Hi. Applebee’s just announced “Meta Mondays,” making it the latest company to jump into NFTs. So here at Retail Brew, we’re doing “Why Wednesdays.”

In today’s edition:

• Recapping a recap of 2021
• Why one chocolate company is ditching dairy
• How to make the most of QR codes

—Katishi Maake, Erin Cabrey

Don’t tell us you missed Retail Brew’s year-end edition of The Checkout yesterday. We chatted with Lindsay Mikos, senior director of digital commerce and omnichannel at Walgreens, and Mike LaVitola, cofounder and CEO of Foxtrot, about the top retail trends of 2021. Plus, we even did some crystal-balling for 2022.

Worry not, though, we’re recapping our recap below. You can also watch the full event right here.

Looking back

How retailers shifted their strategies to reach customers defined 2021, as more shoppers returned to IRL spaces—but still craved pandemic-era conveniences like BOPIS.

Walgreens, for example, introduced 30-minute pickup and same-day delivery in the spring. As a result, Mikos said, the retailer is seeing larger basket sizes and trip frequency increase across the board, giving Walgreens the confidence that this way of shopping will stick.

“One of the biggest pieces of this is landing the experience end to end. Not only from when [customers] placed the order, but how they interact with that store team member, bringing that item and order out to their car in under two minutes, has really been a key driver of the success we’ve seen,” Mikos explained.

For Foxtrot, a Chicago–based convenience chain that started online, fast delivery has always been key. But a digital-first mindset has also helped it move into stores.

Because most purchases still happen on Foxtrot’s app, LaVitola said the company has been able to better personalize its locations.

​​“What that allows us to do is tie...customer shopping habits in-store to their online purchases and vice versa—by neighborhood, too,” LaVitola explained.

• Plus, it’s a way for Foxtrot to discover opportunities in private label (which currently makes up about 30% of its product assortment).

Hot-button issue: Don’t tell either exec that physical retail is dead—they’re not buying it. But a robust in-store shopping experience also comes with challenges. Of late, one of the biggest has been theft.

In Foxtrot’s case, LaVitola said the chain is getting more “prescriptive” in its store layouts.

• He mentioned being at a location the other night where the team reconfigured the placement of big-ticket items and sight lines.

“What you don't want to do is ruin the retail experience for everyone because of a few bad apples, but you also can't ignore that it’s a problem,” LaVitola told us.

Mikos echoed a similar point, noting that Walgreens is “constantly thinking” about where to put products so they get the right amount of exposure, but so the store—and associates—are protected.

“It’s delicate in that you don’t want to lock up everything on your shelves,” she said. “We need to be mindful of that.”

What else are Walgreens and Foxtrot focusing on in 2022? Click here to read more.—KM

Got milk? If you’re asking chocolate maker TCHO, the answer is nope.

After three years of R&D, the company plans to make its portfolio dairy-free by 2023, a move that means replacing about a third of its retail and bakery products, said Brad Kintzer, TCHO’s chief chocolate maker. (That has to be one of the sweetest job titles of all time, right?)

• The overhaul begins with a new six-bar line that includes two plant-based milk-chocolate flavors (and four dark-chocolate varieties that are inherently so); it’s already available online and will hit stores next year.

Wait, why? The “huge shift” is all in the name of sustainability. Despite concerns about isolating milk-chocolate consumers, Kintzer said, TCHO wanted to prioritize its green goals: The company says it’s working to lower its carbon footprint, reduce deforestation, and improve farming techniques and soil conditions.

• Even the B Corp–certified company’s packaging is getting an overhaul, with new bars using recyclable paper cartons and 100% post-consumer waste paper.

TCHO’s VP of marketing, Josh Mohr, added that the chocolate maker was confident in its new formulation (though it’s a bit more expensive) and saw “no reason” to supplement its offerings rather than replace them.

“It’s always better to jump all the way in than to just dip your toes,” Mohr told us. “As soon as we tasted our final plant-based milk-chocolate formula...we knew we had to go all the way in.”

• TCHO used oat milk, cashew butter, and coconut sugar to re-create the coveted creaminess of milk chocolate, Kintzer explained.

Hold up: Other companies haven’t been so bold (yet). Hershey’s is opting to trial its Oat Made bars in select markets, and brands like Endangered Species offer both milk and dairy-free chocolates.—EC

By now, we’re all familiar with QR codes—those funky, futuristic-looking blobs of pixels that appear all over consumer packaging, inside apps, on public signs, basically anywhere with a square of open space. Point your camera at it, and, like magic, a website appears.

If you ask Michael Brandt, the cofounder and CEO of Health Via Modern Nutrition (H.V.M.N.), they’re here to stay.

So, how should brands make the most of QR codes—particularly on packaging? In a piece for Retail Brew, Brandt lists five ways companies can do just that, all while providing value to customers. Read on for one of his ideas, and click here for the full piece.

The side surface area of an eight oz. canned bev is about 35 square inches. That’s less than half of the amount of surface area on a standard piece of printer paper. Doesn’t seem like a lot of room to tell the full story behind your product, does it?

A good place to start with QR codes is to ask: What questions do people typically have about my product or category? Information on ingredients, how they’re sourced, and how your product is made is always helpful for shoppers.

Recess, a buzzy seltzer brand, for example, uses QR codes to point to a “What’s Inside” page that does a great job of going a level deeper with its customer. It explains how each of the ingredients was chosen and how it can make you feel.

Another way to think about QR codes is to use them to teach customers how to actually use your product. Remember, getting someone to buy what you’re selling is only step one—you want them to make the most of it (preferably often) and have a great time. So, if you sell a gluten-free cupcake mix or ingredients like chia seeds, try linking your QR code to a wild new recipe.

Today’s top retail reads.

Twisted: After a series of deadly tornadoes swept through six states over the weekend, killing at least 90 people, workers are speaking out over possible lapses in protection. (Intelligencer)

Hard bargain: Holiday shoppers might be frustrated by so few deals this season, but for retailers, it’s an opportunity for the ages. “Brands haven’t had a window like this in a long time, so they’re cutting back on any sort of promotion, discount, or reward.” (The Washington Post)

Teaching moment: A historian lays out everything anyone ever wanted to know about shipping containers. Fun fact: The first commercial container ship voyage didn’t hit the seas until 1956. (Recode)

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

We’re not sure how many people can check off repainting Pottery Barn stores and manufacturing murals at Domino’s from their career checklist, but Jen Abernathy is one of them. Now, she’s a national accounts executive at VGS / Studio D, where she focuses on design strategy. One of her most recent undertakings? Helping reengineer The Halal Guys’ new design into a “Store in a Box” kit that lets chain scale quickly—and cost-effectively.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I help brands reinvent themselves, or implement already-developed brand strategy, by designing and making unique visual elements for their brick-and-mortar spaces.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile: Some days we make (super-stylish) order-pickup kiosks, and other days we produce larger-than-life, cardboard Baby Yodas. Creativity is a limitless concept today.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Working with Shake Shack on their first-ever drive-thru system. We helped them take their brand experience out to the car—where around 75% of a QSR brand’s interactions with their customers occur.

Name your must-follow (retail) accounts: @foxtrotmarket (love what they’re doing!), @wendys, and does Britney count?

An emerging trend that you’re most excited about? The in-store experience, and how retailers plan to drive traffic there. With influencers, livestream shopping, and now the metaverse, I think the successful retailers will need to make some changes in the way their (IRL) real estate functions. We’re seeing apparel retailers offering kombucha or mimosas, DJs spinning on weekends, and grand seasonal installations.

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

• Under Armour on hiring now—and in 2022
• Harry’s Labs makes its first acquisition
• Pop Up Grocer’s CPG trends to watch