A duo of former McDonald's executives — former president and COO Mike Roberts and former communications head Mike Donahue — are planning to launch a healthy lifestyle brand comparable to Starbucks, Nike or Apple, but in the “fast casual” food services vertical. With backing from Chicago-based entrepreneur Steve Sidwell, the startup's brand name, for now, honors Sidwell’s daughter Stephanie.

Plans are to open the first restaurant in 2011 and grow to 250 locations by 2016, but Donahue told Ad Age, which broke the story, that there’s "no tangible goals other than to do one really good location, get the taste profile right and the affordability right.”

McDonald's, which is promoting healthy eating with spots such as its recent Yummivore campaign, above, likely isn't too worried. And its former execs are looking to fill a niche, not pursuing global domination.Continue reading...

As the World Cup shines a spotlight on South Africa for the next month, it also highlights Africa, for better or worse. Sunny messaging such as Coca-Cola's FIFA World Cup trophy tour naturally paints a happy picture of Africans. But it's not all sunny, of course.

An article in London's Observer yesterday highlights the plight of child refugees flooding into Johannesburg, where soccer tourism presents an unprecedented opportunity for young beggars, pedlars and others depending on handouts and charity.

With the global spotlight shining on Africa, pressure is also increasing on the world's leading electronics brands including Nokia, Samsung, Motorola and Sony Ericsson to commit to conflict-free products.Continue reading...