Kroger earned a $680 million profit in its first quarter of 2016, an increase of nearly 10% from a year ago. Total sales for the Downtown Cincinnati-based grocery store chain rose 4.7% to $36 billion in the three months ended May 21. Excluding fuel, sales rose 7.8% from a year ago.

Jim Koch, who launched Boston Beer Co., from his kitchen 30-some years ago with a 19th-century family recipe, said he had no idea that his Samuel Adams beer was name-checked in Broadway's cross-cultural megahit "Hamilton." His eyes lit up when played the playful allusion to the signature brew (named for a patriot) in a pub scene set in 1776.

Sam Parnell's title will be vice president innovation engineering. Based in Target's office in Sunnyvale, Calif., he'll focus on building an engineering team to support Target's innovation efforts. Parnell has a background in tech and online media. He was most recently founder/CTO of podcast network Binge Media.

With attacks on the pharmaceutical industry having ramped up because of recent spikes in drug prices and Pfizer Inc.'s failed attempt to use a now-banned financial tactic to escape U.S. taxes, the company is fighting back with a new media campaign featuring scenes from its Groton laboratories and an interview with one of the region's top scientists.

Brew Detroit has recently received label approval for Stroh's Bohemian-Style Pilsner. The brewery, which brews beers for Michigan brands such as Atwater Brewery and Badass American Lager, will likely brew the beer for Stroh Brewing Co., the previously Detroit-based brewery which is now owned by Milwaukee-based Pabst Brewing Co.

Barack Obama carries a secure "smartphone" that is so locked down that he compared it to an infant's toy phone. There's only one mobile device supported by the Defense Information Systems Agency-the agency that provides the White House with communications services. That phone is a "hardened" Samsung Galaxy.

Patek Philippe's online store, where customers can look but not purchase, is certainly atypical of most shopping websites. It's an excellent example of how some high-end retailers are dealing with a dilemma born of the digital age. How does a luxury brand retain its extravagant feel while catering to the growing horde of consumers who love to shop online?

Target Corp. is donating $250,000 to the OneOrlando Fund in honor of the retailer's two associates and other victims killed in the nightclub massacre. Target lost two employees, Mercedes Flores and Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, and a third employee remains in critical condition.

Panera Bread is ditching all artificial flavors, sweeteners, preservatives and colors from its grocery store products. The company, which has already removed antibiotics and non-naturally occurring trans fats from its food products, hopes to be free of additives by the end of this year.

It's one of the toughest challenges a brand with an iconic ambassador faces-what happens after you no longer use said ambassador? That's the challenge facing Dos Equis, which parted ways in March with the actor who portrayed "The Most Interesting Man in the World."