The world’s biggest fast-food chain is going big in a quest for cold drink supremacy. 

What happened: McDonald's is launching a new restaurant concept called CosMc’s, a grab-and-go-style spin-off that will directly compete with the cold drink offerings at Starbucks, including menu items like churro frappes, pear slushies, and turmeric spiced lattes.

Who doesn’t love throwin’ up their feet and crackin’ open an ice-cold beer? 

Turns out, a growing segment of the population.

Driving the news: Alcohol giant Diageo is looking to exit the ice-cold—and not in a good way—beer biz, with plans to divest all of its beer brands except Guinness, per Axios. 

The world's largest retailer is banking on a holiday season staple to boost sales: the cheesy holiday rom-com.

Driving the news: Walmart has launched a 23-part shoppable rom-com TV series called Add to Heart (get it, like ‘add to cart’) as part of its push to reach younger consumers. The format allows viewers to buy the clothes, decor, and furniture that is seen on the show.

Like a gym bro about to tackle leg day, food companies are all in on protein. 

Driving the news: As weight-loss drugs like Ozempic become more popular, some of the world’s biggest food companies are beginning to steer into the skid with products that can accompany the drugs or, in some cases, replace them, per The Wall Street Journal.

With consumers starting to lean into burger options that are less… let’s say, mushy, McDonald’s is revamping its classic road trip staple. 

Driving the news: After seven years of testing, McDonald’s is making over 50 changes to its signature hamburgers, including the infamous Big Mac, as the world’s biggest fast-food chain tries to keep pace in the booming burger business, per The Wall Street Journal. 

Bank earnings season started not with a bang, but a whimper—one that could be sustained into 2024.

What happened: Scotiabank was the first of Canada’s Big Six banks to report earnings, missing profit estimates after setting aside a more-than-expected ~$1.3 billion to cover potential bad loans—a sign of what’s to come for other big banks later this week. 

Windsor’s new electric vehicle (EV) battery plant promised a plethora of jobs for Canadian workers, but that may have been a tad overhyped. 

Driving the news: The hiring of 900 temporary foreign workers at Stellantis-LG’s NextStar EV battery plant—which prompted a political brouhaha—will cost Canadian workers and contractors ~$300 million in lost wages, per the leader of Canada’s Building Trades Unions. 

Shoppers don’t need to wait for their credit card statements to know how much they splurged this year, with new Shopify data spilling all the details… 

What happened: Shopify merchants processed $4.1 billion in sales over Black Friday weekend this year, a 22% jump from last year—a spending surge that surprised analysts and delighted retailers who had low expectations for the holiday shopping season.

On this week’s episode of Free Lunch by The Peak, Jennifer Quaid returned to inform us further about Canada’s competition laws, how they work, and how they’re going to change.

Hanging out with a fancy group of friends and don’t know what to talk about? As if they prefer Epic or Ikon, and watch the ensuing debate light up the room. 

Driving the news: Ski resort conglomerates across Canada and the U.S. are turning to a subscription model (tell us if you’ve heard this before) to lock skiers and snowboarders into their networks — which means selling as many season passes as possible, per The WSJ.