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Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz says the company’s leaders should spend more time in stores and focus on coffee drinks as they work to turn around flagging sales.

In a LinkedIn post, Schultz said many people had reached out to him after Starbucks reported weaker-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings.

The Seattle coffee giant said revenue dropped 2% in the January-March period as store traffic slowed around the world. It was the first time since 2020 that the company saw a drop in quarterly revenue. Starbucks also lowered its sales and earnings guidance for its full fiscal year.

Schultz, who bought Starbucks in 1987, is credited with growing the company into the global behemoth it has become with nearly 39,000 stores worldwide. He has been the chairman emeritus of the company since last fall when he stepped down from Starbucks’ board.

In his post, Schultz said senior leaders—including board members—need to spend more time talking to baristas in the company’s stores. “The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant. The answer does not lie in data but in the stores,” he said.

Laxman Narasimhan, who became Starbucks’ CEO last spring, has been working a half-day shift in Starbucks stores once a month.

At some points in his post, Schultz seemed to be questioning Narasimhan’s turnaround plans. In a conference call with investors, Narasimhan mentioned several new products he thinks will drive customers to stores later this year, including boba drinks, sugar-free options, and the brand’s first energy beverage.

But Schultz said coffee is what differentiates Starbucks and reinforces the company’s premium positioning.

Narasimhan did announce plans for coffee pop-up stores in the U.S. and elsewhere last month. Starbucks plans to use the stores to experiment with limited-edition coffee drinks, teach younger customers about coffee, and learn about customers’ preferences.

Schultz also said the company should update its mobile ordering and payment platform to “once again make it the uplifting experience it was designed to be.” Narasimhan said last fall that Starbucks is accelerating the introduction of new digital features and trying to personalize the customer experience within its app.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Spicy, steaming, slurpy ramen may be everyone’s favorite Japanese food. In Tokyo, long lines circle around blocks, and waiting an hour for your favorite ramen is normal. Ramen has also surged in popularity in the U.S., South Korea, and other countries in the past 15 years or so.

Menus at the top 500 U.S. restaurant chains have 6% more mentions of ramen than they did a year ago, according to Technomic, a research and consulting company for the restaurant industry.

Technomic is also starting to see more versions of ramen beyond the traditional soup. Del Taco, a Mexican chain, recently introduced Shredded Beef Birria Ramen, for example. “There’s all kinds of different ramen styles today,” says Frank Striegl, a Filipino American who grew up in Tokyo. “Even wacky ramen on the tour, for example, there’s pork bone ramen with pesto.”

“Noodles and soup around the world is consumed in so many different countries,” says Striegl. “I think because of that, it’s a dish that’s easy to understand. It’s a dish that’s easy to get behind.”

Katie Sell, a graduate student taking part in Striegl’s tour, says ramen is different from the American food she grew up with. “It’s so soothing and so warm and it’s got such depth of flavor [...] that doesn't often pop up in the other food that I eat,” she says.

While ramen has never been more popular in Japan, ramen places have struggled because of the pandemic, the weakening Japanese yen, and the higher cost of wheat imports and energy, according to a study by Tokyo Shoko Research.

One beneficiary of the pandemic is a home delivery service for frozen, professionally-cooked ramen. Called takumen.com, it boasts some 500,000 subscribers in Japan.

Another Tokyo operation, Gourmet Innovation, has signed on 250 of Japan's top ramen joints to sell packaged versions of their soup, noodles and toppings, which can be heated up in boiling water and served at home.

Co-founder and executive Kenichi Nomaguchi hopes to expand his business overseas. Unlike pasta or curry, ramen is difficult to replicate at home, says Nomaguchi.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Thousands of negotiators and observers representing most of the world’s nations gathered in Ottawa to craft a treaty to end the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution.

The scale of the plastics problem is daunting, but not for the volunteers collecting waste on a Cape Town beach.

Cleanup on this scale may be considered a drop in the oceans of plastic, but here it's the message that counts as thousands of delegates representing scores of countries arrive for the International Plastics Negotiations in Ottawa, Canada, last month.

The aim is to craft a treaty to stop the rapidly escalating problem of plastic pollution, but no one expected that to happen in April, the UN has set the deadline for this towards the end of this year.

In March 2022, 175 nations agreed to make the first legally binding treaty on plastic pollution, including in the oceans, by the end of 2024.

Each day, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the world’s oceans, rivers and lakes, according to the United Nations Environment Programme. People are increasingly breathing, eating and drinking tiny plastic particles.

Negotiators must streamline the existing treaty draft and decide its scope: whether it will focus on human health and the environment, whether it will limit the actual production of plastic, and whether it will restrict some chemicals used in plastics.

These are elements that a self-named “high-ambition coalition” of countries wants to see.

Alternatively, the agreement could have a more limited scope and focus on plastic waste and greater recycling, as some of the plastic-producing and oil and gas exporters want. It’s an extremely short timeline for negotiations, meant to match the urgency of the problem.

This is the fourth of five meetings of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastic Pollution. Plastic production continues to ramp up globally and is projected to double or triple by 2050 if nothing changes.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

The Biden administration issued final rules to require airlines to automatically issue cash refunds for things like delayed flights and to better disclose fees for baggage or canceling a reservation.

The Transportation Department said airlines will be required to provide automatic cash refunds within a few days for canceled flights and “significant” delays.

Under current regulations, airlines decide how long a delay must last before triggering refunds. The administration is removing that wiggle room by defining a significant delay as lasting at least three hours for domestic flights and six hours for international ones.

Airlines still will be allowed to offer another flight or a travel credit instead, but consumers can reject the offer.

The rule will also apply to refunds of checked-bag fees if the bag isn’t delivered within 12 hours for domestic flights or 15 to 30 hours for international flights. And it will also apply to fees for things such as seat selection or an internet connection if the airline fails to provide the service.

Complaints about refunds skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, as airlines canceled flights and, even when they didn’t, many people didn’t feel safe sharing a plane cabin with other passengers. 

Airlines for America, a trade group for large U.S. carriers, noted that refund complaints to the Transportation Department have fallen sharply since mid-2020. A spokesperson for the group said airlines “offer a range of options—including fully refundable fares—to increase accessibility to air travel and to help customers make ticket selections that best fit their needs.”

The Transportation Department issued a separate rule requiring airlines and ticket agents to disclose upfront what they charge for checked and carry-on bags and canceling or changing a reservation. On airline websites, the fees must be shown the first time customers see a price and schedule.

The rule will also oblige airlines to tell passengers they have a guaranteed seat they are not required to pay extra for, although it does not bar airlines from charging people to choose specific seats. Many airlines now charge extra for certain spots, including exit-row seats and those near the front of the cabin.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Day-trippers to the fabled canal city of Venice who failed to pay 5 euros ($5.43) to enter the lagoon city’s historic center during a time-limited pilot program launched in April faced fines starting at 10 times the entrance fee.

Venice has launched the long-discussed day-tripper fee after the city escaped being placed on the U.N. agency’s list of endangered heritage sites, due largely to the impact of overtourism.

Officials have avoided calling it a tax, opting for softer words like access fee, and have downplayed the possibility of waits to enter the city, emphasizing there will be no turnstiles or physical barriers.

Venice has long suffered under the pressure of overtourism, but officials say pre-pandemic estimates ranging from 25 million to 30 million visitors a year—including day-trippers—are not reliable and that the pilot project also aims to come up with more exact figures to help better manage the phenomenon.

Visitors arriving at the main train and bus stations are first met by stewards who remind tourists of the new requirement and help anyone who hasn’t yet downloaded the QR code. Payment points are set up for anyone without a smartphone.

Officials have emphasized that the program aims to reduce crowds on peak days, encourage longer visits and improve the quality of life for residents. The fee is not required for anyone staying in Venice, including the mainland districts of Marghera and Mestre.

Activists sounded a warning last summer when the number of tourist beds officially overtook the number of residents, which has dwindled to under 50,000 in a trend dating back decades.

They said the imbalance drains the city of services, clogging its tight alleyways and water buses with suitcase-toting tourists and pushing residents to the mainland with its conveniences.

Tommaso Cacciari, a local resident who organized a protest on the same day of the beginning of the access fee, maintains that the tax will not improve the depopulation trend and only a serious social housing policy can keep Venice a genuine city rather than an amusement park.

This article was provided by The Associated Press.

New York City residents may soon see warning labels next to sugary foods and drinks in chain restaurants and coffee shops, under a law set to go into effect later this year.

The rule requires food businesses with 15 storefronts or more to post a warning icon—a black and white spoon loaded with sugar—next to menu items containing at least 50 grams of added sugar.

Businesses will also have to post the following written label to accompany the logo: "Warning: indicates that the added sugar content of this item is higher than the total daily recommended limit of added sugar for a 2,000 calorie diet (50g). Eating too many added sugars can contribute to type 2 diabetes and weight gain."

The city's health department posted its proposed rule language and set a public hearing for late May. City officials and Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, approved the law last year. The rule is scheduled to go into effect June 19 for prepackaged food items and Dec. 1 for other items.

Asked about the policy in a 1010 WINS radio interview, Adams said, "We have an obligation and responsibility as a city, not only to react to the healthcare crisis but to be proactive to prevent some of the healthcare issues. Sugar is one of the leading causes of health-related items and issues and diseases."

"I say over and over again in my personal journey of health, "Food is medicine," said Adams, a self-styled healthy eater who has claimed to be vegan but admitted he sometimes eats fish. 

The incoming rule isn't a New York City mayor's first foray into public health policy. Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg got artificial trans fat banned from chain restaurants and required chains to post calorie counts on menus. He also banned smoking indoors at restaurants and bars. Bill de Blasio, the mayor before Adams, pushed a rule to notify customers of high sodium in foods.

Critics of such regulations have long argued that officials are turning the city into a "nanny state."

This article was provided by The Associated Press.