In our last episode, Jenny and guest host Craig Giammona explored how technology could shape the grocery industry's future. This week, Jenny and Lindsey look at what the biggest grocers are doing to stay on top -- and discover it has a lot to do with produce. As part of its plan to fight off competition, Wal-Mart, the world's biggest grocer, joined forces with an agriculture giant to design a new, sweeter cantaloupe. If the new melon is a success, it could set the stage for a makeover of the...

For decades, the experience of buying groceries has remained much the same — and stayed largely immune to tech disruption. But that may be about to change. Amazon's bid for Whole Foods shows that it's determined to revolutionize the way Americans buy their groceries. Jenny and guest host Craig Giammona talk with grocery experts about how stores are already changing — and the challenge that Amazon faces in charting a new future for the industry.

She's been called a role model -- but also creepy and superficial. So who is the real Barbie? Matt Townsend looked into an 58-year-old toy that's become much, much more than a mere plaything. He and Lindsey trace the life and times of this 11-and-a-half inch doll -- from her Eisenhower-era debut  her stumbles (who knew she struggled to compete with Britney Spears?) and what Mattel is doing now to revive her.

When you think innovation, Big Tobacco probably doesn't spring to mind. But Philip Morris International alone has spent more than $3 billion trying to create new products and push towards a “Smoke-Free Future.” Jenny and Lindsey dig into the tobacco industry's race to move beyond cigarettes and towards potentially better-for-you products. Philip Morris veteran Tony Snyder, talks about how the largest publicly-traded tobacco company in the world says its turning away from its core product;...

From the success of Coachella to the cataclysm that was Fyre, music festivals are omnipresent these days, drawing colossal crowds and clogging Instagram feeds. But it isn't just partiers who have caught the festival bug -- consumer product companies want in, too. This week on Material World, Jenny and Lindsey examine how and why these gatherings have become the ultimate millennial experience and marketing mecca. They talk with executives from Live Nation, Heineken, and The Infatuation to get...

The beauty industry is on fire, thanks in large part to technology. Prestige beauty sales in the United States grew 6 percent to $15.9 billion in the year ending in February, according to the research firm NPD Group. Makeup alone rose 11 percent to $7.3 billion. Lindsey and Jenny talk to lifestyle website Goop and makeup brand Glossier about how the prevalence of social media and online shopping are driving some of these sales figures. Industry investor TSG Consumer Partners, with $5 billion...

Americans love what they wear -- until it's time to throw it away. Each year, we generate 21 billion pounds of discarded clothing, amounting to 70 pounds per person. Now, as the world finally begins to address climate change, is there a business case for the fashion industry to invest in sustainability? Lindsey and Jenny talk brands including H&M, Levi Strauss and Timberland about what they're doing to make their products more green. With apparel at the beginning of its transformation,...

As legalized pot becomes more widely available, the race is on for brands to become household names. One in five American adults now lives in a place where he or she can smoke, eat, drink, vape or otherwise ingest cannabis as they please. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau laid out plans last week for the country to become the first Group of Seven nation to legalize it nationally. As the product moves out of the black market, cannabis is getting a makeover. Jenny and Lindsey dive into...

Food and beverage companies have long used buzzwords like "natural" and "healthy" to get shoppers' attention, a battle that's intensified now that foodie culture has gone mainstream. Whether it's organic, gluten-free or non-GMO, consumers are demanding more information about what's inside the stuff they eat and drink. And that, in turn, is forcing companies to navigate an antiquated and confusing regulatory system. Jenny and guest host Craig Giammona examine how the demand for information...

The man who helped turn Fireball whisky into a shot sensation is at it again, this time with ghost-pepper infused tequila. Recording a day in the life, Material World follows him around to find out exactly what it takes to make a liquor brand go viral. How do bars come by their selection of alcohol? Jenny heads to Boston to interview Ghost Tequila's founders, bar owners and tequila drinkers -- and to suss out if this startup spirits company can disrupt a giant industry.

Jenny and Lindsey explore what Trump's campaign to revive domestic manufacturing means at the mall. Some companies, including Knot Standard, the custom suit-maker that dressed the younger male Trumps for the inauguration, say the U.S. doesn't have the technological infrastructure or employee knowhow to get the job done. Others, such as hoodie-maker American Giant, say that's baloney. Either way, after a decade of plummeting prices, shoppers may need to prepare themselves to spend more on the...

Immortality may remain forever the stuff of science fiction, but our ability to live long and prosper is finally within reach -- if a select group of so-called biohackers can be believed. Take Bulletproof founder Dave Asprey, so committed to the lifestyle that he plans to live to the age of 180. Or consider Jim Fadiman, who studies the benefits of microdosing on psychedelic drugs such as LSD and says small changes can have big benefits. They're just two of the scores of experts, professionals...

Material World is taking a look at the basics -- underwear. Technology and innovation has infiltrated the rest of your closet. Now, entrepreneurs say it's time to upgrade your underwear drawer. There's plenty to pick from: The global men's underwear market is expected to expand to $11 billion in 2020 from $8.4 billion in 2015, according to Persistence Market Research. That 31 percent jump dwarfs the expected 14 percent growth in the overall men's apparel market to $33 billion in 2020,...

This year was full of surprises -- Brangelina called it quits, the U.K. voted to leave the European Union and Donald Trump became the next president of the United States. It's hard to predict what lies ahead in 2017. Jenny and Lindsey are joined by others on Bloomberg News's consumer team to do just that. They discuss what retail might look like next year. Skinny pants, beards and progressive advertising themes could be out. Shoulder-pads, fast food and sugar may be in. The team tries its...

The holidays are upon us, and with them a shopping season that can make or break a struggling retailer. Yet bankruptcy doesn't always mean the end. Many struggling chains linger well past their expiration dates and others find second lives under new ownership. The deciding factor is the strength of the brand. Join us as Lindsey and Jenny explain the bankruptcy process -- and why some brands survive while others don't. Jamie Salter tells us why he bought Aeropostale, the teen apparel chain,...

This time of year feels like a continuous feast. With pumpkin spice lattes and apple pie and holiday cookies at every turn, Americans are constantly confronted by sugar. More than half of the nation's people are trying to eat less sugar -- and some are trying to quit altogether. So why is it so hard to tame that sweet tooth? Jenny and Lindsey dig into the ingredients that keep us chomping long past our necessary caloric intake: sugar, salt and fat. Jacqueline Raposo, a food writer and host...

The holiday season is almost upon us. But these days it feels as if we're always celebrating. When it's not Halloween or Thanksgiving or Christmas, it's Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, National Margarita Day, National Siblings Day or National Pet Day. Companies have even created their own corporate holidays to get in on the action, such as Black Friday or Amazon Prime Day. This week, Jenny and Lindsey dig into a phenomenon they call celebration inflation. People may be skipping the mall...

Celebrities, they're just like us! Or rather, marketers have long relied on the fact that we want to be just like them. Slapping a famous name and image on to products has been a sales tactic for more than a century. But consumers's thirst for authenticity and attachment to social media have changed the ways that fame can be used. Join us as Jenny and Lindsey dive into the world of celebrity to find out why the relationship between companies and stars increasingly revolves around...

Cats and dogs have never had it so good. Hosts Lindsey Rupp and Jenny Kaplan explore the $63 billion U.S. pet industry. As Americans wait longer to have kids, they're spending more on their furry relatives instead, from pet insurance and premium diets to Halloween costumes. To break down the changes in the industry and find out if all this money actually makes a difference to our speechless friends, our hosts talk with celebrity chef Rachael Ray, who launched her own pet-food line called...

Hosts Lindsey Rupp and Jenny Kaplan are talking patriotic marketing. In an Olympic and election year, consumers have been overwhelmed with red, white and blue. Budweiser actually branded its iconic beer "America" during the summer. Do these ploys attract buyers? What about items that are made in America? For more insight the hosts talk with Wrangler Jeans, Bloomberg reporter Shannon Pettypiece on Wal-Mart and Budweiser.

Having a baby costs more than ever. The average American parents will pay about $245,000 to raise a child born in 2013 through the age of 18 -- and that's just for basics! It isn't just higher costs that are changing the business of raising babies, industry experts tell Jenny and Lindsey in this episode. These days, new parents rely more on technology, care less about brands and are more attuned to product ingredients than previous generations. Mainstream companies such as Johnson &...

Marketing to women is getting more nuanced than the stereotyped, often sexist, efforts of the past -- mostly. How are companies that sell typically macho-things like beer and guns appealing to the fairer sex? Some do it better than others with inclusive messages. The toy industry is making stereotypically masculine toys more palatable for girls. The internet is allowing marketers to target customers based on their interests. Will advertisers ever really know what women want?

For many years, packaged vegan foods were expensive, sometimes unappealing, knock-offs of animal products and byproducts made for diet extremists. Not any more. Companies that make plant-based fare, such as Treeline Cheese and Beyond Meat, want their products to go mainstream. They're working hard to appeal to meat-eaters, not just vegetarians. Others, like Santa Margherita Wine, call being vegan more of a perk than a goal. But will Americans ever really be willing to spring for a more...

Skinny jeans have dominated the denim world for 10 long years and the fashion industry has had enough. Apparel companies are eager for pant styles to change, prompting customers to spend more on updating their entire wardrobe. Yet the skinny silhouette has serious staying power, according to Nancy Zhang, chief operating officer of New York boutique chain Otte. Sid and Ann Mashburn, who own a retail chain, describe how skinny became a style staple, from denim to athletic apparel to menswear....

Attitudes toward the sex toy industry have changed dramatically thanks to the Internet, making what was once a taboo subject pervasive in popular culture. In this episode, Lindsey and Jenny take a closer look at the $15 billion "adult product" market, with guests including Phil Harvey, who founded the adult store chain Adam & Eve in 1970 and explains to them how the industry has blossomed during the past 40 years. Challenges persist, however. As Babeland founder Claire Cavanah says,...