NEWPORT BEACH, CA - As younger consumers rediscover hands-on experiences in the kitchen, Fresh Solutions Network® (FSN) is highlighting Side Delights® potatoes as a natural fit for the return to comfort cooking, nostalgic recipes, and updated family favorites.

Nostalgia is increasingly influencing what consumers put on the table. According to the 2026 IKEA Cooking & Eating Report, 40% of consumers actively seek foods that remind them of childhood, compared with just 25% who want to try new foods more often.

At the same time, younger shoppers are showing enthusiasm for getting into the kitchen. FMI – The Food Industry Association reports that 51% of Gen Z consumers like or love meal preparation, compared with 46% of consumers overall. When asked how retailers could make meal preparation easier, Gen Z’s top request was better-value food options, cited by 49%.

For retailers, potatoes sit naturally at the intersection of these trends: familiar, versatile, and value-oriented, while providing a foundation for traditional favorites and globally inspired meals.

“Potatoes have always been one of America’s great comfort foods, but today’s younger cooks are finding new ways to make them their own,” said Kathleen Triou, President and CEO of Fresh Solutions Network, in the recent release. “Side Delights gives retailers an opportunity to connect the potato category with shoppers looking for affordable comfort, cooking inspiration and fresh takes on familiar favorites.”

The trend is appearing in movements such as “analog cooking,” “nowstalgia” and “grandmacore,” where younger consumers are embracing traditional recipes and cooking techniques while adding contemporary flavors, global influences, and better-for-you twists.

Side Delights recipes bring those influences to familiar favorites, including Spanish Potato Frittata and Slimmed-Down Scalloped Potatoes.

Interest in hands-on cooking is also renewing enthusiasm for traditional cookware such as cast-iron skillets and Dutch ovens. Side Delights bagged, convenience, and petite potatoes work across these preparation methods, from Easy Potato Breakfast Skillet to simply prepared Dutch oven baked and Dutch oven petite potatoes.

For retailers, the opportunity extends beyond the traditional potato side dish. Side Delights varieties, pack sizes, and convenience options can connect the potato category to some of today’s strongest consumer motivations—comfort, value, cooking inspiration, and nostalgia—while introducing a new generation of shoppers to fresh potatoes.

For recipes and more information, visit SideDelights.com.

LAGRANGE, GA - The National Watermelon Association (NWA) has launched Inside the Melon: The Watermelon Industry Podcast, a new monthly podcast featuring conversations with experts and leaders on the issues, innovations, and opportunities shaping the watermelon industry.

Hosted by NWA Executive Director George Szczepanski, Inside the Melon is designed to connect growers, shippers, and other industry stakeholders with timely information and perspectives from across the watermelon industry and beyond.

“One of the best parts of this job is getting to talk with people who are doing groundbreaking work and helping shape the future of our industry,” Szczepanski said in the recent release. “Inside the Melon gives us a chance to bring our industry into those conversations, dig deeper into the ideas and innovations driving change, and hear directly from the people leading that work.”

The inaugural episode, “The Future of Precision Weed Control in Watermelon Production,” features Dr. Nathan Boyd, associate professor and weed science specialist at the University of Florida. Boyd joins Szczepanski for a conversation about emerging technology in watermelon production and how new tools can help growers address real-world production challenges.

The second episode, due out later this month, will feature Bob Redding, NWA’s public policy representative and founder of The Redding Firm, for a conversation about public policy and the issues affecting agriculture and the watermelon industry. The discussion will cover recent developments in Washington, D.C., while also taking a broader look at why advocacy matters and what is at stake for growers and agricultural businesses.

The inaugural season of Inside the Melon will feature six monthly episodes with researchers, growers, industry leaders, and other experts. Conversations will range from production and technology to labor, policy, marketing, and the people shaping the future of the watermelon industry.

Listen now at watermelon.ag/nwa-launches-inside-the-melon-the-watermelon-industry-podcast/ or find Inside the Melon wherever you get your podcasts. The show is available on most major podcast platforms.

GOODLETTSVILLE, TN - Dollar General Corporation announced that Rhonda Taylor, the Company’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, will retire from the Company. To support a seamless leadership transition, Taylor will remain in her current role through December 6, 2026, then serve in a senior advisory role through at least April 2, 2027. Kelly Collier, Dollar General’s current Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel for Business Law, will succeed Taylor and be promoted to EVP, General Counsel effective December 7, 2026.

“For years, Rhonda has been far more than our General Counsel. She has served as a trusted advisor, respected leader, and strategic business partner who helped play a critical role in shaping Dollar General’s trajectory. Her integrity, judgment, and dedication to Serving Others will leave a lasting impact across the entire organization, the Company’s Board of Directors, the executive leadership team, and especially those who have had the privilege of working closely with her,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s Chief Executive Officer, in the recent release. “I want to express our deepest gratitude to Rhonda for her many years of service and innumerable contributions. Her steady leadership, sound guidance and strategic counsel have helped shape who we are today, and her legacy will be felt for years to come.”

Taylor joined the Company in 2000 as an employment attorney before taking on roles of increasing responsibility and scope, ultimately becoming EVP, General Counsel in 2015. Today, her leadership extends beyond the Company’s traditional Legal teams to critical functions that safeguard organizational integrity and reputation, including global compliance, internal audit, risk, legal strategy, public policy and government affairs, public relations, and corporate social responsibility and philanthropy. Through these teams, she has helped strengthen Dollar General’s governance and compliance practices, build meaningful relationships with policymakers and stakeholders, protect and enhance the corporate reputation, and advance initiatives that support employees, customers, communities, and shareholders.

In addition to serving as a trusted source of strategic counsel to the Company’s Board of Directors and executive leadership team, Taylor has invested in developing strong teams and mentoring future Dollar General leaders, creating a culture of integrity, collaboration, and excellence across her organization and beyond. Taylor’s impact also extends beyond the business into the lives of Dollar General employees and communities as a member of the Board of Directors of the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and the Dollar General Employee Assistance Foundation for many years.

“I will be forever grateful for the opportunities afforded me over the past 26 years at Dollar General. Most of all, I am proud of the extraordinary teams I have been fortunate enough to lead and support, and of all they do every day to advance the Company’s mission of Serving Others,” said Taylor. “Todd’s direction to his team has always been to leave things better than we found them, and I hope that is what I have done.”

Beyond her contributions to Dollar General, Taylor is widely respected as a leader in the legal profession, retail industry, and greater Nashville community. She currently serves on the board of the Tennessee Performing Arts Center and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA) Retail Litigation Center. She previously served on the board of the Nashville Public Library Foundation. Her accomplishments have been recognized through numerous honors, including being named to the 2025 Nashville Business Journal Women of Influence list and the Nashville Post In Charge list in 2025 and 2026. In 2022, Taylor was honored as a National Women’s Conference Top 100 Women in Business, INvolve Heroes Women Role Model, and Mass Market Retailers’ (MMR) People Who Made a Difference. She was also recognized among MMR’s Women of Influence for three consecutive years from 2017-2019.

Collier joined Dollar General in 2009 as a Senior Attorney and has held positions of increasing responsibility over the course of her tenure with the Company. In her current role as SVP, Assistant General Counsel for Business Law, she supports and advises those managing the Company’s operations and strategic initiatives and oversees Dollar General’s regulatory compliance, commercial contracts, business litigation, customs, intellectual property, and global compliance teams. Before joining Dollar General, Collier practiced law at Bass, Berry & Sims in Nashville, where she specialized in commercial litigation. She was named among MMR’s Women of Influence in 2021.