Podcasts about Tesco

You see the brand name on the tag, but we found the company that powers everything behind it. PDS Limited is the Value-Focused global infrastructure powerhouse. Group CEO Sanjay Jain gives us a rare look into how major retailers define the single most important word in fashion: Value. He also shares a personal lesson from a favorite movie character and his bullish outlook on the "exploding" future of Indian retail. What You'll Learn: The Core Selling Point: Why "Value" is the one word that determines whether a piece of clothing sells, and how its definition changes based on the customer segment. The India Paradox: The "globally integrated, yet locally rooted" characteristics of the 18+ Indian youth, making a pan-India retail strategy a careful aggregation of clusters. From Landfill to Legacy: The circular economy innovations, including converting textile waste into anti-combustible bricks to actively combat clothes pollution. Scaling Secrets: The two qualities PDS seeks when investing in founders: Differentiation (disruptive idea/consumption) and Scalability.Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, JioSaavn, Gaana & more Watch full episodes right here on YouTube Explore more at ivmpodcasts.com Connect with Anupam Gupta: Twitter: @b50 Instagram: @b_50 LinkedIn: Anupam Gupta Follow IVM Podcasts We’re @ivmpodcasts on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Morse code transcription: vvv vvv Storm Amy upgraded to amber warning Hackers delete data stolen in nursery cyber attack after backlash Eyewitnesses described Manchester synagogue attack Secret BBC filming exposes hidden culture of racism and misogyny inside Met Police Relief and new baby for asylum family of child suffocated in Channel crossing Manchester synagogue attack What we know so far Israeli naval ships intercept Gaza bound flotilla Surgeon whose failures contributed to several deaths continues to work for NHS Tesco boss warns Reeves against further business taxes African tribe evicted from Scottish Borders camp

Danielle Kidney is the founder of The Creative Pack, a Los Angeles-based agency specializing in packaging design for CPG and DTC brands. With over two decades of experience in the industry—including work with Tesco and a diverse portfolio of well-known consumer brands—Danielle brings a wealth of expertise in every aspect of packaging, from strategy and brand storytelling to materials and production.In this episode of DTC Pod, Danielle breaks down the behind-the-scenes process of creating packaging that not only looks great but also delivers on function, compliance, and scalability. She covers everything from the earliest stages of design and competitor audits, to the nuances of materials, regulatory requirements, and print production. Danielle shares practical advice on how brands can avoid costly mistakes, streamline their supply chain, and create packaging that stands out both online and on the shelf.Episode brought to you by StordInteract with other DTC experts and access our monthly fireside chats with industry leaders on DTC Pod Slack.On this episode of DTC Pod, we cover:1. The importance of packaging in brand perception and sales2. Process: From initial idea to production-ready design3. Building a design brief and establishing project scope4. Competitive reviews and designing for hierarchy and function5. Balancing creative innovation with must-have regulatory details6. Collaborating with clients, manufacturers, and printers7. Prototyping, mockups, and unboxing experience8. Print technology, material choices, and cost management9. Regulatory review, legal claims, and compliance essentials10. Lead times, timeline planning, and pitfalls of rushing production11. Early-stage packaging vs. scaling up for retail and DTC12. Lessons learned: common mistakes and strategic tips13. Pricing, form factor, and packaging design as sales leversTimestamps00:00 Introducing Danielle Kidney & The Creative Pack05:42 The Creative Pack's client process: from idea to brief10:50 Balancing branding vs. functionality for sales and conversion18:03 Manufacturing realities: materials, dielines, and cost constraints24:39 Colors, mockups, and bringing digital designs to life26:22 Real-world costs of packaging mistakes and risk mitigation29:27 Regulatory musts: nutrition facts, barcodes, legal pitfalls35:10 Realistic timelines for packaging launches and scale40:33 Strategies for startups vs. brands scaling up43:23 Lessons learned and tips for optimizing packaging decisions50:20 Where to connect with Danielle and The Creative PackShow notes powered by CastmagicPast guests & brands on DTC Pod include Gilt, PopSugar, Glossier, MadeIN, Prose, Bala, P.volve, Ritual, Bite, Oura, Levels, General Mills, Mid Day Squares, Prose, Arrae, Olipop, Ghia, Rosaluna, Form, Uncle Studios & many more.  Additional episodes you might like:• #175 Ariel Vaisbort - How OLIPOP Runs Influencer, Community, & Affiliate Growth• #184 Jake Karls, Midday Squares - Turning Your Brand Into The Influencer With Content• #205 Kasey Stewart: Suckerz- - Powering Your Launch With 300 Million Organic Views• #219 JT Barnett: The TikTok Masterclass For Brands• #223 Lauren Kleinman: The PR & Affiliate Marketing Playbook• ​​​​#243 Kian Golzari - Source & Develop Products Like The World's Best Brands-----Have any questions about the show or topics you'd like us to explore further?Shoot us a DM; we'd love to hear from you.Want the weekly TL;DR of tips delivered to your mailbox?Check out our newsletter here.Projects the DTC Pod team is working on:DTCetc - all our favorite brands on the internetOlivea - the extra virgin olive oil & hydroxytyrosol supplementCastmagic - AI Workspace for ContentFollow us for content, clips, giveaways, & updates!DTCPod InstagramDTCPod TwitterDTCPod TikTokDanielle Kidney - Founder of The Creative PackBlaine Bolus - Co-Founder of CastmagicRamon Berrios - Co-Founder of Castmagic

In this episode of The Entrepreneur Experiment, Gary Fox sits down with Ciara Troy, founder of Oishii Sushi, to uncover the 19-year journey of building Ireland's most recognisable sushi brand. From her first Saturday market in Greystones to supplying nationwide through Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, and Spar, Ciara shares the grit, resilience, and fearless naivety that kept her going through long days, cashflow struggles, and van deliveries at dawn. She opens up about the pivotal lessons learned along the way: from cutting sushi rolls by hand on chopping boards to investing in her first machines, from maxing out family credit cards to securing Enterprise Ireland support, and from nearly burning out to carving out “Mummy Mondays” to balance entrepreneurship with family life. If you're an aspiring founder or a food entrepreneur wondering how to scale a product from a kitchen table to a nationwide household brand, this episode is packed with raw insights, honest reflections, and the strategies Ciara used to grow Oishii from a tiny market stall to a 75-strong team serving fresh sushi across Ireland. Show Notes In this episode, we cover:

Las Bolsas comienzan la semana con el foco puesto en el posible cierre del Gobierno de Estados Unidos, una situación que genera incertidumbre en los mercados y podría impactar negativamente en la confianza de los inversores. A esto se suma una agenda macroeconómica intensa, con datos clave que podrían marcar el rumbo de la renta variable en Europa, EE.UU. y Asia. Entre las principales referencias de los próximos días destacan las cifras de PMI en China, Japón, EEUU y la eurozona, el dato adelantado de inflación en Europa, el PIB del segundo trimestre en EEUU, y el informe de empleo de septiembre en EEUU. Además compañías como Nike, Solaria y Tesco presentarán sus resultados. En la Tertulia de Mercados de Capital Intereconomía, Belén Ríos, jefa de ventas para Iberia en J. Safra Sarasin; Fernando Fernández-Bravo, responsable de ventas institucionales en Invesco; Juan Martín Valiente, socio de AMCHOR Investment Strategies; y Felipe Lería, Head de Iberia & Latam en UBP analizan si los resultados empresariales podrán actuar como catalizadores para los mercados y cuál será la hoja de ruta de la Reserva Federal en relación con los tipos de interés.

Der große US-Arbeitsmarktbericht am Freitag dürfte diese Woche im Mittelpunkt stehen. Zuvor richten sich die Blicke auf die EU-Inflationsdaten und einen möglichen US-Shutdown. In Europa fällt die Unternehmensberichterstattung derzeit eher verhalten aus – nur vereinzelt melden Nachzügler ihre Quartalszahlen. Aus Großbritannien liefert Tesco am Montag aktuelle Ergebnisse. Im Mittelpunkt stehen diese Woche jedoch die Inflationsdaten aus Deutschland und dem Euroraum. Welche weiteren Termine und Entscheidungen in dieser Woche anstehen und welche Ereignisse Sie unbedingt im Blick behalten sollten, erfahren Sie jetzt in unserem Podcast: Agenda 2025 – Die Woche in 5 Minuten. Dieser Podcast wurde durch eine KI-Stimme gesprochen. BNP Paribas Zertifikate im Web [https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/](https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/) Wichtige rechtliche Hinweise [https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/service/rechtliche-hinweise/](https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/service/rechtliche-hinweise/) Grundsätze zur Weitergabe von Anlage- und Anlagestrategieempfehlungen sowie Informationen über eigene Interessen und Interessenkonflikte: [https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/service/disclosure/grundsatze-zur-weitergabe-von-anlage--und-anlagestrategieempfehlungen/](https://derivate.bnpparibas.com/service/disclosure/grundsatze-zur-weitergabe-von-anlage--und-anlagestrategieempfehlungen/) Informationen über Interessen und Interessenkonflikte des Erstellers: https://feingoldresearch.de/impressum/?lid=q6uvv0u30t4f

Welcome dear listeners, to our series of ‘Talk Haunts' – a chat that's all scary ... just for you. So, grab a hot chocolate, maybe a tea, pull up a chair … because this is Haunted UK Podcast's Talk Haunts – Exploring the Unknown with Neil Armstrong – writer, author and founder of Enigmazine – a magazine which explores the unknown and investigates the paranormal. Neil has a wealth of experience in the publishing world but alongside this he also brings a lifetime of ghostly encounters and experiences – that need to be heard …Join us as we continue our chat with Neil about his supernatural experiences plus a scary encounter with a poltergeist when he was a child, which has stayed with him throughout his life.GIVEAWAY!! Also, on Patreon right now, you could be in with a chance to win two of Neil Armstrong's fascinating books, Ghostly Encounters and Phenomenon and Time Slip Phenomenon – simply join Patreon as a free member and comment on the pinned post. The prize draw will be drawn on May 19th, 2025.Enigmazine – the magazine which explores the unknown and investigates the paranormal is  available to buy in WH Smiths, Tesco, Waitrose and Asda – you can also subscribe at Enigmazine's website.Presented by Steven Holloway and Marie WallerProduced by Pink Flamingo Home StudiosScript editor: Marie Waller Proofreading The Haunted UK Podcast has teamed up with Northumbria University who are interested in sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is when people wake up and are unable to move and often see vivid experiences. We would particularly like to hear from people who are over eighteen years old and have paranormal experiences during sleep paralysis.We are proud to be a part of this fantastic study, and we'd love for all of you listeners to get involved if you've had any experience with sleep paralysis ... no matter how small.Get in touch using the following links:https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ThingsThatBumpEmma.barkus@northumbria.ac.uknick.neave@northumbria.ac.ukcontactus@hauntedukpodcast.com

It's only taken 4 seasons but finally Adam has a co-host caught up in time to do some deep dives on one of the best ongoing TV shows of recent times. Thoughts, reactions and theories for Slow Horses season 5, episode 1 - Bad Dates.Special guest, friend of the pod, Andy Straw makes his TV DNA debut, Grace plays Marry, Shag, Avoid and we all predict who we might lose by the end of the season.If you would like to support the work of TV DNA, you can donate the price of a cup of coffee at www.ko-fi.com/tvdna We can't wait for you to hear our thoughts on the latest episodes and for you to give us yours too. You can find and follow us on all the socials @tvdnapodYou can also email us on tvdnapod@gmail.com And, you can now check out our YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@TVDNA-t7uWe have recent specials on Blue Lights, The Last of Us and Andor, weekly, spoiler-free watchlist episodes our back catalogue includes Severance, Succession and Better Call Saul. Listen here https://open.spotify.com/show/7eh93AAcO5y1m5jdEcTqAk?si=7l1do-YcQNS-eQ1YMIdCHAWe're on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Podcast Addict, Breaker and Radio Public so be sure to subscribe to the pod and please leave us a review. Thanks as always to JComp for our logo and Roman Senyk Music for our theme. Adam, Grace, Neil, Damian and Isabel

This week, we dive into the latest movements and shake-ups in the retail world, with a special focus on leadership changes, store strategies, and sustainability efforts.In this episode:Leadership Changes at M&S:We discuss the recent appointments and departures at Marks & Spencer, including the hiring of a new Transformation Director and the exit of their CTO after a challenging year marked by a major cyber attack.Amazon Fresh Store Closures:A look at Amazon's decision to close or convert its Fresh stores to Whole Foods Markets, and what this means for the future of brick-and-mortar retail.Sustainability Spotlight:Mars' European factories are now running on 100% renewable energy, and we break down what GEO certificates mean for tracking green energy use.Grocery Prices:Aldi's £300 million investment in price cuts and how this is impacting the wider supermarket landscape, including price matching strategies from competitors like Tesco.Fashion & Influencer Brands:The launch of a new inclusive athleisure brand, REASN, and a discussion on the importance of sustainable practices in influencer-led fashion.Greenwashing & Pricing:A candid conversation about the prevalence of greenwashing in the industry and the need for honest pricing and truly sustainable products.Don't miss:Our upcoming episodes featuring experts in wine buying and hard goodsA look ahead to next week's deep dive into fashion weeks and trade showsThanks for tuning in! If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, and share with your friends. Have a great week!Support the showIf you've liked this episode please rate, follow, subscribe and share :) - and if you already have, thank you!Follow us @buyingandbeyond on Instagram Send us a DM or email hello@buyingandbeyond.co.uk Find out more about us www.buyingandbeyond.co.uk If you'd like to show a little more love, then head here to give us just a little bit *extra* and show us your support :) thank you! https://www.buzzsprout.com/2300060/support

Jane Fletcher is a very experienced Social Prescriber at the Grange Surgery, by Tesco's in Petersfield. Her role is finding solutions to the non-medical problems that undermine a person’s health and wellbeing. They have started a monthly health hub at Love Lane Community Centre where many organisations offer advice and information. Jane talks about her experience of over 25 years in this kind of work, and overcoming dyslexia too, the attitude to which undermined her confidence as a young woman. She is very busy but is here to help. The Grange surgery - The Grange Surgery - Your health in Your Hands with Our Help and on Facebook Or Jane directly at jane.fletcher18@nhs.net See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we're talking about AI – in particular, its transformative immediate and potential impact on HR. Hosts Dave Corkery (Content & Social Media Lead – Insight HR) & Mary Cullen (Founder, Managing Director – Insight HR) are joined by Stephanie Prenderville (Founder – SP Consulting), a HR leader and consultant who has undergone change and transformation projects at Aer Lingus, AIB, Diageo, Pfizer, Tesco and many more. We explore the potential benefits, risks and possibilities of introducing AI into HR functions and the importance of developing AI literacy among HR professionals. We also discuss the importance of maintaining a human element in AI implementation to ensure ethical and effective use. Topics we cover include: HR Leaders' Attitudes Towards AI The Importance of AI Literacy in HR The Seven Core Skills Needed for AI Literacy Potential Pitfalls of AI in HR The Human Element in AI Implementation Embracing Change in the New World of Work If you're not already following us on LinkedIn, you can do that here. If you have any suggestions on what you'd like to hear on the podcast, or if you'd like to join us as a guest, then do reach out to Dave at dcorkery@insightr.ie. About The HR Room Podcast The HR Room Podcast is a series from Insight HR where we talk to business leaders from around Ireland and share advice what's important to you as a HR professional, an employer or people leader.  We love your feedback, we take requests, and we're also here to help with any HR challenges you may have! Requests, feedback and guest suggestions

Roughly one-third of all food produced is never eaten. Beyond the financial and social costs, food waste is also a major driver of climate change. When we waste food, we waste the land, water, and energy used to produce it, and as it decomposes, it releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas.In this episode, James and Daisy explore the causes and consequences of food waste, sharing their experiences with organisations fighting the problem. Why do we waste so much food? What are the impacts? And what solutions are there?SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: Project Drawdown: Identifies reducing food loss and waste as one of the largest climate solutions across all sectors. The Felix Project: London's largest food redistribution charity, rescuing high quality, surplus food that would otherwise go to waste and redistributing it to over 1,200 community organisations.FoodCycle: Reduces loneliness, food poverty and food waste by cooking nutritious meals from surplus food at volunteer-run hubs. OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:Winnow: Provides AI-powered food waste monitors and digital scales in professional kitchens, giving detailed data analytics to help chefs and managers cut waste.  WEF (2022): Reports on how heatwaves and droughts have resulted in oddly shaped crops of fruit and vegetables.Tesco (2020): During the pandemic, egg demand rose 30%, prompting Tesco to sell white eggs for the first time since the 1980s. Tesco: In 2013, Tesco became the first retailer to publicly report on food waste in its own operations.PVM: At least 60% of the surface of a Pink Lady® apple must be covered by a pink blush.Oddbox: Works with growers to rescue the “too odd” and “too many” at risk of going to waste, delivering boxes of farm-fresh fruit and veg to households. Too Good To Go: The world's largest marketplace for surplus food – an app that connects consumers with surplus food from stores, cafés, and restaurants at a discount.Olio: A mobile app for sharing by giving away, getting, borrowing or lending things in your community for free, aiming to reduce household and food waste.Mimica (2018): Creator of “Bump”, a temperature-sensitive label that turns bumpy when food actually spoils. Chanzi: Uses Black Solder Fly larvae to convert food waste into nutritious protein for animal feed. SOME FACTS: UNEP (2024): In 2022, households wasted over 1 billion meals a day, while 783 million people were affected by hunger and a third of humanity faced food insecurity.UNEP (2024): Food waste results in the throwing away of more than US$1 trillion worth of food every year. In households alone, each person, on average, wastes more than the average mass of an adult human per year.IPCC (2019): During 2010–2016, global food loss and waste equalled 8–10% of total anthropogenic GHG emissions.Our World in Data (2020): If food waste were a country, it would be the third largest emitter of GHGs after China and the US.WRAP (2020): While 81% of people reported being concerned about climate change, only 37% understand how wasted food contributes to it. The Independent (2012): A wrapped cucumber lasts more than three times as long as an unwrapped one. Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokYou can also now watch us on YouTube.Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3Producer: Podshop StudiosHuge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.

In this episode, Cecilia welcomes Katherine Church to discuss the systemic gender data gap in healthcare and its impact on women's health. Katherine explains how women have long been underrepresented in research and clinical trials, leading to misdiagnosis, overlooked conditions, and unsafe treatments. She shares innovative partnerships, such as Boots and Tesco using loyalty card data to detect ovarian cancer earlier, and stresses the importance of recording women's symptoms. With insights on ethics, wearables, and projects like Our Future Health and Women in Data's Women's Health chapter, Katherine shows how data can drive meaningful progress in women's health.   And If you can, take part in Our Future Health - https://ourfuturehealth.org.uk/ - and explore Women In Data's Women's Health chapter - https://womenindata.co.uk/womens-health/ - volunteers are always welcome!

In today's episode we're speaking with influential coffee entrepreneur Andrew Tolley, Managing Director of Tolley Coffee & Tea.Together with his siblings, Laura and Nick, the Tolleys profoundly shaped London's early specialty coffee scene with Taylor Street Baristas – a pioneering chain whose legacy and culture can still be felt today. They also established Harris + Hoole, a joint venture with Tesco, now run by The Nero Group.Today, Andrew is as ever focused on education and serves as Knowledge Curator at the Coffee Knowledge Hub and Vice President of the Specialty Coffee Association.In this candid conversation, Andrew reflects on his career, the realities and lessons from scaling two specialty coffee businesses, and the enduring legacy of Taylor St. He also shares his vision of the opportunities in coffee as a force for good through innovation, education, and positive social impact.Credits music: The Weight by EIRRA in association with The Coffee Music Project and SEB Collective. Tune into the 5THWAVE Playlist on Spotify for more music from the showSign up for our newsletter to receive the latest coffee news at worldcoffeeportal.comSubscribe to 5THWAVE on Instagram @5thWaveCoffee and tell us what topics you'd like to hear

Steve Caplin says Tesco are trialling tech that knows if avocados are ripe while Waitrose is testing ways of paying for shopping without needing to check out. Chinese scientists have developed houseplants that light up while, in Taiwan, they think lives could be saved if couriers carried defibrillators. Steve's kettle has told him it's time he cleaned it out. A new Kickstarter project will locate objects with RFID tags. And a venture capitalist rues using AI, which maliciously deleted his database and months of work in seconds. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 8Feel The ForceGeoff faces some peculiar challenges.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels.Angie arrived in time for tea on Tuesday evening and, being a math genius, helped Colin with his math homework. Well why waste an opportunity like that? Marie politely declined our invitation to join us at the pub later that evening for two reasons; first, it was likely to be a very nerdy conversation and she'd just feel marginalized; second, it was likely to involve a discussion of submissive lifestyles, something she really doesn't really engage with: She prefers Angie as a playmate rather than a plaything.So anyway, she thought it would be better for all concerned if it were only Emily, Adrian, Angie and me involved. Truth be told, she had the latest Richard Osman book to start, and she fancied a quiet night in.We watched the first episode of The Mandalorian before we left for the pub and I'm sure that my wife enjoyed it even more than her muted, "I suppose it was okay." suggested.We arrived just before the kids and I got the beer in; All four of us were drinking pints of locally made IPA. We settled down and just caught up before we got down to business. Adrian had made some discrete enquiries and the University's Department of Fashion Design would be interested in creating costumes for our guests if we would be prepared to underwrite the cost of the materials. Angie agreed without even asking how much.I glanced at her and she just frowned and shook her head. "Not now Geoff."When we described Marie's fascination with a Bo-Katan outfit, Emily got quite excited. It turned out that she was on an engineering course and looking for a CAD (computer aided design) project for her coursework. She would love to create Mandalorian armor components in either aluminum or polymer but they would need painting.Angie and I looked at each other and spoke together. "Lucy!" Yes. One of our little sex circle is a talented professional artist.Then Adrian raised the issue of Intellectual Property Rights. He was concerned that Lucas Films or Disney or someone would sue the University for I P R infringement. Again, in chorus, "Megan!" Yes. Tomorrow night, Marie and I would be entertaining a well-respected solicitor. It wouldn't be something I'd be discussing during her visit, but I was rather hoping that we would have her feeling particularly well disposed towards us before she went home to Charles.We also chatted about our costume or character debate but the kids couldn't help us to decide either. Talking about costumes eventually led us, reasonably neatly, to Angie's collar and what it represented. Angie tried to explain. To be fair, it was much as Marie had described to Emily on Sunday."Sometimes," she said. "There's just so much in my life, in my head, that I just need to turn it right down. When I submit to Geoff, I give myself entirely to him. My problems just don't matter anymore; I am entirely his to control. Wearing his collar just symbolizes that. But," she paused and looked intently at the young couple. "It only works because I trust Geoff implicitly. If he ordered me to humiliate myself, here now, then I probably would, and that thought alone strangely excites me. But," she paused again. "At the same time, I feel safe in his power because I know that he would ever do anything that would hurt my body, my mind or my reputation."That's when Emily spoke up. "I think that's how I feel sometimes. As a woman, a shy woman at that, on an engineering course, sometimes it feels so; so; intense. Having somebody to take that weight off me, even just for a while, sounds so appealing." I was proud of the girl.Angie smiled. "Yes, sweetheart. It's like meditation. Losing yourself in the moment." Then the smile morphed into her muckiest grin. "But the orgasms are so much better our way."Adrian sat quietly, just listening. "Do you understand, Geoff?" He asked. "I want to, but I feel a bit lost."It was a hard question to answer but I admired the lad for asking it, so I did my best. "Emotionally, No. I don't understand. The same way that I can't 'understand' being gay. It's personal and probably even individuals with the same inclinations experience them in their own way. But I do try to understand what Angie needs from me. So, while I will only do things that I'm okay with, they're mainly for her benefit, not mine. Does that make sense?""I suppose so," he admitted, as the girls looked on hopefully."Angela." I looked at her. "Did you bring your collar?"She beamed at me. "Yes sir. May I put it on?""You may." I allowed.She reached into her bag and took her gold collar from its box and turned so that Emily could fasten it for her. Adrian sat quietly watching and Emily's hands were trembling as she helped. Her chest was rising and falling in a most intriguing way too."Angela. You and Emily are to go to the ladies' room now. When you return, neither of you will be wearing underwear. Do you both understand?" They both nodded. "Then go." I instructed them. We watched as two pair, both in skirts and sweaters, bolted towards the ladies' loos.I turned back to Adrian. "The issue I have is finding new things that she wants me to tell her that she has to do. I have to retain Angie's respect and affection because, well because I love her. But, at the same time I have to push her boundaries or else I'll disappoint her. The thing is, I'm not a natural Dom. I do it only for Angie's benefit. I really have no pool of experience to draw on.""So where do you get your ideas from, Geoff?" he asked."There are a few websites that publish stories that include submissive fantasies." I explained. "I read through them to find ideas that might excite Angie without going too far." I thought for a moment. "I suspect that Emily may well be far more engaged than even Angie is. Would you be prepared to be her master?" I looked him in the eye. "I know she likes you. I think that she trusts you too. Are you interested enough to take on that responsibility though? are you worthy?"He mused. "You seem to be acting as a surrogate Dad." He was obviously thinking it through. "I don't suppose though that this is a normal father boyfriend chat though, is it? He alternated between voices;'What are your intentions towards my daughter?''Well, I'm going to tell her to do sexually perverted things and spank her if she displeases me.''Well, that's great son. Welcome to the family'."I conceded the point. "So?""Actually, I've wanted to ask her out for a while, but I enjoy her company so much that I was afraid to spoil the friendship we already have. If I do ask her out, then she'll have to guide me how to be a good Dom.""Here's my first bit of advice," I offered. "Agree in advance what are your boundaries, lines that won't be crossed. Will you give her to other men as a sex toy? I couldn't do that to Angie. I'd hope you wouldn't do it to Emily. She might, or might not, be excited at the thought that you could, though. How do you deal with that?"He shook his head. "Fuck! aren't women complicated?" He stopped suddenly as a thought occurred to him. "You realize that when they come back, if Emily's complied, that means that she has submitted to you?""Okay," I stretched the word out, wondering where he was going."Then yes. I'll be her Dom. But I think that if she has submitted to you tonight, it makes sense that you should give her to me. Pass over the mantle, as it were.""You sneaky little fucker!" I complimented him. "You may just be a natural at this. Heads up! They're coming back."The two women returned and went to sit down. I checked to see if there was anyone taking notice but the pub was still fairly quiet apart from a group of lads playing pool in the far corner; and they were making enough noise to keep our conversation private."Stop!" I spoke quietly but firmly. "Who told you to sit down?""No-one, Sir," Angie replied, looking chastened."Then stand in front of your master until you are given permission." I ordered."Yes sir," said Angie."Sorry sir," said Emily, breathing heavily again."Are you still wearing underwear?" I asked them both."No sir," they replied at the same time."Who do you belong to?" I directed this to Angie.You and only you sir." she responded."That's better. You may sit now," I told her. She thanked me and took her seat."Who do you belong to?" This time aimed at Emily."You and only you sir. If you'll have me," she replied, looking hopefully at me."I have no time to train another sub," I told her. She looked devastated. "I think instead I shall give you to Adrian to play with. Do you want her Adrian? Can you think of games to play with your new toy?"Emily was almost quivering with excitement as she waited for his answer. He looked her up and down. "She's a pretty thing," he admitted. He took his time before he answered, dragging out her suspense. "Yes, Geoff. Give her to me and I'll look after her.""Emily. You belong to Adrian now. Please him as you would have pleased me. Do you understand?""Yes sir," she gasped. I suspected that she'd been on the verge of a minor orgasm, just standing there listening to us discussing her ownership.Then Adrian took over. "Emily. Who do you belong to?""You sir, and only you." she answered, breathlessly."Then sit quietly while I decide how to play with you." She thanked him and sat next to Angie."Adrian?" That was me. "Do you think that our toys would like to play with themselves?" Both girls gasped."Does it really matter, Geoff?" He replied. The girls sat rigid with anticipation. "Emily, put your hand between your thighs," he instructed her. "Touch your cunt."The atmosphere at the table was electric. Ever so slowly Emily's tiny hand crept under the hem of her skirt. Angie, watching, licked her lips. Suddenly Emily stiffened in her seat. We had a fair idea of where her hand had reached."Angela. Touch yourself the same way. You may come, but make no noise." I told her, firmly. She too put her hand under her skirt. Adrian added the same instructions to Emily and then we sat and watched, looking around periodically to make sure that our little play was going unobserved, until Emily and then Angie shuddered quietly and sank back in their seats. The smell of their sex was noticeable by then, so I suggested that we send them to the loos again, this time to mop up their lady juice and put their pants back on.While they were gone, Adrian and I discussed some practicalities that two novices like us needed to deal with. One example was putting the girls into Sub mode and then recovering them. In my case, telling Angela to remove her collar worked, but the collar wasn't a pre-requisite; I could dominate her with my tone of voice alone. We also needed a voice command to release them. Adrian had an inspired idea. "We'll just tell them that when we say, 'you are released' they will have independent will again." I told you he was smart.When they got back we gave the girls their new command and they reluctantly resumed their normal demeanor, though Emily's eyes had a sparkle I'd not seen before. Angie leaned over the table so only the four of us could hear. "Geoff," she whispered. "That was so fucking HOT. I'm going to ask Marie if I can give you a proper seeing-to tonight." Emily giggled, not repelled, as I thought she might be, at the thought of wrinklies like us 'doing it.'"Well," I said. "Not to put a damper, as it were, on things. But do you have any wet-wipes in your bag? Your seats could do with a little attention."We chatted some more before Angie and I decided to leave the youngsters to come to their own understanding. The two women had seemed to be happy sharing their secret desire with someone else who understood. Adrian and I'd had our own chat about the moral challenges involved in dictating someone else's sexual activity. Although I had no business really, I did feel somewhat paternalistic towards Emily but I thought that she had chosen wisely with Adrian. I hoped that I was right but, short of keeping her to myself, it wasn't my decision to make.We got home a little before ten, to find that Marie had three coffee cups prepared ready for our return. As we drank, Angie excitedly updated Marie on the plans for our ceremony and even more excitedly described what Adrian and I had made her and Emily do in the pub. "Can we take him to bed and fuck him now, Marie?" She pleaded. "I'm so horny that my knickers are damp."Marie picked up her book and found where her bookmark was. "You two go now and I'll finish this chapter, tidy the kitchen and then join you." She smiled at us both and then added. "And, Geoff. Take one of your tablets 'cos that story got my knickers damp too."Sometimes we like to take turns to make love, but that evening the girls were on a mission. Even before Marie made it to the bedroom, Angie had swallowed so much of my cock that her nose was touching my belly. She'd pulled away before I was too close to finishing and hauled me on top of her. When I tried to return the compliment, she seemed almost annoyed."No fucking way," she told me, in no uncertain terms. "You stick that cock in me this minute and pound me until you come. I'm so fucking turned on I just want you inside me." Well, how could I have argued with a charming invitation like that?Marie arrived just in time to hear Angie yelling, "Yes, yes, fucking yes!" as I approach my climax. To be honest, I'm not sure whether she came or not. That didn't seem to be her objective just then. To use the vernacular, I think she just needed a good dicking.After a couple of minutes cuddling, we calmed down enough to welcome Marie into our embrace and the next ninety minutes or so were only a little less, shall we say, physical. There was kissing this time though. The girls lay face to face as I took Marie from behind until we came and then Angie laid between my wife's thighs as I took her from behind and then Marie rode my cock as Angie straddled my face and they groped each other. By the time we'd cleaned up and settled down, just before midnight, I was content that Angie, and Marie, had both at least come a couple of times.Angie left after breakfast on Wednesday morning. There was some pleasant snuggling and kissing before we all got up but the girls had decided that we should remain fairly chaste because Marie and I were entertaining Megan and Sam that evening and little Geoffrey might need time to recuperate from his efforts the night before. I reluctantly agreed but 'he' wasn't happy at all. But I knew we'd make it up to him that evening.Marie and I did some housework that morning, to prepare for our guests. We changed the bedding and made sure that all the toys were clean and sanitized. (We always do, both before we put them away and before we have guests again.) Marie had an early lunch before she went into town to the charity shop where she had offered to cover a lunchtime shift.I had a lunch date with Jane, the widow of an old friend. She's a pleasantly rounded lady, a little taller than my wife with black hair, brown eyes and an engaging personality. We had agreed to meet the previous week but she'd had to cancel. I hoped everything was okay. We met in a local café as I felt as though I'd spent a lot of time in the pub of late. I was already in the queue when she came in so I ordered two lattes and a couple of slices of carrot cake while she claimed an empty table for two.We chatted amicably for nearly an hour. Apparently, she'd had to postpone our last meeting because Ben, her 19 year old son, had been unwell and she would have felt guilty leaving him. I liked Ben so I was relieved to hear that he was recovered and back at work. We talked about his job, which he hated, and his other options, which were limited. It was odd; he was deceptively bright but his quiet nature and succinct way of speaking led some people to think he was, well, a bit dim. Let's be honest here: His interview technique sucked. I promised to give some thought to careers where, should we say, he might shine more brightly in a solo capacity. We moved on.Jane told me that she'd enjoyed meeting Marie the previous week and lamented that they couldn't see more of each other. I just kept quiet at that point. She then showed some self-awareness that surprised me. "I think Marie was disappointed at some of the gossip I shared with her. Did I offend her?" She asked.I had to be honest. "Well, my work used to involve commercially sensitive information, Marie used to provide pastoral support to her students and some of her friends in the health or legal professions have similar experiences. We just aren't used to sharing information about folk that might embarrass them."She looked shocked. "Oh, dear. And now she can't share any girl talk with me because she'll be afraid it'll be all over town in an hour?" I shrugged, but she was right; that was exactly how my wife felt. "Do apologize for me, won't you?" She asked. "I was never that woman but, just lately, there's so little of interest in my life that I seem to live vicariously through other people's."I asked if she was seeing anyone. She smiled. "Would you be jealous?" She asked, playfully.I replied in kind. "Devastated, my dear. But my love for you would only hold you back."She shook her head. "If only, Geoff. If I could persuade Marie to share, I would be a very happy girl." Oh Jane! If only you knew.I persisted but she was adamant that she had no appetite for on-line dating and gorgeous single men rarely turned up at her door, so she was left to her own devices. I asked her how many devices she actually owned. She looked horrified for a moment and then we both lost it in a fit of the giggles. When we'd composed ourselves, and the other patrons had stopped staring at the pair of us, she admitted that she was tempted to buy a plastic pal but didn't know how or where to start.I looked at her. "If you are serious, would you go in an adult store if someone took you? I mean it, but this must go no further."She sat back, speechless. "Who?" She eventually managed to say."Let's see," I replied. I sent a text to Marie. "Jane lonely. Wants to buy sex toy but too shy. Can I take her to naughty shop? Do you want to come too to keep us out of mischief?"I changed the subject to ask about her plans for Christmas but she seemed distracted. It took three or four minutes for Marie's reply. "We've had a no-show. If I cover, you take Jane now. Be home for half past three. BEHAVE! xxx"

Amazon Kuper's Early Wins, Cohere's Bold Strategy & Tesco vs. Broadcom In this episode of #Trending, host Jim Love covers Amazon's early success with Project Kuiper, securing deals with JetBlue and the state of Wyoming before the satellite network is live. The Canadian AI company Cohere is highlighted for its contrarian approach and impressive valuation of nearly $7 billion. Tesco sues Broadcom over VMware license disputes, citing threats to its food supply chain. Lastly, Elon Musk teases that X.AI's upcoming Grok 5 model might qualify as Artificial General Intelligence, though skepticism remains high. The show wraps up with a reminder to share the podcast and support the show. 00:00 Introduction and Headlines 00:35 Amazon's Project Kuiper: High-Profile Wins Before Launch 01:55 Cohere's Contrarian Success in AI 04:02 Tesco vs. Broadcom: Legal Battle Over VMware Licenses 06:00 Elon Musk and the AGI Hype with Grok 5 07:38 Conclusion and Listener Engagement

Poverty to Paradise. Avocado scanners being tested at Tesco. Kitchen Cosmo. Hambone nominees. Obedience training. Jokes with Will. Everyday things that could have gotten you killed.

Loose kangaroos in Texas. Poverty to Paradise. Avocado scanners being tested at Tesco. Kitchen Cosmo. Hambone nominees. Obedience training. Jokes with Will. Everyday things that could have gotten you killed. Will Taylor play the halftime show? Entertainment news.

Send us a textIn this episode, Kay Suthar is joined by Paula Burns — Creative Confidence & Visibility Mentor — to talk about building a business that feels aligned with who you really are. Paula takes us behind the scenes of her journey from corporate to wedding planning to creative business mentoring, and explains why most female business owners lose momentum simply because they lose themselves in the process. Paula shares how she helps midlife women reconnect with their personality, passions and past experiences — and use them to stand out, have more fun and fall back in love with their business again.What to expect in this episode: (00:00) – Introduction & why Kay is excited about today's guest (00:31) – Paula's journey from corporate to creative business owner (01:50) – From MBA to wedding planning and events (03:34) – Saying yes to opportunities (even if they feel scary) (05:26) – What Paula does today as a Creative Confidence & Visibility Mentor (07:04) – Why most business owners forget who they are (08:59) – How Paula helps clients reconnect with their personality (10:38) – Bringing FUN into your business and why that makes you more visible (12:06) – The Tesco story — and spotting opportunities others don't see (14:45) – Real-life client transformations (18:25) – Why confidence and visibility go hand-in-hand (20:02) – The importance of owning your whole story (not just the business part) (22:45) – Endless content ideas when you tap into your past (23:53) – Final words: step back, be quiet, and listen to your own voice (24:49) – How to connect and Paula's £99 August offerAbout Paula Burns Paula Burns is a Creative Confidence & Visibility Mentor specialising in helping midlife women fall back in love with their business by reconnecting with their personality, past experiences and unique genius. After a successful career in corporate and more than a decade running her own wedding & events business, Paula now supports female business owners to show up in a way that feels natural, powerful and fun — so they can attract the clients who genuinely connect with who they are.Connect with Paula Burns: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulaburnsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulaburnsmentoringLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-burns

Calvin comes prepared for this bonus, intent on getting his own back after things got out of hand at All Together Now.The pros and cons of landlines are debated, and not one but two insects get added to the list of things to be afraid of.Terence wants to restrict the hours during which you can use a big trolley at Tesco, while Calvin wonders why we have 24 hour shops at all.Send all of your questions and comments to talkingbollox@goloudnow.com

Many people still see Gen Z as “lazy” or “entitled.”What if the generation everyone underestimates is actually the one reshaping the future of law?In this episode, I'm joined by Natalie Thomas, Legal Business Analyst at Perkins Coie. From Oxford University to Tesco, and now helping launch the London office of a US law firm, her journey proves there's no single path into law.We talk about how Gen Z challenges hierarchy, embraces efficiency, and collaborates differently and why those skills might be exactly what the legal industry needs. Natalie also shares her unconventional route into law, the importance of mentorship and social mobility, and why diversity isn't just nice-to-have, but a business imperative.If you've ever wondered how the next generation will transform law firms, this conversation is the answer.---Pre register for the AI Skills Summit for Lawyers here:https://holly-cope.myflodesk.com/aiskillssummitpreregistration ---I've wasted hours drafting contracts in my business.I knew there had to be a better way.And then I found this.Aircounsel.An AI contract drafter built by lawyers, for lawyers.Aircounsel has been kind enough to sponsor this episode.And I'm excited to spread the word. It's the most sophisticated contract drafting software I've used.To get your free 7-day trial, go to the description of this episode.Give it a go and let me know how it changes your workflow.TRY Aircounsel here:https://lawyers.aircounsel.com/morethanalawyerDisclaimer: This is an affiliate link that will track podcast sign-ups.---FREE access to my How to Become Law Firms' Go-To Legal Tech Solution here:Covered In This 28-Page Blueprint:Where legal tech companies go wrong: Why thought leadership is non-negotiableHow to build a LinkedIn presence that converts visibility into authorityThe ultimate LinkedIn strategy for law firm lead generationYour podcast strategy to become a recognised voice in legal techand much more…Gain free access to your ultimate blueprint, learn how to become an authority:https://holly-cope.myflodesk.com/becomealegaltechleader Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Geoff and Marie's Good Life: Part 1My Daughter's PantiesA retired couple disagree about Linda's panties.Based on posts by Only In My Mind, in 15 parts. Listen to the Podcast at Explicit Novels."This must be Thursday," the line from Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy by Douglas Adams kept echoing round in my head. "I never could get the hang of Thursdays."The reason for my bemusement was my wife standing in front of me waving a small pink piece of fabric in my face shouting, "And what do you think of these?"Perhaps this will make more sense with a bit of context. My name is Geoffrey, but you can call me Geoff; I don't think I need to share my surname. I'm an ordinary retired bloke in my mid-sixties looking for peaceful life, as if; I'm 5 foot 10, and average build although my waist has thickened a bit since my days in the rugby club seniors' team. I still keep fit with regular trips to the local pool and walking a few miles every day.My wife is called Marie after her French grandmother. Marie is a couple of months younger than me, also retired and has, as I tease her with, a curvy continental figure. Buxom, would be a good word to describe her. I love her to bits, even though she can go from naught to angry in 2 seconds. Oh, those passionate French. I have to be honest, however, the passions have waned somewhat recently. It isn't that we don't have sex any more, it's just that the periods between intimacy are getting exponentially longer. By my calculation, and yes that's how fulfilling my sex life is, the next attempt is due in six years.We have two adult kids, Pete and Linda, each with decent jobs, their own homes and steady partners. Linda also has a 13 year old son, Colin, from a previous relationship with an idiot. I like Mike, her current boyfriend, he has an actual vocabulary; I think he's a keeper.On this particular Thursday I had dropped my wife off at Linda's house to wait for a delivery of flat pack furniture from a well-known Swedish store, whilst I made a quick trip to a local builders' merchant for some bits and pieces for jobs the kids needed doing at their houses; it being well known that retired fathers have nothing better to do with their time.It only took half an hour or so and I knew that Marie would find something to occupy her; either mowing the lawn, weeding the borders or vacuum cleaning the stair carpet. The woman can't sit still. This Thursday, though, it appeared that Linda had pre-empted her mother, the lawn was manicured, the garden pristine and the whole house shone. My wife, however, does not give up easily and had decided to look in the laundry basket to see if there was anything she could get washed, dried and ironed while we waited for the delivery and I assembled the unit in Colin's room.I let myself into Linda's house and shouted, "It's only me! Where are you?""I'm in here," my wife called back. Now, like most men, I often miss subtle cues but this time I resisted pointing out that if I knew where 'here' was I wouldn't have asked where she was. Why? Because she did not sound pleased at all and I was the only one there to take the fallout.And that's how I found myself standing in Linda's kitchen while my wife waved a scrap of pink fabric in front of me, shouting, "And what do you think of these?""This must be Thursday," I echoed Arthur Dent's thoughts. "I never could get the hang of Thursdays."I realized that my wife was angry but I hadn't been there to actually piss her off. I apparently do have the ability to piss her off in my absence, but I couldn't think of anything I might have done that involved pink fabric. I decided that she may provide further clues if I actually said nothing so I gazed at her blankly and shook my head."Don't you know what these are?" She yelled at me. Ah, a clue; but no. I still have no fucking idea. I shook my head again; it worked the first time."They are crotchless panties!" She hissed, "What do you think of that?" I considered the possibilities. They weren't mine, I didn't think they were Marie's, I thought they were a little large for Colin, but if they were his, then I would encourage him to be who he needed to be, so that left Linda as the most likely owner. I wasn't sure why Marie suddenly wanted to discuss my daughter's, or Colin's, underwear so I stuck to a strategy that had served me well so far, and said nothing. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end and apparently now I was required to actually comment."What do you want me to say?" I asked, genuinely puzzled as to why I would have an opinion on a grown woman's underwear. I mean, I knew my daughter wasn't a virgin; there was Colin as evidence for a start. I also doubted that Mike spent the weekends at Linda's house sleeping on the sofa, so what was the problem?"What sort of woman would wear something like this?" My wife demanded, "What would you say if I wore panties like this?"I don't really know what came over me: I usually have more sense than to say what I actually think. Most men only survive to my age by giving the answers their women want to hear, never what's actually going through our minds."What sort of woman would wear something like this?" I repeated, stepping forwards, my voice rising. "Perhaps a woman who wants to excite her man, perhaps a woman who wants to show him how naughty she can be, perhaps a woman who wears them because SHE likes them, perhaps a woman who wants to feel like she's still woman and not just a mother!" Marie stayed silent as I took another step forwards towards backing away just a little from me. All reason has left me and I knew she'd make me suffer for this but I wasn't about to let my wife belittle my little girl, now a grown woman, for enjoying her boyfriend in ways my wife was denying me."What would I say if you wore panties like that?"I'd say 'Sweetheart, put a short skirt on and that nice cashmere sweater and let's take a walk to the park. Let's walk to the little shelter at the end of the path near the river; the one where you can see anyone walking towards you.'"I'd say 'When we get there I'm going to stand behind you and lift the back of your skirt up and feel your bum, and if you're very good I'll reach right forwards through the slit in your panties and find your soft warm slit inside them and rub you from front to back and back again.'"I'd say, 'I'm going to put my fingers inside you and, when you get thoroughly wet, I'm going to unzip my trousers and put my cock in your hands to get it really hard and then I'll put it through the slit in the panties and into you.'"I'd say, 'I'll press against you as you press yourself back into me and I'm going to fuck you rigid until we both come. And while we're thrusting at each other I'll put my hands under your sweater onto your bra-less tits and tantalize your nipples until you could cut glass with them. I'll squeeze your tits and kiss your neck and thrust and thrust until we both come.'"And then," here I paused, "I'd like to think that I could take you home and do it all over again in the comfort of our bed."By now I was standing directly in front of my wife, not menacing her but waiting for a response. She dropped the panties on the floor and reached up to me and gave me the first passionate kiss we'd had for ages. I lifted my hand and caressed her tit; she moaned into my mouth and; then the bloody doorbell rang.I went to the door trying to think my stiffy down. Fortunately flat-pack furniture has little erotic appeal for me, so the delivery man was not offended. After helping me carry it into the entrance hall he left, mercifully unaware of my recent sexual arousal. I went back to the kitchen to see my wife and, although the moment was lost, she seemed calmer. I asked her to help me upstairs with the package and she told me she'd follow shortly, which she did. She helped me to unpack the unit and set out all of the parts and fittings before she went back down stairs leaving me to do the manly stuff. Marie brought me a cup of tea a while later and we chatted, although she seemed quieter than usual, then she went back downstairs again.These units always seem to take me longer than I think they ought to put together, but eventually I finished and called my wife upstairs to admire my prowess as an assembler of Swedish bedroom furniture. She complimented me profusely, as I deserved, and we both returned to the kitchen. There, while I was busy doing technical, guy stuff upstairs, she had washed, tumble-dried and ironed Linda's laundry and laid it on the kitchen counter. On top of the pile was a pair of neatly ironed pink crotchless panties with a post-it note slipped inside. The note red, "Oh, these look like fun. Love Mum," with a smiley face drawn at the bottom.When we got home, my wife prepared our evening meal, as it had been my turn the day before, and I did some on-line shopping, ensuring that the items would be delivered next day while Marie was out volunteering at the local charity shop.On Saturday I woke up before our alarm went off so I went in the bathroom first to shower and shave. My wife woke up as I returned to our bedroom and wandered off towards the bathroom for her shower showing her cute little bare tush as she went. I finished getting dried and dressed and made the bed, then I went downstairs after shouting through the bathroom door to see what she wanted for breakfast.I took croissants out of the freezer and put the oven on to heat up as I made a cup of tea for each of us and set the table with butter and jam,  apricot, obviously,  for the croissants. As I was putting the tray of pastries into the oven I heard the shower turn off and the sound of Marie's footsteps as she made her way back to the bedroom to get dressed. Less than a minute later I heard a squeal. I had laid some clothes out for her; A pale blue cashmere sweater, a short dark blue skirt in a nice summery material and a pair of French navy blue crotchless panties.There was a note slipped into the panties. It red, "It looks like the weather will be ideal for a walk to the park today, and this seems to be the perfect outfit. Love Geoff," with a smiley face on the bottom.We enjoyed our walk as the weather was ideal; and the outfit was perfect. I think I might have finally got the hang of Thursdays.Watching PornA retired couple find inspiration in porn.I was sat quietly reading when my wife came in from her girls' evening out. When I tell you that my wife and I both retired in our sixties you'll understand that 'girl' refers to gender and attitude, rather than age. Marie, my better half, is a short, voluptuous woman with youthful features, shoulder length brown hair and deep brown eyes to match her tawny skin, a legacy of her Mediterranean French ancestry on her mother's side. I still enjoy looking at her.I am entirely unlike her: An unremarkable man in his mid-sixties, of average height, short hair to compensate for the receding hairline, heavier than I would like but not too overweight and reasonably fit. We recently reconnected sexually after a longish dry spell following an episode I described earlier in a story titled, "My Daughter's Panties""Hello love," I said. "Nice evening?""Oh, yes, I suppose so," she replied distractedly.I looked at her, waiting for some sort of follow up to her unusual lack of enthusiasm and then, none forthcoming, went back to my book. She disappeared upstairs to get changed into her jammies and when she came back down I put my book down and patted my knee. She smiled and crossed the room to sit on my lap. I put my arm around her and asked, "Did something happen tonight? You don't seem upset but something seems to be on your mind."She thought for a moment, then said, "Do you know what 'Only Fans' is? I seem to recognize the name but I can't rember where from.""It's a sort of social media app I've read about in the newspaper," I replied. "But the stories all seem to focus on celebs and wannabe z-listers showing their tits, and more, to paying subscribers to make money. I've no idea if there are less scandalous posts: That wouldn't sell newspapers. Why do you ask?""Well," she began, a little sheepishly. "The girls seem to have noticed that I seem to be a little more," she paused to think of the right word. "; Content the last couple of times we've met up and they wanted to know why, so I told them what happened at Linda's; and afterwards."What happened afterwards was that our sex-life was reinvigorated, something that I, for one, was very happy about. I was a little taken aback that this was a topic of discussion amongst my wife's social group but, fuck it! I was getting laid again; she could shout it from the rooftops and I wouldn't give a shit.I still wasn't sure why two oldies rediscovering their naughty bits would lead to a discussion about Only Fans, so I asked Marie how the topic came up. She explained, "Well, you know we meet early at the Black Swan, before the office workers pile in and leave about seven before the serious piss-artists start getting rowdy?" I nodded to confirm that I was aware of these facts, as this was the standing arrangement for girls' nights the first and third Friday of each month, and had been since she retired."So," she went on. "The girls were really interested in what we did, how often and whether we needed any; accessories to help out because of our age," she saw the look on my face and hastily added. "Of course I told them we managed fine without any sex toys but, I might have let slip about the panties. By now it was getting too noisy to hold a decent conversation when there was six of us around the table but I'm sure one of the girls said that I should get a whole wardrobe of sexy clothes to wear for you and share the pictures and videos of me modelling them on Only Fans.""And did your friends explain why you should take up what is, effectively, borderline sex-work as a hobby?" I asked, rather testily."Not really," she replied. "And by then we were all getting our coats, ready to leave and I never got a chance to ask what she meant." Her voice got softer as she continued, "How rude are the videos? I've never actually seen any real pornography. I think that the dirtiest thing I've seen was Game Of Thrones on TV, with all of those tits, bums and willies on show."I gawped at her. "Christ!" I exclaimed as I tried to think how to compare GOT to what is freely available to view on line. "Imagine," I said. "That there's a sex act you'd like to see: Absolutely anything." She nodded. "As long as you can spell what you want to see, as long as it isn't actually illegal, someone,  in fact lots of someones,  has a video of them doing it, often live, online. Even if it's illegal it's out there, just in places people like us won't go."She gazed at me, eyes wide, "No way! Like, real sex, with stiffies?"How could anyone get to our age and still be that innocent? "Yes dear," I replied. "Stiffies, tongues, fingers, dildos and, in one memorable video I've seen, a car gear shift. That put the next episode of Top Gear in an entirely new light for me.""It's still early," she whispered. "Could you find some to show me?"I helped her up, noticing a bulge in my pants as I did so; she could still do that to me after all these years! I powered up the laptop and opened a private tab. Marie sat back on my lap as I showed her how to find porn on the internet. If you're not familiar with the process, it's about as difficult as finding salt water in the sea. Now I'm not going to share details, but I've a go-to porn site I'm reasonably comfortable with, so I typed in the address and showed Marie the home page. The thumbnail images for the videos-of-the-day were more explicit than anything she'd ever seen in her sixty-plus years."So what do we have to do to see the videos?" She asked, urgently. I told her to press the Play button. She did and watched, entranced, as an entirely unconvincing college nerd came home early to find the pool-guy fucking his pneumatic step-mom; only for the nerd to step in to take over when the pool-guy apparently ran out of semen."Are they all that bad?" She asked. I had to admit that most were. She seemed disappointed that the explicit sex she'd finally just witnessed was so cheesy. I had an idea."Hang on," I said. "I think you might prefer this." I moved the cursor up to the search bar and typed in 'Sensual, Only Fans'. As I expected, there was a lot of dross but in amongst it, two or three links looked promising. I clicked on the first one.After a four second ad featuring an attractive woman fingering herself, I was able to skip to the video. Marie gasped. The still frame showing behind the play button was of a man and a woman, probably in their late twenties, kneeling on a bed facing each other. The man was good looking and well made, but more like a runner than a gym bunny. His cock was erect; big enough to make any woman happy but not so big that the rest of us would give up and go home.The woman was simply gorgeous. She glowed in the atmospheric lighting, as if she'd showered and rubbed herself all over with baby oil; which was probably the case. I could almost imagine I could smell the femininity of her skin. "Fuck!" Marie said, softly. "I wish we looked that good.""You did, Babe," I whispered in her ear as kissed the top of her head. "But those two are forty years younger than us.""Look at her tits! I wish mine looked like that," complained Marie. I pulled against me and caressed her tits."Trust me love," I reassured her. "Your boobs have nothing to be ashamed of."Marie wriggled back onto my lap. "Hit Play," she demanded. "And take notes, there will be a test when I get you upstairs after the video finishes."We watched the couple as they explored each other's bodies with hands, lips and tongues. My wife sat forward and stared intently at the screen as the woman took the guy's cock in her mouth and, apparently inhaled the full length while looking lustfully up at him. She squealed as the guy went down on the woman, licking and sucking her labia with obvious pleasure. She sighed as the guy's tongue disappeared into his lover's cunt and moaned in delight a few minutes later as his cock took the same path.We sat, cuddled together in the chair, as their love-making competed to their apparent satisfaction, the pearly white fluid seeping from the gorgeous woman's equally gorgeous slit as evidence that the guy, at least, reached orgasm. Marie looked at me and said, in a tone of voice that brooked no argument, "We. Have. Got. To. Do. That!"I wasn't about to disagree but I did need some clarity. "Which bit?" I asked. "Do you mean go and have sex, or film ourselves having sex; you know? For your Only Fans site."She looked at me as though I'd gone insane, "No, you fucking idiot! I want to go upstairs, dim the lights, cast that video to the bedroom TV and fuck each other exactly the way that they do, at exactly the same time as they are doing it..", I looked at the time bar on the video: It went from zero to twenty five minutes. I wasn't sure if I could manage to last that long at the best of times, and I'd just had a sexually aroused woman squirming on my lap for at least half an hour while we watched porn!On the other hand; nothing ventured, nothing gained; keep calm and carry on; stiff upper lip and all that: one way or another, I was definitely getting laid tonight!Marie looked thoughtfully at the screen and decided. "Right," she said. "You've got twenty minutes while I shower, dry and moisturize: Try to recreate the atmosphere from the video."I looked at the guy in the video; erection? Sorted; six pack and designer stubble, not in twenty minutes. So instead I swapped out the LED lamps in the bedroom for dimmer, warmer bulbs from table lamps in the other rooms. I set up my phone, tablet and laptop at different vantage points to record our attempt to do a tribute band version of the chart topping performance we'd just watched. I stripped the quilt from the bed and threw it into the spare room. There, the stage was set; I just hoped I didn't get performance anxiety.Marie came back, naked and aroused, from the bathroom. Her skin glowing in the warm honey colored lights around the bed. "You seem overdressed," she pointed out, so I stripped. I already had the video set up on her phone and mirrored to our TV, paused and ready to play. I walked around the bed, setting the devices to record, as she took her place near the center. I joined her and after a glance to be sure she was ready, I pressed Play.It reminded me of dance classes we'd once tried, but we didn't have to keep time to the music and it didn't matter if we were half a step behind. It was magical. We kissed when they kissed; long and slow and languorous. When his hand found her tit, my hand found Marie's. When he rolled his lover's nipples, Marie got the same sensation a few seconds later.When the woman licked the shaft of his cock from balls to tip, mine got the same treatment. Marie had never taken a testicle into her mouth until that night but she sucked mine right in as though she'd been born to it. She sucked me deeper and for longer than she ever had before and the look of pure desire as she watched her saliva dripping down my cock made me shudder with lust.The guy gently pushed his woman onto her back and knelt between her thighs. Marie moaned in anticipation before I even touched her. As I began to lick around her opening she stroked my head. "I'm not fantasizing about him fucking me you know. In my head, that's you and me up there; the way we used to be.""I know," I murmured into her cunt. "She's gorgeous, but you're real and here and all that I need." Marie shuddered as she climaxed for the first time, whether it was my words or my tongue on her clit wasn't important as long as she was happy.I've never had a problem with cunnilingus but I spent longer eating Marie that evening than I ever had before. I licked around her lips and probed deep into her folds before I did more than nudge her clit with my tongue. I carried on watching the guy on the screen, ignoring Marie's pleas to change pace. We had a plan and I was sticking to it. Only when he put one and then two fingers into his lover would I do the same. When he put one hand on her belly with his other hand fingering her cunt, I guessed what he was doing and searched for that little area inside Marie and curled my index finger to stimulate it. She came again; that was twice.He let his partner come down from her climax as he moved up to kiss her, cupping her tits as he did so. I copied him as Marie moaned again. After a few minutes we moved down once more, two fingers inside our women and sucking their clits in tandem: Marie came again; this guy's pacing was good! That's three orgasms for my lover.Eventually we moved back and slid inside our girls. Back and forth we moved as the women gasped with ragged breaths, both sheened with sweat. We pulled out and coaxed the w

In this lively episode of Mark and Pete, the duo tackle three curious tales from the worlds of culture, politics, and everyday life. First up: the passing of Ronnie Rondell Jnr, the Hollywood stuntman who made others famous while remaining largely unknown. From being set alight on the cover of Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here to crashing through scenes in Batman and Robin and The Mighty Ducks, his life sparks reflection on the unsung heroes who risk everything but rarely get the applause. Next, the Tesco Meal Deal — a staple of students and low-income workers alike — has crept up in price once again. That 25p rise may sound small, but it's a big bite out of already-stretched budgets. Mark and Pete chew over what this means for ordinary folk, and whether it's time to rediscover thriftier ways of feeding body and soul. Finally, we turn to the world of politics and pixels: Emmanuel Macron, Keir Starmer, and Volodymyr Zelensky appeared in a viral “Oval Office” photo looking like schoolboys in trouble — until the phantom foot gave away its AI origins. What happens when fake images shape real perceptions? Join Mark and Pete for wit, wisdom, and biblical perspective.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/mark-and-pete--1245374/support.

Mark Palmer is a marketing genius, he's worked on the following brands Burger King, Nandos, Pret A Manger, Green & Blacks, Cawston PressHe's a total genius. You're going to love this episode!!!ON THE MENU:1. Tim Ferris Heuristic: “you are the sum of the difficult conversations you have with yourself”2. How To Have Hard Conversations with Sainsbury's, Tesco or Waitrose: Don't ignore the hard stuff, get straight to the point 3. How to Fire People Correctly: “Ruthless in decision making, generous in execution” 4. Pep Guardiola Brand Building Philosophy: Move your players around to fit the brand builders5. Green & Black Brand Building Strategy: Philosophy first, Product second, strategy third 6. Product before brand, you can layer a brand around a product 7. Seth Godin Positioning Rule: Competitors must become your colleagues 8. Anti-Fragile Customer Feedback: Why are you not buying us > Why are you buying us?9. Invest in creative UPSTREAM “get them to join the team, not just a freelancer”10. Biggest Challenger Brand Mistake: “Don't build a bad version of a corporate organisation”11. Byron Sharpe's Mental availability vs physical availability unpacked 12. Green & Blacks Scaffolding of Ideas: Niche Mainstream  ==============================================

how to build a £30m brand in 3 years…you have to think differently…to build £30m brand in 3 yearyou must ignore Stephen Bartlett's advice…to build a £30 million brand in 3 yearsBartlett says go after RedBullCreate an enemy.David vs. GoliathStand against something.Teddie disagrees.PerfectTed don't go after Red BullPerfectTed are contrarian and unique without slagging off competitorsTeddie's built Big Green Monster fuelled by matcha, grit and good vibesTotal honour to sit with Teddie at Bread & Jam couple weeks agoSOOO much fucking FIREEEEE in this BRO!!!the episode:£30m Brand Building Secrets Revealed in 46 Minutes - PerfectTed founderON THE MENU:Why Fast Growth is NOT clean. Embrace messy. Messy = Growth.Why business a series of missiles pointed at your head every single day. Embrace pain.Why Founders MUST be agile and persistent to the point of annoyance…”try literally everything and something will stick”REMEMBER: Grocery Sales doesn't happen from behind a computer screen… founders get in the Tesco basement nowYou may have the best marketing in the world… but if you don't spend 99.9% of your time in the basement of Tesco stores you'll failCustomer Feedback Inversion Rule: why did you NOT pick up our product > why you did pick up our productThe Subtle Art of Self Belief: Never underestimate the power of YOUWhy you need a big bold vision BUT you must tailor your pitch to each individual retailerJapanese Hidden Business Wisdom: why every team member should shake every person who ever walks into the officeWhy indies are waste of time for small brands… “back yourself and go for the big retailer from the jump”Eating the frog + never bury your head in the sand about people problems…”you'll do more damage to your business doing nothing”The Aldi Allergy: Why PerfecTed will never incentivise their sales team on commissionPerfectTed LinkedIn Strategy: Why Employee Generated Content (EGC) = MILLIONS of FREE impressions a monthThe RedBull Riddle: Never slag off your competitors… it looks so NAFFALWAYS hire 6 -12 months ahead of the curve…never be left thinking “I wish I hired that person sooner” ==============================================

Adam and Ethan discuss a horrific new menu item at Tesco, the dangers of running for mayor in Mexico, asylum hotel protests in the UK, and so much more!Show notes: https://rebrand.ly/f6yucq8

The Irish singer-songwriter bulldozing billboard charts with only a debut single to her name. This time last year, the Dublin-born artist was working at Tesco, occasionally pausing for selfies when locals realised the superstar stocking their shelves. Nowadays she plays to thousands who sing her songs, word for word and jump in unison to the club-ready anthems. @jazzydublin

This is one of our favourite interviews EVER! In this very special LIVE edition of Brand Growth Heroes, recorded at Bread & Jam Fest 2025, Fiona Fitz sits down in front of a live audience with the absolutely brilliant and hilariously honest Juliet Barratt, co-founder of the category-defining sports nutrition brand, Grenade. Juliet shares the fab story of how she and then-partner Al Barrett took Grenade from the back of a big night out in Birmingham to the shelves of Tesco, WHSmith and petrol stations across the UK, and ultimately to a £200M exit to Mondelez - without ever compromising on what made them different.If this episode inspires you to think about new ways to drive business growth, PLEASE could you click FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE on your favourite podcast app and leave a review, AND share it with a fellow founder - it could help them too!The conversation covers so much - from how branding (and “weirdness!”) can be a superpower, to the moment they realised their “retire-on-a-beach” plan was delusional, to driving a tank into BodyPower Expo (yes, really) to get noticed by GNC. Juliet also opens up about how being “all in” meant no days off for four years, about hiring people who weren't “knobs,” and about what it really felt like when the money landed in her bank account after the deal closed, and interestingly, why it WASN'T the moment of glory people imagine!She also shares her views on today's funding-obsessed food and drink ecosystem, and why she believes too many founders are chasing other people's stories instead of writing their own.Wait for it...Juliet also shares her (perhaps controversial?!) views on the 'female founder' movement - we'd love to know what you think (if you're listening on Spotify, you can comment below!)Juliet's energy is infectious, her insight razor-sharp, and her advice unmissable for any challenger brand founder.And yes, we talk about the Oreo bar. (Don't eat five a day. Just… don't.) PS: Don't miss the audience questions at the end. Golden nuggets tsunami! Enjoy.Useful links:Connect with Juliet Barratt on LinkedInFollow Grenade on LinkedInMore about Bread & Jam FestivalFollow Brand Growth Heroes on LinkedInConnect with BGH host Fiona Fitz on LinkedIn============================================================Thanks to Brand Growth Heroes' podcast sponsor - Joelson, the commercial law firm=============================================================If you're a founder, you already know how much of your energy goes into building the perfect product, creating standout branding and connecting with your consumers.But don't forget that scaling a CPG business also comes with a maze of legal complexities that can make or break your business journey. From contracts, term sheets and regulatory compliance to protecting your brand's intellectual property as you expand, it's essential to get it right.And that starts with the right legal partner.So we're thrilled to introduce Joelson, a leading commercial law firm that specialises in guiding the founders of scaling CPG brands, as Brand Growth Heroes' sponsor.With long-term relationships with clients like Little Moons, Trip, Eat Natural, Bear Graze, and Pulsin, Joelson is also famous for advising the innocent founders in their landmark sale to Coca-Cola! As a female team, we are especially impressed by Joelson's commitment to championing female founders in CPG.Not many law firms are also BCorps, nor do they specialise in helping founders navigate the legal challenges of scaling without stifling the creativity and momentum that got you here in the first place. So thanks, Joelson—we're delighted to have you on board.If you'd like to get in touch to find out more, why don't you drop them a line at hello@joelsonlaw.com!==============================================A tiny favour: If this episode inspires you to think about new ways to drive business growth, please could you click FOLLOW or SUBSCRIBE on your favourite podcast app and leave a review?This small gesture from you means the world to us, and allows us to share these nuggets of insight and value with you more often.You won't want to miss the next episode, in which Fiona Fitz talks with another successful founder of a challenger brand who shares more valuable insights into driving growth.Please don't hesitate to join our Brand Growth Heroes community to stay updated with captivating stories and learnings from your beloved brands on their path to success!Follow us on our Brand Growth Heroes socials: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.Thanks to our Sound Engineer, Gyp Buggane, Ballagroove.com and podcast producer/content creator, Kathryn Watts, Social KEWS.

In this episode of The Retail Podcast, Alex speaks with Rupert Pick, Global MD of Hot Pickle, the award-winning brand experience agency behind iconic activations for Magnum, Guinness, Marmite, Pokémon, Waitrose, Tesco, and more.From physical brand homes to cultural relevance, Rupert reveals how Hot Pickle blends creativity, product innovation, and immersive retail activations to keep global CPG brands connected to their audiences. He explains why sampling should never be transactional, the formula for scaling playfulness, and how to avoid the “brand irrelevance” trap that's hit names like River Island and Claire's.

Ambi Parameswaran discusses the four essential ingredients for marketing success, comparing it to mixology. Marketing success is like mixology, requiring a careful blend of essential ingredients.Branding isn't reserved for companies with massive ad budgets. As Ambi Parameswaran says: “Whether you like it or not, you are a brand.”A Bhopal spice maker thought branding was “too expensive.” The fix? • Pick the name customers already use for you • Put it boldly on packaging (no extra cost) • Focus on your top-selling product • Test with local posters before expandingBalaji Wafers started the same way — one cinema in Gujarat, expanding town by town.For a kid toy startup, the playbook changed. They sold B2B kits to schools while targeting mothers online through “mom bloggers.” Their pivot to B2C delivered faster returns.B2B players like Thermax learned that branding matters even for industrial boilers. Independent research revealed customers rated them nearly as high as L&T.Non-negotiables before launch: • Know your customer vividly • Define your brand's job • Set guardrails to avoid trend-chasing chaosAI now plays a key role — Nestlé even mandates AI in brand presentations. But overpersonalization can backfire, as Tesco's infamous pregnancy-targeting case proved.The myths that branding is expensive, complicated, or slow to pay off are just that — myths. Done right, it starts delivering from day one.Ambi Parameswaran is a brand coach and founder, brand-building.com, a brand advisory. Ambi has spent his forty-year career in corporate India working across diverse sectors, such as pharmaceuticals/consumer products (Boots Company), media (UDI Yellow Pages) and advertising (Rediffusion). He spent over twenty-five years with FCB Ulka Advertising, helping transform a struggling ad agency into one of the top five marketing communications groups. Ambi is a guest faculty at IIM Calcutta, IIM Ahmedabad, MICA and an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at SPJIMR Mumbai.Jagged with Jasravee is facilitated by Jasravee Kaur Chandra. Jasravee has over 20 years experience as a Strategic Brand Builder, Communications Leader and Entrepreneur. Please visit Jasravee at https://jasravee.com/Connect with Jasravee on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasravee/ Email Jasravee at jasravee@gmail.com

In this episode, I speak with Shiri Mosenzon Erez, Chief Product Officer at commercetools, a global leader in enterprise composable commerce that supports thousands of retailers in hundreds of countries, enabling tens of billions of dollars in revenue annually. Shiri's career journey has taken her from consulting into her first product role at Tesco, through product leadership at Ocado, and now leading at a scale-up with a global enterprise footprint. We cover a lot, including: What commercetools does: An API-first, composable commerce engine powering online trade for major global enterprises and manufacturers, enabling flexibility, resilience, and constant uptime for B2C and B2B commerce. Composable commerce explained: Allowing customers to mix and match best-of-breed components across the commerce value stream or opting for "pre-composed" solutions built on the same composable foundation. Strategic focus in a flexible platform: How the team decides where to build, buy, or partner, using value stream mapping to prioritise and avoid being pulled in too many directions. AI and agents in commerce: From data tagging to conversational assistants and dynamic pricing, Shiri shares early enterprise adoption patterns and the role of commercetools' MCP layer in letting customers plug in the agents they trust. Product team structure: A 55-person product org spanning UX, product management, and close engineering partnerships, with domain-focused teams and a strong CPO–CTO pairing model. Balancing explore vs exploit: Encouraging teams to pivot to higher-value domains when propositions mature, and celebrating decisions to stop work that's no longer impactful. Customer-led vs strategy-led delivery: Using proactive roadmap communication to align big customer requests with company strategy and KPIs, turning reactive asks into collaborative problem-solving. Technical and business balance in PMs: Moving from a largely technical PM base toward a mix of skills, with growing focus on business value and direct engagement with business stakeholders. Leadership approach: Shiri's focus on connecting product strategy to company strategy, advocating at the executive level, and ensuring her teams feel purpose, autonomy, and mastery in their work. Check out commercetools Check out commercetools's website: https://commercetools.com/, or their careers page: https://commercetools.com/careers/jobs. Connect with Shiri You can connect with Shiri on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiri-mosenzon/.

mike, travis and drunk discuss the following topics…. raw meat with will blunderfield….. i might be done with rooster the goat….. bo daddy covers….. scream club….. after the break, we talk to comedian Jeremy nunes about his new special neighborhood sasq watch, matt rife owning the Annabelle doll, and more! check out his website! the king of colas tries Tesco fizzy cola flavored lances: 8.9 taryn manning was on Stephen baldwin's awful podcast…. brad love is quitting social media…. potw: swig/hbo's hard knocks/Fahrenheit 182 by mark hoppus well, bye.

Live at Klaviyo London, Kunle Campbell joins Future Commerce to explore the tension between idealistic wellness brands and the realities of scaling in a capitalist system. Kunle and Phillip explore intentionality, identity formation, and how conscious consumers can navigate the cascade of marketing messages while staying true to themselves.Know Thyself, Choose BetterKey takeaways:Pure idealism faces scalability challenges: Growing wellness brands often must compromise their founding principles to reach broader audiences and achieve economies of scale, as demonstrated by Whole Foods' evolution from commune cooperative to mainstream retailer.Identity exchange drives commerce decisions: Every purchase represents an identity transaction where consumers either align with authentic values or fall prey to manufactured personas pushed by predatory marketing tactics.Self-knowledge enables intentional consumption: Understanding your personal predispositions (Kunle recommends DNA tests, blood work, meditation, or breathwork) allows for more conscious brand alignment and purchasing decisions.Consciousness awakening shifts market dynamics: Social media influencers educating consumers about ingredient transparency and wellness principles are forcing traditional retailers like Tesco to create accelerator programs for "Better For You" brands.Key Quotes:[00:01:56]: "Culture is communication, it's community. It's the zeitgeist... At the core, if you go deeper into culture, I think the value system is very, very fundamental." – Kunle Campbell [00:06:22]: "In order to change the world, like at scale, you're going to have to make some compromises... Pure idealism is not enough in a capitalist system." – Kunle Campbell [00:19:25]: "Marketing clutter says, 'this is an identity. Claim it. Take it,' and then you lose your inner person." – Kunle Campbell [00:26:35]: "Don't lose self... There are brands out there that would sort of merge with your own unique wants and needs based on what you need for yourself." – Kunle Campbell In-Show Mentions:John Mackey's "The Whole Story" book and Whole Foods' evolutionJoe Dispenza meditation methodology and body scanning techniquesTesco's Better For You brand accelerator programAssociated Links:Check out Future Commerce on YouTubeCheck out Future Commerce+ for exclusive content and save on merch and printSubscribe to Insiders and The Senses to read more about what we are witnessing in the commerce worldListen to our other episodes of Future CommerceHave any questions or comments about the show? Let us know on futurecommerce.com, or reach out to us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. We love hearing from our listeners!

A man has told a court he's 'scared to walk the streets' after being stabbed by a homeless man in Gravesend.The victim was attacked by Gary Stephens after intervening in an argument he was having with a woman outside a Tesco store in 2022.Also in today's podcast, the leader of the opposition at Kent County Council has criticised the way Reform UK are behaving in cabinet meetings.Lib Dem councillor and leader of the opposition at KCC Antony Hook has spoken out - you can hear from him and a response from Reform's chief whip at KCC, Maxwell Harrison.A Kent MP has raised concerns about Britain's last remaining St John Ambulance marching band being forced to close down.The group is based on Sheppey, but they've been told by the charity to leave their site.Conservationists are celebrating an historic breakthrough as they try to reintroduce the red-billed chough to Kent.It's been more than 200 years since the birds were last living independently on chalk grassland in the south east. Hear from Liz Corry who is the Chough Release Supervisor at Wildwood Trust and has some exciting news.In sport, Gillingham bosses say they're 'extremely disappointed' after offensive language was directed towards a match official from the Gills end during Saturday's game at Accrington.The FA made the club aware and an investigation is continuing.

The team discuss Trump's hideous $200 million White House ballroom extension, Labour and Yvette Cooper mimicking Nigel Farage's call to have criminal suspect's ethnicity and immigration status revealed and the many, many books written by Reform UK's newest member, Rupert Matthews.  They also chat about Tesco's viral (and sad) birthday cake sandwich, the Squonkerpalooza Festival celebrating everyone's favourite sorrowful Squonk and a Danish zoos plea to the public to send in their pets as “fodder” for their animals… If you enjoy the podcast, please give us a 5-star rating on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and make sure you subscribe there so you don't miss an episode! For updates on the show, make sure you're following Have I Got News for You on Instagram, TikTok and X (formerly known as twitter) and get in touch with us there using #HIGNFYpod or emailing podcasts@hattrick.com.  Your hosts are Jack Harris Emerald Paston  Mike Rayment And the absent Queenie Miller, still smashing it at the Edinburgh Fringe The Producer is Diggory Waite The Executive Producer is Claire Broughton The Music is by Big George In the News This Week is a Hat Trick Podcast

Welcome to our series of bite-sized episodes featuring favourite moments from the Leading for Business Excellence podcast series.In this minisode, Anu Kalia shares how Continuous Improvement has become part of the fabric at Tesco. From onboarding new colleagues to embedding CI in transitions and day-to-day operations, he explains how a culture of improvement is built from the start, and sustained through visible impact.Listen to the full episode here: https://pmi.co.uk/knowledge-hub/culture-by-design-how-tesco-made-ci-everyones-business/PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT IN AN AI-DRIVEN WORLD.Save the Date. 17th March 2026.The Goals to Results Conference is back, and it's grounded in the challenges you're experiencing and the opportunities you're facing as you lead change, transformation, and continuous improvement.>>> Join Priority Booking List

This week we're diving into our biggest professional disasters — and the personal embarrassments we still think about in the shower. From losing £103k on a failed business to being demoted out of a dream job, these are the moments that shaped us. And the ones we usually keep quiet. Recorded poolside with a gin in hand, this is the first of our Summer Sessions — stripped-back, slightly tipsy, and very real.

Send us a textWhen Josh Wheeler founded Be Broadcast PR 3 years ago, he was determined to create something different—a PR agency focused not just on securing media coverage, but on telling meaningful stories that unite rather than divide. His journey from a tiny village in the West Midlands to becoming a broadcast PR specialist offers fascinating insights into what truly matters in communication.(Josh joined Chris Grimes in the Show to 'experience the format from within' to explore the possibility of lending his PR expertise to Chris's special new series-strand to the Show, 'Legacy Life Reflections': To record their or your Life Story, for posterity. "Lest we forget...Before its too late")During this intimate conversation, Josh reveals how some of his most formative experiences came not from formal education or corporate training, but from early jobs like making tea in a care home at age 11 and working the tills at Tesco. These roles taught him that despite our apparent differences, people from all walks of life share fundamental similarities—a philosophy that now informs Be Broadcast's approach to storytelling.Josh speaks candidly about his struggles with burnout, discovering that "being busy doesn't necessarily mean being fulfilled," and the challenge of finding balance in a high-pressure industry. His advice to slow down and "be more swan-like"—appearing calm while paddling furiously beneath the surface—offers valuable wisdom for anyone navigating today's frenetic workplace culture.What makes this episode particularly compelling is Josh's perspective on human connection in an age increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence. While acknowledging AI's transformative potential, he reminds us that technology should complement rather than replace authentic human interaction: "We need to remember our place in all of that."Whether you're a PR professional or simply someone interested in how we communicate and connect in an increasingly fragmented world, Josh's insights about building businesses with integrity, finding inspiration in "scrappy, imperfect people," and creating work environments that prioritize people over profit will resonate deeply. His call to action—to speak to neighbors, smile at strangers, and engage with people outside our usual circles—offers a simple but powerful antidote to our increasingly isolated digital lives.Tune in next week for more stories of 'Distinction & Genius' from The Good Listening To Show 'Clearing'. If you would like to be my Guest too then you can find out HOW via the different 'series strands' at 'The Good Listening To Show' website. Show Website: https://www.thegoodlisteningtoshow.com You can email me about the Show: chris@secondcurve.uk Twitter thatchrisgrimes LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-grimes-actor-broadcaster-facilitator-coach/ FaceBook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/842056403204860 Don't forget to SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW wherever you get your Podcasts :) Thanks for listening!

英國上議院和下議院一個聯合委員會發布報告，探討英國供應鏈中的強迫勞動情況。報告中提到了哪些可能涉及強迫勞動的消費品？報告中提到五個主要範疇：* 棉花： 全世界每五件衣服中，就有一件可能與新疆棉的強迫勞動有關 。中國快時尚公司 Shein 的代表在英國國會作證時，無法回答其在英國銷售的衣服是否使用了新疆棉 。* 海產： 不僅涉及新疆，還涉及北韓勞工。北韓為賺取外匯，將勞工送往中國（特別是東北三省）處理水產品 。例如，強迫勞工被送到山東省沿岸工廠處理魷魚 。這些魷魚的船員多為中國人和東南亞人，可能幾年都無法下船，甚至有生病死亡後屍體被丟入海中的情況 。中國是2023年英國第二大水產進口商 。* 加工番茄： 在英國各大超市（如 Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose）購買的罐頭番茄和茄醬，即使標示義大利產，也可能來自新疆 。* 太陽能板： 中國是全球主要的太陽能板生產國之一，不可避免地存在強迫勞動問題 。* 關鍵礦產（Critical Minerals）： 例如來自剛果民主共和國的礦物，佔全球70%，用於鋰電池和磁石，與電動車和電池相關，這些礦產的開採和提煉也存在強迫勞動問題 。英國在應對強迫勞動產品進口方面有何不足？與歐盟或美國相比，英國目前沒有一個完整的立法來禁止所有強迫勞工產品的進口 。英國目前只針對能源方面有相關立法，未來會有一間英國國營電力公司禁止強迫勞工生產的產品進入英國電網 。為何難以避免這些涉及強迫勞動的產品？許多涉及強迫勞動的產品都是日常消費品或難以替代的原材料 。例如，加工番茄在烹飪中非常方便且難以替代。海產和棉花也因其勞動密集型特性而難以完全避免。此外，太陽能板和稀土等關鍵礦產的提煉過程非常污染，發達國家傾向將其集中在發展中國家進行，導致健康危害，更難以避免 。資訊透明度能否根本性改變供應鏈現狀？雖然資訊透明度越來越高，但要根本性改變供應鏈狀況仍有困難 。例如，沒有公司會承認使用北韓勞工或新疆維吾爾人生產的產品，因為這違反聯合國制裁 。他們會尋找方法更改標誌或阻撓審查 。只能透過本地立法並對違規行為施以重罰，就像處理洗錢案一樣 。對於強迫勞動問題，有哪些值得反思的觀點？當今社會仍有許多類似奴隸制度的操作存在；與其停留在討論過去的種族矛盾或歷史舊帳 ，更應該關注目前世界上正在發生的人權問題。 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit leesimon.substack.com/subscribe

This week on the Omni Talk Retail Fast Five podcast, sponsored by the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and Clear Demand, we explore Tesco's groundbreaking 8-week advance delivery scheduling. Chris and Anne discuss how this UK innovation could transform grocery shopping in the US, enabling better family planning and operational efficiency. Learn why extended scheduling represents the true definition of omnichannel retail convenience.

Daniel Cray, an Australian entrepreneur and CEO of Phizz, pivoted from advertising to create a revolutionary three-in-one hydration, vitamin and electrolyte tablet that's now one of the UK's fastest-growing wellness brands. He shares his journey from bootstrapping with three friends to leading a category-defining company used by Premier League teams and travellers worldwide.• After discovering travellers lose up to six litres of water during flights, Dan identified hydration's broader impact beyond just athletic performance• Partnered with a neuroscientist co-founder to develop a scientifically-backed formula that enhances brain performance through proper electrolyte balance• Initially secured partnerships with Emirates Airlines, W Hotels and Premier League teams to build credibility while bootstrapping• Made the bold decision to relocate from Australia to London despite having no UK connections or secured funding• Transformed from a £250,000 revenue business to nearly £10 million by transitioning from brand partnerships to retail distribution• Maintained scientific integrity by including glucose in their formula despite "sugar-free" trends, as it's essential for optimal hydration• Successfully positioning Phizz as a category leader in "hydration enhancers" – creating an entirely new retail category in UK stores• Recently expanded into Middle East and European markets with plans for continued international growthCheck out Phizz in major UK retailers including Boots, Tesco, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, or online with Amazon.Support the show

Corin Mills is the Brand Marketing & E-Commerce Director at MOO, where he leads data-driven strategies that connect standout design with authentic brand experiences. With global experience at Google, Tesco, Currys, and more, Corin brings a sharp, cross-industry perspective to brand transformation. This week on the On Brand podcast, he joins me to talk about balancing data and emotion, leading meaningful change, and what it takes to thrive in today's fast-moving e-commerce space. About Corin Mills Corin Mills is the Brand Marketing & E-Commerce Director at MOO, specializing in data-driven marketing strategies that revitalize brand experiences and foster meaningful organizational change. With over 15 years of extensive brand management experience driving business transformation across multiple sectors and international markets, his passion for impactful branding drives MOO's success in bridging the gap between quality design and human connection. As former Head of Brand and Comms at Currys, his transformative approach centers on genuine collaboration and inclusive leadership at all levels of business. With previous success at major brands including EE, Tesco, Currys, Google, Orange, and AXA, Corin brings a unique cross-industry perspective to discussions about e-commerce strategy and optimization. What brand has made Corin smile recently? Corin pointed us to the recent GoDaddy campaign with Walton Goggins (and his goggles). Connect with Corin on LinkedIn and the MOO website. Listen and subscribe at  Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon/Audible, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn, iHeart, YouTube, and RSS. Rate and review the show—If you like what you're hearing, be sure to head over to Apple Podcasts and click the 5-star button to rate the show. And, if you have a few extra seconds, write a couple of sentences and submit a review to help others find the show. Did you hear something you liked on this episode or another? Do you have a question you'd like our guests to answer? Let me know on Twitter using the hashtag #OnBrandPodcast and you may just hear your thoughts here on the show. On Brand is a part of the Marketing Podcast Network. Until next week, I'll see you on the Internet! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PJ talks to Antoinette, mum of Katie who needs surgery to walk again and end living in pain. She has school uniforms generously donated by Tesco she's selling on Vinted. See here Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As 2025's Pride Month comes to a close, Campaign reflects on how the global DEI rollback has impacted the way brands show up for LGBTQIA+ communities.Gay Times' chief executive Tag Warner said the news outlet has lost £5m in ad revenue this year due to eight of its top ten advertisers pulling their contracts, and Thinkbox's head of marketing Chris Dunne, who is also chief executive of Outvertising, also commented on the noticeable drawback by brands. While it might on the surface seem like the changes to DEI this year have impacted brands' support for LGBTQ+ communities, the drawback actually begun years before, and this year was more a "nail in the coffin".Hosted by tech editor Lucy Shelley, Campaign's media editor Beau Jackson and deputy creativity and culture editor Charlotte Rawlings discuss what has led to brands stepping back, as well as highlighting some of the work that continues to celebrate Pride and raise awareness to wider LGBTQ+ issues. This includes TransActual UK's "Third toilet" by BBH London, Tesco's internal policies and sponsorship of Pride, Lush donating 75% of profits from the Liberation bath bomb and Marks and Spencer's partnership with AKT.Further reading:Pride needs action, not alliesAmnesty Pride campaign promotes bracelets as 'badge of allyship'E45 unveils ad highlighting trans skin that won C4 diversity awardDo LGBTQ+ PR pros think brands will ‘show up' for Pride 2025? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a customer service platform stops thinking like a vendor and starts operating like a partner? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I sit down with Andrew Lawson, EVP and GM for Zendesk Europe, to explore how the company is redefining the future of customer experience through AI, innovation, and a customer-first mindset. Zendesk may be a global name, but its European roots and strategic growth across the continent tell a story of evolution. From its founding in Copenhagen to becoming a powerhouse that supports over 100,000 customers globally, Zendesk has remained focused on one thing: being the best in customer service. Andrew and I unpack how this commitment translates into real-world outcomes, from faster resolution times to dynamic partnerships with top UK brands like Tesco, Next, and Liberty London. One of the standout themes of our discussion is the company's investment in Agentic AI, designed to handle up to 80 percent of customer interactions while leaving high-touch cases to human agents. We also dive into Zendesk's outcome-based pricing model, a shift that aligns success with resolution rather than licenses or agent seats. Andrew offers insights into why this change reflects a broader market expectation for ROI-driven platforms. We also touch on the company's five acquisitions over the last 18 months, including Local Measure, and how these moves strengthen Zendesk's capabilities in the CCAS space and deepen integrations with platforms like AWS Connect. As AI continues to shape customer and employee experiences, the conversation explores not just the technology but also the challenges, especially around execution, platform stability, and cybersecurity. So, what should business leaders be doing right now to balance rapid AI adoption with responsible deployment? How are enterprise expectations evolving in the face of economic pressure and customer demand? And what does it mean to lead in customer service when the rules are changing fast? Tune in to hear Zendesk's perspective from the frontlines of transformation.      

Today we're talking with health and nutrition expert Dr. Stuart Gillespie, author of a new book entitled Food Fight: from Plunder and Profit to People and Planet. Using decades of research and insight gathered from around the world, Dr. Gillespie wants to reimagine our global food system and plot a way forward to a sustainable, equitable, and healthy food future - one where our food system isn't making us sick. Certainly not the case now. Over the course of his career, Dr. Gillespie has worked with the UN Standing Committee on Nutrition in Geneva with UNICEF in India and with the International Food Policy Research Institute, known as IFPRI, where he's led initiatives tackling the double burden of malnutrition and agriculture and health research. He holds a PhD in human nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Interview Summary So, you've really had a global view of the agriculture system, and this is captured in your book. And to give some context to our listeners, in your book, you describe the history of the global food system, how it's evolved into this system, sort of warped, if you will, into a mechanism that creates harm and it destroys more than it produces. That's a pretty bold statement. That it destroys more than it produces, given how much the agriculture around the world does produce. Tell us a bit more if you would. Yes, that statement actually emerged from recent work by the Food Systems Economic Commission. And they costed out the damage or the downstream harms generated by the global food system at around $15 trillion per year, which is 12% of GDP. And that manifests in various ways. Health harms or chronic disease. It also manifests in terms of climate crisis and risks and environmental harms, but also. Poverty of food system workers at the front line, if you like. And it's largely because we have a system that's anachronistic. It's a system that was built in a different time, in a different century for a different purpose. It was really started to come together after the second World War. To mass produce cheap calories to prevent famine, but also through the Green Revolution, as that was picking up with the overproduction of staples to use that strategically through food aid to buffer the West to certain extent from the spread of communism. And over time and over the last 50 years of neoliberal policies we've got a situation where food is less and less viewed as a human right, or a basic need. It's seen as a commodity and the system has become increasingly financialized. And there's a lot of evidence captured by a handful of transnationals, different ones at different points in the system from production to consumption. But in each case, they wield huge amounts of power. And that manifests in various ways. We have, I think a system that's anachronistic The point about it, and the problem we have, is that it's a system revolves around maximizing profit and the most profitable foods and products of those, which are actually the least healthy for us as individuals. And it's not a system that's designed to nourish us. It's a system designed to maximize profit. And we don't have a system that really aims to produce whole foods for people. We have a system that produces raw ingredients for industrial formulations to end up as ultra processed foods. We have a system that produces cattle feed and, and biofuels, and some whole foods. But it, you know, that it's so skewed now, and we see the evidence all around us that it manifests in all sorts of different ways. One in three people on the planet in some way malnourished. We have around 12 million adult deaths a year due to diet related chronic disease. And I followed that from colonial times that, that evolution and the way it operates and the way it moves across the world. And what is especially frightening, I think, is the speed at which this so-called nutrition transition or dietary transition is happening in lower income or middle income countries. We saw this happening over in the US and we saw it happening in the UK where I am. And then in Latin America, and then more Southeast Asia, then South Asia. Now, very much so in Sub-Saharan Africa where there is no regulation really, apart from perhaps South Africa. So that's long answer to your intro question. Let's dive into a couple of things that you brought up. First, the Green Revolution. So that's a term that many of our listeners will know and they'll understand what the Green Revolution is, but not everybody. Would you explain what that was and how it's had these effects throughout the food systems around the world? Yes, I mean around the, let's see, about 1950s, Norman Borlag, who was a crop breeder and his colleagues in Mexico discovered through crop breeding trials, a high yielding dwarf variety. But over time and working with different partners, including well in India as well, with the Swaminathan Foundation. And Swaminathan, for example, managed to perfect these new strains. High yielding varieties that doubled yields for a given acreage of land in terms of staples. And over time, this started to work with rice, with wheat, maize and corn. Very dependent on fertilizers, very dependent on pesticides, herbicides, which we now realize had significant downstream effects in terms of environmental harms. But also, diminishing returns in as much as, you know, that went through its trajectory in terms of maximizing productivity. So, all the Malthusian predictions of population growth out running our ability to feed the planet were shown to not to be true. But it also generated inequity that the richest farmers got very rich, very quickly, the poorer farmers got slightly richer, but that there was this large gap. So, inequity was never really properly dealt with through the Green Revolution in its early days. And that overproduction and the various institutions that were set in place, the manner in which governments backed off any form of regulation for overproduction. They continued to subsidize over production with these very large subsidies upstream, meant that we are in the situation we are now with regard to different products are being used to deal with that excess over production. So, that idea of using petroleum-based inputs to create the foods in the first place. And the large production of single crops has a lot to do with that Green Revolution that goes way back to the 1950s. It's interesting to see what it's become today. It's sort of that original vision multiplied by a billion. And boy, it really does continue to have impacts. You know, it probably was the forerunner to genetically modified foods as well, which I'd like to ask you about in a little bit. But before I do that, you said that much of the world's food supply is governed by a pretty small number of players. So who are these players? If you look at the downstream retail side, you have Nestle, PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, General Mills, Unilever. Collectively around 70% of retail is governed by those companies. If you look upstream in terms of agricultural and agribusiness, you have Cargill, ADM, Louis Dreyfus, and Bunge. These change to a certain extent. What doesn't change very much are the numbers involved that are very, very small and that the size of these corporations is so large that they have immense power. And, so those are the companies that we could talk about what that power looks like and why it's problematic. But the other side of it's here where I am in the UK, we have a similar thing playing out with regard to store bought. Food or products, supermarkets that control 80% as Tesco in the UK, Asta, Sainsbury's, and Morrisons just control. You have Walmart, you have others, and that gives them immense power to drive down the costs that they will pay to producers and also potentially increase the cost that they charge as prices of the products that are sold in these supermarkets. So that profit markup, profit margins are in increased in their favor. They can also move around their tax liabilities around the world because they're transnational. And that's just the economic market and financial side on top of that. And as you know, there's a whole raft of political ways in which they use this power to infiltrate policy, influence policy through what I've called in Chapter 13, the Dark Arts of Policy Interference. Your previous speaker, Murray Carpenter, talked about that with regard to Coca-Cola and that was a very, yeah, great example. But there are many others. In many ways these companies have been brilliant at adapting to the regulatory landscape, to the financial incentives, to the way the agriculture system has become warped. I mean, in some ways they've done the warping, but in a lot of ways, they're adapting to the conditions that allow warping to occur. And because they've invested so heavily, like in manufacturing plants to make high fructose corn syrup or to make biofuels or things like that. It'd be pretty hard for them to undo things, and that's why they lobby so strongly in favor of keeping the status quo. Let me ask you about the issue of power because you write about this in a very compelling way. And you talk about power imbalances in the food system. What does that look like in your mind, and why is it such a big part of the problem? Well, yes. And power manifests in different ways. It operates sometimes covertly, sometimes overtly. It manifests at different levels from, you know, grassroots level, right up to national and international in terms of international trade. But what I've described is the way markets are captured or hyper concentrated. That power that comes with these companies operating almost like a cartel, can be used to affect political or to dampen down, block governments from regulating them through what I call a five deadly Ds: dispute or dispute or doubt, distort, distract, disguise, and dodge. And you've written very well Kelly, with I think Kenneth Warner about the links between big food and big tobacco and the playbook and the realization on the part of Big Tobacco back in the '50s, I think, that they couldn't compete with the emerging evidence of the harms of smoking. They had to secure the science. And that involved effectively buying research or paying for researchers to generate a raft of study shown that smoking wasn't a big deal or problem. And also, public relations committees, et cetera, et cetera. And we see the same happening with big food. Conflicts of interest is a big deal. It needs to be avoided. It can't be managed. And I think a lot of people think it is just a question of disclosure. Disclosure is never enough of conflict of interest, almost never enough. We have, in the UK, we have nine regulatory bodies. Every one of them has been significantly infiltrated by big food, including the most recent one, which has just been designated to help develop a national food stretch in the UK. We've had a new government here and we thought things were changing, beginning to wonder now because big food is on that board or on that committee. And it shouldn't be, you know. It shouldn't be anywhere near the policy table anyway. That's so it's one side is conflict of interest. Distraction: I talk about corporate social responsibility initiatives and the way that they're designed to distract. On the one hand, if you think of a person on a left hand is doing these wonderful small-scale projects, which are high visibility and they're doing good. In and off themselves they're doing good. But they're small scale. Whereas the right hand is a core business, which is generating harm at a much larger scale. And the left hand is designed to distract you from the right hand. So that distraction, those sort of corporate CSR initiatives are a big part of the problem. And then 'Disguise' is, as you know, with the various trade associations and front groups, which acted almost like Trojan horses, in many ways. Because the big food companies are paying up as members of these committees, but they don't get on the program of these international conferences. But the front groups do and the front groups act on in their interests. So that's former disguise or camouflage. The World Business Council on Sustainable Development is in the last few years, has been very active in the space. And they have Philip Morris on there as members, McDonald's and Nestle, Coke, everybody, you know. And they deliberately actually say It's all fine. That we have an open door, which I, I just can't. I don't buy it. And there are others. So, you know, I think these can be really problematic. The other thing I should mention about power and as what we've learned more about, if you go even upstream from the big food companies, and you look at the hedge funds and the asset management firms like Vanguard, state Capital, BlackRock, and the way they've been buying up shares of big food companies and blocking any moves in annual general meetings to increase or improve the healthiness of portfolios. Because they're so powerful in terms of the number of shares they hold to maximize profit for pension funds. So, we started to see the pressure that is being put on big food upstream by the nature of the system, that being financialized, even beyond the companies themselves, you know? You were mentioning that these companies, either directly themselves or through their front organizations or the trade association block important things that might be done in agriculture. Can you think of an example of that? Yes, well actually I did, with some colleagues here in the UK, the Food Foundation, an investigation into corporate lobbying during the previous conservative government. And basically, in the five years after the pandemic, we logged around 1,400 meetings between government ministers and big food. Then we looked at the public interest NGOs and the number of meetings they had over that same period, and it was 35, so it was a 40-fold difference. Oh goodness. Which I was actually surprised because I thought they didn't have to do much because the Tory government was never going to really regulate them anyway. And you look in the register, there is meant to be transparency. There are rules about disclosure of what these lobbying meetings were meant to be for, with whom, for what purpose, what outcome. That's just simply not followed. You get these crazy things being written into the those logs like, 'oh, we had a meeting to discuss business, and that's it.' And we know that at least what happened in the UK, which I'm more familiar with. We had a situation where constantly any small piecemeal attempt to regulate, for example, having a watershed at 9:00 PM so that kids could not see junk food advertised on their screens before 9:00 PM. That simple regulation was delayed, delayed. So, delay is actually another D you know. It is part of it. And that's an example of that. That's a really good example. And you've reminded me of an example where Marian Nestle and I wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times, many years ago, on an effort by the WHO, the World Health Organization to establish a quite reasonable guideline for how much added sugar people should have in their diet. And the sugar industry stepped in in the biggest way possible. And there was a congressional caucus on sugar or something like that in our US Congress and the sugar industry and the other players in the food industry started interacting with them. They put big pressure on the highest levels of the US government to pressure the WHO away from this really quite moderate reasonable sugar standard. And the US ultimately threatened the World Health Organization with taking away its funding just on one thing - sugar. Now, thankfully the WHO didn't back down and ultimately came out with some pretty good guidelines on sugar that have been even stronger over the years. But it was pretty disgraceful. That's in the book that, that story is in the book. I think it was 2004 with the strategy on diet, physical activity. And Tommy Thompson was a health secretary and there were all sorts of shenanigans and stories around that. Yes, that is a very powerful example. It was a crazy power play and disgraceful how our government acted and how the companies acted and all the sort of deceitful ways they did things. And of course, that's happened a million times. And you gave the example of all the discussions in the UK between the food industry and the government people. So, let's get on to something more positive. What can be done? You can see these massive corporate influences, revolving doors in government, a lot of things that would argue for keeping the status quo. So how in the world do you turn things around? Yeah, good question. I really believe, I've talked about a lot of people. I've looked a lot of the evidence. I really believe that we need a systemic sort of structural change and understanding that's not going to happen overnight. But ultimately, I think there's a role for a government, citizens civil society, media, academics, food industry, obviously. And again, it's different between the UK and US and elsewhere in terms of the ability and the potential for change. But governments have to step in and govern. They have to set the guardrails and the parameters. And I talk in the book about four key INs. So, the first one is institutions in which, for example, there's a power to procure healthy food for schools, for hospitals, clinics that is being underutilized. And there's some great stories of individuals. One woman from Kenya who did this on her own and managed to get the government to back it and to scale it up, which is an incredible story. That's institutions. The second IN is incentives, and that's whereby sugar taxes, or even potentially junk food taxes as they have in Columbia now. And reforming the upstream subsidies on production is basically downregulating the harmful side, if you like, of the food system, but also using the potential tax dividend from that side to upregulate benefits via subsidies for low-income families. Rebalancing the system. That's the incentive side. The other side is information, and that involves labeling, maybe following the examples from Latin America with regard to black octagons in Chile and Mexico and Brazil. And dietary guidelines not being conflicted, in terms of conflicts of interest. And actually, that's the fourth IN: interests. So ridding government advisory bodies, guideline committees, of conflicts of interests. Cleaning up lobbying. Great examples in a way that can be done are from Canada and Ireland that we found. That's government. Citizens, and civil society, they can be involved in various ways exposing, opposing malpractice if you like, or harmful action on the part of industry or whoever else, or the non-action on the part of the government. Informing, advocating, building social movements. Lots I think can be learned through activist group in other domains or in other disciplines like HIV, climate. I think we need to make those connections much more. Media. I mean, the other thought is that the media have great, I mean in this country at least, you know, politicians tend to follow the media, or they're frightened of the media. And if the media turned and started doing deep dive stories of corporate shenanigans and you know, stuff that is under the radar, that would make a difference, I think. And then ultimately, I think then our industry starts to respond to different signals or should do or would do. So that in innovation is not just purely technological aimed at maximizing profit. It may be actually social. We need social innovation as well. There's a handful of things. But ultimately, I actually don't think the food system is broken because it is doing the wrong thing for the wrong reason. I think we need to change the system, and I'll say that will take time. It needs a real transformation. One, one last thing to say about that word transformation. Where in meetings I've been in over the last 10 years, so many people invoke food system transformation when they're not really talking about it. They're just talking about tweaking the margins or small, piecemeal ad hoc changes or interventions when we need to kind of press all the buttons or pull all the levers to get the kind of change that we need. And again, as I say, it was going to take some time, but we have to start moving that direction. Do you think there's reason to be hopeful and are there success stories you can point to, to make us feel a little bit better? Yeah, and I like that word, hope. I've just been reading a lot of essays from, actually, Rebecca Solnit has been writing a lot about hope as a warrior emotion. Radical hope, which it's different to optimism. Optimism went, oh, you know, things probably will be okay, but hope you make it. It's like a springboard for action. So I, yes, I'm hopeful and I think there are plenty of examples. Actually, a lot of examples from Latin America of things changing, and I think that's because they've been hit so fast, so hard. And I write in the book about what's happened in the US and UK it's happened over a period of, I don't know, 50, 60 years. But what's happened and is happening in Latin America has happened in just like 15 years. You know, it's so rapid that they've had to respond fast or get their act together quickly. And that's an interesting breed of activist scholars. You know, I think there's an interesting group, and again, if we connect across national boundaries across the world, we can learn a lot from that. There are great success stories coming out Chile from the past that we've seen what's happening in Mexico. Mexico was in a terrible situation after Vicente Fox came in, in the early 2000s when he brought all his Coca-Cola pals in, you know, the classic revolving door. And Mexico's obesity and diabetes went off to scale very quickly. But they're the first country with the sugar tax in 2014. And you see the pressure that was used to build the momentum behind that. Chile, Guido Girardi and the Black Octagon labels with other interventions. Rarely is it just one thing. It has to be a comprehensive across the board as far as possible. So, in Brazil, I think we will see things happening more in, in Thailand and Southeast Asia. We see things beginning to happen in India, South Africa. The obesity in Ghana, for example, changed so rapidly. There are some good people working in Ghana. So, you know, I think a good part of this is actually documenting those kind of stories as, and when they happen and publicizing them, you know. The way you portrayed the concept of hope, I think is a really good one. And when I asked you for some examples of success, what I was expecting you, you might say, well, there was this program and this part of a one country in Africa where they did something. But you're talking about entire countries making changes like Chile and Brazil and Mexico. That makes me very hopeful about the future when you get governments casting aside the influence of industry. At least long enough to enact some of these things that are definitely not in the best interest of industry, these traditional food companies. And that's all, I think, a very positive sign about big scale change. And hopefully what happens in these countries will become contagious in other countries will adopt them and then, you know, eventually they'll find their way to countries like yours and mine. Yes, I agree. That's how I see it. I used to do a lot of work on single, small interventions and do their work do they not work in this small environment. The problem we have is large scale, so we have to be large scale as well. BIO Dr. Stuart Gillespie has been fighting to transform our broken food system for the past 40 years. Stuart is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow in Nutrition, Diets and Health at theInternational Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). He has been at the helm of the IFPRI's Regional Network on AIDs, Livelihoods and Food Security, has led the flagship Agriculture for Nutrition and Health research program, was director of the Transform Nutrition program, and founded the Stories of Change initiative, amongst a host of other interventions into public food policy. His work – the ‘food fight' he has been waging – has driven change across all frontiers, from the grassroots (mothers in markets, village revolutionaries) to the political (corporate behemoths, governance). He holds a PhD in Human Nutrition from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 

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Anne and Chris deliver lightning-fast takes on the week's quirkiest retail headlines, covering everything from Tesco's 90s nightclub pop-up to Uber's senior-friendly app features. The segment showcases their signature blend of retail expertise and entertainment while broadcasting live from Amsterdam's Consumer Goods Forum. Special thanks to the A&M Consumer and Retail Group, Simbe, Mirakl, Ocampo Capital, Infios, and ClearDemand for sponsoring this week's segment. For the full epsisode, head here https://youtu.be/7Xn7tNqtskk #lightninground #retailnews #TescoNightclub #UberSeniors #auntieannes #genz #Amsterdam #dutchfood #retailpodcast #ConsumerGoodsForum #90snostalgia #AccessibilityTech #MallFood #retailstrategy #omnitalkretail

President Trump signs the Take It Down Act into law. A UK grocer logistics firm gets hit by ransomware. Researchers discover trojanized versions of the KeePass password manager. Researchers from CISA and NIST promote a new metric to better predict actively exploited software flaws. A new campaign uses SEO poisoning to deliver Bumblebee malware. A sophisticated phishing campaign is impersonating Zoom meeting invites to steal user credentials. CISA has added six actively exploited vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) Catalog. A bipartisan bill aims to strengthen the shrinking federal cybersecurity workforce. Our guest is Chris Novak, Vice President of Global Cybersecurity Solutions at Verizon, sharing insights on their 2025 DBIR. DOGE downsizes, and the UAE recruits. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our daily intelligence roundup, Daily Briefing, and you'll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow CyberWire Daily on LinkedIn. CyberWire Guest Today we are joined by Chris Novak, Vice President of Global Cybersecurity Solutions at Verizon, sharing insights on their 2025 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR).Selected Reading Trump signs the Take It Down Act into law |(The Verge) Supplier to Tesco, Aldi and Lidl hit with ransomware (Computing) Fake KeePass password manager leads to ESXi ransomware attack (Bleeping Computer) Vulnerability Exploitation Probability Metric Proposed by NIST, CISA Researchers (Security Week) Threat Actors Deliver Bumblebee Malware Poisoning Bing SEO (Cybersecurity News) New Phishing Attack Poses as Zoom Meeting Invites to Steal Login Credentials (GB Hackers) CISA Adds Six Known Exploited Vulnerabilities to Catalog (CISA) Federal cyber workforce training institute eyed in bipartisan House bill (CyberScoop) UAE Recruiting US Personnel Displaced by DOGE to Work on AI for its Military (Zetter Sero Day) Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most influential leaders and operators in the industry. Here's our media kit. Contact us at cyberwire@n2k.com to request more info. The CyberWire is a production of N2K Networks, your source for strategic workforce intelligence. © N2K Networks, Inc. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices