Mike Semmann:
So really there was a major economic shock to the system, and that's really throughout worldwide but also very acute in the United States. And you think about the entire supply chain and you think about what a 10-cent increase in the supply chain on a producer level, how that's magnified over the course of the whole supply chain. And whether that's through labor, in every single point, whether that's transportation, whether that's other cost of goods, and the grocery store is really at the point where they intersect with the consumer. And so all of those different points in the system add up to a multiplier effect that the consumers are going to see. And so back in 2019, a $100 market basket really costs about $125 in 2024. So consumers have seen a pretty good increase, but it's a course throughout that entire supply chain. And that multiplier impact.

...

I think what you're seeing with both suppliers, producers, everybody is trying to take and take a hard look at where they can create value for the consumer. And so, and that's literally every place in the entire supply chain, whether that's transportation, whether that's production, whether that's packaging, all different areas of that supply chain. So as we see those prices start to stabilize and I think we're really seeing some pretty good green shoots, particularly in the area of retail food when it comes to pricing. We're very optimistic that prices have stabilized. Now we can't say that in all areas of the economy, but we're seeing a couple of places within retail food where prices have stabilized and in some cases even decreased in a real basis.

Nathan Denzin:
Can you give me an example of the decrease? Of a decrease?

Mike Semmann:
Sure. And specifically in the produce area is what we're seeing. So hopefully consumers are seeing this as as well. And we're seeing both a stability in prices in certain types of produce, but we're also seeing a real decrease in prices in the produce area. Now of course, that doesn't mean that everything is going to be drastically decreasing, of course, right? You have a new level set when it comes to inflation because utilities have increased, rent has increased, transportation has increased, and of course labor has increased as well. So you've got a new level set, but within that we're seeing stability and in some cases a couple of price drops.