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CPI UPDATE: Restaurant prices are on the rise—again. But what’s driving it? 📈 February saw full-service restaurants outpacing limited-service inflation rates for the first time in two years. With consumer sentiment plummeting and inflation expectations surging, businesses are facing a tough balancing act: how to manage rising costs without driving customers away. - Are full-service restaurants gaining pricing power? - How will shifting consumer confidence impact spending? - What strategies can businesses use to navigate this volatility? While economic uncertainty looms, there are still opportunities for businesses that adapt smartly and strategically. Check out Michael Lukianoff's latest blog for a deep dive into the numbers and what they mean for the restaurant industry. And if you're looking for further discussion, be sure to register for our webinar next Thursday where the experts break down what’s ahead for restaurants in an unpredictable market. We'd love to hear your thoughts—how are you seeing these trends play out?

Forecasting used to be gut instinct. Now it’s probability curves, simulation engines, and AI. But here’s the real question for leadership teams: Are your forecasts driving strategic decisions, or just giving you a number to explain away? In today’s competitive landscape, predictive power isn’t optional — it’s a differentiator. 🔄 How are you evolving your forecasting process in the age of AI? We'd love to hear how others are thinking about this shift — especially when it comes to data quality, risk tolerance, and scenario planning.

Take a listen to Michael Halen and his podcast with ICR … shout out to #stratgeicpricing as a way to navigate these turbulent times!

In his latest blog, Michael Lukianoff explores how agent architectures are fusing GenAI’s reasoning with the precision of traditional analytics—transforming processes that once took days into insights delivered in minutes. This is where automation stops being a buzzword—and starts becoming your strategic advantage.

While much of the Agentic AI conversation still revolves around pizza orders and flight bookings, the real transformation is... ...happening behind the scenes in data-driven business environments. In his latest blog, Michael Lukianoff breaks down how agent architectures are bridging the gap between GenAI’s reasoning power and the precision of traditional analytics—turning what used to take days into insights delivered in minutes. This is where automation meets intelligence—and where the future of business AI truly begins. 🔗 Blog linked below.

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐲'𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫: 𝘓𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘺𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘤. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘦𝘭 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢-𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 𝘈𝘐 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘶 𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘍𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭-𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘯 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘪𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘞𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘹 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦. 𝘝𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢—𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘧𝘵𝘴—𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵, 𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘵. 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘰 Fred LeFranc, Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., John Hamburger, and Michael Lukianoff. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘱 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴. 📹  𝐖𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭, 𝐧𝐨 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬—𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞’𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐲! 𝘈𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘣𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘚𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘢𝘭𝘍𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦.𝘢𝘪 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘛𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘺 27𝘵𝘩! https://lnkd.in/enqGA3HF

𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞! 𝐖𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫 𝐓𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐭 2 𝐏𝐌 – 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐭! 𝘛𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘊𝘖𝘝𝘐𝘋-19 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘤—𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺. 𝘈𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘺 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺’𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘣𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒏𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒔, 𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒔𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒕𝒉. 𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘵 2 𝘗𝘔 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐰.

Mark Your Calendars – The Next SignalFlare Session is Coming! 🔥 Join us on Tuesday, May 27th for the next edition of the SignalFlare Sessions webinar! We know these times can be unpredictable, and we’re committed to providing content that helps you navigate challenges and make informed business decisions. From LinkedIn content to our e-newsletter (The Flare) and these webinars, we’re here to equip you with the insights you need. Have questions or topics you’d love for us to cover? Let us know in the comments or send us a message—we’re listening! 📆 Date: Tuesday, May 27th ⏰ Time: 2 PM EST Don’t miss out—register now and join the conversation! It's also not too late to register for our webinar this Thursday! Registration link can be found on our website, SignalFlare.ai (check the homepage header)!

🚨 Just 2 days to go! The next SignalFlare Session is almost here—have you registered yet? Can’t make it live? No problem. Register now, and we’ll send you the recording. 🔥 Exciting panel alert: Our board member, Fred LeFranc, CEO of Results Thru Strategy, will moderate a powerhouse discussion featuring: ✅ Michael Lukianoff – CEO, SignalFlare.ai ✅ John Hamburger – President, Franchise Times ✅ Emily Williams Knight, Ed.D., Ed.D. – CEO, Texas Restaurant Association 💡 What’s ahead for restaurants in an unpredictable market? Our expert panel will break it all down, sharing insights you won’t want to miss. 📅 Thursday, March 20 | 2 PM EST

Restaurant Inflation Ticks Up 🚨 Restaurant CPI climbed to 3.7% in February (up from 3.4% in January), driven by Full-Service restaurants outpacing Limited-Service for the first time since Feb '22. This small but significant shift brings us back to October '24 CPI levels after a period of moderation. While the slight dip in Headline CPI is welcome news, the uncertainty of tariffs suggests we may see higher inflation levels ahead. Meanwhile, grocery inflation held steady at 1.9%. Mike is currently flying back from #MURTEC, but he'll be sharing more insights on the economy & key takeaways from the conference later this week. Stay tuned!