It’s not really Super Bowl Sunday until someone drops a glob of guacamole on the rug, and this year it’s going to cost a bit more to make it.

• The standard nine-kilogram box of avocados from Mexico’s biggest harvesting region hit a record-high cost of 540 Mexican pesos ($26.23) last week, up from 410 pesos (~$20.25) in February 2021, according to Secretaría de Economía/USDA data reported by Bloomberg. (But FYI: The data only goes back 20 years.)

While supply-chain hiccups have likely contributed to the steep price, the bigger factor is the year-round demand for avocado-toast posts on Instagram: In the last decade, Americans’ per capita consumption of avocados doubled, to nine pounds. In the same period, the number of times your Aunt Gretchen smugly pointed out that it’s a fruit, not a vegetable, tripled.

And that guac’s probable delivery device? Instacart’s top-selling chip for the week ahead of the game last year was Tostitos Scoops, up 60% over the prior week, besting triangle-shaped stalwarts Nacho Cheese Doritos (No. 2) and original Tostitos (No. 3).

Lateral pass: While belts will be loosened to accommodate all that snacking, in another sense, they’ll be tightened. Americans expect to spend an average of $88 on all their game-day activities, down from $108 last year, according to Lending Tree.

+1: Of course, many will watch the Super Bowl just for the ads, where Avocados from Mexico will return with a spot, after taking last year off (to ripen?).

• Also returning, reports Kelsey Sutton over yonder at Marketing Brew: More of the funny, after many commercials struck a somber tone last year because of the Capitol riot and Covid.—AAN

Vertical farming—dare we make the same joke as our friends at Emerging Tech Brew? It’s too good to pass up: The space is…growing.

The big number: Before you sigh, follow the $$$. Indoor farming startups across the world raised $1.6 billion last year, according to Pitchbook—up about 86% from 2020.

And this year is off to a booming start, as Em Tech’s Jordan McDonald lays out: Plenty scored $400 million in late January in what it called the largest funding round ever for an indoor farming company.

• Oh, and on top of that, the startup partnered with Walmart, the biggest grocer in the US, to get its greens into (California) stores.

Upward Farms, a Brooklyn-based startup, meanwhile, shared plans to build a new 250,000-square-foot farm in eastern Pennsylvania. In another superlative, the company said the facility will be the largest indoor farm in the world when it opens in 2023.

Not-so-secret recipe: According to Jason Green, the co-founder and CEO of Upward Farms, there are “three necessary things” needed to succeed in vertical farming. Jordan breaks it down for us: “hardware that monitors plants and operates at scale; software to control the light, temperature, and humidity of the plants while growing; and strong biology to make sure the plants themselves are healthy and get the nutrients and attention they need.”

He also chatted with AeroFarms to get more of the inside story on the space. Click here to read the piece on Emerging Tech Brew.—GT

Hungry in the metaverse? McDonald’s has got you covered.

The fast-food giant filed 10 trademark applications earlier this month to get meta, including one for a virtual restaurant that would deliver to your actual home.

• The filing, submitted to the US Patent and Trademark Office on February 4, also covers “virtual concerts” under the McDonald’s and McCafé brands. (At least, there, we can hope to never run out of BTS’s special sauces?)

“I think you’re going to see every brand that you can think of make these filings within the next 12 months,” Josh Gerben, a trademark attorney who first tweeted the news, told Forbes. “I don’t think anyone wants to be the next Blockbuster and just completely ignore a new technology that’s coming.”

• Panera Bread, just last week, also filed a trademark for the “Panaverse.” (And we know that NRF embraced the buzz.)

Game on: But, how does a company stand out in the metaverse? Success will be defined by brands that prioritize community building, Charles Habro, co-founder and CEO of Geeiq, a gaming/metaverse consultancy and data platform, previously explained to Retail Brew.

“These games are places where people want to have fun, and they want to relax, and they want to socialize. They don’t really want to be advertised to,” he said.—JS

Today’s top retail reads.

Do the robot: It’s not quite full-on Skynet, but bots have picked up a lot of the slack at fulfillment centers. Expect the takeover to continue. (The Economist)

Howdy, y’all: Boot Barn is on a tear—seeing outsized sales growth since last March. CEO Jim Conroy credits the success to a broader product assortment that’s brought in a broader customer base. “We don’t only have to go after a pure Western customer, somebody who works on a ranch, rides horses and attends rodeos,” he said. (Footwear News)

Crack open a cold one: If hangovers weren’t enough of a curse, it turns out that consumers are overpaying for their beer by nearly $500 million a year, according to a Treasury Department study. (Quartz)

Keep your customers hooked: In The State of CRM 2022 report from Tinyclues, you’ll get the scoop on top challenges and opportunities for CRM marketers this year, plus key strategies to attract and deliver big for customers. Get it here.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Catch up on the Retail Brew stories you may have missed.

• Cole Haan introduces its first sustainable shoe, made from dandelions
• How three chocolate brands took on Valentine’s Day 2022
• Pangaia pops up in Nordstrom for its first IRL retail space in North America

Three of the stories below are real...and one is most definitely not. Can you spot the fake?

1. Yankee Candle is selling limited-edition salsa-scented candles for the Super Bowl.
2. Couples can get married—or renew their vows—for free at Denny’s Pop-up Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas on February 14.
3. KFC is selling a giant snuggle pillow in the shape of a chicken sandwich ahead of Valentine’s Day.
4. About 60,000 bees were stolen from the headquarters of grocer The Giant Co.

Keep reading for the answer.