Latest news with #Corona
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Will Constellation Brands' Focus on Core Brands Deliver in 2025?
Constellation Brands, Inc. STZ is a powerhouse in the alcoholic beverage industry, with balanced presence across beer, wine and spirits. The company continues to prioritize premiumization, brand strength and portfolio optimization as a central theme of its growth strategy. Armed with a portfolio of consumer-led, top-notch brands such as Modelo Especial, Corona Extra, Pacifico, Robert Mondavi Winery, Kim Crawford, The Prisoner Wine Company, High West, Casa Noble and Mi CAMPO, STZ is poised well to serve the evolving tastes of is sharpening its focus on high-performing core brands in high-margin categories, particularly beer, which makes up roughly 83% of total sales. STZ is capitalizing on favorable U.S. beer trends, especially the rising demand for Mexican imports and premium offerings. Modelo, now the top-selling beer in the US, continues to be a standout performer. Corona and Pacifico are the other beer brands that are performing well. For fiscal 2026, the company anticipates sales growth of 0–3% for the beer segment. In the wine and spirits business, the portfolio continues to evolve toward higher-end offerings, with premium brands like The Prisoner, Kim Crawford and Meiomi driving growth. The company is investing in innovation, flavor extensions and omnichannel capabilities to strengthen consumer engagement, particularly among younger, tech-savvy audiences. Additionally, STZ is divesting lower-performing assets and streamlining operations to drive margin expansion and enhance long-term near-term challenges like inflation and channel shifts persist, Constellation Brands' disciplined focus on fewer, stronger brands and strategic execution provides a solid foundation for sustainable growth in 2025 and beyond. As Constellation Brands doubles down on its core portfolio strategy, a closer look at how peers like Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV BUD, The Boston Beer Company, Inc. SAM and Molson Coors Beverage Company TAP manage their core brand playbooks offers key insights into competitive positioning and evolving industry InBev SA/NV, alias AB InBev, has been gaining from continued consumer demand for its brand portfolio. The company's premiumization strategy is a key growth lever. AB InBev has been focused on premium beer offerings, aligning with consumer preferences in the alcohol industry. Among the above-core brands, Corona has been leading the performance, delivering low-teens revenue growth outside of Mexico. BUD has been focused on expanding its Beyond Beer portfolio as well. Boston Beer remains focused on product innovations and brand development to strengthen its market position and drive operational performance. Among the most iconic brands in American craft brewing, Samuel Adams is the keystone of Boston Beer. The company has diversified its lineup with beverages like Truly Hard Seltzer and has grown beyond traditional beer. SAM's diversification strategy centers on expanding its 'Beyond Beer' portfolio, including hard seltzers, ciders and other alternative alcoholic beverages, to capitalize on the evolving consumer taste, reducing reliance on the traditional beer Coors remains committed to bolstering growth through innovation and premiumization. To accelerate portfolio premiumization, the company has been aggressively growing its above-premium portfolio. It remains focused on stabilizing its larger above-premium brands in the US, while simultaneously pursuing meaningful growth opportunities for its most strategic, high-performing brands. The company intends to invest in iconic brands and growth opportunities in the above-premium beer space and expand in adjacencies and beyond beer. Shares of Constellation Brands have lost 25.9% year to date against the industry's growth of 2.2%. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, STZ trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34X compared with the industry's average of 15.23X. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for STZ's fiscal 2026 earnings implies a year-over-year decline of 7.9%, while that for fiscal 2027 indicates growth of 8.5%. The company's EPS estimate for fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 has moved down in the past 30 days. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Constellation Brands stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Molson Coors Beverage Company (TAP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Constellation Brands Inc (STZ) : Free Stock Analysis Report Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (BUD) : Free Stock Analysis Report The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (SAM) : Free Stock Analysis Report This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research ( Zacks Investment Research
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What to watch next week: UK shop prices, US employment, Constellation Brands, M&S and Sainsbury's
While developments around US trade tariffs and conflict in the Middle East continue to dominate market focus, there are also key economic data releases and a number of companies reporting in the coming week. In the UK, investors will be looking at the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), particularly given recent data showing a fall in retail sales. Over in the US, the June jobs report is due to be published on Thursday, giving an insight into how the economy is faring amid uncertainty fuelled by president Donald Trump's trade tariffs. In terms of earnings releases, investors will be keeping an eye on Constellation Brands' (STZ) earnings, to see how the Corona beer maker is coping with tariffs. Back on the London market, investors will be looking out for any comments out of Marks & Spencer's (MKS.L) annual general meeting as to how the business is faring the wake of a cyberattack. Meanwhile, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) is due to update on its performance, as pricing competition has heated up among UK supermarkets. Here's more on what to look out for: UK retail sales saw a sharp downturn in May, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A 2.7% drop in the total volume of retail sales marked the biggest monthly fall since December 2023 and was down from a 1.3% rise in April, as well as being much lower than the 0.7% decline expected by economists. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said that the fall was "mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April". "Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco with customers choosing to make cutbacks." Given this downbeat backdrop, investors will be looking at the BRC's June shop price index closely, to get an indication of how this could further shape consumer sentiment. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio In May, the BRC's index showed overall prices fell by 0.1% year-on-year, which was unchanged from April. Non-food deflation declined further to 1.5%, down from 1.4% in April but food inflation increased to 2.8%, up 2.6% in April. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Given the trends emerging in May, and ongoing caution among shoppers, it's likely that clothing and household goods sales have remained lower, as stores try and lure in more custom. "But grocery prices have been on the rise again, which are making budgets even tighter. This trend is likely to have continued in June as some grocers try and pass on higher payroll costs and deal with some supply chain shortages." She added: "While essentials will still bulk out trolleys, there may be further signs that customers are cutting back on goods like alcohol and tobacco. This data will be another piece of the jigsaw for Bank of England (BoE) policymakers to puzzle over as they assess the stickiness of inflation and mull the prospect of further interest rate cuts this year." The BRC index is released ahead of the ONS official inflation data, so should also give some insight into what to expect from those figures. Previous ONS data showed UK inflation eased to 3.4% in May, which was in line with economist expectations, though this was still higher than the BoE's 2% target. The non-farm payrolls data is typically released on a Friday but the June report is set to be released a day earlier this time, due to the 4 July holiday. The May jobs report showed the US labour market remained largely resilient despite concerns about Trump's tariffs. The US economy added 139,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, more than the 126,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. However, Hargreaves Lansdown's Streeter said that US consumer confidence "deteriorated in June as workers worried about the availability of jobs ahead". "So, there will be keen interest in what the US employment report shows, and whether the labour market is holding up or showing signs of weakness," she said. Read more: Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk's shares under growing pressure "There are signs that employers are becoming more cautious with the churn in the labour market have decreased with less hiring and firing," Streeter said. "Although overall the trend of jobs growth is expected to be positive, and the unemployment rate is expected to be stable around 4.2%, weakness is expected in certain sectors." She said that while there is expected to be continued demand for workers in healthcare and social assistance and leisure, "there could be signs of fresh employer wariness in other areas such as manufacturing and also the retail and travel business given weaker consumer confidence". Data from the Department of Labor released Thursday showed 1.974 million continuing jobless claims were filed in the week ending 14 June, up from 1.937 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021. Continuing jobless claims refers to the number of individuals who are still filing for unemployment insurance benefits. "Signs of a softening labour market could signal the potential for the Fed to go faster with interest rate cuts this year, which could help market sentiment but if a set of robust figures are delivered, it may cause nervousness about higher borrowing costs lingering for longer," said Streeter. Shares in Constellation Brands (STZ) jumped in May, after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) disclosed that it had more than doubled its stake in the company behind Corona and Mondelo beer. However, shares is still down 27% year-to-date, with tariffs weighing on the stock. Constellation's (STZ) profit forecast for the 2026 fiscal year, shared in its full-year results in April, came in below analyst estimates. The company said it expected adjusted profit per share to come in between $12.60 and $12.90 for the year, which was below estimates of $13.97, according to LSEG-compiled data reported by Reuters. Constellation (STZ) said that its outlook for the fiscal years 2026 to 2028 reflected the anticipated impact of tariffs announced in early April. Read more: Whatever happened to NFTs? For the 2025 fiscal year, Constellation (STZ) posted a 2% rise in net sales at $10.2bn (£7.4bn), though adjusted earnings before interest and tax were down 88% to $329m. While sales grew in its beer business, the company said wine and spirits sales declined 6%, citing "unfavourability" in its US wholesale market. Separately, Constellation (STZ) announced that it had signed an agreement to divest from the mainstream wine brands in its portfolio. Instead, the company said it was seeking to reposition this side of the business to a portfolio of higher-growth, higher-margin brands "aligned to consumer-led premiumization trends". It said the restructuring was expected to generate more than $200m in annualised cost savings by the 2028 fiscal year. Shares in M&S (MKS.L) are trading more than 5% in the red year-to-date, with the recent cyberattack on the company having dragged shares lower. Investors will be keeping an eye out for any commentary on how the company is dealing with the fallout from the incident when it holds its annual general meeting on Tuesday. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said: "Marks & Spencer's annual general meeting has not featured a first quarter, like-for-like sales figure for some time – management dropped this when trading was tough and felt it just a rod for their own back. Read more: Stocks that are trending today "The company has more momentum behind it now and the share price is doing its best to shake off spring's cyberattack, but the first-quarter sales number is now usually disclosed as part of the first-half and full-year results, in November and May, respectively." They said that in the "unlikely event boss Stuart Machin says anything at all about current trading, it may pertain to the cyberattack and whether he sticks to the initial estimate of a £300m hit to profit, reduced to £200m by insurance, cost cuts and an ongoing efficiency drive." Currently, they said that analysts are forecasting a drop in underlying pre-tax profit to to £653m for the year to March 2026, down from £876m. As talk of a UK supermarket price war ramped up, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) CEO Simon Roberts said in the company's full-year results that the chain was "committed, above all else, to sustaining the strong competitive position we have built". In the April results release, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) said it expected underlying operating profit to come in at around £1bn for the coming year, which would be slightly down from the figure it reported for the past year, as it looked to maintain its competitiveness. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth said: "Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) shares are nudging toward their highest mark in a year, and they are not that far from their five-year, COVID-inspired high either. This suggests that fears of a supermarket price war, spearheaded perhaps by Asda, are yet to be realised, a view supported by the 4.4% year-on-year food price inflation flagged by the Office for National Statistics as part of May's 3.4% overall year-on-year increase in the headline consumer price index. Read more: Why BP could still be a target as Shell quashes takeover rumours "However, before hard-pressed shoppers begin to accuse Sainsbury (SBRY.L) of profiteering and price gouging, it may be worth noting that the shares are no higher than they were in 1990 – which is surely a testament to how competition in this industry remains red hot." They said that an operating margin of 3% suggests the same, "as Sainsbury (SBRY.L) works hard to maintain market share". The latest data from market research firm Kantar showed that Sainsbury's market share was unchanged in the three months to May compared to the same period last year, at 15.1%. The focus in Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) first-quarter update is set to be like-for-like sales growth, they said, with the total figures for the year to February of 3.2% as the benchmark. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts said that analysts and shareholders would also be looking for any change to guidance for the coming year. Monday 30 June Sinovac Biotech (SVA) Quantum Corporation (QMCO) Tuesday 1 July Supreme (SUP.L) Wynnstay (WYN.L) Kitwave (KITW.L) Wednesday 2 July Topps Tiles (TPT.L) Thursday 3 July Currys (CURY.L) Baltic Classifieds (BCG.L) Watches of Switzerland (WOSG.L) Friday 4 July Various Eateries (VARE.L) You can read Yahoo Finance's full calendar here. Read more: Whatever happened to NFTs? Key questions to ask yourself to plan for a comfortable retirement Bank of England governor says interest rates path is 'still downwards'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
What to watch next week: UK shop prices, US employment, Constellation Brands, M&S and Sainsbury's
While developments around US trade tariffs and conflict in the Middle East continue to dominate market focus, there are also key economic data releases and a number of companies reporting in the coming week. In the UK, investors will be looking at the latest shop price index from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), particularly given recent data showing a fall in retail sales. Over in the US, the June jobs report is due to be published on Thursday, giving an insight into how the economy is faring amid uncertainty fuelled by president Donald Trump's trade tariffs. In terms of earnings releases, investors will be keeping an eye on Constellation Brands' (STZ) earnings, to see how the Corona beer maker is coping with tariffs. Back on the London market, investors will be looking out for any comments out of Marks & Spencer's (MKS.L) annual general meeting as to how the business is faring the wake of a cyberattack. Meanwhile, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) is due to update on its performance, as pricing competition has heated up among UK supermarkets. Here's more on what to look out for: UK retail sales saw a sharp downturn in May, according to data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A 2.7% drop in the total volume of retail sales marked the biggest monthly fall since December 2023 and was down from a 1.3% rise in April, as well as being much lower than the 0.7% decline expected by economists. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said that the fall was "mainly due to a dismal month for food retailers, especially supermarkets, following strong sales in April". "Feedback suggested reduced purchases for alcohol and tobacco with customers choosing to make cutbacks." Given this downbeat backdrop, investors will be looking at the BRC's June shop price index closely, to get an indication of how this could further shape consumer sentiment. Stocks: Create your watchlist and portfolio In May, the BRC's index showed overall prices fell by 0.1% year-on-year, which was unchanged from April. Non-food deflation declined further to 1.5%, down from 1.4% in April but food inflation increased to 2.8%, up 2.6% in April. Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "Given the trends emerging in May, and ongoing caution among shoppers, it's likely that clothing and household goods sales have remained lower, as stores try and lure in more custom. "But grocery prices have been on the rise again, which are making budgets even tighter. This trend is likely to have continued in June as some grocers try and pass on higher payroll costs and deal with some supply chain shortages." She added: "While essentials will still bulk out trolleys, there may be further signs that customers are cutting back on goods like alcohol and tobacco. This data will be another piece of the jigsaw for Bank of England (BoE) policymakers to puzzle over as they assess the stickiness of inflation and mull the prospect of further interest rate cuts this year." The BRC index is released ahead of the ONS official inflation data, so should also give some insight into what to expect from those figures. Previous ONS data showed UK inflation eased to 3.4% in May, which was in line with economist expectations, though this was still higher than the BoE's 2% target. The non-farm payrolls data is typically released on a Friday but the June report is set to be released a day earlier this time, due to the 4 July holiday. The May jobs report showed the US labour market remained largely resilient despite concerns about Trump's tariffs. The US economy added 139,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, more than the 126,000 expected by economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%. However, Hargreaves Lansdown's Streeter said that US consumer confidence "deteriorated in June as workers worried about the availability of jobs ahead". "So, there will be keen interest in what the US employment report shows, and whether the labour market is holding up or showing signs of weakness," she said. Read more: Ozempic-maker Novo Nordisk's shares under growing pressure "There are signs that employers are becoming more cautious with the churn in the labour market have decreased with less hiring and firing," Streeter said. "Although overall the trend of jobs growth is expected to be positive, and the unemployment rate is expected to be stable around 4.2%, weakness is expected in certain sectors." She said that while there is expected to be continued demand for workers in healthcare and social assistance and leisure, "there could be signs of fresh employer wariness in other areas such as manufacturing and also the retail and travel business given weaker consumer confidence". Data from the Department of Labor released Thursday showed 1.974 million continuing jobless claims were filed in the week ending 14 June, up from 1.937 million the week prior and the highest level seen since November 2021. Continuing jobless claims refers to the number of individuals who are still filing for unemployment insurance benefits. "Signs of a softening labour market could signal the potential for the Fed to go faster with interest rate cuts this year, which could help market sentiment but if a set of robust figures are delivered, it may cause nervousness about higher borrowing costs lingering for longer," said Streeter. Shares in Constellation Brands (STZ) jumped in May, after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B) disclosed that it had more than doubled its stake in the company behind Corona and Mondelo beer. However, shares is still down 27% year-to-date, with tariffs weighing on the stock. Constellation's (STZ) profit forecast for the 2026 fiscal year, shared in its full-year results in April, came in below analyst estimates. The company said it expected adjusted profit per share to come in between $12.60 and $12.90 for the year, which was below estimates of $13.97, according to LSEG-compiled data reported by Reuters. Constellation (STZ) said that its outlook for the fiscal years 2026 to 2028 reflected the anticipated impact of tariffs announced in early April. Read more: Whatever happened to NFTs? For the 2025 fiscal year, Constellation (STZ) posted a 2% rise in net sales at $10.2bn (£7.4bn), though adjusted earnings before interest and tax were down 88% to $329m. While sales grew in its beer business, the company said wine and spirits sales declined 6%, citing "unfavourability" in its US wholesale market. Separately, Constellation (STZ) announced that it had signed an agreement to divest from the mainstream wine brands in its portfolio. Instead, the company said it was seeking to reposition this side of the business to a portfolio of higher-growth, higher-margin brands "aligned to consumer-led premiumization trends". It said the restructuring was expected to generate more than $200m in annualised cost savings by the 2028 fiscal year. Shares in M&S (MKS.L) are trading more than 5% in the red year-to-date, with the recent cyberattack on the company having dragged shares lower. Investors will be keeping an eye out for any commentary on how the company is dealing with the fallout from the incident when it holds its annual general meeting on Tuesday. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts Russ Mould, Danni Hewson and Dan Coatsworth said: "Marks & Spencer's annual general meeting has not featured a first quarter, like-for-like sales figure for some time – management dropped this when trading was tough and felt it just a rod for their own back. Read more: Stocks that are trending today "The company has more momentum behind it now and the share price is doing its best to shake off spring's cyberattack, but the first-quarter sales number is now usually disclosed as part of the first-half and full-year results, in November and May, respectively." They said that in the "unlikely event boss Stuart Machin says anything at all about current trading, it may pertain to the cyberattack and whether he sticks to the initial estimate of a £300m hit to profit, reduced to £200m by insurance, cost cuts and an ongoing efficiency drive." Currently, they said that analysts are forecasting a drop in underlying pre-tax profit to to £653m for the year to March 2026, down from £876m. As talk of a UK supermarket price war ramped up, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) CEO Simon Roberts said in the company's full-year results that the chain was "committed, above all else, to sustaining the strong competitive position we have built". In the April results release, Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) said it expected underlying operating profit to come in at around £1bn for the coming year, which would be slightly down from the figure it reported for the past year, as it looked to maintain its competitiveness. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) Mould, Hewson and Coatsworth said: "Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) shares are nudging toward their highest mark in a year, and they are not that far from their five-year, COVID-inspired high either. This suggests that fears of a supermarket price war, spearheaded perhaps by Asda, are yet to be realised, a view supported by the 4.4% year-on-year food price inflation flagged by the Office for National Statistics as part of May's 3.4% overall year-on-year increase in the headline consumer price index. Read more: Why BP could still be a target as Shell quashes takeover rumours "However, before hard-pressed shoppers begin to accuse Sainsbury (SBRY.L) of profiteering and price gouging, it may be worth noting that the shares are no higher than they were in 1990 – which is surely a testament to how competition in this industry remains red hot." They said that an operating margin of 3% suggests the same, "as Sainsbury (SBRY.L) works hard to maintain market share". The latest data from market research firm Kantar showed that Sainsbury's market share was unchanged in the three months to May compared to the same period last year, at 15.1%. The focus in Sainsbury's (SBRY.L) first-quarter update is set to be like-for-like sales growth, they said, with the total figures for the year to February of 3.2% as the benchmark. AJ Bell's (AJB.L) investment experts said that analysts and shareholders would also be looking for any change to guidance for the coming year. Monday 30 June Sinovac Biotech (SVA) Quantum Corporation (QMCO) Tuesday 1 July Supreme (SUP.L) Wynnstay (WYN.L) Kitwave (KITW.L) Wednesday 2 July Topps Tiles (TPT.L) Thursday 3 July Currys (CURY.L) Baltic Classifieds (BCG.L) Watches of Switzerland (WOSG.L) Friday 4 July Various Eateries (VARE.L) You can read Yahoo Finance's full calendar here. Read more: Whatever happened to NFTs? Key questions to ask yourself to plan for a comfortable retirement Bank of England governor says interest rates path is 'still downwards'Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Spectator
3 days ago
- Business
- Spectator
Is your restaurant halal?
Dos Mas Tacos opened recently next to Spitalfields Market, one of London's trendiest and busiest areas. Two beef birria tacos cost £11.50; two mushroom vegano are £10.50; a 'can-o-water' is £2.50. But look a little closer at their menu, and something jumps out: no pork and no alcohol. You'd expect a carnitas option at a taqueria, and you'd want a Corona with it. You can't get either at Dos Mas Tacos. Huh? Or maybe hmm. I came across the place on TikTok, via a video of the two founders, Rupert and Charlie Avery, outside their shop. They're well-heeled lads, twins with posh accents. They used to work in the superyacht industry. 'Hey everyone!' one brother says. 'Just to let you guys all know' – in the classic TikTok singsong tone – 'we definitely don't have any pork in our kitchen, as well as no alcohol in the kitchen as well.' They gesture towards the 'comments we've been having'. The other brother then proudly shows the camera their halal butchers' certificate, which is approved by Muslim clerics. 'This is where we buy all of our meat from, so again, just to clarify that as well!' I read the comments. 'Everyone tag this place and go. Support these guys. W [Win] Birria Tacos,' reads one, which has 6,421 likes. Not everyone is positive. 'No thanks mate – definitely will not be coming back'; 'Defo won't eat here then'; 'Look forward to reading Dos Mas Tacos is in receivership'; 'Another reason to avoid' (2,420 likes). On the face of it, Dos Mas Tacos's decision is curious. Here are two British chaps serving a typically non-halal cuisine in a country and city where most people do not follow halal. Yet there is clearly a demand for it, driven by social media reviews. I've been noticing similar stories around London. In 2023, the most popular opening in Soho was Supernova, a French-run joint that served smashburgers. After about a year, it went 'finally halal' and gained even more TikTok traffic. The longest queue I've seen outside a London restaurant was for Swiss Butter in Holborn. The menu didn't seem special. It was just steak frites, but halal. Last year, the Noodle Inn arrived in Soho, serving northern Chinese cuisine. There were long queues for this too, and it's still immensely popular, but there seems to have been resistance to it not serving halal. An Instagram story from its account last week read: 'FYI Please note: We are not currently halal, but it is something we are actively working towards. Thank you for understanding.' Had Noodle Inn been getting 'comments', too? Let's try to understand why so many restaurants are going halal. Well, from a commercial point of view, why wouldn't you? Even in 2016, it accounted for 8 per cent of the UK's total food and drink spend. Clearly that has risen since then. Fifteen per cent of London's population is Muslim, a figure which is also growing. And halal customers eat more meat per capita than other people. While Muslims make up 6.5 per cent of Britain's population, they account for 30 per cent of lamb eaten in England alone. Running a restaurant isn't easy these days, so why would you deliberately lose customers by serving food they won't eat? Especially as many customers who aren't Muslim won't even notice if a restaurant is halal. James Chiavarini, who owns Il Portico and La Palombe in Kensington, tells me: 'If your business model is lowest common denominator, and it's high volume, high turnover, then it makes sense to go halal. Whereas the food that I do, I try to be a little more curated and elevated. I can't do lowest common denominator, I'm crap at it.' More places than you'd think serve halal meat. Most of London's fried chicken shops – including the popular chains Wingstop and Slim Chickens – are entirely halal. So are a fifth of Nando's branches. As the company's website says: 'Non-halal meat never enters a halal restaurant: even the chicken livers and prego steak rolls are halal!' Other non-chain examples include Bake Street, a brilliant brunch restaurant in Clapton. It attracts all demographics (including me) with its smashburgers and crème brûlée cookies. Gymkhana in Mayfair, one of only four Indian restaurants in the world with at least two Michelin stars, says on its website that its 'chicken, lamb and goat are halal certified'. Does all this make you queasy? It certainly has that effect on Rupert Lowe, who said in parliament recently: 'We are all eating halal meat without knowing it. I find that morally repugnant. We should ban non-stun slaughter, we should ban halal slaughter and we should ban kosher slaughter.' Kosher, incidentally, does not permit pre-stunning, while 88 per cent of halal meat is from pre-stunned animals. However, of the 30 million non-stunned slaughtered animals last year, 27 million were halal and three million were kosher. Lowe wants a full ban, the favourite national solution to things we don't like. Others prefer labelling, which seems fair. If Boris Johnson imposed calorie counts on restaurant menus, then customers are at least entitled to know if their food is halal. Let's remember, though, that we don't think rationally or consistently about this sort of stuff: consider the poor piggies gassed for bacon, the non-dairy calves snuffed out in days for their uselessness, the quail necks we snap, the chickens stunned agonisingly slowly in electric water baths. Halal is an easy target, but so much about the way animals live and die in this country, particularly ones bred for our chain restaurants, is grim. Eating less but better meat from restaurants or butchers is an obvious way forward, but then an awful hangover occasionally prescribes a sub-tenner fry-up for all of us. We are flawed etc. As I read the TikTok comments, I also think this: pressuring a restaurant to conform to your culinary wishes is strange. If it is not halal, you can go elsewhere – particularly in London, where there are 40,000 places to eat out, many of which are exclusively halal. And if a restaurant goes that way for commercial reasons, that also betrays a strange, slightly fearful attitude to hospitality. So here's my advice to restaurants: ignore the comments and do what you want. The customer isn't always right.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Daily Mail
Bodycam shows what happened when 'distressed' baby was found in roasting car with its windows up
Distressing bodycam footage has captured the moment two police officers rescued a baby from a roasting car. The Corona Police department in California shared the video to serve as a warning for residents as scorching summer temperatures continue to rise. They were called to the scene on June 17 amid reports of a baby alone in a car with 'the engine off and windows up.' 'When officers arrived on scene, they observed the baby in distress, and breached a window to extricate him,' they said. The footage shows the two officers rushing to the car and not hesitating once they realized the baby was inside. One officer peered inside the front windscreen and returned a moment later with a metal crowbar used to shatter the front driver's side window. The car was then unlocked from the inside and the second officer immediately pulled the tiny baby out of the back seat. A thermometer reading of the car revealed the internal temperature had reached 110 degrees. The officer holding the baby tried to soothe the child, patting its back and rocking it gently. It is unclear how long the baby was trapped in the car. Officers also did not provide any further details about the child's parents. The inside of a car would take just 20 minutes to warm up to 110 degrees even on a mild day. There are countless tragic stories of babies dying after being left or forgotten inside hot cars. A Florida father was last week arrested and charged with manslaughter of a child and child neglect charges after his baby boy roasted to death in a hot car while he went drinking at a bar, police said. Sebastian Gardner, 18 months, had a body temperature of more than 110 degrees when he was found in the back of the vehicle on June 6. His father, Scott Allen Gardner, 33, allegedly left his son in his truck in 92F heat for more than three hours while he got a haircut and went drinking inside Ormond Beach's Hanky Panky's Lounge, Volusia Sheriff's Office said. 'During the investigation, Gardner gave multiple false accounts of what occurred that day,' police said. Weeks earlier, Louisiana father Joseph Boatman was also arrested and charged after his 21-month-old daughter died strapped inside a car for more than nine hours. Sheriff Randy Smith said at the time: 'When a child is left in a vehicle, especially on a day when the heat index climbs over 100 degrees, the outcome can turn deadly in a matter of minutes. 'This case involved compromised judgment, and the result was heartbreaking.' At least 1,130 children have died in hot vehicles in the country since 1990, and at least another 75,000 survived with injuries, according to Kids and Car Safety. Every year, an average of 38 children die in hot cars and about 88 percent of them are three-year-old or younger, per the statistics.
