A Message From Banyan Hill Publishing

Dear Reader,

Three days into his second term, President Trump signed Executive Order 14178.

The press barely noticed.

But buried inside was the legal green light for the boldest change to American money in over 100 years. And it’s finally about to take effect.

I’ve spent months digging into what this order actually means.
What I found could send shockwaves through the financial system:

Musk — with the quiet cooperation of the U.S. Treasury — is now positioned to “reboot” the dollar itself.

Not someday. Potentially as soon as January 18. And it could all come down to one vote — led by Trump’s own Treasury Secretary.

When it happens, life as we know it could change… and investors who saw it coming could make a fortune.

Go here for the full story.

Regards,

Ian King
Chief Strategist, Strategic Fortunes

The Grocery Shelf Battle Is Changing—Who Comes Out Ahead?

Submitted by Chris Markoch. Publication Date: 10/11/2026.

Store-brand sales are growing as consumers look for ways to mitigate elevated food prices. Private-label sales in the United States reached $330 billion in 2025, according to Circana. That shift has continued in 2026.

But there's a larger fight over shelf space that is reshaping packaged-food stocks. On the surface, national brands still look healthy. Their dollar sales grew 2.2% in the first half of 2026, while store-brand dollar sales were flat.

That sounds like name brands are winning. They aren't.

Look at units instead. Store-brand unit sales rose 0.2% over the same period, while national-brand units fell 0.5%. Store brands now account for a record 23.8% of all units sold.

In other words, major labels are growing revenue by charging more, not by selling more. But that pricing power isn't attracting value-seeking shoppers, who are voting with their dollars.

For investors, it comes down to which side of the trade they want to own. In the recently completed earnings season, one retailer offered a clear example of private-label dominance. Two other retailers are taking the "if you can't beat them, join them" approach.

McCormick Beat Estimates—But the Stock Still Fell

McCormick (NYSE: MKC)reported fiscal third-quarter results on Oct. 1. On paper, it was a strong quarter. Net sales jumped 17.4% to $2.02 billion. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 86 cents topped estimates of 76 cents, and gross margin expanded by 190 basis points.

The details underneath tell a different story. Most of the sales increase came from the McCormick de Mexico acquisition. Organic growth was just 1.9%. Pricing added 2.2%, while volume and mix subtracted 0.3%. In the Consumer segment, volume and mix for the company's name-brand spices and seasonings fell 1.1%.

Shares slid on the morning of the report. Although they have recovered since then, the initial selling reaction makes sense.

Wall Street isn't grading McCormick on a single quarter's margin. It's assessing whether the company's pricing power will last. That makes volume, or units, the scorecard.

Price Hikes Have a Shelf Life

For three years, packaged-food companies operated from a similar playbook: Costs rose, so prices rose. Volumes dipped, but margins held. Investors mostly rewarded the companies with the most pricing power.

That tolerance is fading. Store brands typically sell for about 20% less than national labels, and most shoppers now say their quality is similar or sometimes even better.

Once a shopper switches and isn't disappointed, the habit tends to stick. That's what makes private-label gains so difficult to reverse. Each price increase on a name brand gives customers another reason to try the alternative.

The industry is split into two camps. Some brands are cutting prices to win shoppers back. Others continue raising prices to cover costs. Investors should know which camp their holdings fall into because the outcomes will diverge.

2 Retailers Are Playing a Different Game

Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Walmart (NASDAQ: WMT) see this shift from the other side of the transaction. To them, store brands are an engine for margin growth.

Kroger's Our Brands outpaced national brands by 175 basis points in fiscal Q1. In Q2, private-label penetration rose by about half a percentage point. Private Selection sales jumped more than 14%, led by ready-to-eat meals.

That doesn't make Kroger a clear winner. Its Q2 gross margin slipped to 22.7% because of pharmacy and freight headwinds. But its private-label business is one of the few levers working in its favor.

Walmart is pushing upmarket, too. Its bettergoods line, launched in 2024, was the company's biggest private-food-brand debut in two decades.

It targets shoppers who want better value than the company's Great Value brand without paying name-brand prices.

The economics are simple: Retailers control the cost, the shelf placement and the margin.

Every unit that moves from a national brand to a store brand improves their product mix.

What Investors Should Watch Now

The perception is that packaged food is a safe, defensive corner of the market. The fundamentals say that defense now comes at a cost.

Three signals matter most:

• Unit volume, not just organic sales. Organic growth built only on price is borrowed time.

• Promotional spending. When brands discount to win shoppers back, margin gains usually reverse.

• Retailer commentary on private-label penetration. It's the clearest real-time read on where shoppers are heading.

For McCormick, next quarter's consumer volume is the number that matters. Management expects volume to improve in Q4. The pending Unilever Foods combination adds another layer to the story.

The grocery-store shelf isn't getting any bigger, so someone has to give up space. Right now, the data says it's the name brands. Investors should position themselves accordingly.