If you listened to top 40 radio at all this past summer, then it’s safe to say that you heard “Despacito,” the inescapable hit by Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee. This upbeat romantic ballad spent 16 straight weeks at the top of Billboard’s Hot 100 charts, a feat only matched by Mariah Carey more than 20 years earlier. Of course, today’s tech savvy consumers don’t have to wait for “Despacito” to come on the radio in order to hear it. Continue reading
One hundred years ago hardly any Americans outside of California had ever seen an avocado, let alone ate one. Then during the 1920s a Los Angeles postal worker named Rudolph Hass planted an avocado seed in his backyard that eventually grew into a highly productive tree. His children raved about how their father’s flavorful fruit beat out any competitors at the local market, eventually convincing him to patent the Hass Avocado in 1935. Soon growers across the region began to Continue reading
Since Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas a couple of weeks ago, the region has been hit with devastating floods that have upended the lives of millions. And although the waters are finally starting to recede in cities like Houston, that just means the serious cleanup work is about to begin. The financial forecasting firm Moody’s Analytics now estimates that Harvey inflicted as much as $108 billion in damage to the region. Thankfully, dedicated volunteers have been working around the Continue reading
After years of skipping television advertisements with DVRs, many Americans have little patience for commercial breaks. And although ads are largely unavoidable during live programming like sporting events or award shows, that doesn’t mean people are paying attention. Oftentimes viewers will fiddle with their smartphones or simply tune out completely while commercials are rolling. This is bad news for companies who pay big bucks to advertise during high-rated time slots.
In an effort to get people watching ads on TV Continue reading
For decades millions of Americans kept their pantries stocked with plenty of established names like Campbell’s soup and Hamburger Helper. Consumers trusted these brands to provide their families with reliably tasty meals in a short amount of time. But Big Food’s dominance could be coming to a close as America’s eating habits change. After all, many modern consumers are eliminating processed foods from their diets while others don’t seem to care about buying name brand items.
Just visit your local Continue reading
Last year beverage companies sold $16 billion worth of bottled water, a 10 percent increase from 2016. The drink is even more popular than soda, but it certainly isn’t a hit with everyone. Along with being a frequent target for environmentalists, critics have also accused companies of lying about the origin of the water in their bottles. In fact, that’s the basis of a class action lawsuit recently filed against Nestle’s Poland Spring brand.
According to the complaint, “Not Continue reading
After its founding in 1892, General Electric spent decades growing into one of the country’s most successful companies. It continued to expand in the years following World War II, only this time GE began thinking globally rather than domestically. The company built its first international supply chains by establishing manufacturing centers in industrialized nations like France and Japan. By the 1990s GE moved on to developing economies like India and China where the company could produce items like jet engines Continue reading
While you may not recognize the name Stephanie Courtney, chances are you know Flo, the cheery saleswoman for Progressive Insurance. Over the last decade Courtney has portrayed the character in more than 140 commercials, becoming “the personification of the company,” according to chief marketing officer Jeff Charney. “She represents our core values of integrity and honesty and transparency and customer service. She’s a character who has character.”
Of course, Flo is far from the only fictional spokesperson to be associated Continue reading
The U.S. economy has managed to add thousands of jobs so far this year thanks to big gains in industries like construction and health care. But even these substantial sectors can’t compare to the robust growth of the restaurant industry, which has gained nearly 200,000 new jobs in 2017 alone. And unlike manufacturing or construction work, these jobs aren’t localized to a few lucky cities scattered across the nation. Instead, nearly every American metropolis has seen a boom in restaurant Continue reading