It's Cinco de Mayo, and food companies are pulling out all the stops in an effort to make it seem as though they care about this celebration of the Mexican Army's victory over French forces in the Battle of Puebla in 1862. (Word to the wise: Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day; that's on September 16.) Taco Bell whipped out a Snapchat filter for the occasion, and it's equal parts amusing and horrifying.
This is also bizarre:
Telenovela yourself with the @Tostitos GIF creator and add some spiciness to your #CincoDeMayo celebration! pic.twitter.com/sC4CjYesfU
— Pepsi™ (@pepsi) May 5, 2016
In other news, tea drinking is in decline in the UK; Paula Deen's next questionable television appearance; KFC's new nail polish; McDonald's pizza test; and more.
— The British are forsaking their signature beverage: According to the Washington Post, tea drinking in the UK is down while coffee consumption is up — and in fact has tripled since the 1970s. What gives? Apparently, it's an image problem: Emma Clifford, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel, an industry research group says, "People, especially young people, are not excited about it at all. It's just too mundane."
— Disgraced food person Paula Deen will appear alongside Snoop Dogg in the next season of Celebrity Family Feud. Season 2 kicks off June 26. Hopefully some of the categories will involve topics like butter, cholesterol, or civil rights.
— KFC is making nail polish that tastes like fried chicken, and the only sad thing about it is that it's only available in Hong Kong.
— Rumor has it McDonald's is experimenting with pizza, because the company is in the process of flinging limp noodles against a wall to see what sticks. Garlic fries are its latest random menu trial.
— Whole Foods reported its second quarter earnings late yesterday and the news looks pretty grim. The company is focused on its new 365 stores as same store sales continue to decline. Like other food companies, Whole Foods plans to experiment with a loyalty program and expand its mobile app in an effort to attract consumers and keep them coming back.