Nation's Restaurant News
Dunkin' Donuts has committed to acquiring all of the eggs served on its domestic menus from cage-free sources by 2025, the company said Monday. The snack and beverage division of Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. expanded its cage-free egg commitments over the next 10 years in an announcement coordinated with the Humane Society of the United States, which said the switch would affect about 1.4 million egg-laying chickens a year.
Consumerist
Icahn Enterprises has reportedly offered to pay $837 million for Manny, Moe and Jack, trumping Bridgestone's $835 million bid made back in October. Pep Boys previously agreed to sell 800 retail locations to Bridgestone, which operates 2,200 tire and car service centers in the U.S. Bridgestone currently operates retail locations under the Firestone Complete Auto Care, Tires Plus, Hibdon Tires Plus and Wheel Works brand banners.
BMW Blog
Audi, BMW Group and Daimler AG have acquired Nokia's mapping and location business HERE, which will stay independent, per the governing structure the acquisition brings with it. The HERE platform delivers HD maps combined with real-time location information. Thus, drivers get a representation of the real world in real time, thanks to the platform's mapping technology, data sources, including cars, mobile phones, and the transport and logistics sector.
Las Vegas Review-Journal
Mountain Dew is bringing back black-grape flavored Pitch Black. First sold in 2004, it was also re-released in 2005, 2006 and 2011. The re-re-re-release was due to "overwhelming demand," the PepsiCo division said. Fans used Facebook fan page and an online petition to get the company to bring it back. To get one of the 1,050 15-packs, enthusiasts must enter a sweepstakes on the Mountain Dew Facebook page in which they must "tell Mountain Dew why they want a case.
Adweek
Labels on InBev's Oculto tequila-infused beer are enlightened. Using smart label technology and LED lights, the limited-edition bottles include illuminated labels, activated by thumb on the pressure-sensitive bottle label. The switch turns on LED lights that shine through the mask illustration on the label. The original Oculto bottles, which debuted in March, featured labeling with discoverable elements such as hidden messages that appear when the beer is cold.
NYSportsJournalism.com
After nearly 25 years as an executive in the NFL and NHL, John Collins has joined as its CEO On Location Experiences, a premium events and hospitality firm run under the auspices of RedBird Capital Partners, Bruin Sports Capital and the NFL. It offers exclusive access to NFL events such as the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and NFL Draft. But the challenge, as Collins relates in this Q&A, is to expand for fans the landscape of the On Location Experiences platform to include high-profile non-NFL events, while continuing to help the NFL build its own platform worldwide.
Consumerist
Chipotle was bracing for it, and it happened: health officials confirmed that the QSR chain's E. Coli contamination now spans nine states - three more than previously reported. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that illnesses in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Illinois have been added to the ongoing investigation. And investigators say four people have reported becoming sick in Ohio, Washington, and California, as well. The CDC warns that even more illnesses could be added to the outbreak list.
Detroit Bureau
A new report warns that VW's empire of brands could be at risk of coming undone in the wake of the maker's ongoing scandal over diesel emissions testing. To help secure a $21 billion credit line that may be needed to help cover fines and other costs, Volkswagen AG has pledged it will, if necessary, sell off some of its assets, per two sources.
Los Angeles Times
On the eve of the big Star Wars redux, and its avalanche of licensed bric-a-brac, let's look back in chagrin: the roster of oddities includes Campbell's "Star Wars" soups, with noodles shaped like a stormtrooper, Darth Vader, R2-D2 and Yoda. And once you've scarfed those, jump in the pool with a float that looks like the reviled-by-public-opinion Jar Jar Binks. And how about a Virgin Airlines "Star Wars" air sickness bag. More at the jump.
Advertising Age
Starting Monday, the brewer will reprise three classic ads for Miller High Life in several Midwest markets from a campaign that ran from 1999 to 2004. Spots feature a plain-speaking everyman who pondered topics like the fact that "beef" and "beer" have only one letter different. The ads will run in Midwestern markets through the end of the year, including Chicago, Cincinnati, Milwaukee and Minneapolis.