Latest news with #LaughingCow
South China Morning Post
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Behind the counter at Hong Kong's first cheese omakase
Almost everyone in Hong Kong knows Laughing Cow: the grinning red cow on a round blue-and-white box, packed with foil-wrapped triangles of soft, tangy cheese with an unmistakably artificial plastic sheen. Surprisingly, it's also beloved in France, the land of strict appellations and strong opinions on dairy. For Jeremy Evrard , owner of the much-buzzed-about cheese omakase Roucou , that was where the obsession started. 'My mother would buy La Vache qui rit at the supermarket. I always kept the label. I've been fascinated by those red cows,' he says. Why? He shrugs: 'When you're a kid, you just do things.' What began as a casual habit became a collection of more than 1,000 cheese labels, the oldest dating back to the 1930s. Jeremy Evrard has more than 1,000 cheese labels, with the oldest dating back to the 1930s. Photo: Jocelyn Tam 'It's just a thing I started. And then it became, 'No, no! Stop!'' He throws his hands up, laughing. 'They just kept coming and I didn't know what to do.' Being friends with a cheesemaker helps. One such friend named Jean François started saving labels for him once he caught wind of the collection. 'It spiralled from there.' Evrard is a self-described 'cheese freak'. 'I grew up with this dairy obsession. I don't know why. My parents aren't in the business. My mother is the worst cook ever,' he chuckles. 'She wouldn't mind me saying it – it's true.' He calls his love of cheese 'self-built'. Instead of visiting vineyards when he was old enough to drink, he would visit dairy farms. Even so, young Jeremy couldn't have guessed where his love of cheese, and its packaging, would eventually lead him. A sushi roll with organic Camembert at Roucou. Photo: courtesy Roucou
Business Insider
20-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
Accenture is giving consulting a new name as it doubles down on AI: 'reinvention services'
After more than 35 years in the business, Accenture is giving consulting a new name: "reinvention services." The global consulting firm reported its earnings on Friday, highlighting a generally positive performance for the third fiscal quarter of 2025. The firm reported revenue of $17.7 billion, an 8% increase from this time last year. While new bookings were down 6% compared to the third quarter in 2024, Accenture CEO Julie Sweet told CNBC on Friday that the firm was "really pleased" with its bookings and that demand for its services could be seen in its revenue. Sweet said on the earnings call that AI is the firm's strongest bet for creating new demand and that to maximize AI's potential, the firm is consolidating its strategy, consulting, song, technology, and operations services into a single unit known as "reinvention services," starting September 1. "What we're going to do now is make it even easier to bring those solutions, embed data and AI, so we can really scale across our client base and into new markets using our reinvention services," Sweet told CNBC. What consultants do sometimes needs to be explained, and "reinvention services" is no exception. In both her CNBC interview and the earnings call on Friday, Sweet shared several examples of the company's AI-powered reinvention work, which — following its reorganization — the firm will be able to execute more efficiently, she said. In one example, she said Accenture is working with Italian shipbuilding company Fincantieri to launch the first AI-powered ship in 2025. Sweet told CNBC that the ship will be able to "predict its maintenance, manage its energy use on its own, and talk to the dock" before it arrives at its destination. She said Accenture's work to modernize the manufacturing process for Bel, maker of Laughing Cow cheese, would also fall under this new department, as would its collaboration with Brazilian mining company Vale to expedite environmental licensing and permits. She also said the firm is creating AI-generated 3D avatars of physical products for coffee brands like Nescafé, Dolce Gusto, and Nespresso to reduce the time and cost of developing marketing campaigns, which would also fall under the new reinvention services department. Sweet told CNBC that AI can be a "tool" to help companies navigate the future, but to reap the benefits, it will also need to be "disruptive."
Time of India
27-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Companies pause packaged food price hikes as input costs stabilise
New Delhi: Makers of grocery staples such as snacks, biscuits and tea have paused price hikes after three back-to-back quarters of 5-10% increases across pack sizes, as key commodity prices like palm oil and wheat stabilise. Executives at companies such as Britannia, Wipro Consumer, Parle Products and Bikaji Foods said they are pausing price increases. Some said they are also bringing back selective consumer promotions to boost sales even as urban demand remains under stress, their executives said. "(While) we see no price reduction or grammage increase in the next couple of quarters, there will be no more price increases for sure," Varun Berry, managing director of Britannia Industries , told ET. While the maker of Nutrichoice biscuits and Laughing Cow cheese did some strategic buying of wheat and flour, most of its commodities are priced at the same level as at the end of FY25, he said. "Flour is just slightly lower than the exit price of last year despite the wheat season," he added. Deepak Agarwal, MD, Bikaji Foods, too, said the snacks firm would not increase prices as some inflation is under control and raw material costs are reducing. "Selective consumer offerings and promotions will be reintroduced to get better market share and momentum," he added. Companies making daily essentials and grocery products had been increasing prices by 5-10% on higher raw material costs while maintaining that they withheld some of the cost pressures amid stagnating sales in cities. With food inflation expected to remain low, company executives expect their retail prices to remain steady. "Core inflation will likely remain range-bound, led by weaker commodity prices, softer growth and a stronger rupee," HSBC Research said in a report released on Monday. This, it said, is a relief for consumers and "may fuel the purchasing power of households." Anil Chugh, president, food business, at Wipro Consumer Care , said the overall food inflation is expected to remain in the region of 3-4% in the coming two quarters. "This is because of commodity prices stabilising, expected good monsoon and companies taking cautious approach to price increases," he said. Wipro Consumer Care makes Nirapara ready-to-cook foods and Granamma snacks. "For 3 quarters, prices were increasing," said Mayank Shah, vice president at Parle Products. "Now the hikes have been paused as some commodities are stable. Some key commodities are still higher than a year ago, but what's happened is that the rate of inflation has come down for now." The food inflation rate dropped to 1.78% year-on-year in April 2025, compared to a year-on-year Consumer Food Price Index of 10.87% in October 2024, according to government data. "Going forward, we expect tea pricing/ tea costs to soften rather than pricing going up (if the tea crop is normal). So, therefore, margins will come back," Sunil D'Souza, managing director, Tata Consumer Products , said in a quarter four post earnings call. NielsenIQ in its January-March quarter update earlier this month had said the FMCG industry grew 11% year-on-year by value, driven by a 5.6% price hike. Growth of packaged foods slowed to 4.9% in the January-March quarter compared to 6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, which the report attributed to declining lower volumes in edible oils and palm oil, impacted by higher prices. The past three quarters had seen surging prices of wheat (which increased 17.4% year-on-year in the March quarter), palm oil (17.2%) and cocoa (78%).
Time of India
26-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Companies pause packaged food price hikes as input costs stabilise
New Delhi: Makers of grocery staples such as snacks, biscuits and tea have paused price hikes after three back-to-back quarters of 5-10% increases across pack sizes, as key commodity prices like palm oil and wheat stabilise. Executives at companies such as Britannia, Wipro Consumer, Parle Products and Bikaji Foods said they are pausing price increases. Some said they are also bringing back selective consumer promotions to boost sales even as urban demand remains under stress, their executives said. "(While) we see no price reduction or grammage increase in the next couple of quarters, there will be no more price increases for sure," Varun Berry, managing director of Britannia Industries , told ET. While the maker of Nutrichoice biscuits and Laughing Cow cheese did some strategic buying of wheat and flour, most of its commodities are priced at the same level as at the end of FY25, he said. "Flour is just slightly lower than the exit price of last year despite the wheat season," he added. Deepak Agarwal, MD, Bikaji Foods, too, said the snacks firm would not increase prices as some inflation is under control and raw material costs are reducing. "Selective consumer offerings and promotions will be reintroduced to get better market share and momentum," he added. Companies making daily essentials and grocery products had been increasing prices by 5-10% on higher raw material costs while maintaining that they withheld some of the cost pressures amid stagnating sales in cities. With food inflation expected to remain low, company executives expect their retail prices to remain steady. "Core inflation will likely remain range-bound, led by weaker commodity prices, softer growth and a stronger rupee," HSBC Research said in a report released on Monday. This, it said, is a relief for consumers and "may fuel the purchasing power of households." Anil Chugh, president, food business, at Wipro Consumer Care , said the overall food inflation is expected to remain in the region of 3-4% in the coming two quarters. "This is because of commodity prices stabilising, expected good monsoon and companies taking cautious approach to price increases," he said. Wipro Consumer Care makes Nirapara ready-to-cook foods and Granamma snacks. "For 3 quarters, prices were increasing," said Mayank Shah, vice president at Parle Products. "Now the hikes have been paused as some commodities are stable. Some key commodities are still higher than a year ago, but what's happened is that the rate of inflation has come down for now." The food inflation rate dropped to 1.78% year-on-year in April 2025, compared to a year-on-year Consumer Food Price Index of 10.87% in October 2024, according to government data. "Going forward, we expect tea pricing/ tea costs to soften rather than pricing going up (if the tea crop is normal). So, therefore, margins will come back," Sunil D'Souza, managing director, Tata Consumer Products , said in a quarter four post earnings call. NielsenIQ in its January-March quarter update earlier this month had said the FMCG industry grew 11% year-on-year by value, driven by a 5.6% price hike. Growth of packaged foods slowed to 4.9% in the January-March quarter compared to 6% in the fourth quarter of 2024, which the report attributed to declining lower volumes in edible oils and palm oil, impacted by higher prices. The past three quarters had seen surging prices of wheat (which increased 17.4% year-on-year in the March quarter), palm oil (17.2%) and cocoa (78%).
New York Times
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
An Asparagus Salad That Captures Its Sultry Side
During spring vacation, I went on a hike with my children through the hills around my mother's house near Jerusalem. We took with us a little picnic: cucumber and pepper sticks, pomelo segments, pitas spread with the Laughing Cow cheese, which I have deliberately kept them in the dark about for years in hope that they first get hooked on more 'sophisticated' cheeses. As I feared, the cow was a hit, quickly leading their league of favorites (sorry, Parmigiano-Reggiano, feta and the most recent titleholder, Cheddar). Despite my small disappointment, it was a moment of rare intimacy, one I wanted to treasure. So when my 9-year-old, after an hour of generously handing out superpowers, claimed to have the power to give me any device I could imagine, I asked for a machine that could take me right back to my favorite times. I imagined something like a personalized playlist or my children's cheese league — a catalog of my Top 100 moments — where I could be seamlessly transported.
