Project Management

LTOs Popular This Fall for Restaurants

Limited-time offerings (LTOs) are popular with restaurants this fall.

Starbucks brought back its Pumpkin Spice Latte on August 25th. It is part of their seasonal fall menu. This marks 23 years since Starbucks added it to its fall menu.

Little Caesars partnered with Sony Pictures on the new film—Spider-Man: Brand New Day to create their Webberoni pizza. This pizza includes a “web” pattern made of shredded pepperoni.

Chick-fil-A has an LTO chicken and waffle sandwich on its fall menu.

Several restaurants are going with […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2026-09-23T03:09:40+00:00September 23, 2026|Tags: inventory management, Limited Time Offerings (LTOs), product design, project management, scheduling|

Turfgrass for the World Cup

FIFA’s World Cup 2026 featured 48 teams playing in sixteen different stadiums, hosted by three countries: the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

One requirement of FIFA for the World Cup games is that stadiums and fields meet certain specifications, including that the field uses turfgrass. Each field must perform identically in terms of how the ball bounces and ensure safe footing.

Of the sixteen stadiums, eight normally used artificial turf, and five were domed with retractable roofs, adding complexity to meeting field […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2026-08-10T04:33:40+00:00August 9, 2026|Tags: product design, project management, quality, quality characteristics|

The Great KitKat Heist of 2026

In late March 2026, a truckload of over four hundred thousand KitKat bars was stolen in Italy, en route to Poland.

The truck was stopped by thieves who posed as police officers. The driver was restrained, but was unharmed. The truck and the cargo have not been recovered.

The KitKat bars were a special Formula 1 edition, reflecting the brand’s status as the Official Chocolate Bar of Formula 1. The candy bars were intended for distribution across Europe.

Nestlé was quick to respond. […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2026-07-01T22:31:56+00:00July 1, 2026|Tags: agile, cargo theft, crisis management, inventory management, project management, supply chain management, transparency|

KegChup, Anyone?

Afraid of running out of ketchup at your Super Bowl party? Maybe you need a keg of ketchup.

Just in time for the Super Bowl, Heinz spotlighted its new product, the KegChup, a limited edition, aluminum keg that holds 114-ounces of ketchup.

The KegChup was announced on Instagram in the fall of 2025, in a post that drew over one million views. The Kegchup was made available for a limited number of fans to win in a drawing ahead of the Super […]

By Ross L. Fink, Ph.D.|2026-02-22T08:37:06+00:00February 22, 2026|Tags: event planning, forecast, new product development, project management|