In August 2020, Jake Grigg, an Aussie known to his 1.9 million TikTok followers as Air Fryer Guy, posted a video to the platform that begins with him unwrapping a Subway sandwich and, as is his custom, singing the recipe.

Grigg rolls the sandwich in flour, dips it in egg, coats it with bread crumbs, and pops it into an air fryer. It comes out of the oven resembling a giant egg roll, and there’s an audible crunch as he slices it in half.

Commenters were split on whether it’s appalling or appealing. “I need a Gordon Ramsay reaction video to this,” wrote user Get the Rocks, while StaleMovesMcGee proclaimed, “You are a god.”

But Grigg, who in other videos makes Milk Duds pizza and a chicken breast stuffed with mac-and-cheese in his air fryer, is less interested in making appetizing food than entertaining content.

“I just try to make buzz meals that they’ll be like, ‘Oh, wow, you can do that? That’s wild,’” Grigg told Retail Brew.

Grigg and other social media influencers have helped fuel interest in air fryers, with US consumers spending $958 million on air fryers in 2022, up from $633 million in 2019, according to data from Circana.

“Sometimes social media just adds fuel to a fire that’s already burning,” Joe Derochowski, VP and home industry advisor at Circana, told Retail Brew. Air fryers’ “household penetration was picking up pretty quickly. And then [influencers] jumped in and really accelerated it to increase the usage.”

Keep reading here.—AAN

If you’ve ever worked in the office when lunchtime rolls around, you’ve probably seen the herds of people headed to grab a bowl from Sweetgreen.

The chain of salad counters is known for their organically sourced ingredients and partnerships with local chefs and farms. But as the company rapidly expands, they face the issue of remaining true to their values of sustainability and connecting to their surrounding communities.

Marketing Brew sat down with the salad giant’s Chief Brand Officer Nathaniel Ru to find out how they focus their growth strategy on a few organic ingredients and how they maintain their relationships with food and people. Check out the conversation here.

We’re hitting peak golf season for much of the United States, and TravisMathew is looking at its first summer outfitting women on the course.

The clothing brand is known for its men’s golf apparel, but in the last couple of months, it has expanded its women’s offerings, Lindsay Browder, women’s director at TravisMathew, told Retail Brew. While its first women’s line dropped last year and had more casual clothing, the company’s latest release offers a hybrid of casual- and activewear.

The company describes the new collection as “active lifestyle,” meaning not quite activewear and not quite athleisure. Browder explained that these types of offerings, which include polos, skorts, shorts, and tanks, best capture what customers want from the brand: clothing they can wear on the golf course or tennis court as well as on a casual day running errands.

• “We have roots as a golf brand, but we’ve really done such a great job of getting ourselves out of being positioned as just a golf menswear brand,” Browder said. “That’s really what our brand is about—this transitional product that takes you from life, to active, to the boardroom, to a date, to picking up kids from school.”

Keep reading here.—KM

On Wednesdays, we wear pink spotlight Retail Brew’s readers. Want to be featured in an upcoming edition? Click here to introduce yourself.

This week, we’re ketching up with Kraft Heinz’s chief sales officer Cory Onell.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I lead the Kraft Heinz sales organization, a team of 800+ individuals who are responsible for partnering with retailers such as Walmart, Kroger, and Target (to name a few) to ensure Kraft Heinz products are in stores, online, and available for people to buy and enjoy across North America.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? I’m passionate about allyship, and I’ve worked to build the awareness, capability, and adoption of allyship inside my team and across the organization. I’m also very involved in Kraft Heinz’s DE&I efforts, helping to empower the growth of all team members through partnerships with Next Up, The WE Network, and the National Sales Network.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Hands down, our 2022 National Sales Conference. It was the first time we came together as a Kraft Heinz team. We celebrated. We collaborated. We bonded. And, importantly, we set and committed to our 2023 plan. It was inspiring, energizing, and one of the best experiences of my career.

Which emerging retail trend are you most excited about this year, and why? The “quick with quality” trend excites me. The pandemic has made home the hub for cooking again, but we have less time to make a great-tasting meal. Creating convenient, great-tasting, and filling food continues to gain importance with consumers.

Keep reading here.—EC

Today’s top retail reads.

Dying art: A new art exhibition pays homage to New Land Plaza, a Canal Street mini-mall known for selling knockoff luxury bags and accessories as part of New York’s “Counterfeit Triangle.” (Curbed)

Fast refashion: Ahead of a potential IPO, Shein is attempting to shift its reputation, addressing criticism around stealing designers’ work and promoting overconsumption. (the New York Times)

Glowing terms: A look at the current funding environment for beauty brands. (Vogue Business)

Retail revamp: Manhattan Associates’ Unified Commerce Benchmark for Specialty Retail offers one-of-a-kind insights into retailers’ capabilities with search and discovery, cart and checkout, promising and fulfillment, and lots more. See how industry leaders leverage them.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

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

• Inside the “phased refresh” of Ulta Beauty’s digital store
• Why doesn’t Whole Foods sell Impossible products?
• How Lovesac sets itself apart in the furniture industry