2020-9">Bethany has the full story of the company's recent scandals. </a></li><li>Walmart is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-is-now-delivering-groceries-via-drones-in-north-carolina-2020-9">delivering groceries via drone in North Carolina. </a></li><li>Alex talked to NotCo's CEO, after the plant-based "Nestle for millenials" <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/notco-raises-110-million-plant-based-nestle-for-millennials-2020-9">raised $110 million from investors like Jeff Bezos. </a></li><li>Experts say that New York City restaurant reopening at 25% <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-york-city-restaurants-reopen-dining-rooms-not-enough-2020-9">is far from the silver bullet they need to survive the pandemic.</a></li><li>McDonald's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/the-inside-story-of-mcdonalds-travis-scott-collaboration-2020-8">launched its Travis Scott partnership</a>— <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/travis-scott-debuts-mcdonalds-cactus-jack-merch-2020-9">and there is merch! </a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinatown-food-crawl-restaurant-recovery-and-community-in-photos-2020-9">Irene did a food tour in New York City's Chinatown! </a></li></ul>

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