It’s been another busy week on The Grocer. 

On Monday, the soap opera of BrewDog’s descent into administration came to a dramatic conclusion, with US-based Tilray Brands outbidding rivals C&C, Royal Unibrew and Royal Swinkels, as well as a bid from founder and ex-CEO James Watt. It’s extraordinary to consider that a brand once valued at £2bn was sold for around £40m. We’ve examined plans and prospects for the Scottish craft brewer under Tilray. And while attention has focused on the losses incurred by the 220,000 so-called ‘equity punk’ shareholders, we argue there’s not been enough attention on BrewDog employees in this punchy piece calling for greater recognition of – and compassion for – the humans behind the headlines.

It’s International Women’s Day this weekend, and to celebrate, our brilliant team of female editors and reporters took centre stage. Jacqui Parr (editor of thegrocer.co.uk) has written this week’s leader on the vexed issue of equality. She also interviewed Aldi CCO Julie Ashfield, one of the sector’s most highest-profile women thanks to her starring role on Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing. One of the key issues highlighted by Ashfield was the lack of senior women on the supply side, a point reinforced by research from data editor Elinor Zuke into low levels of board representation comparing retailers against suppliers. We profiled five fab female founder duos who are working together to transform grocery and “build a fempire”. It’s inspiring stuff.

At this week’s LIVE conference (co-hosted by The Grocer and Retail Week), I interviewed Asda boss Allan Leighton and Morrisons CEO Rami Baitiéh (not at the same time; in fact the interviews bookmarked the event). The two northern supermarkets have a lot in common. Both are private equity owned. Both are struggling. But their strategies are very different and the interviews made fascinating viewing. You can read highlights from the conference here.

One of the biggest stories in grocery at the moment surrounds the massive global babymilk recall. As we reveal baby formula prices have risen by as much as 45% in the mults since the start of the year. The bulk of the increases (84.1%) are across Danone lines. When you think about the fuss that was made when the Competition & Markets Authority was investigating babymilk prices (while dairy and oil prices were soaring) it seems extraordinary there’s not been more media attention on the impact. The increases certainly risk eroding consumer trust.

Talking of product recalls, our first-ever product recall league table was topped by Lidl and Aldi. That’s quite shocking when you think that their ranges are around the 10th of the size of the full-service supermarkets.

On the health side, The Grocer revealed exclusive research from prominent government advisers Nesta suggesting that a new wave of sugar taxes would slash obesity by 16%. But fascinatingly Nesta stopped short of recommending that the government go ahead with an extension of sugar taxes, because of the impact on food price inflation, with hikes as high as 30% on chocolate. And that was before the US declared war on Iran last weekend. So it was no surprise to see the food industry call for the government to row back on new “costs” to prevent food price inflation, with crunch talks held on Wednesday, as The Grocer exclusively revealed.

With the Iran conflict intensifying, supply chain experts are warning of “significant challenges”, with exporters slapped with ‘war risk’ surcharges of up $3,500 per container since last weekend, and importers also highlighting delayed shipments on commodities grown in Asia. And the FDF this week also called for government for the food sector over soaring energy prices.

Lax import controls at border posts also continue to raise concerns. The Commons Efra Committee, citing Defra data, warned this week that criminals are swerving the inland Border Control Post at Sevington in Kent after being directed there from Dover. The number of so-called ‘drive-bys’ of “disease-risk” illegal meat and plant products rose from 8% last August to 18% in November.

Finally, on a lighter note, Hotel Chocolat announced its first rebrand for 21 years. It’s not just about the look and feel. The aim was to introduce more price points to help tackle inflation and widen choice.

Of course there’s loads more stories brilliant stories in this week’s magazine. And even more on thegrocer.co.uk. But those are some of my faves. And we would love to know your thoughts on our coverage. Or is there anything we’ve missed? We’re all ears! Get in touch via LinkedIn or adam.leyland@thegrocer.co.uk.

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