As David Chavern, CEO of the Consumer Brands Association (CBA), told us, the inner workings of the CPG industry have seemingly made headlines more than ever before in the last few years. Between the empty shelves where toilet paper and bottled water used to be during Covid to this month’s Sriracha shortage, the recent tumult has garnered a lot of consumer interest.

While some issues, like shipping container costs and port backups, have eased from their pandemic peaks, CPG leaders continue to have concerns related to supply chain and inflation while simultaneously working to address larger, ongoing issues like sustainability and regulatory changes. As the CBA’s new head, Chavern will face these and likely other challenges, but he broke down the main priorities that are top-of-mind concerns for CBA members.

Sense of agency: The FDA, the nation’s oldest comprehensive consumer protection agency, has been the subject of major scrutiny since the Reagan-Udall Foundation published a report last year criticizing the agency’s food division’s leadership and enforcement actions. In January, the FDA announced a proposed redesign for the food side of its operation called the Human Foods Program, which will put a single leader in charge of the program who reports to FDA commissioner Robert Califf. But the Chavern still believes there’s more to do for the FDA to become a “modern regulator.”

“They’ve left out some key things,” Chavern said. “In particular, you still have this weird setup where the policymaking and the priorities around policymaking are detached from inspections and enforcement and the priorities around inspection and enforcement. And we just think that’s a bad idea.”

Keep reading here.—EC

If you thought buy now, pay later options were available only for online shoppers, think again. You can offer BNPL in your physical stores too, and it can come with mega benefits.

Square breaks it all down in their article on how BNPL improves the in-store experience, outlining the benefits that BNPL offers your customers—benefits like:

• higher spending power
• greater payment flexibility
• convenience and omnichannel support
• improved control and transparency
• a simplified payment process

Getting started with in-store BNPL is a breeze with Square and Afterpay. You’ll also get tips on how to introduce BNPL into your brick-and-mortar locations and let your customers know about your newest offering.

Read up on in-store BNPL.

A package protects, promotes, and sets a product apart. This series looks at how iconic packages took shape.

Heinz bottle

You wouldn’t think that something as commonplace as a bottle for a condiment would be all over the news in a major city, but that’s exactly what happened last week.

On April 18, a crane hoisted a 35-foot Heinz ketchup bottle onto the exterior of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ home field, Acrisure Stadium, which for more than two decades had been Heinz Field before fintech firm Acrisure purchased the naming rights last year.

It was a triumphant return for the bottle, which had been one of two attached to the scoreboard when it was still Heinz Field before they were removed last year. And it reflected Pittsburghers’ affection for Heinz ketchup, which was launched there in 1876.

“The ketchup’s back!” a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reader, “Joe h,” wrote in a comment to an article. “Our iconic bottle looks great all shined up!”

The giant bottle Steelers’ fans were pining for is in the shape of the glass version, which hasn’t been widely available in supermarkets since Heinz first introduced a plastic package in 1983. But the company, which merged with Kraft to become Kraft Heinz in 2015 and no longer produces ketchup in Pittsburgh, still sells ketchup in glass bottles through foodservice distributors to restaurants.

And the history of that glass bottle is as rich as the contents that can be so hard to coax out of it.

Keep reading here.—AAN

The writing has been on the wall for Bed Bath & Beyond, and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday.

All 360 Bed Bath & Beyond locations and 120 Buy Buy Baby locations will close “eventually,” per the Wall Street Journal. Sixth Street Partners has offered $240 million in financing to usher the company through liquidation.

The company has struggled for years at this point. Attempts to declutter its stores backfired and shake-ups to its executive leadership couldn’t jumpstart Bed Bath & Beyond from its difficult, low-cash financial position. The final gasps came in January, when the company warned it could file for bankruptcy if it wasn’t able to shore up cash for suppliers and lease agreements.

Keep reading here.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Reputation management: A look at Bud Light’s handling of backlash over a social media promotion featuring a transgender influencer. (the Wall Street Journal)

Bitter pill: Inside the rise and fall of Goli apple cider vinegar gummies. (Fast Company)

Record breaking: Amid an uptick in vinyl sales, a music reporter from Leeds returns to his hometown vinyl store on Record Store Day. The store’s owner said, “We’ve got Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran selling masses of vinyl and we still get lots of kids coming in after school going: ‘Have you got the new one by Arctic Monkeys?’” (The Guardian)

Prioritize you: You’ve made a career of helping others reach their goals, but now it’s your turn. Our upcoming Leadership Accelerator will tell you exactly what you need to know to take that next step in your career. Click here to apply now (and trust us, your future self will thank you).

A roundup of our favorite retail multimedia content from across platforms this week—from TikTok to Twitter. We’re keeping you hip, and you’re welcome.

Double tap: Did you know there’s a liquidation store in Brooklyn, with prices ranging from 50 cents to just $9? (@newyorklocals on Instagram)

Make your day: Fashion writer Mandy Lee breaks down Q1’s top products (based on searches, purchases, and social tags). Her takeaway? The list skews toward basics as opposed to statement pieces, which she says may be a sign of economic uncertainty. (@oldloserinbrooklyn on TikTok)

Tune in: Glossy Editor-in-Chief Jill Manoff chats with Matt Kaness, CEO of online retail marketplace GoodwillFinds. Kaness, who was formerly CEO of ModCloth, explains GoodwillFinds’s business model, and says that Gen Z’s lack of stigma around shopping secondhand is allowing the company to scale profitably. (The Glossy Podcast)

Link up: Baked By Melissa founder Melissa Ben-Ishay reminisces on scaling her mini-cupcake business with the help of her dad, bulk eggs, and her very first direct report. (Melissa Ben-Ishay on LinkedIn)

Double LinkedIn duty: We figured two LinkedIn posts in one week was worth it to share this breakdown of Amazon’s email marketing function updates. The tool allows brands to communicate directly with consumers through Amazon, including by targeting specific audience segments with custom emails. (Alexander Swade on LinkedIn)

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

• How eBay is attracting dedicated sneakerheads
• MyTheresa North America President on the US market
• CBA’s new CEO on CPG storytelling