First Pass

5 stories from 4 sources

Consumer brands respond to weaker demand with tighter execution

Day’s Recap

Supporting Articles

11:40 AMFortune

‘The kids just aren’t drinking as much’: California’s wine country is drowning in unwanted grapes

Summary

U.S. wine sales have fallen 23% since 2020, leaving California growers with more grapes than the market can absorb. Some are ripping out vineyards or leaving healthy grapes unharvested.

Demand has shifted faster than the wine industry’s vineyard base can adjust. Growers now face

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Why it matters

A sustained drop in alcohol demand is forcing a major agricultural supply chain to contract.

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1:50 PMConsumer Goods Technology

P&G Expands Retailer Conversations Beyond Pricing, Promotions

Summary

P&G CFO Andre Schulten says the company wants retailer partnerships to move beyond annual negotiations over pricing and margins. The proposed three-year plans would cover retail media, in-store execution, innovation and supply chain operations.

P&G is shifting retailer discussions from short-term trade terms toward joint planning across growth and

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Why it matters

Longer-term joint plans could reduce dependence on recurring price negotiations and reshape how major consumer brands and retailers divide investment and growth responsibility.

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2:38 PMConsumer Goods Technology

Ocean Spray's New CEO Brings in Supply Chain, Transformation Chiefs to Scale Harvest-to-Market Growth

Summary

Ocean Spray CEO Abigail Buckwalter has made two of her first major leadership appointments by adding chiefs for supply chain and transformation. The hires are intended to support growth from cranberry harvest through market delivery.

The leadership change puts operational execution and organizational transformation at the center of Buckwalter's early

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Why it matters

Ocean Spray is signaling that profitable growth will depend as much on fixing how products move through the business as on expanding demand.

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Other Developments

A curated list of other prominent stories from this day.

7:00 AMCNBC

McDonald's is hosting an investor day as its U.S. business struggles. Here are 4 things to expect

Summary

McDonald's is holding an investor day after its U.S. business underperformed in the latest quarter. The presentation is expected to outline how the company plans to restore momentum in its largest market.

The weak U.S. results raise pressure on management to show that its growth strategy can

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Why it matters

McDonald's needs to convince investors that its U.S. slowdown is a fixable execution problem, not a lasting shift in consumer demand.

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12:01 AMWWD

Bubble Skincare Alumni Launch LeNose, Bringing Luxury Hand Soaps to the Masses

Summary

LeNose, founded by alumni of skincare brand Bubble, is launching a collection of $10 Soap de Parfum products that pairs luxury fragrances with mass-market pricing. The brand aims to expand the role of hand soap into the broader home-fragrance market.

LeNose is positioning hand soap between prestige fragrance and everyday personal care, using scent and

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Why it matters

LeNose reflects the continued push to make luxury cues affordable in crowded consumer-packaged-goods categories.

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