For five years, Cove has been working on what it says is the first biodegradable bottled water. The waters have been choppy: Announced debuts in 2019 and 2020 were ultimately delayed because the bottle wasn’t ready, and it has since faced a continuous chorus of “Is this even possible?”

CEO and founder Alex Totterman told Retail Brew creating the bottle took “a little bit of naivety,” plus a lot of trial and error, to provide an answer, but last week it did. The startup’s 20 oz. water bottle made of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), a type of biodegradable plastic the company says is natural and non-toxic, hit shelves at Los Angeles premium grocer Erewhon on December 1, at $3.69 per bottle (Cove’s MSRP is $2.99).

It’s a small step toward transitioning the beverage industry away from petrochemical materials like plastics. Beverage giants the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo were the top plastic polluters for the fourth year in a row in 2021, per Break Free from Plastic’s rankings from last year. While they’ve pledged to cut plastic use and introduced recycling programs, they’ve largely missed their goals.

“This is our goal, really trying to fix this problem, not just create a new brand for the sake of it, or a new water product,” Totterman, who previously worked at a startup focused on water purification, said. “I’m not trying to start a beverage brand here.”

Cove is, technically, a beverage brand, meaning it needs consumer and retailer buy-in to succeed. So with one question answered (it is possible), others around demand, price, and potential for scaling remain.

Keep reading here.—EC

Historically, when thinking about shopping for the holidays, the mall was the first place that came to mind. Now, you have to make sure your last-minute online orders will make it in time to gift.

But this shift doesn’t mean brick and mortar isn’t a vital component of the shopping experience. Last week, we reported that Black Friday weekend spending was up, thanks largely to historic e-commerce sales that carried through Cyber Monday as well. Foot traffic across shopping malls, outlets, and open-air lifestyle centers was down slightly YoY, but this wasn’t the case with its properties, Macerich says.

• The mall-centric real estate investment fund says it saw a 7.7% YoY increase in traffic during the early hours of Black Friday.
• Sales across Macerich’s properties were up 5% YoY, and 13% over 2019 pre-pandemic levels, according to the company.

“There’s never been a better symbiotic relationship between digital platforms and brick and mortar,” Michael Guerin, EVP of leasing at Macerich, told Retail Brew. “We love where we sit with respect to the quality of our portfolio, and the brick-and-mortar experiences that we offer the customer.”

Guerin said that the aftermath of the pandemic and several once-popular retail storefronts closing their doors and/or filing for bankruptcy has forced the company to shift its thinking around the tenants they bring into their buildings—which he expects to pay dividends through the rest of the holiday season.

• Over the past few years, Macerich has increased its exposure to up-and-coming athleisure brands such as Alo, Vuori, and Fabletics.
• And Guerin said Macerich is keen on including other offerings that will bring more exposure to retailers like co-working spaces, gyms, and fitness centers, elevated food and beverage retailers, and luxury, which he mentioned is typically more resilient in an economic downturn.

Keep reading here.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Purple pros: How retail brands ran with Pantone’s announcement of its color of the year: Viva Magenta. (Fast Company)

Vitals statistics: Wearable health devices are booming, and some don’t even have screens. “It wasn’t that long ago that people only wore a health monitor if something was wrong,” said Whoop founder and CEO Will Ahmed. “Now, we’re seeing people take a much more proactive approach to their health.” (CNN)

Grapes of wrath: Why a California winery owner is suing Napa County. (The Economist)

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What happened in the world of retail this week in…1766 and beyond? Retail Brew takes you way, way, way back.

• On December 5, 1766, British auction house Christie’s held its first sale in London.
• On December 7, 1863, Richard W. Sears was born in Minnesota. He grew a small mail-order jewelry business into retail giant Sears, Roebuck, and Company.
• On December 7, 2006, the Seminole Tribe of Florida bought Hard Rock (including casinos, restaurants, hotels, and memorabilia) for $965 million.
• On December 11, 1874, James Lewis Kraft was born (fittingly, on a dairy farm.) We’ve got him to thank for both the singles and the macaroni and cheese!

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

• Retailers grapple with returns
• Diptyque’s big American ambitions
• The real story of the Apple logo