Party City is apologizing for airing a Super Bowl-themed commercial in which an actress said that people with gluten-free diets are “gross.” The ad, which has since been removed from YouTube, depicted two women discussing a gluten-free guest at their Super Bowl party in an unkind way. Since taking note of the clip, several people with Celiac disease and who suffer from gluten insensitivity have slammed the store.  

Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc.'s plan to turn a traditional Mexican dessert into a growth driver has sputtered, leaving the beleaguered burrito chain seeking other new menu items. The dessert known as bunuelos, a fried-tortilla dish topped with honey, sugar and cinnamon, wasn't a hit. The item is "on hold" for now, according to spokesman Chris Arnold. The company has struggled to reignite growth after an E. coli crisis torpedoed sales in 2015.

Promotional announcements from the network for its own shows typically account for about 15% of total ad time and 25-30% of all spots in the game, according to media intelligence firm Kantar Media, NY. Spots promoted the Olympics, the FIFA 2018 Russia World Cup and shows including The Voice and World of Dance, as well as an umbrella spot, “Let’s Go Crazy,” that includes stars from across the network.

Auto-Owners Insurance, one of the Michigan State athletic department’s most-visible sponsors, requested the removal of its logo from the backdrop used at MSU press conferences amid the wave of negative publicity surrounding the university in the wake of the Larry Nassar sexual assault scandal. Columbus, Ohio-based Huntington Bank and Nike both said in statements that they are monitoring the situation. 

United Airlines aimed to show it is a caring ailrine. The Chicago-based carrier delivered a major surprise to the mother and two brothers of America's fast-rising figure skating star. A United executive showed up at the rink where Brodie Tennell trains to tell her that the airline is sending Tennell's single mom, Jean, and her two brothers, Austin and Shane, to South Korea to watch Tennell go for gold at the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Severe winter weather slammed U.S. new-car sales in January. But U.S. automakers managed to hold the line as the year got off to a middling start. General Motors sales rose 1.3% for the month. Ford sales fell 6.6%, and Fiat Chrysler tumbled 12.8%. Japanese automakers offset some of those declines. Overall, industry sales rose 1% compared to a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

Whole Foods has a new inventory-management system aimed at making stores more efficient and cutting down on food waste. And employees say the retailer's method of ensuring compliance is crushing morale. Some employees, who walk through stores with managers to ensure compliance, describe the system as onerous and stress-inducing. Employees say they spend more hours mired in paperwork than helping customers.

Sleep Number has signed a multi-year deal to become the “official sleep and wellness partner” with the NFL. The alliance expands upon Sleep Wellness’s NFL team partnerships, including a 10-year pact with the Minnesota Vikings signed this past October and the Dallas Cowboys. Financial terms of the NFL deal were not released. Players league-wide will feel the impact of the alliance almost immediately.

Equifax introduced a free consumer service that allows people to lock access to their credit files from a mobile phone. However, it didn’t work. It was supposed to be simple: You download the app and swipe the lock to the right, which restricts access to your file. The app is the result of a promise made by Equifax after cyberthieves gained access to 145 million Social Security numbers in a breach.

Sysco Corp. and U.S. Foods, which sell food to hundreds of thousands of food-service customers, alleged in separate lawsuits that they overpaid for chicken meat for years due to collusion among Tyson Foods Inc., Pilgrim’s Pride Corp., Sanderson Farms Inc. and other companies in the $60 billion U.S. chicken industry. The food-distribution giants represent roughly 25% of the domestic food-distribution business.