News Briefs

A direct-to-consumer meal delivery platform is extending its business beyond its New England roots.

Feast & Fettle, a premium prepared meal delivery service based in Rhode Island and operating in New England, is now expanding into the Mid-Atlantic region. The company is launching delivery service across Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Northern Virginia.

Specifically, Feast & Fettle is serving customers in Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun, Montgomery, Prince George's, Anne Arundel, and Howard Counties metro areas. As part of the expansion, the company is opening a new Howard County, Maryland production hub that will support production and distribution across the District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia region.

This marks the company’s first geographic expansion of operations. Feast & Fettle is fully vertically integrated, controlling sourcing, cooking, packaging, and last-mile delivery in-house. The company also operates a hub in Rhode Island and opened its first physical store, known as "Neighborhood Fridge," in that state in 2023 but later closed it.

"There's constant pressure in this industry to grow faster than the fundamentals allow," said Carlos Ventura, CEO of Feast & Fettle. "We waited until the model was proven, repeatable and profitable."

In fall 2024, during the federal government shutdown, Feast & Fettle partnered with the Howard County Food Bank and Arlington Thrives non-profits to provide fully prepared meals to furloughed federal workers. 

[READ MORE: Consumer sentiment falls to near-record low over government shutdown concerns]

When SNAP benefit reductions followed, the company worked with Bread for the City and the DC Food Project non-profits to support households in the facing food insecurity District of Columbia-Maryland-Virginia region. These efforts took place prior to the company accepting its first paying member in the area.

Feast & Fettle anticipates creating hundreds of jobs over the coming years and enabling continued, sustainable expansion along the East Coast. 

Kendra Scott Design Inc. has named its next chief executive.

Chris Blakeslee will take over as CEO of the jewelry and lifestyle brand effective Jan. 12. He succeeds company founder Kendra Scott, who has served in the role in an interim basis since the departure of Tom Nolan in August. (Nolan, an 11-year company veteran, had served as CEO since 2021.) Scott will continue in her role as "chief visionary officer," executive chairwoman and majority shareholder.

Blakeslee joins Kendra Scott from Gap Inc.-owned women’s athleticwear brand Athleta, where he served as president and CEO before stepping down in August 2025. Blakeslee had led the brand since August 2023.

Prior to Athleta, Blakeslee served as president of athleticwear brand Alo Yoga and its sister company, wholesale apparel brand Bella+Canvas, for six years, from 2017 to 2023. At Alo Yoga, he partnered closely with the co-founders to scale the brand from under $50 million to a $1 billion-plus brand in less than five years.

Before Blakeslee, he held several senior positions at Broder Brothers (now Alphabroder), a wholesale distributor of branded products and services

"Chris understands our customer-first mission, and I'm excited to see him lead with purpose – driving strategic growth and deepening brand affinity," said Scott. "His forward-looking vision strengthens our holistic brand world, where product, environment, community and culture work seamlessly together. Chris honors my vision while adding a dynamic perspective, making him the ideal steward for our next phase of growth."

[READ MORE: EXCLUSIVE Q&A: How Kendra Scott uses AI to personalize gifting, shopping]

Blakeslee takes the reins of Kendra Scott as the brand has expanded beyond its core jewelry roots into such categories as apparel, hats, boots, home accessories and more. In 2023, the company debuted a new, Western-inspired retail concept, Yellow Rose By Kendra Scott, in Texas. It has since expanded the format, opening a flagship in the company's hometown of Austin, Texas.

"I have not encountered a brand with deeper consumer connection and loyalty – so authentically rooted in genuine brand love,” said Blakeslee. “This powerful foundation provides an extraordinary platform for expansive growth, and I am deeply honored and excited to join as CEO.”

Founded in 2002, Kendra Scott LLC operates more than 165 namesake experiential stores and pop-up locations. Its products are also available through wholesale partners, including Nordstrom and Dillard's, and at more than 1,000 specialty boutiques. 

[READ MORE: Best Buy integrates marketplace with Rithum network]

"Retailers like Lane Bryant are redefining what agility looks like in today’s commerce landscape," said Blaine Nielsen, president of retailers division at Rithum. "With Rithum, it is building a foundation that offers faster assortment expansion, deeper brand collaboration, and ultimately, a better customer experience."

Consumers in the U.S. and U.K. have come to expect fast delivery.

Nearly two-thirds (65%) of U.S. consumers say two to three days should be the standard for online orders, while more than 80% of U.K. consumers expect delivery within four days, according to a new survey from logistics technology company Locus. The overwhelming majority (93%) of U.S. consumers say a company’s delivery performance directly impacts their overall view of a brand.

Overall, consumers in both countries are skeptical of fast delivery promises. Fewer than one-in-10 consumers in both the U.S. (9%) and U.K. (7%) believe retailers always meet fast or guaranteed delivery commitments. More than half (51%) of U.S. shoppers said they expected holiday shipping to be as fast or faster than normal, signaling limited tolerance for seasonal delays.

A wide majority (93%) of U.S. consumers say proactive updates help offset the negative experience of late deliveries. Ninety-four percent of U.K. consumers ranked false “delivered” notifications as the most frustrating delivery experience, while in the U.S., missed delivery windows (21%) ranked as the top last-mile complaint.

[READ MORE: The cities where consumers are most likely to make returns are…]

“For years, the industry has focused on speed as the ultimate goal,” said Nishith Rastogi, founder and CEO of Locus. “While our data shows speed remains important to consumers, the real challenge is reliability at scale. When deliveries fail, the cost isn’t just customer frustration; it’s reattempts, extra miles and avoidable waste across the network. Brands that set realistic expectations and keep customers informed will earn more trust than those that simply promise faster delivery, while running more efficient delivery operations overall.”

Locus’ survey was conducted among 1,000 U.S. and 2,000 U.K. shoppers in November 2025. U.S. responses were collected by Dynata and U.K. responses were collected by Censuswide.

A new survey sheds light on evolving trends in how shoppers interact with retailers using their mobile devices.

Almost eight-in-10 (78%) mobile-centric consumers say they have made a direct purchase from a brand’s SMS or MMS text message, up from 75% in 2025. The ninth-annual Mobile Consumer Insights study from mobile engagement platform Vibes also indicates 65% of respondents have made this type of purchase within the past year.

For the first time in the nine years Vibes has been conducting this annual survey, respondents prefer redeeming offers via text message more than email and apps. A leading 41% prefer text, 39% email, and only 20% via a brand’s mobile app.

Vibes’ survey also reveals sharp growth in consumer use of mobile wallets for coupons, offers and loyalty cards. Three-quarters (76%) of respondents say they are “much more likely” to engage with brands that provide a mobile wallet option for offers & coupons, up roughly 27% from 60% in 2025. 

Three-in-four respondents also said they are much more likely to engage with a brand that offers a mobile wallet loyalty card, up 24% year-over-year from 57%. In addition, 81% of respondents prefer RCS messaging (rich communications services – a modern texting protocol that supports multimedia content such as high-quality image and video) over traditional SMS messaging.

[READ MORE: How effective are mobile offers?]

"These results tell us that the shift away from mobile apps for transactions is accelerating," said Alex Campbell, Vibes co-founder & CIO. "RCS will only accelerate this faster. Any brand that uses messaging will be well-positioned to shift their focus away from their app, and into the surging RCS messaging and mobile wallet channels."

Vibes surveyed more than 1,100 mobile-centric consumers.

A fast-growing drive-thru coffee chain nearly doubled its footprint in 2025, reaching a store count milestone and debuting a new format.

Arkansas-based 7 Brew ended 2025 with than 600 locations across 38 states, up from 321 outposts at the start of the year, and up from only 14 "stands" in 2019. It started with a single location in Rogers, Ark., in 2017.

In addition to expansion, 7 Brew debuted its first walk-thru location this year, inside a Walmart in Springdale, Ark. It was followed by a walk-thru location at The Ohio State University, which marked its college town debut.  7 Brew says that with the new locations, it hopes to capture new customers in a “fresh format.”

"This has been a monumental year of growth for 7 Brew and it’s a true testament to the one-of-a-kind experience that our customers love," said Chris Dawson, president of 7 Brew. "In one year, we’ve nearly doubled our stand count across the U.S., and we look forward to building upon that momentum even further. With continued expansion, we also remain committed to operational excellence and organizational strength, and are proud of the top-tier talent we’ve welcomed to our executive leadership team this year.”

[READ MORE: 7 Brew taps RBI veteran as CFO]

Founded in 2017, 7 Brew serves espresso-based coffee, Chillers, tea, infused 7 Energy, 7 Fizz Sodas and more. Customers can select from more than 20,000 possible drink variations from the brand’s list of flavored syrups, sweet sauces, milk alternatives and other ingredients.