5 things: Walgreens private label — gone viral

Some good news for Walgreens: Walgreens appears to be having a moment with TikTok users over the last few weeks as its private label brand of mango gummies has gone viral on the mobile site. The Nice! brand Gummy Mango peelable candy sales were seven times higher than normal around the end of January due to a post from TikTok influencer trinhdoesthings, who has 1.4 million followers. As of Feb. 9, the minute-long video had received more than 690,000 likes on the platform. Walgreens made a blog post about the phenomenon, speculating that the low price – a bag only costs $1.79 – and the colorful packaging are the secret sauce to the product’s success. The product has been so popular, Walgreens has been struggling to keep up with demand for the peelable mango treats. The company said it has “been working nonstop to get more of both the mango and pineapple gummy candies in stock at Walgreens stores across the country.” —Tim Inklebarger

The ‘Dear Abby’ of pharmacy: Another Walgreeens item: Walgreens is bringing together the deans of 17 colleges of pharmacy around the nation in an advisory council to share ideas about how to both increase the number of pharmacists as well as get them excited about working at Walgreens drug stores, Crain’s Chicago Business reports. The council comes at a time when demand for pharmacy services is increasing and the industry “is facing a pronounced labor shortage,” according to the Deerfield-based retailer. And it’s not just Walgreens who’s struggling in this regard. CVS, Rite Aid — pay attention. —Chloe Riley

In case of emergency: The end is near! Well, it is if you’re shopping at Costco. The warehouse retailer has been stocking its shelves lately with “emergency meals.” Each box comes with ingredients for beef stroganoff, scrambled eggs, chicken and dumplings, lasagna, and granola. TikTok user Charmingly Frugal alerted all of social media to the “new” item. Apparently, she bases her whole TikTok existence on talking about the end of days — so Costco’s new product is right up her alley. Of course, as soon as her video hit social, people began to freak out in the comments. “Emergency food? What’s going on?” said one poster. But don’t start digging out that shelter just yet. Costco has been selling these types of kits for years now. My big question is — who gets to determine what kind of meals constitute end of days meals? Anything that comes with some kind of vegetable dish will be the end for me. —Bill Wilson

Work for little pay: Back in my day, I made 52 cents per delivery as a Spark delivery driver…AND I had to walk in a blizzard uphill for two miles! Thankfully, that laughable delivery fee was due to a temporary Walmart app glitch. A Walmart spokesperson told Business Insider that there was a temporary issue that affected drivers in a particular area, which resulted in some drivers receiving an inaccurate offer amount for deliveries. The problem was reportedly fixed immediately. But, in a separate issue, Business Insider also heard from some Spark workers that it has been harder to nab good-paying offers. The reason seems to be that there are fewer orders to claim and the world just has too many delivery drivers. As the old saying goes, people with low-paying gigs are “working for peanuts.” And in our current age of inflation, I doubt 52 cents even gets you that. —BW

Walmart vs. Snoop Dogg: The year 2023 marked gangsta rap and breakfast cereal coming together as one, but consumers probably missed out on hip-hop icon Snoop Dogg’s newest branded product. That’s because Snoop Dogg and his business partner Master P say Post Consumer Brands conspired with Walmart to keep Snoop Cereal off the shelves. The Guardian reports that Snoop and Master P allege that Post Consumer Brands tried to push the cereal out of the market after the two hip-hop singers refused to sell the brand to them. The rappers claim that the cereal was “kept hidden in stockrooms” and not allowed to go out on the store shelves. In a video, Master P said: “We are building a family brand. Dr. Martin Luther King showed us how to dream, fought racism and guess what? We’re doing the same in corporate America for equal rights for everybody.” —TI