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Big Food vs. Big Pharma: Companies bet on snacking just as weight loss drugs boom

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Food companies are making big bets on snacking, but the rise of Wegovy, Ozempic and similar drugs could pose a threat to future sales growth.
Morgan Stanley estimates the number of patients taking GLP-1 drugs could reach 24 million, or nearly 7% of the U.S. population, by 2035.
But PepsiCo, Mondelez and other food companies may be able to pivot their portfolios before that happens.

The snack aisle is seen during a tour of a new Amazon Go store in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, U.S., on Monday, Feb. 24, 2020.
Chona Kasinger | Bloomberg | Getty Images

For more than a century, frosted cornflakes have been the backbone of Kellogg’s business. That changes Monday, when the company will spin off its stable cereal business in favor of its faster-growing snack unit and rename itself Kellanova.
The spinoff comes weeks after another wager that consumers will graze between meals, when J.M. Smucker bought Twinkie maker Hostess Brands for $5.6 billion in a bid to expand its snack lineup.

But food companies’ major bets on snacking come as investors fear the looming danger of Big Pharma’s blockbuster obesity and diabetes drugs Wegovy and Ozempic. Many investors have high hopes for the pharmaceuticals’ future, but their success could mean slower sales for the companies that produce Oreos, Doritos and Hershey’s Kisses.
Big Food’s bet on snacking began roughly a decade ago, and it’s only accelerated as the rest of the grocery aisles see sales stagnate, particularly as prices rise. The U.S. market for savory snacks is expected to grow 6% annually from 2022 through 2027, and sweet snacks’ sales are expected to rise 4.6% annually during that time, according to HSBC. Roughly three-quarters of consumers plan to snack every day, according to Accenture data.
Millennials and Generation Z consumers are fueling the trend. Younger generations snack more often than older consumers, said Kelsey Olsen, food and drink analyst for market research firm Mintel. Millennials and Gen-Z consumers tend to eat smaller meals that are closer together, creating more occasions to grab a snack.
At the same time, Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Wegovy have taken off, fueled by prescriptions to help patients lose weight. The drugs, known as GLP-1 agonists, suppress appetites by mimicking a gut hormone. Some patients even report developing aversions to foods with higher sugar and fat content — a category that includes many big snack brands.
More than 9 million prescriptions for these kinds of drugs were written in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2022, according to a Trilliant Health report.

Morgan Stanley estimates that the number of patients taking GLP-1 drugs could reach 24 million, or nearly 7% of the U.S. population, by 2035.
If so, consumption of baked goods and salty snacks could fall 3% — or even more if the new eating habits of the people using the treatments extend to their broader households and friends, according to Morgan Stanley’s research. That puts companies like Hershey, Mondelez, PepsiCo, General Mills and Kellogg’s successor Kellanova at risk.
But not everyone in the industry agrees with that assessment.

Weight loss drug uptake could be slow

Boxes of Ozempic, a semaglutide injection drug used for treating type 2 diabetes and made by Novo Nordisk, is seen at a Rock Canyon Pharmacy in Provo, Utah, May 29, 2023.
George Frey | Reuters

After buying Hostess Brands, Smucker CEO Mark Smucker defended the future of Twinkies and Ding Dongs against the threat of GLP-1 drugs.
“There are multiple ways that consumers will continue to snack. … And given that consumers are going to continue to seek all different types of snacks, and sweet snacks are going to continue to be on the radar, we view that our projections here are sound,” he told analysts on a conference call.
For one, GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic are expensive, with a list price of roughly $1,000 a month. That high price has led some insurers to decide not to cover the treatments.
While some of the nation’s largest insurers, like CVS’s Aetna, cover prescriptions of these drugs, the federal Medicare program, many state Medicaid programs and some commercial insurers don’t, leaving patients to pick up the bills themselves.
Another factor could work in the favor of snack sales. Many of the consumers who eat the most junk food likely won’t be able to afford Wegovy or Ozempic.
“Consumption of indulgent salty snacks that would be considered ‘junk food’ generally over-indexes toward lower-income individuals, who are unlikely to be these drugs’ primary users, ” RBC analyst Nik Modi said in a research note Tuesday.
Modi wrote that he doesn’t believe the drugs will ultimately be problematic for the manufacturers of salty snacks.
What’s more, patients have to inject themselves once a week, and if they stop taking the treatments, their effects disappear, usually erasing any weight loss that had occurred over time.
“This sort of drug is super interesting in what it can do, but I think until it comes in a radically different formulation, in a pill or something like that, and something that has enduring impact and obviously the much lower price point, I think it’s going to be tricky,” said Oliver Wright, senior managing director of Accenture’s consumer goods and services unit.
Even if the drugs become more affordable and are more widely adopted, the change won’t happen overnight. Food companies will have time to adjust to shifting consumer behavior.
“We acknowledge that the impact in the near term is likely to be limited given drug adoption will grow gradually over time, but we could see a longer-term impact as drug prevalence increases,” Morgan Stanley’s Paula Kaufman wrote in a note to clients. “Moreover, we expect companies to adapt to changes in consumer behavior through innovation and portfolio reshaping efforts.”
That may mean slower sales growth than expected and moves to divest some brands. But Big Food has been making strides toward healthier options anyway. GLP-1 drugs could just put more pressure on companies to update their portfolios.
PepsiCo and Mondelez are among the companies that have snapped up smaller brands that make healthier snacks. Still, growing them into global powerhouses will take time.
Food companies are also looking internally, investing in their research and development teams to create new formulations that mirror the taste of their full-sugar and salt versions.
“My prediction is, before the end of the decade, we will have a healthy Oreo that can be put on a plate with an old one, and consumers won’t be able to tell them apart — and that will be a good thing,” Accenture’s Wright said.
— Annika Kim Constantino contributed reporting for this story. More

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    Federal judge declines to block Medicare drug price negotiations

    A federal judge declined to block the Biden administration from implementing Medicare drug price negotiations, upholding for now a controversial process that aims to make costly medications more affordable for older Americans.
    Judge Michael Newman of the Southern District of Ohio issued a ruling denying a preliminary injunction sought by the Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest lobbying groups in the country, which aimed to block the price talks before Oct. 1.
    President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act gave Medicare the power to directly hash out drug prices with manufacturers for the first time in the federal program’s nearly 60-year history.

    A pharmacist holds a bottle of the drug Eliquis, made by Pfizer Pharmaceuticals, at a pharmacy in Provo, Utah, January 9, 2020.
    George Frey | Reuters

    A federal judge on Friday declined to block the Biden administration from implementing Medicare drug price negotiations, upholding for now a controversial process that aims to make costly medications more affordable for older Americans.
    Judge Michael Newman of the Southern District of Ohio issued a ruling denying a preliminary injunction sought by the Chamber of Commerce, one of the largest lobbying groups in the country, which aimed to block the price talks before Oct. 1.

    That date is the deadline for manufacturers of the first 10 drugs selected for negotiations to agree to participate in the talks.
    But Newman, a nominee of former president Donald Trump, also declined to grant the Biden administration’s motion to dismiss the case entirely.
    Instead, he asked the Chamber to amend its complaint by Oct. 13 to clarify certain details in the case.
    Newman also gave the Biden administration until Oct. 27 to renew its motion to dismiss the case.
    He said “a final determination on standing issues will be made following a short (60-day) discovery period and—assuming they are filed—renewed motions to dismiss.”

    The ruling from Newman is a blow to the pharmaceutical industry, which views the process as a threat to its revenue growth, profits and drug innovation.
    President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which passed in a party-line vote last year, gave Medicare the power to directly hash out drug prices with manufacturers for the first time in the federal program’s nearly 60-year history
    The Chamber, which represents some companies in the industry, and drugmakers like Merck and Johnson & Johnson filed at least eight separate lawsuits in recent months seeking to declare the negotiations unconstitutional. But the Chamber’s suit was the only one seeking a preliminary injunction. 

    Michael Newman, U.S. District Court Judge Ohio
    Source: U.S. District Court

    The Chamber’s lawsuit argues that the program violates drugmakers’ due process rights under the Fifth Amendment by giving the government the power to effectively dictate prices for their medicines.
    The Chamber said an appeals court established a precedent that when the government sets prices, it must provide procedural safeguards to ensure a company receives a reasonable rate and fair return on investment. It stems from the 2001 case Michigan Bell Telephone Co. v. Engler, according to the Chamber.
    The Medicare negotiations do not provide these safeguards and impose price caps that are well below a drug’s market value, the Chamber argued.
    “There is a very, very high risk, maybe a guarantee, but certainly a very, very high risk, that this regime will result in prices that are unfair,” Jeffrey Bucholtz, an attorney for the Chamber, told judge Newman during a hearing earlier this month.
    He added that drugmakers either must agree to the price the government sets, or face an excise tax of up to 1,900% of U.S. sales of the drug.
    But lawyers for the DOJ said during the hearing that the program was far from compulsory. Drugmakers can choose the alternative to those two options: Withdraw their voluntary participation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to attorney Brian Netter. 
    “The measure of relief here is for manufacturers to decide whether they want to stay in the program under the terms that are on offer,” Netter said. “If they choose not to, that’s their prerogative.”
    The other suits are scattered in federal courts around the U.S.
    Legal experts say the pharmaceutical industry hopes to obtain conflicting rulings from federal appellate courts, which could fast-track the issue to the Supreme Court. 
    Medicare covers roughly 66 million people in the U.S., according to health policy research organization KFF. The drug price talks are expected to save the insurance program an estimated $98.5 billion over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office said. 
    In August, the Biden administration unveiled the 10 drugs that will be subject to the first round of price talks, officially kicking off a lengthy negotiation process that will end in August 2024. The reduced prices for those initial medications won’t go into effect until January 2026.
    That includes blood thinners from Bristol-Myers Squibb and J&J, and diabetes drugs from Merck and AstraZeneca. It also includes a blood cancer drug from AbbVie, one of the companies represented by the Chamber of Commerce.  More

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    Bill Ackman’s ‘SPARC’ gets OK from the SEC and he’s ready for a deal: ‘please call me’

    Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management CEO, speaking at the Delivering Alpha conference in NYC on Sept. 28th, 2023.
    Adam Jeffery | CNBC

    Billionaire investor Bill Ackman said Friday that U.S. regulators have approved his unique special purpose acquisition company structure, and he’s ready to hunt for a deal.
    Investors in Ackman’s unfruitful SPAC, known as Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, got a tradable right to participate in a future deal, and now it’s closer to becoming a reality. The Securities and Exchange Commission greenlit what the Pershing Square CEO has called a SPARC — a special purpose acquisition rights company — in which he will inform investors of the potential acquisition before they pledge funds.

    “If your large private growth company wants to go public without the risks and expenses of a typical IPO, with Pershing Square as your anchor shareholder, please call me,” Ackman said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We promise a quick yes or no.”
    Many have said the traditional SPAC structure can be inefficient and costly to shareholders. SPACs are shell corporations listed on a stock exchange with the purpose of acquiring a private company and taking the company public, typically within two years. In Ackman’s SPARC, investors get to opt in if they like the deal and walk away if they don’t.
    The SPARC will shortly be distributing special purpose acquisition rights at no cost to former securityholders of Pershing Square Tontine. Ackman had raised $4 billion in the biggest-ever SPAC, but he returned the sum to investors after failing to find a suitable target company to take public.
    After a hot period in the pandemic, SPAC investors have turned their backs on speculative high-growth equities with unproven track records after many of these firms failed to meet inflated forecasts. As interest rates stabilize, the market, as well as IPOs, have showed signs of rebound.
    Pershing Square said the SPARC will immediately begin to pursue a merger with private, high-quality, growth companies. It is targeting companies who seek to raise a minimum of $1.5 billion of capital, the company said.
    Ackman’s Pershing Square funds could commit a minimum of $250 million and up to $3.5 billion as anchor investors in the potential transaction, the company said. More

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    Ford CEO says UAW is ‘holding the deal hostage’ over EV battery plants

    The United Auto Workers union is holding up negotiations with Ford Motor over future EV battery plants, Ford CEO Jim Farley said Friday.
    “I believe we could have reached a compromise on pay and benefits but so far the UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants,” Farley said.
    The UAW on Friday announced it would expand strikes to two additional assembly plants — one each for Ford and General Motors.

    Members of the United Auto Workers union picket outside the Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, on Sept. 26, 2023.
    Matthew Hatcher | AFP | Getty Images

    DETROIT — The United Auto Workers union is holding up negotiations with Ford Motor over future electric vehicle battery plants, Ford CEO Jim Farley said during a press briefing Friday.
    “I believe we could have reached a compromise on pay and benefits, but so far the UAW is holding the deal hostage over battery plants,” he said after the UAW announced it would expand strikes to two additional assembly plants — one each for Ford and General Motors.

    Farley criticized the union for its targeted strike strategy, saying he feels the actions were “premeditated” and insinuating the union was never interested in reaching a deal before a Sept. 14 deadline.
    “We have felt from the very beginning, between all the lines of our comments, that the original strike was premeditated and that everything is taking way too long,” he said. “That actual events are predetermined before they happen. It’s been very frustrating.”
    Farley’s public criticism of the union is uncharacteristic for Ford, which is historically viewed as the most union-friendly company of the Detroit automakers.
    Farley said the company isn’t “at an impasse” with the union but warned that day “could come if this continues.”
    GM CEO Mary Barra echoed much of Farley’s criticisms of Fain and the UAW’s strike strategy.

    “It’s clear that there is no real intent to get to an agreement,” she said in an emailed statement Friday night. “It is clear Shawn Fain wants to make history for himself, but it can’t be to the detriment of our represented team members and the industry.”
    UAW President Shawn Fain fired back at Farley, saying the CEO hasn’t been present at the bargaining table and that he’s “lying about the state of negotiations.”
    “It could be because he failed to show up for bargaining this week, as he has for most of the past ten weeks. If he were there, he’d know we gave Ford a comprehensive proposal on Monday and still haven’t heard back,” Fain said in a statement Friday afternoon. “He would also know that we are far apart on core economic proposals like retirement security and post-retirement healthcare, as well as job security in this EV transition, which Farley himself says is going to cut 40 percent of our members’ jobs.”

    Multibillion-dollar EV battery plants — and their thousands of expected workers — are crucial to the automotive industry’s future and uniquely positioned to have wide-ranging implications for the UAW, automakers and President Joe Biden’s push toward domestic manufacturing.
    Current and former union leaders previously told CNBC that the battery plants will have to be a priority for the labor organization, regardless of whether they’re directly discussed in the national agreement, for the long-term viability of the union.
    However, they’re considered a “wild card” issue in the contract negotiations. Many of the battery plants that have been announced cannot legally be included in the current talks, as they are joint venture facilities.

    United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain addresses picketing UAW members at a General Motors Service Parts Operations plant in Belleville, Michigan, on Sept. 26, 2023, as U.S. President Joe Biden joined the workers.
    Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

    Ford has announced four future battery plants, including three joint ventures and a wholly owned subsidiary using battery technology licensed from Chinese auto supplier CATL. Ford earlier this week paused construction on the latter plant in Marshall, Michigan, due to the union negotiations, Farley said.
    “We can make Marshall a lot bigger or a lot smaller,” Farley said Friday.
    GM is the only Detroit automaker with a joint venture battery plant in operation and unionized — making it the first in the country to face this particular negotiating dynamic and a landmark plant to set standards for the industry.
    Farley noted that some of the battery production won’t even be covered under the timeline of the deals that are currently being negotiated. He also defended the company’s prior offers, which include more than 20% hourly wage growth, reinstatement of cost-of-living adjustments, job protections and other benefits.
    “If the UAW’s goal is a record contract, they have already achieved this,” Farley said. “It is grossly irresponsible to escalate these strikes and hurt thousands of families.” More

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    JetBlue raises flight attendant pay, union agrees to support merger with Spirit

    JetBlue says it will raise flight attendant pay 5% next year and make other improvements.
    The union, in turn, said it would support the carrier’s proposed acquisition of budget airline Spirit.

    JetBlue Airways aircraft are pictured at departure gates at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
    Fred Prouser | Reuters

    JetBlue Airways said it will raise flight attendant pay next year and provide other bonuses to staff while the union representing cabin crews agreed to support the carrier’s plan to acquire budget carrier Spirit Airlines.
    Starting in November, flight attendants will get 5% raises. Including another 2% raise, a slate of other incentives and previously negotiated raises under flight attendants’ union contract, their raises in 2026 will compound to 21.5% increases, according to a company memo, which was seen by CNBC Friday.

    The raises come as the New York-based carrier is in the process of trying to acquire Spirit, a merger the Justice Department has sued to block. A trial for that lawsuit is set to begin on Oct. 16 in Boston.
    JetBlue agreed not to furlough or displace any flight attendants or close any associated bases for seven years after a potential acquisition of Spirit goes through, the memo said.
    “With this agreement made by your TWU Local 579 Executive Board and JetBlue, we support the JetBlue and Spirit transaction and will not hold an additional informational picket or speak publicly against the acquisition,” the union said in a note to members. JetBlue didn’t immediately comment.
    JetBlue also agreed to additional pay for staff that fly the carrier’s trans-Atlantic routes and in its Mint business-class cabin, as well as other incentives, according to a letter of agreement with the Transport Workers Union, which represents JetBlue’s 7,000 flight attendants. More

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    Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Tesla, Nike, Carnival, Nvidia and more

    Tesla CEO Elon Musk arrives for a U.S. Senate bipartisan Artificial Intelligence Insight Forum at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 13, 2023.
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images

    Check out the companies making headlines in midday trading.
    Tesla — Stock in the electric vehicle company added 1.5% in midday trading Friday. Canaccord Genuity reiterated a buy rating on the EV stock on Thursday ahead of vehicle deliveries data. Elsewhere, Citi remained neutral on Tesla and reduced its vehicle delivery forecast to 450,000 from 468,500. Last week, Barclays forecast a delivery target miss.

    Anheuser-Busch InBev — U.S.-listed shares of the beer stock climbed 3.2% following an upgrade to buy from neutral, with the firm highlighting an inflection point for margins and a more innovative portfolio strategy.
    Carnival — Shares of the cruise operator slid 4.9% in midday trading. Carnival forecast a loss of 10 cents to 18 cents per share for the fiscal fourth quarter, while analysts polled by LSEG, formerly known as Refinitiv, anticipated a loss of 10 cents per share. Separately, Carnival posted adjusted earnings of 86 cents per share on revenue of $6.85 billion for the fiscal third quarter, beating earnings estimates of 75 cents per share and $6.69 billion in revenue. Competitor Norwegian Cruise Line also slipped 3%.
    Blue Apron — Shares surged more than 134% after the meal kit company announced it reached an agreement to be bought by Wonder Group for $13 per share. That’s about a 137% premium to Blue Apron’s closing price of $5.49 per share on Thursday.
    Nvidia — Shares of the chipmaker ticked up 1%. Citi wrote in a Friday note that the company’s forthcoming iteration of its Blackwell B100 GPU would serve as a “major stock catalyst” heading into the first half of 2024, and also drive margins and sales. The firm reiterated a buy rating on Nvidia stock.
    Nike — Shares of the sneaker giant jumped 6.6% after a mixed fiscal first-quarter report. Late Thursday, the company reported earnings of 94 cents per share and $12.94 billion in revenue, while analysts polled by LSEG forecast 75 cents per share and $12.98 million in revenue. Nike also reiterated midsingle-digit full-year revenue growth guidance.

    Walgreens — Shares of the pharmacy giant jumped more than 6%. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, reported Walgreens is weighing Tim Wentworth, a former Cigna executive, as its next CEO. Roz Brewer stepped down from her post as Walgreens CEO as of the end of August.
    Bumble — The online dating platform added 3% after Loop Capital Markets upgraded the stock to buy from hold. The firm said the stock is “de-risked” while Bumble’s strong cash balance and free cash flow generation will help protect its balance sheet.
    Brinker International — The Chili’s parent advanced nearly 2% following a Stifel upgrade to buy from hold. The firm said Brinker’s strategic playbook appears similar to those of other chains that have experienced successful turnarounds.
    Corcept Therapeutics — Shares slumped 17% in midday trading as the firm contends with ongoing litigation against Teva Pharmaceuticals. The conflict centers on Corcept’s Cushing syndrome drug Korlym, and Teva has sought to cancel Corcept’s patent over the treatment.
    Texas Roadhouse — Stock in the restaurant chain gained roughly 1% on the heels of an upgrade to buy from Northcoast Research, with the firm highlighting a steady flow of customer traffic to stores.
    — CNBC’s Pia Singh, Alex Harring, Michelle Fox, Hakyung Kim and Darla Mercado contributed reporting. More

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    UAW announces new strikes at GM and Ford plants, spares Stellantis citing ‘momentum’ in talks

    The United Auto Workers union will expand strikes against General Motors and Ford Motor.
    UAW President Shawn Fain said Chrysler parent Stellantis was spared from additional strikes because of recent progress in negotiations with that company.
    About 6,900 autoworkers will take part in the latest wave of work stoppages, joining roughly 18,300 workers who are currently on strike for the union.

    DETROIT – The United Auto Workers union will expand strikes against General Motors and Ford Motor to two U.S. assembly plants at noon ET, UAW President Shawn Fain said Friday.
    The additional strikes will target Ford’s Chicago Assembly Plant in Illinois, which produces the Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator SUVs, and GM’s Lansing Delta Township plant in mid-Michigan that produces the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse crossovers.

    The plants are important ones for the companies, however not as profitable or crucial as facilities that produce the automakers’ pickup trucks.
    Fain said Chrysler parent Stellantis was spared from additional strikes because of recent progress in negotiations with that company.
    “Moments before this broadcast, Stellantis made significant progress on the 2009 cost-of-living allowance, the right not to cross a picket line, as well as the right to strike over product commitments and plant closures and outsourcing moratoriums,” said Fain, who was delayed nearly 30 minutes in making the online announcement. “We are excited about this momentum at Stellantis and hope it continues.”
    About 6,900 autoworkers will take part in the latest wave of work stoppages, joining roughly 18,300 workers who are currently on strike for the union. That means about 25,200 employees, or roughly 17% of UAW members covered by the expired contracts with the Detroit automakers, will be on strike as of noon.
    “To restore the balance of power, we have to restore the strike,” Fain said Friday, citing several other UAW strikes aside from the Detroit automakers.

    GM in a statement Friday said it had yet to receive a “comprehensive counteroffer” from union leadership to a contract proposal made last week.
    “Calling more strikes is just for the headlines, not real progress. The number of people negatively impacted by these strikes is growing and includes our customers who buy and love the products we build,” Gerald Johnson, GM’s head of global manufacturing, said in the statement. “We’re here to reach an agreement so we can all get back to work, and that remains our 100% focus.”
    Stellantis, in a statement, said while negotiators have made progress, “gaps remain.” The company said it is “committed to continue working through these issues in an expeditious manner to reach a fair and responsible agreement that gets everyone back to work as soon as possible.”
    Ford CEO Jim Farley said mid-Friday afternoon the UAW is “holding the deal hostage over battery plants,” calling the additional strike “grossly irresponsible.” He also criticized the union for its targeted strike strategy, saying he feels the actions were “premediated” and insinuating the union was never interested in reaching a deal before a Sept. 14 deadline.
    Fain fired back at Farley, saying the CEO hasn’t been present at the bargaining table and that he’s “lying about the state of negotiations.”
    The additional strikes come one week after a similar strike expansion. The UAW originally initiated work stoppages on Sept. 15 at three assembly plants — one each for the Detroit automakers. Last week, the union targeted a further 38 parts and distribution locations operated by GM and Stellantis. At that time, the UAW spared Ford from expanded strikes, citing progress in those negotiations.

    Members of the Writers Guild of America West (WGAW) join striking United Auto Workers (UAW) at a rally in front of the Stellantis Mopar facility on September 26, 2023 in Ontario, California. 
    Gina Ferazzi | Los Angeles Times | Getty Images

    Fain previously said the union would increase the work stoppages, based on progress in the contract negotiations. The talks have spurred frustrations and accusations from both sides of the bargaining table.
    Before the Friday announcement, GM and Stellantis in particular had grown increasingly frustrated by a lack of participation from Fain and what they said were delays in receiving counterproposals from the union, people familiar with the negotiations told CNBC.
    Unlike past strikes, UAW leaders opted for targeted strikes at select plants instead of initiating national walkouts. It’s calling the work stoppages “stand-up strikes,” a nod to historic “sit-down” strikes by the UAW in the 1930s.
    The strategy is in an effort to keep the automakers on edge in an effort to pit them against one another to achieve better contracts, according to private messages leaked last week involving the UAW’s communications director.
    The messages, which described a strategy to cause “recurring reputations damage and operational chaos” for the companies, were heavily criticized by the automakers. More

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    Blue Apron to be acquired by Wonder Group for $103 million, capping tumultuous post-IPO ride

    Meal kit business Blue Apron announced Friday it has agreed to sell itself to food and restaurant company Wonder Group, founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore, for $103 million.
    The sale caps years of ups and downs for Blue Apron, once a leader in at-home meal deliveries.
    In recent months, the company has transitioned to become a more asset-light business, selling its operational infrastructure and laying off significant swaths of its workforce.

    Scott Eisen | Getty Images News | Getty Images

    Meal kit business Blue Apron announced Friday it has agreed to sell itself to food and restaurant company Wonder Group, founded by entrepreneur Marc Lore, for $103 million.
    The deal, at $13 per share, represents a significant premium from Blue Apron’s per-share price at Thursday’s close of $5.49.

    The sale caps years of ups and downs for Blue Apron, once a leader in at-home meal deliveries. In recent months, the company has transitioned to become a more asset-light business, selling its operational infrastructure to California-based meal provider FreshRealm for $50 million and laying off significant swaths of its workforce.
    “The Blue Apron brand and products that our customers know and love will stay the same, with more opportunity for product expansion in the future,” Blue Apron CEO Linda Findley said in a statement Friday.

    A checkered past

    Blue Apron has long been mired in strategic difficulties since its mid-2010s heyday.
    The company was founded in 2012, billing itself as an easier way to prepare home-cooked meals. Boxes arrived at the customer’s doorstep with pre-portioned ingredients and recipes to create their chosen dishes. The company specifically targeted working professionals in large cities who may have less time to grocery shop and cook.
    In 2015, the company secured $135 million in funding from big name backers including Fidelity Investments at a valuation of $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported at the time. The company even turned a profit in the first two quarters of 2016, wowing potential investors ahead of an eventual IPO.

    Blue Apron went public in June 2017 at $10 a share and a valuation of about $1.89 billion. The company initially forecasted a range of $15 to $17 per share, but lowered its projected per-share price following Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods Market, announced just weeks before the IPO.
    Blue Apron stock gained little ground on its opening day.
    By then, the tide had already begun to turn for the meal kit business. Blue Apron reported a loss of $52 million in the first quarter of 2017 on $245 million in revenue. That single quarter of losses rivaled the company’s full-year deficit from 2016 of $54.9 million.
    Competition intensified for Blue Apron, as other meal kit businesses popped up on the scene like HelloFresh and Home Chef. Blue Apron still dominated 40.3% of the market, Verge reported at the time, but had lost 17% of its share since September 2016. HelloFresh trailed behind at 28% market share.
    Shortly after the IPO, a number of shakeups took place within the company’s top executives. Co-founder and then-Chief Operating Officer Matthew Wadiak stepped down from his post less than a month after the IPO, and CEO Matt Salzberg was replaced by chief financial officer Brad Dickerson later that year, while Salzberg became executive chairman.
    By the end of 2017, the situation looked bleak: The company said in its 2017 year-end report that it had lost 15% of its customer base year over year, citing decreased marketing spend. Net losses in 2017 amounted to $210 million.
    By December of the following year, shares of Blue Apron had dipped below $1 per share, and the company was at risk of getting delisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Investors were reportedly spooked by Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, high marketing expenses, and fulfillment center issues.

    Rescue plan

    In early 2020, reports surfaced that Blue Apron was considering going private.
    Soon after, the company announced the closure of its Arlington, Texas, facility and the furlough of 240 employees as part of an effort to build “operational optimization and fiscal discipline to support our strategy and return to growth.”
    CEO Linda Findley acknowledged during the company’s fourth quarter 2019 earnings call that the board was evaluating several strategic options to “maximize shareholder value.” Shares of Blue Apron traded for less than $4 apiece at the time, even after a reverse stock split to boost the per-share price.
    But shortly thereafter, the Covid pandemic took hold and lockdowns kept people at home, breathing new life into the company. Blue Apron shares rallied from mid-March to mid-April 2020, jumping 400%.
    But as the pandemic waned and demand for at-home meals slumped, Blue Apron sought out third-party partnerships to capture new customers. It began offering its meal kits on Walmart.com and opened up its preexisting Amazon partnership to include those without a Prime subscription.
    Even so, the company continued to struggle, reporting a net loss of $109.7 million for 2022.
    Enter, Wonder Group.
    The company began making waves in May 2021, operating a fleet of faceless vans in Westfield, New Jersey. Wonder’s goal was to deliver fine dining options to residents of the New York City suburb. Vans were retrofitted as kitchens to cook and deliver the food to the customer.
    The company partnered with restaurants to recreate their menu in an effort to save affluent suburbanites from having to go into the city to eat their favorite fine dining options.
    By 2023, Wonder had abandoned the food truck concept, instead opting for a food hall restaurant concept that offers several menus within the same store. Similar to the food truck concept, Wonder has licensing deals with other well-known restaurants to prepare their foods in Wonder locations.
    Last year, Wonder raised $350 million at a $3.5 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal.
    For now, Wonder has indicated that Blue Apron will operate more or less the same.
    “Wonder plans to continue Blue Apron’s current operations serving customers nationwide under the Blue Apron brand, with expected new synergies between consumer-facing apps and delivery logistics,” Blue Apron said Friday.
    “At home meals play a key role in this vision,” Wonder CEO Marc Lore said on Friday. “When the opportunity presented itself to unite with Blue Apron, pioneers in the meal kit industry, we knew it would accelerate our strategic position.” More

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    United Airlines pilots approve new contract with up to 40% raises

    United Airlines pilots approved a contract with raises that could top 40% over four years.
    American Airlines and Delta pilots also approved new labor deals this year with big pay increases.
    Pilot shortages and a rebound in travel demand have given unions more power in labor talks.

    Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, from United Airlines, taking off from Barcelona Airport in Barcelona on March 28, 2023.
    JanValls | Nurphoto | Getty Images

    United Airlines pilots approved a new contract with compensation increases of as much as 40.2% over the four-year contract, making the carrier the last of the three largest U.S. airlines to seal a deal with its aviators during an industry shortage.
    The deal is worth about $10 billion, according to the Air Line Pilots Association, the pilots’ union. ALPA said on Friday that the new contract won 82% approval from the more than 97% of United pilots that voted on it.

    Delta Air Lines and American Airlines pilots approved new contracts earlier this year, also with big raises. The Covid-19 pandemic derailed negotiations across airlines but pilot and other labor unions in the industry have been pushing hard for increased compensation and better work rules since travel demand bounced back and inflation surged.
    Other unions are also pushing for improved pay and benefits, calling for strikes or potential strikes when negotiations fall short of demands. The United Auto Workers union is planning on expanding strikes against General Motors and Ford Motor to two U.S. assembly plants on Friday, UAW President Shawn Fain said.
    Earlier this week, Hollywood writers and studios finalized the language of a deal that ended a nearly 150-day labor strike. More