New line: Baton Rouge-based Community Coffee today announced it has launched a new product line, releasing a grab-and-go iced latte in two flavors—mocha white chocolate and vanilla waffle cone—that will be for sale online and in select stores across the South. Ready-to-drink coffees like these are the fastest-growing category in coffee and will represent 29% of the consumer coffee market by 2025, according to the Mintel U.S. Coffee Report 2020. See the announcement.
GDP drops: The U.S. economy shrank last quarter for the first time since the pandemic recession struck two years ago, contracting at a 1.4% annual rate, but consumers and businesses kept spending in a sign of underlying resilience. The weak showing does not mean a recession is likely in the coming months. Most economists expect a rebound in the April-June quarter as solid hiring and wage gains sustain growth. Read more.
House approval: A constitutional amendment to spell out how Louisiana spends future federal alternative energy revenues from the Outer Continental Shelf was approved by the House. Members voted 94-3 to approve House Bill 636, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Orgeron, R-Larose, to amend the state constitution to direct federal revenues for energy production from wind, solar, tidal, wave, geothermal “and other alternative or renewable energy production or sources.” The Center Square has the full story.
