When you enter LesserEvil’s 33,000-square-foot snack factory in Danbury, Connecticut, the smell of freshly popped popcorn hits you immediately. That scent is quickly followed by the sight of the snack everywhere: flowing through machines, filling bins, and being scooped up by hands (gloved, of course) to steal a taste.

As we shared last week, the organic snack brand’s growth has been a slow burn, but the major aspect of the business that helped it achieve $100 million in sales and 35,000 points of distribution—actually, “the only way I could figure out how to keep it alive,” CEO Charles Coristine said—has been self-manufacturing.

Coristine guided Retail Brew through a tour of its factory to show us the journey from kernel to bag and share the unique processes that set its snacks apart.

Keep reading here.—EC

The future of AI-driven autonomous marketing is looking *slips on sunglasses* bright. What makes it so? An Autonomous Marketing Platform built for innovation.

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The webinar will also:

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See where autonomous marketing can take you. Save your virtual seat.

Home improvement meets home delivery: Home Depot on Thursday announced that it’s partnering with Instacart to offer same-day delivery of certain items from nearly 2,000 locations across the country, expanding on a pilot from earlier this year.

The partnership will allow shoppers to order items such as garden supplies, building materials, light fixtures, and appliances. Some of these will fall under Instacart’s Big & Bulky fulfillment solution, which handles items that weigh up to 60 pounds.

“Our brick-and-mortar stores are foundational to The Home Depot, and expanding our e-commerce capabilities is a key part of our ongoing efforts to deliver a seamless interconnected experience,” Jordan Broggi, president of online for Home Depot, said in a statement.

The home improvement chain is following the lead of its main competitor, Lowe’s, which struck a similar deal with Doordash in April.

Keep reading here.—AV

When the container ship Dali crashed into and collapsed Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key bridge, claiming a half-dozen lives and blocking access to one of the busiest ports in the US, it also created a knot of financial problems for the ship’s owners and cargo customers that experts say will likely take years to unravel.

For instance, how much is the ship’s owner liable for, how much of the financial burden will cargo owners take on, and how much of the damages to cargo will be covered by insurance?

CFO Brew spoke with experts in supply chain law and marine insurance on what the affected companies will likely undergo.

Keep reading here on CFO Brew.—AZ

Talk about influence. 48% of consumers follow mega-influencers and celebs, and 25% say celebrity endorsements influence their purchase decisions. Not surprisingly, retail trends are similarly influenced (literally and figuratively). Suzy’s got the scoop in this complimentary report on how influencer marketing is transforming retail. Read all about it.