AGP Executive Report

Food Safety Update: The CDC says the Taco Bell/Taylor Farms Cyclospora-linked case count has climbed to 6,358, with new totals added across six more states, even as the lettuce removal happened mid-July—raising questions about incubation timing. Ingredient Reformulation: Kellogg will remove artificial colors from all cereals by end-2026 (ahead of schedule), using fruit- and vegetable-based juices to keep signature shades and also dropping BHT where used. Market & Inflation Watch: South Africa’s food and non-alcoholic beverage inflation kept cooling in June (1.6% y/y), with meat and smaller-pack carbonated drinks among the biggest movers. Beverage Business Moves: Google Maps is rolling out more “agentic” ordering in Maps, starting with food pickup via partners like Square and Toast. Corporate Results: Westrock Coffee reported higher sales and improving losses, while Monster Beverage posted strong Q2 net sales growth. Regulatory/Compliance: Rwanda suspended imports of 14 Tanzanian alcohol brands over safety and quality concerns.

Manufacturing & Investment: Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I marked 80 years at its Coleford Lucozade/Ribena factory and says it’s backing the next chapter with multi-million-pound upgrades, including a new £25m manufacturing line (from 2027) and a next-gen blackcurrant processing facility. Food & Beverage Economics: Malaysia’s services producer prices rose 2.9% in 2Q 2026, with accommodation and food & beverage services up 6.4%—restaurant and mobile food service and beverage services were key drivers. Corporate Earnings: Universal Robina (URC) reported a 10.1% jump in attributable net income to ₱6.91B in H1 2026, citing stronger demand for branded consumer foods and animal feeds. Beverage Capacity Crunch: Zimbabwe’s Delta Corporation is investing in breweries, packaging and distribution as demand outpaces production, with shortages increasingly limiting growth. Sustainability & Recycling: Singapore’s beverage container return scheme hit 5.5M containers collected and 1M+ transactions since April 1, with reverse vending machines expanding access. Restaurant Expansion: Wagamama is entering a joint venture in India to build at least 100 sites over 10 years, betting on global flavours with local relevance. Campus Dining: Aramark Collegiate Hospitality signed a long-term deal with the University of Colorado Colorado Springs to expand dining, retail, catering and student-led concepts.

Corporate Moves: Corby Spirit and Wine plans to sell the Lamb’s Rum brand and assets to sharpen its strategic focus. Financial Performance: Magnera reported a record third quarter, citing organic volume growth and cost actions amid higher raw-material inflation. Food Safety & Recalls: A cyclospora outbreak tied to bagged lettuce is driving major recalls and warnings, with Michigan the hardest hit; separately, Chipotle pulled some jalapeños amid salmonella concerns. Retail & Supply Chain: Sysco CEO Kevin Hourican discussed the company’s $29B plan to buy Jetro Restaurant Depot, a move critics say could hurt competition. Beverage & Menu Buzz: Starbucks confirmed Pumpkin Spice Latte returns Aug. 25 with new pumpkin, pecan, and banana-bread-inspired drinks; Cava rolled out Glazed Salmon nationwide. Health Trend: A survey says GLP-1 use for weight loss-only has overtaken diabetes management-only in the US. Industry Tech: Schreiber Foods and Ascendion announced an agentic AI partnership to speed quality and food-safety signals across 40+ locations. On the Ground: Saskatchewan Open Farm Days returns this weekend with farm and craft beverage stops.

Corporate Earnings: San Miguel Food and Beverage reported H1 net income easing 4% to ₱22.1bn as inflation and weaker growth weighed on spending, though Food revenue rose 5% on steady demand for branded dairy, coffee and canned meats. Regulation & Food Safety: Maharashtra banned analogue paneer statewide, citing widespread adulteration and warning violators face jail and fines under India’s food laws. Beverage & Retail Moves: Suntory Beverage and Food GB&I marked 80 years of Lucozade and Ribena manufacturing at its Coleford site, highlighting new investment to expand production. Fast-Food Value Pressure: McDonald’s said Q2 U.S. same-store sales rose only 0.8%, blaming execution issues with its affordability push and reduced offers. Coffee Expansion: Luckin Coffee hit 36,310 stores and record monthly transacting customers in Q2, while 7 Brew plans 62 new drive-thru stands in August, including Illinois openings. Packaging & Water Infrastructure: KGAL and fluvicon launched a €100m platform to scale industrial water treatment as a contracted service across Europe. Industry Events: Food & Hospitality Asia Maldives (FHAM) returns Sept 7–9 at Manhattan Grand Hotel, with 100+ exhibitors and thousands of hospitality buyers.

Dunkin’ Returns: Dunkin’ is bringing back its 48-ounce Iced Beverage Buckets to New York starting Aug. 7, priced at $12.99, and adding a new Bucket Holder so the big cup fits standard car drink holders. Food Safety & Trust: A PolitiFact-style explainer asks whether the U.S. food supply is getting less safe, pointing to ongoing contamination and recall headlines while noting experts say the system remains among the safest globally. Retail Payments Rule: Illinois will require most retailers to accept cash for in-person purchases under $500 starting in 2028, with exceptions for self-checkout, online/phone orders, and some membership businesses. Alcohol Direct Shipping: Delaware’s new law lets licensed wineries ship directly to consumers starting Aug. 15, 2026, with limits per household and age-verification rules. Manufacturing Jobs Snapshot: New analysis says U.S. food manufacturing hit a record 1.77M workers in 2025, even as its share of the workforce keeps shrinking. Fast-Track Urban Food & Beverage: Auckland’s Downtown Car Park redevelopment has won fast-track approval, including hotel and retail/food-and-beverage space alongside major towers.

Healthwashing Crackdown: A new investigation highlights how “healthy” food and drink labels can mislead consumers, with researchers finding many products marketed with wellness cues still score poorly on nutrition. India Label Rules Tighten: India’s FSSAI moved against Dabur over vague “100%” purity claims on items like honey, oils and ghee, and also clarified enforcement on liquor brands tied to flavouring and misleading age-related labelling. Beverage Branding Adjusts: PepsiCo India removed the word “energy” from Sting packaging after FSSAI flagged “energy drink” as an unrecognized category term. Regulatory Pressure on Alcohol Flavouring: The health ministry clarified that liquor actions target specific manufacturers using added flavours to mimic rum/whisky profiles, not the whole alcohol sector. Industry Deals & Results: Ingredion reported Q2 2026 results and progress on its Tate & Lyle acquisition, while CCEP flagged a Q2 slowdown but reaffirmed guidance. Hospitality & F&B Expansion: Caffè Nero reopened a relocated Birmingham Airport café, and Novotel Hyderabad Airport appointed a new Director of Food & Beverage. Food Safety & Competition: Prosecutors in South Korea charged firms over pork price-fixing worth 1.2 trillion won. Events for the Sector: Sabah Agro Expo 2026 in Malaysia is set to draw 50,000 visitors with food processing and smart farming themes.

Food Security Focus: At WOFEX Manila 2026, organizers and attendees kept circling back to food security—less about just producing enough rice, more about climate shocks, logistics, and cutting waste across borders. Coffee & Seasonal Menus: Starbucks is rolling out its 2026 fall menu Aug. 25 with the Pumpkin Spice Latte return plus new drinks like Chaider, while Dunkin brings back its 48-oz iced beverage bucket with a new car cup-holder design. Plastic Recycling Push: Return and Earn Fiji says it has collected 7.5 million beverage containers in six months, but the next hurdle is expanding beyond bottles and cans to other household plastics. Regulation & Safety: Macau reports 98.9% of food samples passing Q2 safety tests, while the US FDA GRAS rule timeline has shifted again, extending mandatory premarket notification discussions to December 2026. Beverage Policy & Industry: Minnesota’s Klobuchar backs a deal that could delay a hemp-derived low-dose THC ban by one month, giving the sector a brief reprieve. Local Food & Drink Business: Mississippi liquor retailers say statewide shortages have largely eased, and Truly Pizza opened its second concept, Truly Gelato, in Dana Point. Hospitality Training: Abu Dhabi’s Agthia Academy launches to build Emirati talent for food manufacturing, starting with applied milling and baking training. Microplastics Health Study: Texas A&M research links polyethylene microplastics to fatty liver disease risk, raising new questions for food packaging materials.

FSSAI Crackdown on Spirits: India’s food regulator FSSAI has barred sales of select whiskeys and rum after tests found artificial flavouring used to mimic ageing, including actions against Diageo’s India unit and Inbrew, warning that rum/whisky flavour must develop naturally through ingredients and maturation. Wine Promotion & Trade: Georgia’s National Wine Agency is pushing exports with high-profile tastings and forums in Germany, the US (Rockefeller Center), and South Korea, while also supporting 13 domestic wine festivals and updating vineyard cadastre records to keep growers compliant. Vineyard Policy & Harvest Incentives: Georgia says state-backed differentiated grape purchase prices aim to boost quality, with officials citing that hitting 17% sugar should be achievable in the right viticultural zones. Food Exports Milestone: Egypt’s food exports hit a record US$3.77bn in H1 2026, led by citrus, potatoes, strawberries, olives, pasta and preparations, with Arab markets and the EU driving growth. Food Waste at Mass Events: Malaysia’s Kuala Terengganu City Council spent RM40,000 cleaning up after a 100,000+ attendee event, collecting about 130 tonnes of mostly food-and-beverage packaging and considering stricter waste plans for organisers. Water Reuse Pressure on Beverage Makers: A new EPA Water Reuse Action Plan update highlights how water availability is becoming a growth constraint for food and beverage production, pushing facilities toward safer reuse frameworks.

Regulatory Crackdown (India): FSSAI has launched enforcement against liquor makers accused of adding external flavours to rum and whisky, plus misleading labelling and age claims—urging products to be sold as “rum-flavoured spirit” or “whisky-flavoured spirit” with proper front-of-pack disclosure. Health & Food Safety (Teeth): A Purdue-linked study presented at Nutrition 2026 found unsweetened sparkling water drops mouth acidity far less than sugar-sweetened soda, suggesting a lower enamel-risk swap when consumed in moderation. Beverage Innovation (Japan): Starbucks Japan is rolling out “Clear Coffee” for non-coffee drinkers, using a ristretto-style extraction to reduce bitterness while keeping coffee character. Wine & Trade (US tariffs): Loveblock Wine co-founder says a new 12.5% US tariff on New Zealand goods will squeeze margins for wineries already hit by freight, glass and fuel costs. Food Industry & Waste (US): The Cheesecake Factory says it keeps expanding its surplus-food donation and waste-reduction programs, including Feeding America donations. Community & Hospitality (US): Oswego police and Red Robin are running a Tip-A-Cop fundraiser for Special Olympics Illinois, with officers serving and 20% of qualifying food and non-alcoholic beverage sales donated.

Retail & F&B Boost: Malaysia expects Formula 1 Bahrain GP-linked visitor demand to lift spending for retailers and food-and-beverage SMEs, with a push to upgrade digital marketing and customer service. Value Drinks in Focus: UK supermarket Lidl says its “World’s Best” Champagne, Prosecco and Crémant won blind tastings, with the £7.99 World’s Best Prosecco drawing particular praise. Food Safety Alert: The US recalls nearly 23,000 pounds of Ukrop’s baked spaghetti and chicken cobbler after reports of metal slivers, with no injuries confirmed. Climate Pressure on Food: Hungary faces major agricultural losses as drought persists, threatening wheat yields and downstream livestock and processing. Japan Policy for Groceries: Japan plans to cut the consumption tax on food and beverages to 1% for two years from next April, paired with cash support for lower- and middle-income households. Hospitality & Beverages: Gong Cha is set to expand in Texas via a deal with a Nothing Bundt Cakes franchisee, aiming for 50 bubble tea locations over seven years. Community Food & Drink Culture: In the US, Steinbach’s Dairy Queen leans on ice cream and new limited-time flavors to beat summer heat, while Aldi’s pineapple mimosa is emerging as a seasonal hit.

WHO vs. Big Food in court: The WHO says major ultra-processed food companies are using hundreds of lawsuits to slow obesity-related health rules, including warning labels, sugar taxes, and limits on kids’ marketing. Retail value shift: Dollar General is leaning harder into a Costco-style private-label push and more $1 “Value Valley” items as it sees penetration rising across income groups. Travel retail momentum: SSP Group reported Q3 sales up 4% (constant currency) and won a five-unit Auckland Airport deal, even as passenger numbers stayed pressured in parts of APAC. Culinary tourism boost: Michelin’s plaque unveiling in Yucatán spotlights the region’s restaurant ecosystem and supply chain, aiming to draw more international diners. Coffee science: New research links coffee’s effects on mood and cognition to the gut-brain axis, suggesting benefits go beyond caffeine. Beer culture moment: A Chicago bar-goer’s “dressed beer” request sparked a Texas-vs-elsewhere etiquette debate.

Food Safety & Training: Northern Ireland’s CAFRE rolled out Root Cause Analysis training for food supply teams, focusing on fixing contamination and process failures at the source, not just symptoms. Beverage Innovation: Spain’s carajillo—Licor 43 with espresso—keeps replacing the classic espresso martini in bars, showing how coffee cocktails are evolving. Coffee Retail Buzz: Dunkin’ is bringing back 48-oz iced coffee “buckets” nationwide, now with car cup-holder inserts to make the oversized drink easier to take on the go. Livestock & Trade: Kenya is positioning for a bigger slice of the global livestock economy after securing the right to host the World Veterinary Association Congress in 2028, boosting confidence in animal health and food safety. Hospitality Cost Relief: India cut commercial LPG cylinder prices again (19-kg down Rs 209 effective Aug 1), easing pressure on hotels and restaurants. Consumer Trends: GlobalData says specialty coffee is going mainstream as shoppers prioritize origin transparency, ethics, and wellness benefits. Local Supplier Growth: Asda and Food and Drink Wales launched a supplier development programme to help Welsh producers improve compliance, marketing, and logistics.

Food & Beverage Manufacturing Investment: ADM will expand its Northern Kentucky Boone County facility with a $16M investment, adding 40+ jobs and boosting capacity for liquid and dry-blended color solutions to meet reformulation demand. Consumer Safety Lawsuit: A woman is suing Starbucks after a drive-thru coffee spill left her with severe burns, alleging cup/lid defects and calling for stronger safety procedures. Alcohol Retail Policy: Saskatchewan is being praised for helping cut interprovincial trade barriers via a Canada-wide direct-to-consumer alcohol shipping agreement that lets craft producers sell across borders with lower licensing burdens. Hemp/THC Regulatory Fight: Louisiana hemp beverage makers formed an association and are pushing lawmakers to prevent a federal consumable THC ban from taking effect in November. New Drink Launch: Ye Ole Sweet Shoppe debuted the “Michaux” iced coffee in Erie, with 2% of sales going to Make-A-Wish. Grocery Tech: Kroger rolled out an AI Shopping Assistant to plan meals, build carts by budget/diet, and speed up grocery lists. Hospitality & Dining: Harrah’s Oklahoma is expanding dining with Arrow & Ember opening to all ages and adding weekly food specials. Retail/Brand Moves: Califia Farms launched limited-edition Banana Crème almondmilk latte and creamer.

Functional Drinks & Alcohol Moderation: New beverage launches spotlight functional ingredients, lower-sugar formulations and alcohol-free fermented concepts, as brands chase gut-health and “sober-curious” demand. Food Safety & Regulation: Nigeria’s NAFDAC push targets counterfeit medicines and unsafe foods, while India’s FSSAI dispute has Associated Alcohols & Breweries challenging a directive over flavour declarations. Retail & Consumer Pressure: Target’s profit drops 52% as shoppers delay purchases and force price cuts, a sign of ongoing cost-of-living strain across food retail. Food Industry Growth Signals: Egypt’s food exports hit a record $3.77bn in H1 2026, and Golden Corral expands seafood options to meet protein demand. Supply Chain & Infrastructure: Ronnybrook Farm Dairy plans cultured dairy production at iPark87 with shared cold storage, and Antora raises $550m to scale thermal batteries for data centers and factories. Hospitality & On-the-Go Dining: Vancouver Airport adds chef-led Lucky Lily Asian Brasserie, while Ridgeview’s Rows & Vine brings in Company of Cooks for expanded dining formats. Agrifood Innovation: Arboreal Bioinnovations raises ₹230 crore to scale ingredient tech for food and nutraceutical brands.

Retail & Clean-Label Push: Target is adding 1,600+ back-to-school items, spotlighting protein-forward cereals, snacks and lunchbox staples—plus it kept its promise to remove synthetic dyes from cereal aisles. Zero-Proof Alcohol Shift: New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets expanded non-alcoholic options to 65 products, with sales jumping sharply year over year as younger drinkers look for “dry” alternatives. Hydration Without Sugar: Health coverage highlights summer drink swaps—unsweetened sparkling water, infused water, sugar-free sports drinks and unsweetened iced tea—to avoid blood-sugar spikes. Foodservice & Licensing: Vietri’s Cucina and Italian Market in Maryland won a liquor license after local rules limited restaurant alcohol service; the change follows new state legislation. On-the-Go Convenience: The MTA is installing vending machines in empty retail spaces at 26 subway stations to bring back snacks and drinks for riders. Industry Awards: Vermont Smoke & Cure’s Uncured Turkey Pepperoni Stick won a Taste for Life award, marking a third category win. Corporate Moves: Prime Drink Group extended its private placement to fund settlements and working capital, while Aptar reported Q2 results with strength across Pharma, Beauty and beverage closures.

Energy & Functional Beverages: Canada’s “zebra striping” trend is turning low- and non-alcoholic drinks into a $223M market, as drinkers alternate to pace themselves. Novel Ingredients: India’s Arboreal Bioinnovations raises ₹230 crore to scale next-gen functional food and nutraceutical ingredients, aiming at more launches and faster commercialization. Natural Colorants: U.S. researchers develop a purple-corn-based food coloring to replace synthetic dyes, targeting heat and shelf-life stability for manufacturers. Food Safety & Regulation: Sri Lanka’s Court of Appeal sets an Oct. 2 hearing on a petition challenging whether rice and sugar are being used as primary ingredients in beer. Beverage Retail & Expansion: Pret opens a major Heathrow Terminal 5 flagship with onsite fresh food prep and mobile handheld tills, while JKH brings Wendy’s to Sri Lanka with a first outlet planned by Dec. 2026. Market & Competition: Zimbabwe’s competition watchdog launches an investigation into Mega Market’s proposed acquisition of Lobels Holdings. Industry Growth in Mexico: Döhler inaugurates a new State of Mexico plant to expand natural ingredient production, including plans for natural color facilities. Hospitality & Community: South Africa’s Eat Out launches “Neighbourhood Gems,” spotlighting everyday casual restaurants nominated by working food professionals.