The latest food and beverage industry news and trend analysis

Electrolit’s 7-Eleven exclusive Pineapple Coconut flavour scales its C-store presence, utilising a retail-specific strategy to drive trial and cold vault differentiation for summer 2026.

Southern Co-op has formally dismissed an alternative partnership approach from independent society OurCoop, reaffirming its commitment to a proposed merger with the national Co-op Group to prevent administration and secure its retail estate.

The Marzetti Company has successfully acquired Japanese Barbecue Sauce brand Bachan’s for 400 million dollars, integrating a high-growth, clean-label product into its extensive retail and foodservice distribution network.

DoorDash has partnered with Empire Company Limited to bring more than 1,000 stores to its marketplace, securing partnerships with four of Canada’s five largest grocery retailers to meet rising on-demand delivery needs.

7-Eleven is closing 645 legacy stores across North America during fiscal 2026, launching mass liquidation sales as the retailer consolidates its real estate portfolio to focus on larger, food-forward convenience formats.

Tesco is significantly expanding its footprint in the health-led convenience sector with the launch of its first chilled own-brand High Protein ready meal range. Supported by search data showing over 423,000 queries for high protein on Tesco.com in the last year.

Lidl is set to transform its telecommunications offering by becoming a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) in partnership with 1GLOBAL, supported by a 9.9% equity stake from the Schwarz Group and a five-year exclusive technology agreement.

Tesco is scaling its summer inventory with over 300 new SKUs, prioritising a significant expansion of the Tesco Finest Deli portfolio and the introduction of weather-resilient BBQ options to drive seasonal growth.