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Feed Mes Emily Sundberg has launched her first foray into podcasting with Expense Account. The first episode, out today, features chef and author Alison Roman in conversation with host Jason Lee (formerly Semi Anonymous Restaurant Critic J Lee)s, revealing her secret order at Keens, her new tomato sauce business, and the importance of keeping fresh flowers at home. Expense Account is a food podcast for everyone. Insiders, outsiders, your mom, your dad, New Yorkers, Angelenos and also people from Florida (we love you). Anyone who enjoys eating food, the shows description reads. Its even for people who hate food. The podcast marks Sundbergs first step in turning Feed Me from a popular Substack newsletter into a multi-format media brand. Since launching Feed Me in 2022, Sundberg has grown it into one of Substacks most popular business publications, recently bringing on a managing editor and associate editor to expand coverage. Podcasting is a logical next step. The global podcast industry generated $7.3 billion in sales last year, more than double most estimates, with celebrities, influencers, small businesses, and random dudes with mics launching podcasts daily. With Substacks new tools for video and podcasting, writers like Sundberg are evolving and embracing the studio model to reach new audiences and position themselves as thought leaders in their industries. In spite of a highly saturated market, Sundberg believes she has spotted a gap. Theres a white space in food media that Feed Me plans to fill: a good podcast about food, Sundberg wrote back in September, announcing the podcast venture. Something focused on the fast-paced news cycle of New Yorks hospitality worldthe gossip, secret doors, and personalities that make this the best food city in the world. We hope to build a hub where every lover of food can converge and converse. While newsletters remain Feed Mes bread and butter, Sundberg has made clear her plans to transition to a studio mindset. Expense Account is born from Lees restaurant column of the same name. A few months ago, while editing one of Jasons pieces, I paused on a line that read, Ill save that for the pod, wrote Sundberg in her daily newsletter. He didnt have a podcast, but the phrase felt like a manifestation. I texted him: Do you want one? He said yes, so we made one. For Expense Account, Feed Me is partnering with Public Sound, a New York-based production company that has worked with brands like Nike and Supreme. Substack serves as the presenting sponsor. Whats next for Feed Me studio? Maybe next year well make a movie, or open a bar, Sundberg wrote. Watch this space.
Category:
E-Commerce
If you work in an office, chances are good that youre familiar with the slop bowl, TikToks term for the ubiquitous lunch of nine-to-fivers that involves a bunch of ingredients mixed together with a base of salad or rice. Now, Cava, the fast-casual Mediterranean-inspired restaurant chain, is introducing its first-ever merch line that pays homage to its fans most beloved slop bowl ingredients. The collection is set to debut on the Cava Shop on Thursday, November 13. It includes a hat emblazoned with the word Feta, which, according to a press release, is a staple for the MILF (Man, I Love Feta, of course) crew; a T-shirt that doubles as an ode to Cavas extra pickled onions; and a vacation tote thats inspired by the chains hot harissa vinaigrette. Prices range from $25 to $75. Cava is far from the first fast-casual restaurant to offer merch, and its not even the first within the subcategory of upscale salad-slash-slop bowl purveyors. In recent months, other brandslike Sweetgreen and Panerahave used clever merch launches to both cultivate a lifestyle brand aesthetic and to score some extra visibility on social media, especially as lower spending power and high living costs draw young consumers away from their favorite slop bowl haunts. Why does every salad shop have merch now? In recent years, some fast-casual restaurants have been increasingly focused on expanding beyond just food to become known as lifestyle brands, or brands that project a certain aesthetic and status through their offerings. Case in point: Sweetgreens loyalty program, which gives customers early access to merch drops on clothing like a crewneck that simply reads Salad!, or Erewhons $335 monochrome track suit. Beyond giving a brand a certain cool factor, creative merch drops can also serve as excellent fodder for social media engagementsomething Panera discovered with its viral BAGuette bag, which sold out twice in a row after going viral on TikTok. According to Andy Rebhun, Cavas chief marketing and experience officer, fans of the brand have been asking for merch for yearsbut this launch makes perfect sense for where the industry is today. Food brands, especially those in the fast-casual space, have evolved far beyond being just a place to eat, he says. Theyve become part of peoples daily rituals, their culture, and even their identity. For many guests, the bowl they build is a reflection of their taste, their lifestyle, and what they value, and now they can wear that connection, too. [Photo: Cava] Cavas new collection balances trendiness with a dash of humor that feels especially designed to appeal to the young, social media savvy crowd. Each piece is made in a desirable silhouettelike a retro-inspired crewneckbut with a silly element, like the word Skhug (for one of Cavas popular sauces) added on top. We wanted to maintain the authenticity of what makes Cava unique (the flavor elements and the playful nature) while designing pieces that people will actually want to wear in their everyday lives, whether thats lounging at home, running errands, or traveling, Rebhun explains, adding that the brands playful personality shines through in the line. We lean into the natural zeitgeist around our brand with phrases like Extra Pickled Onions and our MILF Crew Man, I Love FETA callout, but the designs come through feeling clever, not gimmicky. Fast-casual restaurants face declining sales among young people Cavas new merch shop comes at a tricky moment for fast-casual slop bowl purveyors. On an October 29 earnings call, Scott Boatwright, CEO of Chipotle Mexican Grill, said that customers aged 25 to 35 are visiting the chain less as they face unemployment, increased student loan repayment, and slower real wage growth.” And on November 4, Cava Group cut its full-year forecast for the second quarter in a row. It cited 15% fewer visits from the 25- to 35-year-old group, which makes up 30% of its total consumer base, as one reason behind the decision. Cavas revenue in the third quarter was up 20% compared to the same period last year, but its stock (NYSE: CAVA) is currently down almost 67% year-over-year. At the same time, Chipotle stock (NYSE: CMG) is also down almost 49%, while Sweetgreen is down more than 86%. When you look at different age demographics of fast-casual, the 25- to 34-year-old consumer seems to be impacted a bit more than others, Cava CFO Tricia Tolivar told CNBC in an interview. Fast casual tends to have a higher concentration of those consumers within their guest portfolio. Gen Zers and millennials may be cutting out their daily slop bowl, but with Cavas new merch launch, at least they can literally wear their love of feta on their sleeves.
Category:
E-Commerce
In 2011, Patagonia faced the same pressure every retailer faces on Black Friday: maximize sales on the year’s biggest shopping day. Instead, they ran a full-page ad in the New York Times with a stark message: Don’t Buy This Jacket. The ad detailed the environmental cost of making their bestselling R2 fleece, such as 135 liters of water in the manufacturing process and 20 pounds of carbon dioxide for transporting it to the companys warehouse. This wasn’t a clever marketing ploy. The ad directly urged customers to think twice before purchasing, to fix existing gear before replacing it, and to buy and sell second-hand. This was a real commitment to the values that had driven Patagonia since Yvon Chouinard founded the company in 1973: putting environmental protection above profit maximization, even when market logic demanded otherwise. As a result of staying true to their deepest values, Patagonia today has a fiercely loyal customer base and enjoys more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Patagonia is a striking example of a business that has thrived not by giving in to pressure to change, but rather by doubling down on their core ideas. Another such example is fast-food favorite In-N-Out Burger, which has spent 75 years refusing to franchise, expand quickly, or add more items to its menu. Unlike McDonalds, which tried to reinvent itself as a purveyor of healthy foods a decade ago, In-N-Out has stuck to making burgers, fries, and milkshakes. The result? Cult-level customer devotion and some of the highest per-store revenues in the fast-food industry. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/creator-faisalhoque.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/faisal-hoque.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"Ready to thrive at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity? ","dek":"Faisal Hoques books, podcast, and his companies give leaders the frameworks and platforms to align purpose, people, process, and techturning disruption into meaningful, lasting progress.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/faisalhoque.com","theme":{"bg":"#02263c","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#ffffff","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#000000"},"imageDesktopId":91420512,"imageMobileId":91420514,"shareable":false,"slug":""}} Patagonia and In-N-Out Burger are not dinosaurs that have failed to adapt. They are billion-dollar businesses with the kind of customer devotion and employee loyalty that money cant buy. And a large part of the reason for this success is that they have mastered a counterintuitive truth: the more things change, the more you need to stay the same. The virtue of staying steadfast In order to thrive in change, we need the ability to resist change. This ability, which I call steadfastness, is essential for two reasons. First, organizations liberate enormous energy by committing to their identity and purpose in times of change. This commitment gives people a reason to endure change and turmoil. As the German philosopher Nietzsche famously said, those who have a why can bear almost any how. This reason, and the energy and strength it liberates, becomes a crucial resource for organizations that are confronted with changeand in our current era, that is all organizations, all the time. Second, it gives you a fixed point by which to navigate, which is especially important in times of change. When an organization sticks to its core identity and purpose, it is better placed to understand how to respond to the changes it faces. In-N-Outs core mission is to make great burgers, and by sticking to it, the company can navigate major changes in the business landscape by asking a simple question: how can this change help us make great burgers? Steadfastness should not be mistaken for the kind of dangerous rigidity that can run a company into the ground. Kodak didn’t fail because it stayed true to its purpose of helping people capture and share memoriesit failed because its leaders became overcommitted to the business model of maximizing profits by selling film. The critical distinction is this: be steadfast about your why (your purpose), but be flexible about your how (your methods). Patagonia’s purpose is protecting nature, not selling as many fleece jackets as possible. In-N-Out’s purpose is making great burgers, not resisting technology. When you are clear about this distinction, steadfastness becomes a source of strength rather than a path to obsolescence. The dual demand of organizational resilience Understanding the difference between purpose and methods points to a deeper challenge: organizations must somehow find a way to be both immovable and infinitely adaptable at the same time. They need to be unshakeable about their why while being completely willing to reinvent their how. This is what makes building resilience so difficult. It requires holding two contrasting capabilities in perfect tension. Most organizations fail at one extreme or the other. Some chase every trend and lose their identity in the process while others cling to outdated methods and mistake their current business model for their reason for being. But there is a group of people who have mastered implementing both sets of capabilities simultaneously: entrepreneurs. The entrepreneurial journey demands both unwavering commitment to a vision and constant willingness to change tactics. This entrepreneurial mindsetthis ability to be both stubborn and adaptableis not just for startups. It is the key to building resilience in any organization. And it rests on four specific traits that enable leaders to navigate the tension between steadfastness and flexibility. Four entrepreneurial traits that build resilience 1. Love. Entrepreneurs don’t fall in love with their productsthey fall in love with the problem they’re solving and the people they’re serving. This distinction is critical. When you love your product, you resist necessary changes. When you love your purpose, you’ll do whatever it takes to fulfill it. Love for purpose creates both the commitment to persist and the freedom to change. It’s what alows organizations to ask: “Does this method still serve what we love?” rather than protecting methods that have become comfortable but ineffective. 2. Embracing Suffering as Growth. Every entrepreneur knows the particular pain of watching a cherished strategy fail. But they learn to reframe suffering as a source of learning, a font of hard-won data about what doesn’t work. This reframing serves a dual purpose: it makes you quick to abandon failing tactics while simultaneously strengthening your commitment to the purpose that makes the suffering worthwhile. 3. Building Partnerships. Entrepreneurs know that the right partners don’t just share your current strategythey share your purpose. This distinction is crucial for resilience. Partners who are only aligned on methods will abandon you when those methods fail. Partners who are aligned on purpose will help you find new methods when the old ones stop working. True partners act as both innovation catalysts (pushing you to try new approaches) and guardians of purpose (keeping you honest about your why). They give you permission to change everything except what matters most. 4. The Power of Saying No. The hardest entrepreneurial skill is saying noboth to opportunities that don’t serve your purpose and to methods that no longer work. This dual discipline is what creates resilience. Every time you say no to a profitable distraction, you strengthen your commitment to purpose. Every time you say no to a failing approach, you free resources for innovation. This discipline is what allows organizations to be both focused and agile. It’s the skill that prevents both mission drift and tactical stubbornness. Building the resilient organization At the company level, the challenge is to master the tension of being steadfast about purpose while flexible about methods. Here are three ways to build this capability: 1. Define your non-negotiables. Write down your organization’s core purposethe why that will never change regardless of market pressureand separate it explicitly from your current methods, products, and business models. Make this distinction visible throughout the organization so everyone understands what must be protected and what can be reimagined. 2. Distinguish purpose from method in every decision. When facing changes or challenges, explicitly ask: “Is this about our why (which we won’t compromise) or our how (which we can reimagine)?” Make this question a standard part of strategic discussions, and promote leaders who consistently make this distinction well. 3. Practice strategic steadfastness. The next time you face pressure to chase a trend or copy a competitor, pause and ask whether it serves your core purpose. If not, say no publicly and explain why. Each time you hold firm on purpose while adapting methods, you build organizational muscle memory for true resilience. Change is inevitable. The organizations that will thrive aren’t those that resist all change or embrace every trend, but those that know exactly what to preserve and what to transform. {"blockType":"mv-promo-block","data":{"imageDesktopUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/creator-faisalhoque.png","imageMobileUrl":"https:\/\/images.fastcompany.com\/image\/upload\/f_webp,q_auto,c_fit\/wp-cms-2\/2025\/10\/faisal-hoque.png","eyebrow":"","headline":"Ready to thrive at the intersection of business, technology, and humanity? ","dek":"Faisal Hoques books, podcast, and his companies give leaders the frameworks and platforms to align purpose, people, process, and techturning disruption into meaningful, lasting progress.","subhed":"","description":"","ctaText":"Learn More","ctaUrl":"https:\/\/faisalhoque.com","theme":{"bg":"#02263c","text":"#ffffff","eyebrow":"#9aa2aa","subhed":"#ffffff","buttonBg":"#ffffff","buttonHoverBg":"#3b3f46","buttonText":"#000000"},"imageDesktopId":91420512,"imageMobileId":91420514,"shareable":false,"slug":""}}
Category:
E-Commerce
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