Have you recovered from your weekend viewing of Beyonce’s "Lemonade" yet?
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Beyonce already gave your week a jump start. Let’s follow up with some need-to-know numbers for the day.
Pop quiz: what does the word “artisan” mean? The word has increasingly appeared on mass-produced items over the years — think McDonald’s “artisan grilled chicken sandwich.” It can grant companies license to charge more for these products and give off an air of authenticity, wrote Marketplace’s Annie Baxter. But not many of us know the term’s definition. A survey from the research firm Canadean found that about 25 percent of those it asked didn’t. (Others linked the word to qualities like having a “unique taste” or being “handmade.”) Food industry consultant David Garfield at AlixPartners said it’s fine for big companies to use the term if they use “special equipment or ingredients” to make the food. But recognizing if something’s “artisanal” often comes down to your intuition. “You know it when when you see it,” Garfield said.
Certain food ingredients have been the talk of the entertainment world. Beyonce Knowles’s album “Lemonade” debuted on Tidal this Saturday, sending fans in a frenzy. The Tidal release should help the fledgling streaming site with its subscription numbers, wrote Bloomberg. Tidal has 3 million subscribers, while Spotify has 30 million paying subscribers and Apple Music 11 million. Tidal isn’t the album’s only home now though — it’ll be available on iTunes beginning today.
Businesses experiencing success include companies that provide tuition for their employees, according to a new study. Health insurance company Cigna saw a 129 percent return on its investment in the form of personnel cost savings through its tuition reimbursement program. And employees are not only getting the chance to upgrade their skills, but those using the program are “more likely to earn promotions than those who didn’t,” reports Marketplace’s Mark Garrison.
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