beverages

Oatly Group OTLY -15.43% AB cut its sales outlook for the year, warning that macroeconomic uncertainty is making it harder to switch consumers from regular milk to its plant-based options. The Swedish maker of oat-based milk said on Tuesday that challenges, including the war in Ukraine, continuing Covid-19 outbreaks and supply-chain problems, are crimping the pace of its expansion and recovery in certain markets.…

Consumer-goods companies girding for an economic downturn are rolling out different package sizes, launching new affordable products and pushing lower priced items in some stores to woo increasingly cautious shoppers.Official data released Thursday showed the U.S. economy shrank for a second quarter in a row—a common but unofficial definition of a recession—in part because consumer spending slowed amid rising inflation. Meanwhile, quarterly earnings from makers of everyday items from snacks to shampoo have shown some…

Whatever you come in hoping to eat, restaurants want it to be chicken.Big chains are advertising it, cooking up new flavors and pushing poultry hard at the register in these inflationary times. Restaurant owners say they can often make more profit per order on white meat than beef. And consumers are still buying up crispy chicken sandwiches, industry data show.…

Celsius is a sugar-free, caffeinated beverage that markets itself as a healthy alternative to other energy drinks. Photo: John Parra/Getty Images for CLD…

The world’s supply of crops is under pressure and likely to remain that way even as grain prices fall, say some of the world’s largest agriculture companies.Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is continuing to disrupt supplies from one of the world’s top grain-exporting regions. Bad weather affecting big crop-producing regions, including in South America, is also helping to fuel the supply crunch. Archer Daniels Midland Co. ADM 4.31% and Bunge Ltd.…

America’s largest brewer is struggling to keep up in the U.S. Budweiser brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev BUD -4.52% NV on Thursday said it had underperformed the rest of the beer industry in the U.S., its largest market, leading it to report lower volumes in North America for the second quarter. The world’s largest brewer has for years seen its mainstream brands Bud and Bud Light decline, partly amid a broader shift by American…

LONDON— Diageo DEO 2.55% PLC reported a surge in annual sales and profit, buoyed by a recovery in trade at bars and restaurants as well as drinkers’ growing taste for the booze giant’s high-end spirits despite surging inflation.The owner of Smirnoff vodka and Guinness beer said Thursday it hasn’t yet seen any signs that drinkers are trading down to cheaper brands, indicating that while consumers are pulling back in some areas they are still willing to pay for high-end…

Higher costs for commodities, freight and energy are starting to eat into profit at Nestle SA, even as the world’s largest packaged foods company pushes up prices for its Nescafé coffee and KitKat chocolate. Nestlé and other consumer-goods companies have for much of the past year been grappling with high inflation as the recovery from Covid-19 gains steam. This year, the war in Ukraine has sent energy prices soaring further. Despite raising prices sharply, Nestlé said…

Strong demand for infant formula in the U.S. and higher sales of cold and cough medicines boosted Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC in the second quarter, propelling the Enfamil and Mucinex owner to sharply raise its sales guidance for the year. The London-listed company has been a beneficiary of formula product recalls and a production halt at rival Abbott Laboratories, which makes the Similac brand. Abbott’s problems exacerbated existing shortages related to…

Kraft Heinz now expects better sales for its products for the year. Photo: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg News…