💬 Quoted: “I did a double take…I was imagining, you know, grandparents who got gift cards for their kids in college and then it got thrown away.”

As TGI Fridays navigates through bankruptcy, its franchisees are worried about getting stuck carrying the to-go bag. The company has $49.7 million in outstanding customer gift card obligations – far more than the cash it has in the bank, even after taking into account a $5.9 million loan secured to fund its bankruptcy proceedings.

The dilemma: When gift cards are used at franchised restaurants, the location accepts the gift card as payment, then asks for reimbursement from corporate. In this instance, franchisees want to honor the gift cards – but, given the situation, are concerned the funds may end up coming from their own pockets.

• Most TGI Fridays' restaurants are franchises, due to the company's "asset-light" business strategy. 122 of its 161 open locations in the US are franchises.

Following a judge’s ruling on Monday (who the above quote is taken from), the gift-card program will continue on an interim basis, giving franchisees more time to review both it and the company’s finances before the program is approved for the remainder of bankruptcy.

Part of a trend: Several other US restaurant companies have also filed for bankruptcy in 2024, including Red Lobster, Buca di Beppo, and Rubio's Coastal Grill.

🧖 Stat of the Day: Move over Big Pharma, there’s a new sheriff in town – Big Cold Plunge. The global wellness industry increased 25% from 2019-2023 to reach $6.3 trillion, making it larger than both the sports and pharmaceutical industries (~$2.7 trillion and ~$1.5 trillion, respectively), per a new report from the Global Wellness Institute, a leading industry group.

However – that figure is partly due to the GWI’s relatively broad definition of wellness. By comparison, McKinsey, which has stricter guidelines, puts the global wellness economy at $1.8 trillion as of January 2024.

• Either way, the industry has seen a revenue boost in recent years due to a combination of peoples’ increased focus on health during the pandemic, as well as trends like an aging global population, chronic disease, and mental health awareness.

🤔 Did You Know? Humans emit a very low level of light due to our metabolic processes – meaning we technically glow in the dark. This glow is ~1,000x weaker than what human eyes can detect, but it can be picked up by certain types of cameras.

📰 Worth a Read: The thriving business of looking good on Zoom → (The Hustle)