Jenny Lemons

For the San Francisco-based artist and entrepreneur that niche underpins a thriving retail business.

The 39-year-old runs a small Californian accessories brand called Jenny Lemons. It is best known for its quirky, colourful hair claw clips, made from a plant-based alternative to conventional, petroleum plastic.

She designs the products, selling them directly on her website, and wholesale to around 1,500 independent retail stores in the US and internationally. And all the hair clips are themed around food. If you want to wear rainbow chard, a sardine tin, or a TV dinner in your hair, Lennick has a clip for that, though the company's bestseller is a strawberry. "They are small, affordable luxuries that add a little bit of flair and fun," says Lennick. The company didn't begin as an accessories brand. Originally from Minnesota, and with more than six years at art school, Lennick launched the business in 2015 as a food-themed, hand-printed clothing line, based in San Francisco's trendy Mission district. She expanded the venture, opening a physical shop in the neighborhood in 2018, selling her clothes along with products made by other artists. But the store proved punishing - staffing costs were high, rent kept rising, and foot traffic never recovered after the pandemic. She closed it at the end of 2023, $90,000 (£66,000) in debt. The pivot to hair accessories began the year before when, selling her clothes at a craft fair, Lennick met a hair claw vendor who shared a contact for a factory in China. Lennick started to produce her own - food-themed, naturally - and sales online quickly outpaced that of her clothing.

BBQ - How important is it for a business to be able to adapt its strategy?

Jenny Lemons

Lufthansa Cutting Flights

 

German airline Lufthansa will cut 20,000 European short-haul flights over the summer, saying soaring fuel prices have made many journeys "unprofitable" for the firm. Jet fuel has doubled in price since the start of the US-Israel war with Iran as the conflict has slowed its production and transportation across the Middle East. Several airlines, including KLM-France and Delta, have also temporarily cut some flights while others have raised ticket prices as they pass on expenses to customers. Analysts have warned that travellers should expect further ticket price rises and more cancelled flights as the conflict continues. The Gulf is a major source of aviation fuel, accounting for about 50% of Europe's imports. The bulk of it comes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has effectively closed in response to US and Israeli attacks. It said this means it will temporarily stop flying to and from Heringsdorf, Cork, Gdańsk, Ljubljana, Rijeka, Sibiu, Stuttgart, Trondheim, Tivat, and Wrocław. The firm will either refund affected passengers or book them on to alternative flights with one of its other airlines – SWISS, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and ITA Airways – where possible. Some of the flight cuts could become permanent.

BBQ - Should airlines raise prices of tickets?

Flight Fuel

Car Loo

Chinese carmaker Seres has been granted a patent for what it calls an "in-vehicle toilet" that slides under a passenger's seat for visits to the loo while on the road. The feature is meant to "satisfy users' toilet needs on long journeys, while camping or while staying in the car", engineers wrote in Seres' patent filing in China on 10 April. Seres, based in the south-west city of Chongqing, has not announced any cars that have toilets and it is uncertain if any will be made. Chinese electric vehicles have become increasingly packed with unconventional features, like built-in massage seats, karaoke systems and a fridge, to stand out in a highly competitive market. The patent filing shows Seres' plans for an onboard toilet that slides out from the bottom of a passenger's seat with a push or through voice-activated commands. The loo will come with a fan and exhaust pipe to channel odours out of the car. In-vehicle toilets are rare - mostly found in long-distance coaches - but are not unheard of in cars. Most of the company's cars are sold in mainland China, though Seres has also expanded to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

BBQ - What innovation would you suggest for a car?

Car Loo

Pokémon Cards Rising Value

A series of smash-and-grab robberies have hit Pokémon card shops across the UK as the increasingly popular collectible cards soar in value. Celestial Collectables in Warrington, Cheshire is one of the latest stores to be targeted after robberies in Rugby, Bristol, Bournemouth, Peterborough and Nottingham among others in recent weeks. Pokémon cards have been collected and traded for 30 years but since Covid, they have attracted more attention online, with some of the rarest selling for huge sums. A recent auction by specialist auction house Stanley Gibbons Baldwins saw over £1.5m in "Pokémon assets" change hands. While most cards are not worth thousands of pounds, high-profile sales of the rarest items have driven both collector and investor interest. However, as the value grows so does the cards' appeal to criminals. Earlier this year, the YouTuber, wrestler and boxer Logan Paul auctioned an ultra-rare, high-quality Pikachu card for a record-shattering $16.5m (£12m).

BBQ - Why do Pokemon cards have such high values?

Pokemon Cards

Cheaper Doritos Boosts Sales

Cutting the cost of Doritos and Lays crisps helped PepsiCo win back snackers after a backlash over rising prices. The food and drinks giant said on Thursday sales had jumped 8.5% in the first three months of the year to $19.4bn (£14.4bn). It followed a series of price cuts ahead of the Super Bowl, some worth as much as 15%, on products including Doritos, Lays (known as Walkers in the UK), Tostitos and Cheetos. PepsiCo chief executive and chairman Ramon Laguarta said the "affordability initiatives" had helped improve the firm's performance. The company had been struggling after angering customers with a series of price hikes in response to its own soaring costs in 2022. To win back snackers, it launched its latest wave of price cuts to coincide with the Super Bowl on 8 February, one of the most lucrative days of the year for snack makers. As well as a jump in sales, the company on Thursday said operating profit rose by a quarter to $3.2bn. PepsiCo's shares jumped by 2% in early trading on the results. The boost also comes as PepsiCo grapples with the rising use of appetite-suppressing weight-loss jabs, which are driving changes in eating habits and portion sizes.

BBQ.- How could you apply PED to this story?

Cheap Doritos

Just Eat & Autotrader Fake Reviews

 

Food delivery giant Just Eat and motoring site Autotrader are among five firms being investigated as part of a probe into fake and misleading online reviews by the UK's competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is also investigating reviews site Feefo, funeral firm Dignity and Pasta Evangelists, is looking at whether they have broken consumer law. The investigation will focus on how reviews are obtained, moderated and presented to customers. Online reviews influence billions of pounds of spending each year, yet many consumers worry about misleading content online. Under new powers announced in 2024 the CMA can fine firms for violating consumer law, without needing to go through the courts. While the CMA is investigating the five businesses, it said it had "not reached any conclusions about whether consumer law has been broken". With household budgets under pressure, people need to know they're getting genuine information – not reviews or star-ratings that have been manipulated to push them towards the wrong choice.

BBQ - How much do other customer reviews influence your purchase?

Fake Reviews

Huel bought by Danone for €1bn

 

The British meal supplement maker Huel is being bought by Danone for €1bn (£864m). Founded in Buckinghamshire in 2014, Huel is best known for its shake powder, which it says is a nutritionally complete replacement for a regular meal. Its investors include actor Idris Elba and broadcaster Jonathan Ross. It has since expanded its range to include ready meals, nutrition bars, and health drinks, all of which are plant based. The company has previously got into hot water with the UK advertising watchdog, which has banned some of its adverts for making "misleading" claims. One such advert made misleading claims about the cost savings associated with replacing a normal diet with meal replacement shakes, the watchdog said. Huel (a portmanteau of "human" and "fuel") products are mostly sold direct to consumer, with some sales from shops and supermarkets, but it said the Danone deal would allow it to expand into new markets. The market for so-called complete nutrition products, aimed at time-poor, health-conscious consumers, is thought to be worth $5.9bn (£4.4bn). The deal is subject to closing conditions including regulatory approval. Danone is best known for its yoghurt drinks – in addition to its Danone-branded drinks, it also owns Actimel, Activia and Alpro.

BBQ - Is this a good deal for Danone?

Danone