From an acquisition by Mars (for a reported $5 billion), to cross-category innovation, to new leadership, Kind Snacks has been kind of busy over the past few years.

In October, Russell Stokes took the helm as the fruit-and-nut-bar brand’s North America CEO after serving as its chief growth officer and previously, Mars’s chief strategy officer. His first months on the job saw some ups and downs: Stokes told Retail Brew he spent Thanksgiving on the phone with his supply-chain team “scrambling” for oats after a “weaker than expected” crop in Canada left the company missing a third of its typical volume.

• The company raised prices by 5% across its portfolio last year due to inflation, Stokes said.
• Kind’s US sales grew 15% to $1.5 billion last year, and it’s aiming to boost its household penetration—which sits at 12%–15%, according to Stokes—both through innovations and its core bar and granola biz.

Stokes said these constraints haven’t affected its thinking around long-term category expansion, but has “forced us to be really thoughtful” about speed, from concept to execution, and its ability to manufacture a product at scale.

Across the aisle

Just before the pandemic, Kind unveiled its largest-ever product expansion—including its first move into the frozen and refrigerated sections—and last year, introduced cereal and ice cream. Its plant-based ice-cream bars have been a notable success, seeing “incredible repeat rates,” Stokes noted.

However, not all innovations have been a hit. Stokes said the company is discontinuing its frozen pint and cereal lines this year, citing struggles finding a “compelling” price point amid these competitive categories.

“Frankly, if you’re not launching some products that fail, you’re almost certainly not trying enough,” he said.

Core strength: Kind also isn’t lowering the bar on what it knows best—bars and granola, spending “slightly more than half” the time focusing on their growth versus new innovations, Stokes noted.

• According to the company, its bar biz growth outpaced the total category by 30% last year, while granola grew twice as fast.

“It’s nice to be in a position where we think that there’s quite a lot of growth really close to the core of the business today, versus having to put all that to one side and say we’ve tapped out all the growth,” Stokes said.—EC

Perhaps no sector was pummeled as badly by Covid as travel, an industry that can’t help but impact all manner of retail, since many visitors are apt to shop at the same stores and eat at the same restaurants as the locals.

In 2019, the US welcomed 79.4 million international visitors, but in 2020, when the pandemic shut down so much of the world, that number nosedived to 19.2 million, and in 2021, rose only marginally to 22.1 million, according to US Commerce Department figures cited by Reuters.

• Those international tourists spent $239.4 billion in 2019, but that shrank to just $81 billion in 2020, according to the agency.

On Monday, the Commerce Department will introduce a plan to boost tourism, called—clearly they hired branding consultants for this one—the National Travel and Tourism Strategy. Some of the goals are as lofty as a 747 at cruising altitude, like getting 90 million visitors spending ~$279 billion annually by 2027.

In the meantime, there are signs that travel—and travel-related retail—is already beginning to rebound. Forgive us for getting graphic…but here are some examples.

Plus, while Target is in the headlines for needing to unload excess inventory of peak-pandemic hot sellers, like small appliances and lawn furniture, it also reports that luggage is a bright spot, with sales up more than 50% YoY in Q1.

It would be premature to empty the minibar in celebration, though. Hotel business nationally is projected to be down 23.1% in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic 2019, according to an April study by the American Hotel & Lodging Association and Kalibri Labs. San Francisco is the market projected to be the least recovered this year, down 68.8% from 2019, followed by New York (down 55.3%), and Washington, DC (down 54.4%).

Products like cigarettes, booze, and luxury goods that are popular at duty-free shops all are reporting sales bumps from the return of the stores, too.

Before you get slapped with any carry-on fees though, note that your neck pillow could also be a stealth suitcase.—AAN

Today’s top retail reads.

All in: The menswear market is hot, and Madewell is all too ready to make the most of it with its fourth standalone menswear store. (Retail Dive)

Running out: The war in Ukraine has exacerbated a shortage of beer bottles across Germany, forcing breweries to plead with customers to bring the bottles back. (the New York Times)

Irreplaceable: A Helsinki coffee shop shows the possibilities of community ownership. (Bloomberg)

Candid convos with industry icons: Hosted by Brew cofounder Alex Lieberman, the Imposters podcast delves deep into the personal and mental challenges some of the biggest names in biz have faced while reaching their most resounding achievements. Listen here.

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. The latest TikTok trend is mixing balsamic vinegar and La Criox to make a healthy version of Coke.
2. Pete Davidson flipped burgers at In-N-Out to support his new partnership with the chain.
3. Two people were rescued after falling into a chocolate tank at a Mars M&M factory in Pennsylvania.
4. Nails Inc. debuted a cheese-scented nail-polish collab with Velveeta.

Keep reading for the answer.

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• A quick look at QSRs in their early years: in photos
• Ulta debuts new accelerator to support BIPOC-founded brands
• The Korres in-store recycling lab is giving beauty empties a second chance