This Week in Review☕️ : The Healthy Soda Market is blowing up | PepsiCo in talks to buy Poppi | Big companies give weak earning forecasts | Tariffs amid decreasing consumer confidence | Fast fashion

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Quick Bites:

Business🥤: PepsiCo nearing deal to buy “Poppy”.

Interest in the healthy-soda market shows no sign of fizzling- PepsiCo is in advanced talks to buy the soda company for $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reports.

About Poppi💡: Known for its “gut healthy” approach, offers low-sugar sodas infused with Apple cider vinegar.

Launched in 2018, the brand has seen significant growth, with sales exceeding $100 million in 2023 and distribution across more than 120 retailers.

In addition, sales have been up more than 60% from last year itself.

What does this mean for the future of beverages?

💡Poppi is more than just a $1.5 billion deal- it signals a massive shift in consume preferences.

💡People want to ditch traditional sugary drinks for better options that don’t compromise on taste.

💡The old-school cola wars are evolving into a new battlefield: Gut health, organic, real ingredients, and functional beverages.

💡Legacy brands can only pivot so much before they start losing influence- especially among young millennials and Gen Z who are increasingly health-conscious. 

💡The potential acquisition follows PepsiCo’s decision to cancel its own “functional soda,” Soulboost, amid signs it wouldn’t succeed.

💡So the real question is-what’s next? Will Coca-Cola go for a similar acquisition? Either way, this deal is a strong signal that the soda industry is evolving fast this year.

Our Thoughts💡:

We used to drink tons of Diet Pepsi but its been one month since we’ve had a drop.

We want to share some of the changes we’ve observed in that time:
-Our health is unchanged
-We are less happy
-Our one and only source of joy is gone

Thanks for encouraging us on this health journey!!🖕🏻

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Economy 🌎 : Consumers are starting to crack as tariffs add to inflation.

CEOs of big companies like Delta and Walmart have been cautious in recent weeks, leading them to issue give weaker revenue forecasts, CNBC reports.

Compounding the issue is: A slowing job market, persistent inflation and declining consumer confidence.

So the eggs aren’t cheaper and we STILL have inflation but planes keep crashing & Elon Musk is rifling through our tax returns 

Welcome to America’s golden age🤯

PS. we don’t wanna party like it’s 1999. We just wanna get our Tide pods and Nescafe coffee creamers at Walmart like its 1999 😫

Like can someone bring back $10 Chinese food, $500 apartments and $20 full tanks already??? 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Key Highlights, reported by CNBC:

💡Trump’s tarriffs have sparked new fears about a potential recession, sending the S&P 500 tumbling 10% from its record highs in February

💡Walmart, the retail industry’s de facto leader, warned that profit growth would be slower than expected in the year ahead

💡“We don’t want to get out over our skis here. There’s a lot of the year to play out,” Walmart’s finance chief, John David Rainey, told analysts when discussing the company’s outlook.
“It’s prudent to have an outlook that is somewhat measured.”

💡American Airlines cut its Q1 earningsforecast as well

💡Other strong companies such as Dick’s Sporting Goods, E.l.f. Beauty and Abercrombie & Fitch also issued weak forecasts in recent weeks

💡It’s a warning sign that shoppers could be starting to crack, and that even excellent execution is no match for tariff-induced price increases after 4 years of historic inflation

Our Thoughts💡:

Life today:

Inflation is when you pay $15 for the $10 haircut you used to get for $5 when you still had a head full of hair

PS. Isn’t it weirdly funny that:
It’s always $800 checks two years ago and 50-cent raises for workers are causing inflation” and never “$2 trillion from the Fed to bail out the stock market, $1 trillion in annual stock corporate buybacks and a 1400% rise in CEO salaries since 1985 that are causing inflation” 🤔🤔

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Fashion👗: Forever 21 files for bankruptcy.

Due to both inflation and the rise of online shopping, the fast fashion giant has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for a second time.

Forever 21 is going bankrupt bcoz who wants to buy a floral crop top which says I Love PICKLES at the back?

Meanwhile, employees looking at their stock and wondering what they’re gonna do with all their unsold sequin “Taco Tuesdays” tops and glitter emoji booty shorts

The company, which operates some 540 stores globally, said it would wind down its US operations, listing assets upto $500 million and liabilities of $1 billion to $10 billion, per Bloomberg.

Last month, it shut down its LA headquarters and laid off around 700 employees.

Personally we’re thrilled. We wanna travel the world, not freakin go to a club every Friday and have someone in a Forever 21 outfit step on our shoes 

Key Highlights, reported by Reuters:

💡Store Closures: The company plans to close all 350 US stores and has initiated liquidation sales to sell off remaining inventory

💡Previous Bankruptcy: This is the company’s 2nd bankruptcy filing; the first occurred in 2019, after which it was acquired by a consortium including Authentic Brands Group, Simon Property Group, and Brookfield Property Partners. ​

💡International Operations: Stores outside the US, operated by licensees, are not included in the bankruptcy filing and will continue operations as usual

💡Market Competition: The retailer has struggled to compete with online fast-fashion giants like Shein and Temu, which have rapidly gained market share among younger consumers

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Entertainment 🎧 : Spotify had a record $10 billion payout last year.

Spotify just dropped its annual ‘Loud & Clear’ report which showcased some impressive numbers:

-It paid out more than $10 billion to the music industry in 2024 (a 10x increase in the past 10 years)
-This brings total lifetime payouts to nearly $60 billion
-1,500 artists generated over $1 million in royalties
-Independent artists generated more than $5 billion

-Music in 8 different langauges each earned over $100 million in royalties
-The rise of Indie music: Indies generated about half of total 2024 Spotify royalties
-One in every million streams= $10,000/ per year

Its key to note that: Spotify doesn’t pay artists directly.

Rights-holders, usually labels and music publishers, get first dibs, and artists and songwriters fall further down the pecking order.

Our Thoughts💡: As recent as a decade ago, only a handful of artists had access to the shelves in record stores.

Innovative companies like Spotify have enabled hundreds of thousands of creators to share their music with the world through streaming. It’s a phenomenal evolution, and it’s just the beginning! We LOVE SPOTIFY 🎵🎧

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Quicker Bites:

• Amazon debuts premium tier ‘Alexa’ to expand its user base and revive enthusiasm for the device.
• Harvard University, looking to recruit more diverse students, will vastly expand its financial aid program.
• The Democratic Party’s favorabilityrating among Americans hits record low.
• Israel ends Gaza truce with strikes, blames Hamas.
• Apple’s iphone 17 “Air” is a step towards a slimmer, port-free era.
• Gold rises above $3,000 an ounce for the first time.

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