Subway’s $15 “Footlong Pass” subscription offered 50% off a footlong each day in September when ordered on Subway's app or website with daily digital codes. But don’t try to buy one: 10,000 passes sold out in six hours after going on sale Aug. 24 through a special website for Subway MyWay Rewards members. Several Twitter users said they experienced issues trying to buy the pass, including error messages and the page resetting. In any case, the company will likely achieve its goal -- probably to build a larger customer database, which allows for customized offers.

Struggling home-goods retailer Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the hottest stocks on Wall Street in August, rising almost 500% in a matter of weeks. “And that strange divergence happened for just one reason: Meme-stock mania made a sudden and unexpected return,” per The Atlantic. “You probably remember meme-stock mania from early 2021, when hordes of retail investors—many of them communicating with one another via social media and Reddit message boards—bought up the stocks of struggling companies such as GameStop, AMC, and, yes, Bed Bath & Beyond, sending them soaring to unimaginable heights.”

A new social media platform has gotten the attention of major brands including Chipotle and e.l.f. “BeReal, which launched in 2020, asks users to upload one post per day to provide a more authentic view of life for their friends,” per Fast Company. “The photo prompts appear seemingly at random, and users have to send posts within two minutes of receiving the notification. It’s a novel take on social media, and one that’s captivated Gen Z. ... While BeReal doesn’t allow formal advertising, brands are flocking to the platform to build an audience of young users by sharing behind-the-scenes pictures and discount …

Jay Leno, Walmart and Ford Motor Co. came together to unveil a one-of-a-kind F-150 inspired by the pickup that Walmart founder Sam Walton used to drive. The vehicle was unveiled over the weekend in Detroit at the Woodward Dream Cruise, a huge gathering of vintage vehicle lovers. “The collaboration occurred as a way to celebrate the fact that the retailer will be selling Leno’s line of car care and detailing products this coming spring,” per Ford Authority.

The U.S. government is launching an interactive website Sept. 2 that will help travelers who face flight cancellations or delays. “The tool is meant to help travelers find easy-to-read, comparative information on what airlines provide to travelers when there is a cancellation or delay, due to circumstances within airlines’ control, per a letter that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg sent to the 10 largest U.S. airlines,” according to Afar. “Disruptions within airlines’ control could include overbooking flights, consolidating or canceling flights with low passenger numbers, staff and flight crew availability, scheduled maintenance and repairs, and flight prep activities, such as cleaning, baggage …

Consumption of chile peppers per capita in the United States more than doubled from 1980 to 2020, according to a recent study. But the pandemic is what really prompted a spike in sales. In the first year of COVID-19, sales of hot sauce in the United States surged by 24.6%, as tracked by Nielsen data. With restaurants closed for indoor dining across much of the country, many Americans had only their own cooking to fall back on, per The New York Times.

Starbucks will eliminate the chief operating officer position after John Culver steps down from his role on Oct. 3. “Culver will remain at the company through the end of the fiscal year in an advisory capacity,” per Nation’s Restaurant News. “With this restructuring, day-to-day operations will now be overseen by the yet-to-be-announced CEO, and strategy and enabling functions will now be overseen by Frank Britt, whose role has recently expanded to executive vice president chief strategy and transformation officer.”

Bath & Body Works is eliminating around 130 roles, the majority of which are leadership positions, in order to simplify its operating structure. The news follows an announcement earlier in the week that Chief Operating Officer Chris Cramer is resigning “to pursue other opportunities,” according to an SEC filing. Bath & Body Works doesn’t intend to fill the roll.The company of $1.6 billion in the second quarter, a 5% year-over-year decrease.

A federal judge has ordered that Walgreens, Walmart and CVS pay $650.5 million to two Ohio counties, ruling that the companies are accountable for their part in fueling the opioid epidemic. In November, a jury found the companies had continued to dispense huge amounts of prescription painkillers while ignoring signs that the pills were being abused. “The ruling is the first by a federal judge that assigns a firm money figure against the pharmacy chains for their roles in the opioid crisis,” per The New York Times.

Janitor-turned-marketing-executive Richard Montañez has been telling the world for the last decade how he invented Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. The rags-to-riches tale is even the subject of an upcoming movie. “There’s just one problem: Montañez didn’t invent Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, according to interviews with more than a dozen former Frito-Lay employees, the archival record and Frito-Lay itself,” per the Los Angeles Times. The product was actually created by a team of hotshot snack food professionals starting in 1989, in the corporate offices of Frito-Lay’s headquarters in Plano, Texas.