Industry Analysis Podcasts

QSR Uncut comes from the editors of QSR magazine and keeps an editor's interest in mechanics. In How FiiZ Drinks is Building a Soda Empire, with Scott Ball, the chain's CEO says 80% of its sales mix is customised drinks. He also describes negative comps during a government shutdown and says his franchise team has turned away prospects and that franchisees need the money to ride out a slow first store. A would-be franchisee should hear that. In The Unbridled Growth Story of CookUnity, with Morley Ivers, Ivers reports about $750 million in annual recurring revenue for 2025, up from about $350 million the year before. These are the company's own figures, worth hearing as such.

Strictly Business, Variety's business show with co-editor-in-chief Cynthia Littleton, does the same for media, and its framing deserves attention. 'Strictly Business' Live From Cannes Lions: AWS, Deloitte and Sony Pictures Execs on Getting Your 'Hands Dirty' With Tech and Data to Solve Hard Problems was presented by AWS and Deloitte, both of which had executives in the conversation. The companion Cannes episode is livelier: IBM's guest says AI cut the share of creatives' time spent on derivative assets from 80% to about 40%. The Marketing page goes further into advertising.

The Natural List, hosted by Jessica Rubino and Adrienne Smith for New Hope Network, brings the trade show to the ear. New CPG trends from the Newtopia Now 2026 show floor finds an Australian deodorant pouch said to last three weeks and pet treats made from invasive fish. It is quick and cheerful, and the team is also running stages and events at the show, so treat it as enthusiasm with access. Trendspotting at Expo West 2026 – Innovations and industry shifts to watch tracks regenerative organic certification reaching staples like canned tomatoes. The Sustainability page and the Agriculture page continue that thread.

Where trade shows lean on people, these lean on numbers. Euromonitor Podcasts publishes audio versions of the research firm's webinars. In From search to conversation: How is AI rewiring the traditional shopper funnel?, a live poll picks beauty as the category AI-led discovery is disrupting first. The presenters set their own figure beside it: 45% of generative-AI referral traffic for FMCG products flows to beauty and personal care. Dermalogica ranks 11th by e-commerce rank but 75th in AI visibility. In Expert Q&A: What's next for online grocery in the US?, the analyst says "it is Walmart's game to lose at this point." He then declines to name the most advanced grocer as outside his expertise, a refusal worth more than a confident guess. The E-Commerce page continues here.

In Best of LinkedIn: Smart Build & Manufacturing, the speakers round up a fortnight of LinkedIn discussion, and the show is best when it doubts what it reads. In Best of LinkedIn: Digital Construction CW 08/ 09, excitement over fast AI modelling gives way to Tom Whittaker's warning about startups with no construction background chasing venture money. Figures like the 70% cut in factory energy demand cited in Best of LinkedIn: Smart Manufacturing CW 27/ 28 are claims discussed on the show.

Energy is where industry analysis meets the household bill most directly, and Wolfe Power Club Podcast, hosted by Alex Wolfe, sits in that gap. The Truth About UK Fuel Prices: Who Really Profits? brings in Tom Highland, managing director of a family-run group with six sites, and Sarah Kind of the data firm Edge Petrol. One guest puts the average retail margin since the conflict at 6.4% of the pump price. Highland calls the government's £3.5 million Fuel Finder system a new cost passed down to retailers. He also argues for a temporary cut in duty or VAT, a retailer's case heard from the retailer's side. Regeneration: Has the Public Been Sold an Unrealistically Painless Energy Transition? stages a formal debate that includes an audience vote. In it, one speaker argues that claims of cheap renewables leave out system costs. The Economics page picks up the wider argument.

Some shows care less about headlines than about how workplaces run. UNSCRIPTED, hosted by Sarah Nicastro and published in partnership with IFS, covers field service. In Decoding Generational Differences: Loyalty, Growth & What Motivates the Frontline, a technician explains why he left computer science for an apprenticeship. He also describes a 12-week leadership academy open to everyone from technicians to accountants. The Careers page suits listeners drawn to that.

The FAM Podcast with Mark Kinsley covers mattress and furniture retail. Badcock's Collapse: How Matt Pridemore Built 22 Hometown Furniture Stores in 18 months dwells on furniture's odd calendar: goods bought at market arrive six months later. 50% Price Step-Downs: The Mattress Sales Move to Increase Average Tickets by $400 is straight sales coaching built on good, better and best bundles. Expect long sponsor reads early in both. The Sales page and the Small Business page fit here.

What's Next, Agencies? takes the same lens to German agencies, with host Kim Alexandra Notz, owner of the Hamburg agency KNSK. Folge #185, Vanessa Seibicke, Kim Andresen & Katharina Kübler, Gründerinnen von Harvest Consulting. turns to pitch budgets. One speaker says agencies invest a share of expected revenue in a pitch, so a client who won't name a range leaves them guessing between 100,000 and 1 million. One speaker adds that recouping the investment can take two years. In #184, Tobias Grimm, Co-Founder von ASYMMETRY, Grimm contrasts months from briefing to execution with campaigns tested at 50 euros a day before scaling. The Leadership page is a natural next stop.

Bourbon Pursuit, hosted by Kenny Coleman, Ryan Cecil and Fred Minnick, treats a spirits merger like a sports trade. TWiB: Brown-Forman and Pernod Ricard confirm merger, 2 lawsuits dismissed for competing brands, Larrikin releases 3rd “Pour for the Roses" reads out the terms. They include an estimated $450 million in synergies ("Gotta love that word, synergies"), family control and Citibank analysis putting the odds around 50-50. Six days later, What Does the Brown Forman and Pernod Merger Mean? On Bourbon Community Roundtable #117 argues merger versus acquisition and reads the stock moves as the market's verdict. These are hosts' readings of a pending deal. The Investing page covers how markets judge deals.

Radio Brews News is now an archive. In Brews News Week #451 Brews News News, the host announces he is retiring from beer writing and that Brews News will close. He worries that nobody is left watching small breweries' corporate behaviour. Earlier, Brews News Week #450 Digging Wells reported on Wayward Brewing and Local Drinks Collective leaving administration. Their creditors, including the ATO, would receive 10 cents in the dollar on debts that included $1.27 million in unpaid excise. It is a plain lesson in why a sector needs its own press.