đ Are you reading this while still in your jammies? Then you might be lucky enough to work from home (or youâre making your boss feel pretty weird). Employees care a lot about dodging return-to-office mandates â so much so that itâs dictating what jobs they take. Businesses that allow for flexible work have grown 1.6% since 2022, while those that require RTO have grown by 1%.
đ§ On the pod:2024 was the year of betting. How did we get here, and is it a problem?
NEWS FLASH
đ„ People love breadsticks: Itâs been a tough year for chain restaurants, but Darden Restaurants had a solid quarter, largely due to two of its brands: Olive Garden, with same-store sales growth of 2%, and LongHorn Steakhouse, with 7.5%. Customers were drawn to Olive Gardenâs âNever Ending Pasta Bowlâ promotion, which started and ended earlier this year, and LongHornâs affordable prices, but shied away from Dardenâs pricier chains, like Ruthâs Chris Steak House.
đ Ouraâs latest fundraising round has a nice ring to it: Smart-ring maker Oura just closed a $200m funding round, bringing its valuation to $5.2B. The company said it will use the money to expand its product lineup; support its science, AI, and product development; and explore acquisitions. The new round follows Ouraâs announcement that itâs partnering with Dexcom to eventually let users monitor their blood sugar through their Oura products. Itâs the latest in the companyâs upward trajectory: Oura has sold 2.5m+ rings and doubled both its member base and revenue in the last year.
âïž In a surprising turn of events, a Google Street View camera caught a man allegedly loading a body into the trunk of a car in Tajueco, Spain. The victim is believed to be a 33-year-old man who went missing in October 2023 and whose body was found in a cemetery this month. The victimâs partner and her ex have been arrested on suspicion of murder. While authorities say the Google carâs catch was not âdecisiveâ in their investigation, it is certainly uncanny â Google had not sent a car to that town in 15 years.
MORE NEWS TO KNOW
The Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by a quarter point on Wednesday, the third consecutive reduction. Though that wonât be the case in 2025 â the Fed announced there would likely be only two rate cuts in the new year.
OpenAI goes retro: The company is letting users chat with its AI bot over the phone with the launch of 1-800-ChatGPT. US and Canadian callers will get 15 minutes free per month, and international users can message ChatGPT via WhatsApp.
California Gov. Gavin Newsomdeclared a state of emergency after 300+ dairy herds tested positive for bird flu in the last 30 days. Despite that, the CDC finds that risk to the public remains low.
TOOLBOX
No need to wait to open your presents under the tree when you can open these links instead:
Want to create a top-notch customer experience? Take notes on these tips.
Youâve probably read a lot of success stories, but this is the No. 1 most underrated quality in an entrepreneur.
Turn your idea into a million-dollar business with these lessons learned from a co-founder and CEO.
THE BIG IDEA
Itâs time for the Uncrustables revolution
Traditional PB&J sandwiches are about to go the way of âDukes of Hazzardâ lunch boxes and the idea that ketchup is anything but a vegetable.
Thatâs if the J.M. Smucker Co. and its surging Uncrustables brand get their way, at least.
UncrustablesâŠ
⊠are sealed, crustless PB&J sandwiches with crimped edges, like palm-sized ravioli.
They were invented by two fathers in 1995, and the design was quickly acquired and then patented by Smucker (which was controversial at the time, given the potential for stifling other innovations in the PB&J industry).
Sales for Uncrustables in 2024 are estimated to reach $900m+, thanks to their convenience (put a frozen disk in your lunch in the morning, and by noon itâll thaw to a soft ready-to-eat sandwich) and their staggering popularity among football players.
NFL teams go through 80k+ Uncrustables each year, per The New York Times, and famous boyfriend Travis Kelce says he eats them âmore than I eat anything else in the world.â
But itâs not enough
Smucker envisions Uncrustables as a world-dominating brand, and even owning 8% of the 11B school lunches eaten daily isnât enough.
Smucker just finished building a third dedicated Uncrustables plant, perFood Business News.
Piggybacking off of its recent acquisition of Hostess, Smucker says Uncrustables will soon move into convenience stores.
That means on-the-go types will be able to simply grab one, rather than having to keep a whole box in their freezer.
The Uncrustable of the future
Uncrustables offers several varieties already, including jelly, honey, chocolate-hazelnut, and no jelly at all.
But the next step is a âseasonal platform,â which Smucker told Food Business will âexpand eating occasionsâ by âinspiring new usageâ (mmm, it really makes you hungry!) and encourage uninitiated consumers to try Uncrustables.
You may not be interested in PB&J, but how about some kind of pumpkin-spice sandwich?
Wake up, pour your coffee, and read the whole internet. Or learn how to have Grok 2.0 do it for you.
What should marketers expect in 2025? Five heavy hitters share their predictions.
NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
People who watchedRed One over the first four days it appeared on Amazon MGMâs Prime Video, marking the biggest debut for the streaming service yet.
Whatâs odd is this: Despite its popular cast and a CGI armored polar bear, the Christmas action-fantasy was a box office dud, earning $175m+ against a $250m budget. Critics blasted it, but audiences generally seemed to enjoy the cheese, giving it a 90% on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to criticsâ 30%.
Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke attributed the strong streaming debut to the filmâs theatrical release and marketing campaign. Thatâs apparently the new move for studios, which have seen significant streaming engagement following a theatrical release â both with that particular movie and, if itâs a reboot or franchise, associated films, per The New York Times.
AROUND THE WEB
đ On this day: In 1963, the Berlin Wall opened for the first time since its construction over two years prior.
đȘ Thatâs cool: Scroll for a âtediously accurateâ trip through the solar system.
đ§ Thatâs interesting: If you havenât read Tom Whitwellâs annual lists of what he learned in a given year, youâre missing out. Here are the 52 things he learned in 2024.
Yesterday, we asked you to share your thoughts on imbibing at work.
For most, the annual corporate holiday party is the time to get sloshed: 35% said theyâre fine with it once a year, 33% said a drink is the only way to survive such an event, and 22% wouldnât want to drink with anyone but their co-workers.
Others arenât so keen, and said itâs awkward (6%) and even inappropriate (4%).
If you want to scare yourself out of indulging in one too many martinis this week, just take a look at these office-party horror stories:
âA co-worker got super drunk and tackled our marketing manager’s husband. Guy claims to not remember the incident.â
âOne co-worker broke her leg on the dance floor and had to have surgery that put her out of office for two months.â
âI recall being shocked watching the head of security at my first employer doing keg stands on the beach.â
âI dropped my pants while standing on a chair⊠and then dropped my boxers. It was 15 years ago and still spoken about like it was last month.â
SHOWER THOUGHT
Itâs never really explained how Santa gets into apartment buildings.SOURCE
