FoodStuff by Kevin Ryan
GLP-1 isn't a drug, it's a meme
Here is what’s in today’s edition (and the last edition, in case you missed it):
Who’s Chicken?: Why the meat snack category is going to the birds
AI+ Innovation: Your team has been given a great tool, now teach them how to use it
GLP-1: Are you focusing on the wrong metric?
Can Private Label Save US Retailers? The fundamental change needed
Miscellaneous : Candy wellness, on-the-go functionality, and chefs 2.0
Gut Reaction: My hot takes on new offerings
Tidbits: The latest in food industry news, from the profound to the funny
New Primal has launched Rotisserie-Seasoned Chicken Sticks, featuring a savory blend of garlic, white and black pepper, onion, and parsley. Each stick provides 10g of protein and 60 calories, made from all-natural chicken raised without added hormones or antibiotics.
Slim Jim has partnered with Buffalo Wild Wings to introduce two new chicken-based meat sticks: Buffalo Style and Hot. These snacks combine traditional Slim Jim format with Buffalo Wild Wings' sauces.
Sweetwood Smoke & Co. has launched the FATTY Buffalo Style Smoked Chicken Stick, a 1.6 oz meat snack made from chicken raised without antibiotics. Each stick delivers 14g of protein. Available on the company’s website.
UK brand Taste Inc has refreshed its ready-to-eat chicken snack range with updated packaging that emphasizes high protein and low-calorie content. The rebrand aims to strengthen its position in the growing meat snacking category. Now available in UK convenience stores.
Jack Link’s has partnered with YouTube creator MrBeast to launch “Beast Packs,” a co-branded line of meat and turkey snacks aimed at Gen Z, Gen Alpha, and their parents. The multipacks feature individually wrapped snacks with MrBeast’s branding, designed for on-the-go consumption. This marks MrBeast’s first collaboration with a CPG company. The products are set to debut in North America this fall, with expansion to Australia and New Zealand planned for 2026.
Why Chicken is Suddenly the Star of the Meat Snack Aisle
If you’ve wandered through a convenience store lately, you’ve probably noticed something strange happening next to the corn nuts and energy bars: meat sticks are everywhere. However, where beef used to be the primary protein here, chicken is now breaking into the $4.8 billion meat snack space. What’s driving this?
1. The High-Protein, Low-Guilt Pivot
Consumers are chasing protein, but red meat, especially in snack form, comes with baggage: saturated fat, cholesterol, and that lurking voice of a nutritionist whispering “moderation.” Chicken flips the script. It lets people snack boldly while still feeling virtuous. In the same way rotisserie chicken or grilled nuggets found their moment as indulgence-without-penalty options, chicken meat sticks deliver a “clean protein” badge with none of the red meat fatigue.
2. The Gender Rebalance of the Meat Stick
Let’s not mince words, meat sticks used to be (maybe still are) coded “dude.” The kind of product designed for glove boxes and gym bags, draped in black and red packaging that looked more like a protein supplement than a snack. Chicken is helping reframe this format as not just gender-neutral, but wellness-aligned. Brands can now drop words like lean, light, or clean (because it’s implied) without alienating half the population.
3. Kids + Moms = Chicken Wins
Let’s be real: beef sticks are an acquired taste. They can feel greasy, intense, and more reminiscent of iffy c-store fare than ‘real’ food. Chicken sticks, on the other hand, have a lighter, gentler profile that’s easier to pitch as lunchbox-friendly. They pair with apples and string cheese. They also sound less likely to trigger digestive drama on a road trip.
4. Flavor Innovation Playground
Beef has a strong personality, which can fight with global flavors. Chicken? It’s a blank canvas. Whether you’re talking peri peri, tikka, chimichurri or teriyaki, chicken plays nice without overpowering the seasoning. In an era of flavor-forward snacking, that’s gold.
5. The Sustainability Perception Bonus
Consumers perceive chicken as more sustainable than beef. Whether or not the lifecycle analysis backs that up (it depends), perception wins at shelf. And in a category still trying to prove it’s not just a guilty pleasure, chicken has a built-in halo. You don’t have to lead with it, but the background score is more “smart choice” than “savage carnivore.”
6. The Red Meat Recession
We can’t forget cost. Beef is expensive (like all-time high expensive). Chicken? Still relatively affordable. As more shoppers scrutinize price-per-gram of protein, and companies look for every decimal of margin possible, chicken sticks offer a better value equation.
I’m not a meat snack company, what does this mean for me?
Even if you aren’t in the meat snack industry, the chickenification of the aisle has some lessons for the general snack category.
1. Frictionless Wins
Consumers don’t flock to chicken because it’s better, but because it’s easier to say yes to. That principle extends beyond meat.
What makes your product simpler to understand, buy, or eat?
Does it blend in across more occasions, moods, or preferences?
Are you overcomplicating things that could just be… easy?
2. Subtle Signals Over Loud Claims
Chicken feels premium not because of price or packaging, but because it’s clean, restrained, and modern. It doesn’t announce itself.
Where can you dial down the noise and let simplicity read as quality?
Is your product trying too hard to prove its worth?
3. Ambient Sustainability
The new consumer baseline is “feels sustainable” without the lecture. Chicken benefits from an unspoken eco-halo.
Do your design and format choices imply responsibility?
Are you avoiding sustainability theater while still aligning with values?
4. Familiar, Not Boring
In a risk-averse, burnout-heavy market, trust beats novelty. Chicken is trusted. It’s not about new formats, it’s about updating old ones just enough.
What pantry staple could be refreshed with a smarter twist?
Where can you soften extreme identities to appeal to a broader, quieter center?
AI Is a Powerful Innovation Tool, But Your Team Needs a Manual
Over the past year, I’ve been leading workshops with teams on how to better integrate AI into their innovation practices. And what I’ve found is this: many teams are being handed these powerful new tools, but they’re not being given good instructions on how to use them.
There seems to be this belief at the corporate level that simply sprinkling AI across innovation (and renovation) efforts will somehow result in faster, cheaper, and more revolutionary ideas. But that’s not what’s happening. Instead, I’m seeing teams jump to solutions too quickly, develop ideas with no real or ownable consumer insight and, maybe worst of all, trust the output they’re getting without understanding where it came from or what it means.
Just because a chatbot gives you a polished answer doesn’t mean it’s ready for the shelf or C-suite review. Real innovation requires something that AI isn’t built to give you: tension. Productive, uncomfortable tension. The kind where you have to sit in the ambiguity for a while, wrestle with the unknown, discard half-baked ideas, and push through the urge to grab the first shiny sentence that sounds good.
But AI is training teams to expect fast answers. Worse, it’s training them to trust those answers. That’s a problem. Because what we’re ending up with are well-worded, easily presentable, but ultimately empty ideas. Additionally, teams are losing the ability (or the patience) to think deeply about hard questions.
And yet, AI and innovation can work together. In fact, I’d argue AI is one of the best tools we have if it’s used the right way. That’s the goal of the workshops I’ve been running: to help teams use AI without picking up bad habits. It’s not about rejecting the tool. It’s about rethinking how to use it, not as a shortcut, but as a spark.
Some of the key principles I teach:
Start with better questions. AI is only as strong as the prompt. Garbage in, garbage out.
Don’t trust the first answer. Use AI to generate multiple directions, not a final draft.
Sit in the unknown. Build discomfort into your process. Make tension part of the agenda.
Teach teams to spot the “AI echo.” If it sounds too slick or obvious, dig deeper.
Use AI for provocation, not perfection. Let it challenge your thinking, not confirm it (because, oh boy, it loves to confirm it).
Build checkpoints for human critical thinking. Insert steps where AI output is interrogated, not just pasted into the deck.
Tailor AI to the task. Use AI differently at different phases of the innovation/renovation process
Train for lateral thinking. Use AI to connect distant dots, not just optimize close ones.
Create AI usage norms. Decide where and when AI should be part of the process (and where it shouldn’t).
Encourage team reflection post-use. What worked? What didn’t? Did we go too fast?
Here is a simple infographic with some of the new ‘thought technologies’ I’ve been teaching teams. Hopefully it will be inspiring to you.
Arla Foods Ingredients highlighted a protein soda concept at Vitafoods Europe made with their proprietary LacprodanBLG-100, offering 10g of protein per serving with no sugar. Designed to look and taste like a regular soda, the product would offer amino acids to support muscle maintenance and satiety.
Also at Vitafoods Europe, Darling Ingredients discussed their recent joint venture (with Belgium-based Tessenderlo Group) to create collagen company Nextida. Not only is the company looking at collagen for help with aging and increase muscle mass, but the company said they have screened specific collagens that appear to enhance natural GLP- 1 production and support glucose metabolism.
All Balance is launching GLP-1 Booster Coffee, a functional instant coffee blend formulated to support appetite regulation and metabolic health. Each serving combines prebiotic inulin, acacia fiber, resistant starch (from green banana or potato), green tea extract, and cinnamon. These ingredients are selected to promote satiety, support blood sugar balance, and enhance energy levels. The product is available for purchase on the All Balance website.
Bel UK has launched Babybel Protein, a high-protein version of its signature snack cheese. Each portion contains 5.2g of natural protein while maintaining the taste and texture of the original. The product is now available in UK retailers.
Wisp has launched Metabolic Support & GLP-1 Boost Capsules, a non-prescription supplement formulated to support natural GLP-1 levels, digestion, and glucose metabolism. Key ingredients include Eriomin (lemon flavonoids), Actiz!ng (black ginger extract), GlucoVantage (dihydroberberine), and PoZibio (Lactobacillus paracasei). Available at the company’s website.
Counter has expanded its high-protein frozen meal line to 1,000 Target stores across the U.S., up from 259. Each meal or burrito offers over 30g of protein and is designed to support individuals on GLP-1 medications by helping maintain muscle mass and manage reduced appetites. The lineup includes Taco Mac & Cheese, Jalapeño Popper Mac & Cheese, Lazy Lasagna, 3 Cheese Chicken Alfredo, Beefy Queso Burrito, and Chicken Queso Burrito.
Meto has launched an insurance-backed platform for metabolic healthcare, connecting patients with doctors, dietitians, and coaches. The service streamlines care with tools for labs, prescriptions, telehealth, and billing, aiming to make preventive care more accessible and affordable.
3pm, LLC has launched 3pm Afternoon Bites, a plant-based, soft-baked cookie formulated to combat the afternoon energy slump. Each cookie contains protein, fiber, and IMMUSE LC-Plasma postbiotic, with low added sugar, fat, and sodium. Available in Cranberry/Flaxseed and Dark Chocolate/Almond flavors, the cookies are sold at H-E-B stores.
GLP-1 isn’t a drug, it’s a meme
In 1976, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the word ‘meme’ in his book The Selfish Gene. Long before the internet turned it into captioned cat pictures, Dawkins described memes as mental viruses of culture. Memes, in this original sense, are how cultural ideas replicate. Sticky thoughts that spread from person to person through conversation, imitation, and behavior.
Gluten-free was a meme.
When it first gained traction over a decade ago, most food and beverage companies dismissed it. The logic seemed sound: celiac disease affects about 1% of the population. They studied the clinical data, calculated the addressable market, and opted out.
They missed a $7 billion opportunity.
What executives failed to recognize was that gluten-free wasn’t just a medical necessity, it was a cultural catalyst. When people heard that gluten, the building block of staples like bread and pasta, was making some people ill (a radical thought) it set off a meme storm where consumers started to question their own relationship with gluten and whether it was to blame for their own digestion, inflammation, and wellness issues. That mindshift seeded new behaviors, beliefs, and purchasing patterns that disrupted entire categories.
We're witnessing the same phenomenon with GLP-1 drugs.
Most food companies are intensely studying the 4% of Americans currently using these medications (~2% for weight loss). But while they're analyzing prescription data, and talking to people taking the drug, I think they're missing the bigger disruption: the GLP-1 meme has already begun rewiring how all consumers think about weight management (not just those currently injecting).
The Metabolic Mindshift
GLP-1 drugs didn't just introduce a new treatment, they introduced a new mental framework. Weight is no longer viewed as a simple math problem (calories in versus calories out) or a character test (“try harder”). Instead, it's increasingly seen as a complex metabolic system issue that can be understood, influenced, and optimized.
We're watching a fundamental shift from the behavioral to the biological.
Listen to conversations today and you'll hear the new internal dialogue emerging:
"Is my hunger hormone-driven or emotional?"
"How does this food affect my blood sugar?"
"Can I naturally boost satiety with fiber and protein?"
"Should I focus on insulin sensitivity instead of just exercise?"
"What can I do to mimic GLP-1's effects naturally?"
Consumers are no longer just asking what to eat, they're asking how their bodies process food and how they might influence those processes. This type of foundational shift typically precedes category disruption.
The New Weight Management Toolkit
As this biological model gains traction, some early adopter F&B companies are already adjusting their positioning. Early movers are framing products around metabolism, satiety, and blood sugar response rather than traditional calorie counting.
What's emerging is a consumer toolkit focused on metabolic modulation rather than restriction:
High-viscosity fibers that slow digestion and promote lasting fullness.
Low-glycemic snacks positioned around stable energy and blood sugar.
Strategic protein formats emphasizing hormonal response over muscle building.
Satiety beverages featuring prebiotics, proteins and botanicals for appetite control.
"GLP-1-friendly" meal plans spreading across TikTok and nutrition apps.
Targeted supplements for insulin sensitivity and glucose regulation.
This is just the beginning.
What This Means for Food Brands
As the cultural conversation shifts from willpower to metabolic wiring, I expect a fundamental retooling of health and wellness messaging:
New benefit hierarchies will emerge. "Supports satiety" and "optimizes metabolism" may eclipse "low fat" or even "low carb" as primary purchase drivers.
Precision positioning will proliferate. Think "morning metabolism support" or "3pm craving blockers."
Male engagement will expand as the framework shifts from diet culture to metabolic performance and optimization.
Portion premiumization will reframe smaller servings as "precision nutrition" or "optimized dosing."
Metabolic ingredients (e.g., proteins, fibers, blood sugar stabilizers) will become table stakes rather than differentiators.
So, if you're waiting for GLP-1 drug adoption to reach a population tipping point before acting (or just trying to design for people who take the drug), you're already behind. The cultural impact is reshaping consumer expectations now.
The companies that recognize this metabolic mindshift early and build products and messaging around the new biological framework, will own the categories of tomorrow.
Aldi UK has launched the "Hash Brown Van," a mobile pop-up offering free hash browns outside select McDonald's locations immediately after the chain's 11am breakfast cutoff. This campaign responds to consumer frustration over limited breakfast hours. Aldi's Oakhurst Breakfast Hash Browns are available in-store at £1.99 for a pack of ten, compared to McDonald's £1.49 per single serving.
Waitrose has introduced the No.1 White Chocolate & Pistachio Nuts with Sea Salt bar, its first own-label entry into the trending “Dubai-style” chocolate category. This 100g bar combines white chocolate infused with pistachio paste, giving it a distinctive green hue, and is studded with chopped pistachios for added texture and flavor. Priced at £2.75, it's available in Waitrose stores across the UK.
Rondanini UK has launched DeNada, a Spanish-inspired food range now available exclusively at Tesco. The 12-item lineup includes ready meals like paella and Pollo con Pisto. Priced between £2.25 and £5.00, the products are featured in Tesco’s “That’s Dinner Sorted” section, catering to consumers seeking convenient, authentic Spanish cuisine at home.
Kroger has launched its limited-edition Summer Collection, featuring playful and seasonal frozen treats. Highlights include the Italian Style Summer Fizz Blood Orange Sherbet and Fireside Nights Ice Cream. The collection is available in select Kroger stores for a limited time.
Can private label save US retailers?
If you’ve been reading earnings transcripts from US grocery giants lately, it’s a little bleak. Walmart is getting pinched by tariffs. Target is wading through a consumer slowdown, economic headwinds, and the hangover of boycotts. And yet, private label (at least on paper) should be their silver lining.
They’ve come a long way in recent years. US retailers used to treat store brands like “off-brand aspirin,” generic, functional, and emotionally vacant. But post-pandemic, private label has been one of the few growth stories in grocery. Not explosive, but steady. And yet, even with the tailwinds of inflation (i.e., consumers trading down), PL in the US is still nowhere near Europe’s level of penetration.
So, is this a slam-dunk opportunity being missed? Can private label solve retailers woes? Yes. But also no. Let’s unpack.
Private Label Bright Spots
1. US Private Label Penetration Is Still Low (and that’s an opportunity)
Across the pond, private label often captures 40–50%+ of grocery sales. Think Tesco. Think Carrefour or Waitrose. In the US, we’re still hovering around 18–20% by most estimates. That should be an enormous runway for growth, especially given how price-sensitive many households are right now.
2. Consumer Perception Is Finally Catching Up
More and more, especially with Millennials and Gen Z, shoppers say they trust store brands as much as national brands. For some, they even see them as more ethical or value-aligned. This trust shift matters, especially when you realize how brand-loyal older generations once were to legacy names.
3. Retailers Are Actually Building Brands
Target’s Good & Gather and Favorite Day are great examples of what happens when you treat private label with the respect of a standalone brand. Kroger’s Simple Truth, Costco’s Kirkland Signature, these aren’t price-point plays anymore; they’re identity plays. Private label with purpose.
Where Things Fall Apart
But if the opportunity of private label share growth is so obvious, why isn’t PL pulling retailers out of the red? Because this is harder than it looks. Here’s why the structural drag is real:
1. Brand Muscle Still Dominates in the US
This isn’t just about marketing budgets, it’s cultural. US consumers didn’t grow up with private label as the default. They grew up on jingles and mascots; campaigns that seeped into their dreams! The mental model here is still “private label = just cheaper.” And flipping that script takes more than shelf space, it takes time and a mental reframe.
2. US Retailers Aren’t Aldi or Lidl
Those European giants vertically integrate like it’s a religion. They control their supply chains, invest in manufacturing, and have ruthless cost management. Most US grocers outsource manufacturing and treat private label as an efficiency play. That creates real ceilings on both quality and innovation.
3. The Supply Side Is Still Chained to the Status Quo
Much of the US private label universe is manufactured by a small number of co-mans. If those same players are also producing for big national brands, they have zero incentive to rock the boat on cost, quality, or radical innovation. If anything, they benefit from a sleepy, stable market.
4. Retailers Are Addicted to Brand Dollars
Slotting fees, trade spend, endcaps…the financial engine of most grocers is built on national brand dollars. Investing in private label means risking some of that high-margin gravy. And let’s be honest: few execs want to turn off a faucet that’s still flowing.
So, What is Private Label’s Real Play?
In the end, the biggest barrier isn’t the consumer, margins or supply chain; it’s retailers’ own self-image. Too many US retailers still see themselves as logistics companies with house brands or like a rival CPG, when in reality, they’re cultural curators with unmatched access to data, shelf space, and shopper context. Until they stop thinking like manufacturers and start acting like the unique platforms they are, US private label will never match those of other nations.
This isn’t about copying national brands better. It’s about seeing private label as a vehicle for new value creation: faster, broader, and more relevant than what CPGs can pull off.
Private Label Plays: Do This Because of This
Develop private label products that fit ‘between the gaps’ regular manufacturers ignore/can’t see
Because you see across categories, use that info to find and grow more white spaceUse loyalty and basket data to create curated kits (e.g., "Gut Reset", "Sleep Pantry")
Because you have real-time, shopper-specific insight CPGs would kill for, use it to personalize at scale.Run seasonal ingredient campaigns across departments (e.g., “Vanilla Month” in snacks and skincare)
Because you own the shelf across aisles and can tell richer, cross-category stories than any brand.Incubate new products based on under-served trend intersections (e.g., spicy + gut health)
Because you don’t need brand buy-in or factory alignment, you can test and learn in-house, fast.Offer “pantry stretch” bundles (buy base + get discounted protein or flavor upgrade)
Because you can link discounts across categories to turn private label into a system, not just SKUs.Build multi-category “Budget Baskets” at fixed spend levels ($25, $40, $60)
Because shoppers budget by total cart, not category, and only you can curate across silos.
GUT REACTION
TIDBITS
Food Industry
Nearly 75% of all restaurant orders in US are now to-go
A Fast-Growing Chicken Chain Uses AI in Quest to Become a Household Name
American Breakfast Cereals Are Becoming Less Healthy, Study Finds
Target cuts sales outlook as retailer blames tariff uncertainty and backlash to DEI rollback
WeightWatchers scraps business model to team up with anti-obesity drugs provider
McDonald's to close standalone beverage concept, CosMc's
PepsiCo Is Pushing Back its Climate Goals. The Company Wants to Talk About It
Interns designed Coca-Cola’s new Sprite + Tea flavor
Foodservice numbers aren’t great, but dessert is booming
Pet owners are trading down: here are the numbers
Mondelēz sues Aldi over private label packaging that ‘blatantly copies’ Oreo and Chips Ahoy!
Non-alcoholic beer projected to overtake ale as the second-largest beer category worldwide this year
Interesting
AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, CEO of Anthropic predicts
A wave of fraud hits the whiskey industry
What is ‘ghostworking’? Most employees say they regularly pretend to work
Giant Robotic Bugs Are Headed to Farms
Urban Outfitters Launches Immersive Retail Concept with Nike
The Rise of the Revenge Meal: Why Parents Are Sneaking Off to Secretly Snack
Nathan’s Famous has found a foothold in Ukraine, a hot dog-loving country
Price-radar—real-time tracking of grocery costs across the US
Mumbai's iconic pav bread might soon be toast
In tiny rural towns, young entrepreneurs are using food to revitalize communities
Inside the Arms Race to Create a Better Lactose Intolerance Pill
Our Protein Panic Is Making Whole Milk Cool Again
What ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Defaults Say About the Consumer
Rates of liver injuries rise in the U.S. as supplements grow in popularity
Smart toilet startup Throne has raised $4m, the app-based tech monitors food intake and waste output
Fun & Odd
How to avoid crying while cutting onions, according to physics
Inside NY’s new 2D sketchbook restaurant
The chemistry of BBQ
‘Bro invented soup’: People are rolling their eyes at the water-based cooking trend on TikTok
A trip to the farm where loofahs grow on vines
German man victorious at Gloucestershire cheese-rolling event
Coca-Cola Has Been Scientifically Proven To Be A Cure For This Medical Condition