Raphael Stevens

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Monday issued a statement responding to the backlash it faced last week over its rebranding and new logo.
Users on social media were quick to criticize the new logo, describing it as “generic,” “soulless” and “bland.”
“We could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be,” the restaurant chain said.

The new Cracker Barrel logo is seen on a menu inside the restaurant on Aug. 21, 2025 in Pembroke Pines, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Cracker Barrel Old Country Store on Monday issued a statement responding to the widespread backlash it faced last week over its rebranding and new logo.
“If the last few days have shown us anything, it’s how deeply people care about Cracker Barrel. We’re truly grateful for your heartfelt voices,” the company wrote. “You’ve also shown us that we could’ve done a better job sharing who we are and who we’ll always be.”

The new logo removes the image of the restaurant’s “Uncle Herschel” character leaning against a barrel that was prominently featured in the original, leaving behind just the words “Cracker Barrel” against the outline of a yellow barrel. The phrase “old country store” has also been removed.
The colors, which the company said were inspired by the restaurant’s eggs and biscuits, stayed close to the original.

Cracker Barrel’s old and new logo.
Courtesy: Cracker Barrel

Users on social media were quick to criticize the new logo, describing it as “generic,” “soulless” and “bland.”
Some conservatives also slammed the new logo, saying it took away the classic, American feel that has been so central to Cracker Barrel over the years.
Shares of Cracker Barrel fell 7% on Thursday as criticism mounted.

Cracker Barrel said Monday that while the rebranding has been making headlines, its focus remains “in the kitchen and on your plate.”
In the statement, Cracker Barrel said that Uncle Herschel will still be featured on the menu, as well as on road signs and in the country store.
“He’s not going anywhere — he’s family,” the statement read.
The company also addressed criticism about décor changes that have been put in place at some Cracker Barrel locations throughout the country, saying that its stores will still feature “rocking chairs on the porch, a warm fire in the hearth, peg games on the table, unique treasures in our gift shop, and vintage Americana with antiques pulled straight from our warehouse in Lebanon, Tennessee.”
The restaurant chain reiterated to customers that its values haven’t changed.
“We know we won’t always get everything right the first time, but we’ll keep testing, learning, and listening to our guests and employees,” the restaurant said. “At the end of the day, our promise is simple: you’ll always find comfort, community, and country hospitality here at Cracker Barrel. Uncle Herschel wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.” More

Keurig Dr Pepper’s acquisition of JDE Peet’s could give a boost to the U.S. company’s struggling coffee business.
Once the acquisition completes, the combined company is set to separate into two independent U.S.-listed coffee and beverages firms.
The deal is expected to generate $400 million in cost synergies over three years.

Keurig Dr Pepper will acquire Dutch coffee and tea company JDE Peet’s in a roughly $18 billion deal that could give a boost to the U.S. giant’s struggling coffee business, the two companies said Monday.
Shares of Keurig Dr Pepper closed down 11%, while the stock of JDE Peet’s closed up 15% on the day.

The deal was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.
Keurig Dr Pepper will pay JDE Peet’s shareholders 31.85 euros ($37.30) per share in cash, representing a 33% premium on the Dutch’s firm’s 90-day volume-weighted average stock price, which represents a total equity purchase of 15.7 billion euros ($18.4 billion). JDE Peet’s will, meanwhile, pay out a previously declared dividend of euro cents per share prior to the deal closing.
The takeover is expected to generate $400 million in cost synergies over three years.
Keurig Dr Pepper, which owns brands such as Dr Pepper, 7Up, Snapple and Green Mountain Coffee, has seen shrinking sales at its U.S. coffee division, down 0.2% to $900 million in the second quarter due to a decline in the shipments of its single-serve coffee pods and Keurig coffee makers.
Keurig Dr Pepper has been looking to raise its appeal with thrifty shoppers who prefer to drink their coffee at home, while also venturing into cold coffee offerings in a bid to attract the Starbucks and Dunkin’ clientele.

In addition to their coffee businesses, Keurig Dr Pepper and JDE Peet’s also have a shared history with JAB Holding, the investment arm of the Reimann family that at one time owned both companies. These days, JAB owns just 4.4% of KDP and no longer has any seats on its board, although it is still the majority owner of JDE Peet’s.
Following the JDE Peet’s acquisition, which is expected to occur in the first half of 2026, Keurig Dr Pepper intends to split up its beverage and coffee units as two separate, U.S.-listed companies at the earliest opportunity. Such a step would effectively unwind the 2018 merger between Keurig and Dr Pepper Snapple, which at the time created the third-largest beverage company in North America with roughly $11 billion in annual revenue.
“Frankly the surprise to us was the decision back in 2018 when Keurig Green Mountain acquired the Dr Pepper Snapple Group in an $18.7 billion deal to create Keurig Dr Pepper in the first place,” Barclays analysts Patrick Folan and Lauren Lieberman wrote in a note to clients on Monday. “At the time, it was seen as both odd and a very left field deal with the questionable logic of combining coffee and [carbonated soft drinks].”
After the division, the resulting coffee company is anticipated to turn $16 billion in combined annual net sales and will be led by current Keurig Dr Pepper Chief Financial Officer Sudhanshu Priyadarshi.
The beverages firm is, meanwhile, expected to have $11 billion in annual net sales and will be helmed, upon separation, by incumbent Keurig Dr Pepper CEO Tim Cofer.
JDE Peet’s CEO, Rafael Oliveira, will stay in his post to helm the Dutch coffee company until the acquisition closes.
Faced with fierce competition and volatile commodity prices, Keurig Dr Pepper isn’t the only the company looking to spin off its coffee business. Sky News reported on Saturday that Coca-Cola is exploring a sale of Costa Coffee, which it bought in 2018 for $5.1 billion.
— CNBC’s Victor Loh contributed to this report. More

Netflix brought a sing-along version of the popular animated film “KPop Demon Hunters” to theaters to promote the sing-along’s launch on its streaming platform.
The streamer does not disclose theatrical ticket sales numbers to the public, but some box office analysts have reported that two-day event generated between $16 million and $20 million in receipts.
The box office is a marketing tool for Netflix and the company is unlikely to shift its theatrical strategy.

Still from Netflix’s “KPop Demon Hunters.”

And that’s “How It’s Done.”
Netflix capitalized on its chart-topping “KPop Demon Hunters” over the weekend with a two-day theatrical release of its new sing-along version.

Box office analysts spent much of Sunday trying to determine exactly how well the animated feature performed, relying on anonymous executives from rival studios and scraped data from ticket sales sites. Estimates range from $16 million to $20 million for the sing-along’s domestic run.
That’s smaller than recent domestic theatrical re-releases like “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” and the 15th anniversary screenings of “Coraline” — which generated $25 million and $33 million, respectively — but higher than most re-released films including “Interstellar,” which snared $15 million in late 2024 and “Pride & Prejudice,” which tallied $6 million earlier this year.
The streaming company has never reported box office grosses publicly and declined to do so for this film. It also declined to comment on the release when reached by CNBC.
But the buzz has Wall Street wondering whether Netflix may change its tune and push further into theaters.
Netflix has long used theatrical releases as a marketing tool to promote its streaming service. The company’s strategy has always been to host content on its platform for subscribers, rather than broader audiences on the big screen, and it rarely delays releasing works in the home market in favor of a theatrical run, except when it’s looking at awards contention or special occasions.

“KPop Demon Hunters” is the most recent exception. But experts say it’s unlikely to rewrite Netflix’s rules.
“It absolutely does not change anything,” said industry analyst David Poland. “It’s all about events for Netflix.”
There’s a lot of talk in the cinema business about “eventizing” film — basically making the theatrical release a spectacle or a can’t-miss event. Netflix has been able to do this successfully because it’s not a traditional studio. It doesn’t stick to typical release windows, opting to make one-off deals with theater chain operators for each of its films.
That allows Netflix to avoid costly marketing campaigns, which are typically estimated to be about half of whatever is spent on the production budget.
However, this strategy does often put Netflix at odds with theatrical partners. For example, “KPop Demon Hunters” was released in around 1,700 theaters, which is a little more than a third of all domestic theaters. It did not appear in a single AMC theater, the largest cinema chain both domestically and globally.
AMC declined CNBC’s request for comment on the release.
The exhibitor will be working with Netflix, however, for Greta Gerwig’s “Narnia” film, which is getting an exclusive two-week global debut in IMAX starting Thanksgiving Day 2026.
Poland noted that Netflix does offer favorable terms with theaters when it comes to splitting ticket receipts, which can help entice exhibitors to work with the company despite the smaller release windows.
“They don’t care about the money, and in this case, my guess is they paid much higher than the 50% that’s normal to the exhibitors that read it, because it doesn’t matter,” Poland said. “It’s not enough money to matter to them. But as a promotional event, it’s very successful.”
Already, “KPop Demon Hunters,” which launched on Netflix in late June, has become the second-most watched English language film on Netflix, just behind 2021’s “Red Notice.” The film has been viewed more than 210.5 million times, according to Netflix, about 20 million short of the record.
The sing-along and pop culture buzz from the theatrical release could help boost that number even higher.
“There was obviously a huge demand for the movie and offered up yet another example of how important the theatrical moviegoing side of the business is to generate huge publicity, create a cultural event and, in turn, a social media phenomenon,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. More

European mail carriers are pausing some shipments to the U.S. as they prepare for the end of the “de minimis” exemption, which long excluded packages valued under $800 from duties.
National post offices across Europe issued statements in recent days saying they will suspend those smaller shipments to the U.S. as they work to change their systems to comply with new requirements.
The bulk of de minimis shipments have long come from China, but the exemption for imports from the country ended in May. It’s set to be extended globally on Friday.

An aerial view of a cargo ship being loaded with shipping containers at the Port of Baltimore in Baltimore, Maryland, on August 7, 2025.
Jim Watson | Afp | Getty Images

Postal carriers across Europe are planning to suspend some shipments to the U.S. as the nations prepare for the end of a longstanding trade rule.
Certain shipments from Germany, Spain, France, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Switzerland are due to be paused in the coming days and weeks after President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the century-old “de minimis” exemption.

The trade policy, sometimes referred to as a “loophole,” has allowed shipments valued under $800 to enter the U.S. virtually duty-free. The practice is set to end for imports from around the globe on Friday following Trump’s executive order.
The de minimis exemption for goods coming from China and Hong Kong, which have long accounted for the bulk of those shipments, ended in May.
The suspensions will impact shipments valued under $800, and largely exclude gifts and letters. Most of the countries said they have to pause shipments because their systems weren’t built for the new requirements and they’re unsure how to properly process the shipments under the new rules.
In a Friday statement, German-based international shipping company DHL said Deutsche Post and DHL Parcel Germany will no longer be able to accept and transport parcels destined for the U.S. It said “key questions remain unresolved, particularly regarding how and by whom customs duties will be collected in the future, what additional data will be required, and how the data transmission to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection will be carried out.”
Customers will still be able to ship goods via DHL Express, which is more expensive.

National post offices in Spain, France and Belgium issued similar notices.
In a news release, Spain’s national post office Correos said it learned of the detailed requirements necessary to comply with the executive order on Aug. 15 and hasn’t had enough time to change its systems. 
“This situation forces Correos, along with all postal operators that manage shipments destined for the United States, to substantially modify their processes and increase shipment controls to implement the new customs requirements, significantly impacting international postal logistics and e-commerce flows,” Correos said, adding the suspension took effect on Monday.
It said it is working to resume the shipments “as quickly as possible.”
Belgium’s post office said it was suspending shipments beginning on Saturday while France’s La Poste said shipments would be suspended beginning on Monday. 
Meanwhile, Finland’s post office Posti stopped accepting goods bound for the U.S. on Saturday but later added it could no longer accept gifts or letters either because “several airlines have now refused to transport any postal items to the United States.” 
The carriers said they expect the suspensions to be temporary. The pauses could delay some shipments, but are not expected to affect most international commerce.
Larger retailers, both domestic and international, don’t tend to use the de minimis exemption that often because they ship their goods via containers to U.S. warehouses and pay tariffs on the goods. Two major exceptions are Temu and Shein, which popularized the use of de minimis and relied on it for the bulk of their shipments to U.S. consumers. Since de minimis ended for goods shipped from China, demand has fallen for Shein and Temu as prices have risen.
The suspended shipments are expected to impact smaller orders from Americans who are shopping from smaller European businesses directly. More

Mania over “blind box” shopping is catching on across the Chinese economy with everyone from travel agents to supermarkets offering their own versions.
Gifts are packaged in such a way that buyers don’t know exactly what variety of the item they’re purchasing until after they commit.
Beijing-based Pop Mart has been at the forefront of this phenomenon. It’s the company behind Labubu, the elf-like monster doll created by Hong Kong Dutch artist Kasing Lung.

Labubu toys packaging are seen at a souvenir store in Krakow, Poland on August 21, 2025.
Jakub Porzycki | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Even Confucius is getting in on China’s “blind box” craze.
At the main temple in Beijing to China’s greatest sage, the souvenir shops sell a range of “blind boxes,” gifts packaged in such a way that buyers don’t know exactly what variety of the item they’re purchasing until after they commit.

One popular blind box at the store is an ice cream treat with a blessing from Confucius. Worshippers pay $4.50 and, only after unwrapping the dessert, read that they are a top student or are destined to have a splendid future.
The mania over mystery boxes is catching on across the economy with everyone from travel agents to supermarkets offering their own versions. Fliggy, Alibaba Group’s travel services platform, is offering “blind box” flight tickets as low as $64 for a round trip to Japan where travelers select a Chinese departure city and get assigned one of multiple options for dates and destinations.
Beijing-based Pop Mart has been at the forefront of this phenomenon. It’s the company behind Labubu, the elf-like monster doll created by Hong Kong Dutch artist Kasing Lung. Labubu toys are sold exclusively through the collectibles company, driving massive profits, and they’re sold in the same blind box format that can encourage repeat purchases to get just the right one.
Ruan Yue, a 23-year-old student, says she spends $55 a month on blind boxes — and enjoys the gamble. Ruan owns 150 Labubu and other dolls from mystery packaging.
“The moment you open the box if it’s a version you want or a limited edition, you get so excited,” she said. “And it’s something I can afford.”

Prices for Labubus and other characters sold at Pop Mart average anywhere from $9 to $30.

Labubu plush figures are for sale in a Pop Mart brand store on July 10, 2025 in Peking, China.
Johannes Neudecker | Picture Alliance | Getty Images

Blind boxes, or “manghe” in Chinese, increased in popularity in China during the pandemic. Pop Mart livestreamed the toys and sold them online and in vending machines at a time when the Chinese population was under constant threat of Covid lockdowns.
Young Chinese consumers, feeling down because of the pandemic controls and slow economy, turned to budget-friendly splurges for a pick-me-up. Buyers could trade toys or earn bragging rights if they were lucky enough to score a rare version coveted by their peers.
Chinese retailer Miniso, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange, offers blind boxes of watches, adhesive tape, stationery and ballpoint pens.
Retail staff at Miniso told CNBC that curiosity about what’s inside convinces customers to try their luck and ultimately to keep buying.
The Chinese government, however, has warned through its state media against “irrational consumption” and blind box “addiction.”
The People’s Daily in June called for stricter regulations of the trend especially for children. Quoting experts, the official state newspaper reported the practice was a “‘commercial trap’ that precisely targets the psychological vulnerabilities of minors.” More