Anyone else's mind boggled with the news that McDonald's is opening up vegetarian restaurants? I just can't get my head around the concept; the change in brand profile,my long-established image of McDonald's burgers and fries and the also mind-boggling weight gain for that guy featured in the documentary, "Super Size Me". He ate at McD's 3 times a day for 30 days and gained a Whopping (lol) 24.5lbs.
In case you're interested in visiting and checking out the menu, you'll have to go to India. And it does sound enticing since they've incorporated an Indian flair with "chicken burgers; the McVeggie, a vegetarian patty with carrots, peas and potatoes; a McAloo Tikki or deep-fried patty of spicy mashed potatoes; and a McSpicy Paneer, a patty of traditional Indian cheese."
Ironically, the Super Size Me guy at a vegan diet afterwards to loose the weight and here we are a few years later with McDonald's shocking us with vegetarian restaurants.
Truly mind-boggling stuff.
Wednesday, September 05, 2012
Friday, August 10, 2012
Baskin Robbins and Mitt Romney Connection??
It's been a while since I posted, just lazy I suppose. I wanted to share an article about Baskin Robbins plant closure. Is it true Baskin Robbins and Mitt Romney want us all fat? LOL..... read on
Baskin-Robbins and the Walmartization of Ice Cream
July 20th, 2012 Armine Yalnizyan
It’s been an unusually hot summer, and soaring temperatures have boosted sales of that quintessential summer food, ice cream. But Baskin-Robbins has decided to shut its production facility in Peterborough, Ont., and lay off 80 workers because of…wait for it… increased demand!
From the department of “wait, what?”, here’s the scoop behind this brain-freeze-inducing decision.
Baskin-Robbins, home of 31 flavours (one for each day of the month), brought in $1.8-billion in sales from its 6,777 outlets around the world last year. Same-store sales rose by an impressive 9.4 per cent in the first quarter 2012, and that’s before the heat wave.
Though business is up, the company says expanding production is not part of the game plan. Peterborough is the last place in North America where Baskin-Robbins makes what it sells, and those 80 CAW-organized workers supply a third of the 4,200 outlets outside of the U.S., including 113 Canadian stores.
That production is now moving to third-party suppliers. Canadians’ demand will be supplied by Scotsburn Dairy in Truro, N.S. — for now. Like Peterborough, it’s also a union shop (CAW). But most of what Peterborough produced will now be made in El-Paso, Texas, a right-to-work state with no minimum wage. Only 5.3 per cent of workers are union members in that state.
Does that make Baskin-Robbins the Caterpillar of Peterborough? Not so fast.
The world’s biggest chain of ice-cream stores already operates in 110 nations, and believes future expansion of global domination can best be achieves by focusing on retailing and franchising. They are getting out of manufacturing.
Getting out of manufacturing is one way to drive down costs, by shifting labour-cost decisions to third-party suppliers.
Baskin-Robbins’ plan goes further: drive down costs by extending its presence in emerging markets, where disposable income is increasing; but, importantly, that’s where new suppliers are emerging too.
Call it the Walmartization of ice cream. When you’re big enough globally, you don’t have to make things to change the way things are made. The size of the contracts you’re waving around changes the game. The retailer, not the producer, becomes king of the deal. And the lowest price becomes the law.
Suppliers swallow ridiculously low per unit prices because the bottom line of that contract is huge. Then they find a way to shave their own costs. So Baskin-Robbins lowers its costs by shifting the incentive to find savings onto parties outside the company. Shift costs, increase profits. That’s the formula these days.
And here’s another part of the formula: Baskin-Robbin’s parent company is Dunkin’ Brands, which is owned by Bain Capital – Mitt Romney’s company before he became Presidential hopeful for the Republicans. These firms, and Romney, have been lobbying against supply management, angling for lower dairy prices to help us all get fatter on pizza and ice cream, one crazy-cheap mouthful at a time.
Lower dairy prices are indeed on the menu of free trade deals like the one now being negotiated with Europe and upcoming talks with the Pacific nations, which will most likely see an end to supply management of the dairy industry in Canada. But there’s still cheaper milk products to be found in other nations. And that’s the point of this drive for global dominance in ice cream. Market-spanning giants like Baskin-Robbins, relentlessly driving down input costs, give a whole new meaning to free trade. But remember the other trade: the flip side of low prices is low wages. Someone’s paying the price somewhere.
This blog originally appeared on the Globe and Mail’s online business feature, Economy Lab.
Baskin-Robbins and the Walmartization of Ice Cream
July 20th, 2012 Armine Yalnizyan
It’s been an unusually hot summer, and soaring temperatures have boosted sales of that quintessential summer food, ice cream. But Baskin-Robbins has decided to shut its production facility in Peterborough, Ont., and lay off 80 workers because of…wait for it… increased demand!
From the department of “wait, what?”, here’s the scoop behind this brain-freeze-inducing decision.
Baskin-Robbins, home of 31 flavours (one for each day of the month), brought in $1.8-billion in sales from its 6,777 outlets around the world last year. Same-store sales rose by an impressive 9.4 per cent in the first quarter 2012, and that’s before the heat wave.
Though business is up, the company says expanding production is not part of the game plan. Peterborough is the last place in North America where Baskin-Robbins makes what it sells, and those 80 CAW-organized workers supply a third of the 4,200 outlets outside of the U.S., including 113 Canadian stores.
That production is now moving to third-party suppliers. Canadians’ demand will be supplied by Scotsburn Dairy in Truro, N.S. — for now. Like Peterborough, it’s also a union shop (CAW). But most of what Peterborough produced will now be made in El-Paso, Texas, a right-to-work state with no minimum wage. Only 5.3 per cent of workers are union members in that state.
Does that make Baskin-Robbins the Caterpillar of Peterborough? Not so fast.
The world’s biggest chain of ice-cream stores already operates in 110 nations, and believes future expansion of global domination can best be achieves by focusing on retailing and franchising. They are getting out of manufacturing.
Getting out of manufacturing is one way to drive down costs, by shifting labour-cost decisions to third-party suppliers.
Baskin-Robbins’ plan goes further: drive down costs by extending its presence in emerging markets, where disposable income is increasing; but, importantly, that’s where new suppliers are emerging too.
Call it the Walmartization of ice cream. When you’re big enough globally, you don’t have to make things to change the way things are made. The size of the contracts you’re waving around changes the game. The retailer, not the producer, becomes king of the deal. And the lowest price becomes the law.
Suppliers swallow ridiculously low per unit prices because the bottom line of that contract is huge. Then they find a way to shave their own costs. So Baskin-Robbins lowers its costs by shifting the incentive to find savings onto parties outside the company. Shift costs, increase profits. That’s the formula these days.
And here’s another part of the formula: Baskin-Robbin’s parent company is Dunkin’ Brands, which is owned by Bain Capital – Mitt Romney’s company before he became Presidential hopeful for the Republicans. These firms, and Romney, have been lobbying against supply management, angling for lower dairy prices to help us all get fatter on pizza and ice cream, one crazy-cheap mouthful at a time.
Lower dairy prices are indeed on the menu of free trade deals like the one now being negotiated with Europe and upcoming talks with the Pacific nations, which will most likely see an end to supply management of the dairy industry in Canada. But there’s still cheaper milk products to be found in other nations. And that’s the point of this drive for global dominance in ice cream. Market-spanning giants like Baskin-Robbins, relentlessly driving down input costs, give a whole new meaning to free trade. But remember the other trade: the flip side of low prices is low wages. Someone’s paying the price somewhere.
This blog originally appeared on the Globe and Mail’s online business feature, Economy Lab.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Drinking Limit Spreads East
The blood alcohol drinking(BAC) limit, set in BC in September 2010, seems to be making it's way east as Saskatchewan announces it plans to impose fines for drivers with a BAC between .04 and .08 in the Spring or Summer of 2013.
This is especially significant to the hospitality industry; hotels, restaurants, casinos, bars and pubs, who can really be impacted with tight revenue margins.
Many owners/operators in BC and Alberta noted a marked decline in sales and concerns from customers who were consuming less alcohol with their meals or none at all, some even deciding to stay home and avoid the hassle. The new regulations make it difficult for customers to guage their safe drinking levels.
While nobody wants to see drunk drivers on the road, the new limits will likely target imbibers that monitor their alcohol consumption, not the obvious and dedicated alcoholics that drink and drive. The latter are the only ones that we need to have more stringent regulations for but ironically are also the only ones unaffected or concerned by the new rules.
If you work in the industry, please watch for the CRFA's upcoming petitions and voice your opinion at crfa.ca.
This is especially significant to the hospitality industry; hotels, restaurants, casinos, bars and pubs, who can really be impacted with tight revenue margins.
Many owners/operators in BC and Alberta noted a marked decline in sales and concerns from customers who were consuming less alcohol with their meals or none at all, some even deciding to stay home and avoid the hassle. The new regulations make it difficult for customers to guage their safe drinking levels.
While nobody wants to see drunk drivers on the road, the new limits will likely target imbibers that monitor their alcohol consumption, not the obvious and dedicated alcoholics that drink and drive. The latter are the only ones that we need to have more stringent regulations for but ironically are also the only ones unaffected or concerned by the new rules.
If you work in the industry, please watch for the CRFA's upcoming petitions and voice your opinion at crfa.ca.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Prairie Financial Sun Rising
It's good to be in the Prairie's right now as Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and Regina are poised to lead in growth and prosperity over the next couple of years, according to The Conference Board of Canada posted in The Canadian Press yesterday.
As a recruiter in the hospitality industry, I have seen an influx of applications from the mid and eastcoast for positions in the West in the last couple of years. This is really a significant change considering that heading to Ontario has long been the rallying call to highschool grads in many provinces, including Nova Scotia where my roots lead back. It's been a bit of an identity shock to Ontarians adjusting to a tough labour market and looking West. The Outlook suggest Toronto's growth and prosperity will be tied in 5th place with Regina! But, are job seekers ready to look to Saskatchewan as the booming province? It's another adjustment.
In this volatile economy, adjusting to change is a must. So, many will be getting out their dusty globes to discover where Saskatoon and Regina are located and struggling over the spelling of Sa-skatch-e-wan.
The Conference Board says western cities are benefitting from resource riches and attracting migrants, boding well for housing and consumer spending.
Edmonton created almost 40,000 new jobs last year alone, the think-tank says.
"In spite of global economic turmoil, high prices for agricultural products, minerals and oil are likely to continue," said Mario Lefebvre, director of municipal studies for the Conference Board.
"Canada's Prairie cities will reap the benefits of this global demand for commodities."
Central Canadian cities won't do nearly as well with manufacturing continuing to struggle amid the global slowdown, and government cutbacks weighing on growth domestically.
The top 10 cities in terms of expected growth for 2012 are:
Saskatoon, 4.0 per cent
Calgary, 3.6 per cent
Edmonton, 3.4 per cent
Regina, 2.9 per cent
Oshawa, Ont., 2.7 per cent
Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Vancouver, 2.6 per cent
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Windsor, 2.5 per cent
As a recruiter in the hospitality industry, I have seen an influx of applications from the mid and eastcoast for positions in the West in the last couple of years. This is really a significant change considering that heading to Ontario has long been the rallying call to highschool grads in many provinces, including Nova Scotia where my roots lead back. It's been a bit of an identity shock to Ontarians adjusting to a tough labour market and looking West. The Outlook suggest Toronto's growth and prosperity will be tied in 5th place with Regina! But, are job seekers ready to look to Saskatchewan as the booming province? It's another adjustment.
In this volatile economy, adjusting to change is a must. So, many will be getting out their dusty globes to discover where Saskatoon and Regina are located and struggling over the spelling of Sa-skatch-e-wan.
The Conference Board says western cities are benefitting from resource riches and attracting migrants, boding well for housing and consumer spending.
Edmonton created almost 40,000 new jobs last year alone, the think-tank says.
"In spite of global economic turmoil, high prices for agricultural products, minerals and oil are likely to continue," said Mario Lefebvre, director of municipal studies for the Conference Board.
"Canada's Prairie cities will reap the benefits of this global demand for commodities."
Central Canadian cities won't do nearly as well with manufacturing continuing to struggle amid the global slowdown, and government cutbacks weighing on growth domestically.
The top 10 cities in terms of expected growth for 2012 are:
Saskatoon, 4.0 per cent
Calgary, 3.6 per cent
Edmonton, 3.4 per cent
Regina, 2.9 per cent
Oshawa, Ont., 2.7 per cent
Toronto, Trois-Rivieres, Vancouver, 2.6 per cent
Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo, Windsor, 2.5 per cent
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