Quick Take — Lidl revolutionises the mobile phone market with discounted tariff plans

The chain intends to expand beyond Germany, Austria and Switzerland, offering a service that could be available in up to 30 countries…

The chain told the Financial Times it plans to expand beyond Germany, Austria and Switzerland with a mobile service that could be available in up to 30 countries in the future, including the UK, US, France and Spain. Lidl did not specify which markets it intends to target first…

As part of the deal, Schwarz Group will also acquire a 9.9% stake in 1GLOBAL, a company that holds telecommunications licences and partnerships in 12 countries. The mobile initiative is a further step in Schwarz’s efforts to build a broader digital ecosystem alongside its 14,000 Lidl and Kaufland shops. Through its Schwarz Digits division, thegroup has already become a fast-growing European provider of cloud computing and cybersecurity services , as well as an investor in artificial intelligence startups… Financial Times

Lidl continues on its path to becoming a brand (and in Italy focuses on non-food fruit and vegetables and technology)

Giuseppe Caprotti: ‘From trolleys to history, the luck of living more lives’

What will we read about in your new book? ‘I tell another side of the family through two extraordinary explorers: my eponymous ancestor Giuseppe Caprotti, who lived thirty years in Yemen, and my great uncle Gianni Albertini, a skier and mountaineer who explored the North Pole’.

Quick Take — Banana cultivation: a pesticide paradise

Banana plantations stretch across Ecuador, Costa Rica, Peru, the Philippines and Colombia: territories where the climate is perfect for growing the fruit… and pests. To protect the crops, pesticides and herbicides are used in quantities that a European farmer would not see in an entire career.

All companies claim to follow ‘sustainability’ programmes, but the truth is that a banana at 1.49 €/kg cannot guarantee fair wages, cover ocean transports and ensure clean agriculture. Someone along the supply chain always pays the price: often the health of those who work… and those who consume

Below:

1 some of the pesticides mentioned by ‘Guess who’s coming to dinner’ (Rai3) were also found in organic bananas and are banned in the EU but enter it because there are no reciprocity clauses between South America and Europe.

This problem could be changed by a proper implementation of the Mercosur treaty .

2 the label of the Esselunga Bio Ctm Altromercatobananas.

Read also this article on Esselunga private label bananas and in the GD, in general. On pesticides you can read here.

Compiled 10 December 2025, updated 19 March 2026

Giorgia Meloni and Coldiretti put the brakes on the development of solar energy in Italy

The government, on energy, is in a huge conflict of interest, which is why prices do not fall: Snam, Italgas and Terna beat Microsoft, Alphabet (Google) and Meta (Facebook). Italy’s publicly controlled companies that transport or distribute gas and electricity to citizens and businesses are more profitable than some of the world’s largest, most technologically advanced and important companies in the business of the future: cloud, data centres and artificial intelligence. In short, Big Energy beats Big Tech

Quick Take — Whole Foods Market to open six new Daily Shop shops in the UK in the coming months

The point-of-sale assortment will include :

A range of certified organic and conventional products.

Prepared food options, including lunchtime salads, sandwiches and seasonal favourites.

An assortment of meat and seafood with a variety of convenient grab-and-go offerings. All meat items are certified for animal welfare and include organic options and all seafood offerings are sustainably caught in the wild or responsibly farmed.

A bakery department offers fresh bread daily and everyday favourites such as Whole Foods’ Viennoiserie and brown butter biscuits. The department also provides a wide variety of special diet items, including gluten- and dairy-free brownies, doughnuts and biscuits.

A Wellness & Beauty department with a wide assortment of supplements, skin care, hair care and more.

A speciality department highlighting artisan cheeses and producers, as well as local and premium beers, wines and spirits.

The first Daily Shop experiment was made in 2024 in the United States.

The pdv area will range from 300 to a maximum of 1,000 square metres.