Inside Amazon Go, David Barber Launches $30M Fund, Uber Eats Acquires Ando + More

Every week we track the business, tech and investment trends in CPG, retail, restaurants, agriculture, cooking and health, so you don’t have to. Here are some of this week’s top headlines.

If you missed the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last weekend, be sure to check out The Future Market to explore themes on cannabis cuisine, blockchain chicken, and more.

Amazon’s long-awaited checkout-free convenience store opened its doors on Monday. The company also announced its marketing platform, causing investors to salivate over its ad business and increasing market value.

Two major acquisitions were made in the on-demand food delivery space–David Chang’s Ando was swallowed by Uber Eats and Square, owner of Caviar, bought out the long-established Texas-based company, Entrees On-Trays. DoorDash has joined the food waste movement by partnering with Feeding America on a pilot program to deliver surplus food to places in need.

David Barber, co-founder of Blue Hill restaurants, has launched a $30 million fund with Zoe Feldman for agriculture and hospitality tech, CPG and experiential retail companies.

And finally, National Geographic featured an article that visualizes China’s industrializing agricultural economy, reminding us of the country’s ever-growing population and shrinking farmland.

Check out our weekly round-up of last week’s top food startup, tech and innovation news below or peruse the full newsletter here.

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1. Inside Amazon Go, a Store of the Future – New York Times

The technology inside Amazon’s new convenience store, opening today in downtown Seattle, enables a shopping experience like no other — including no checkout lines.

2. Uber Eats Acquires Ando, the Food Delivery Startup from David Chang That Makes Its Own Food – TechCrunch

Ando is shutting down its service immediately as it begins to integrate with Uber Eats. The news comes as Uber CEO declares Uber Eats will be the largest food delivery company in the world this year.

3. Introducing Six New Concept Products From The Future Market

The Future Market is launching six new concept products at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco on Sunday, January 21. Visit us to explore themes on cannabis cuisine, blockchain chicken, and more.

4. Almanac Launches Fund for Scalable & Sustainable Businesses – BevNET

David Barber, co-owner of Blue Hill restaurants, and Zoe Feldman have launched a $30m fund for agriculture and hospitality tech, CPG and experiential retail companies. Almanac will invest in seed or series A rounds for early stage brands and has already closed three investments.

5. Amazon Has a Plan to Become Profitable. It’s Called Advertising – Bloomberg

Over the past several years, Bezos & Co. have quietly put together a marketing platform. Analysts predict it will become the first company with a $1T market value.

6. DoorDash Is Now Using Its Algorithm to Deliver Extra Food From Restaurants to Food Banks – Fast Company

DoorDash and Feeding America have launched a pilot program called Project DASH allowing restaurants to have their surplus food delivered to places in need through their MealConnect app.

7. Bacardi Is Buying Patron in Deal That Values the Tequila Company at $5.1B – CNBC

The deal will make Bacardi the biggest spirits player in the super-premium segment in the US. Tequila has been a fast-growing category as consumers shift away from beer and vodka.

8. PrecisionHawk Raises $75M Series D from Big Tech and Big Ag – AgFunder

The round was led by Third Point Ventures, Intel Capital, Comcast Ventures, Syngenta Ventures and Dupont. The company offers drones and subsequent data management and analysis.

9. OriginTrail Raises $22.5M for Supply Chains Blockchain Protocol – Coinjournal

The startup’s technology aims to increase trust and efficiencies, bringing transparency to supply chains. OriginTrail is part of the Bits x Bites tech accelerator program and has piloted its technology with Chinese online food store Yimishiji.

10. To Battle Amazon, Kroger Eyes Alibaba Alliance – New York Post 

Executives of each company met each other in China last month. Sources hint at a possible deal spanning online and offline sales.

11. Square Has Acquired a 32-Year-Old Restaurant Delivery Company – TechCrunch

Square has acquired Entrees On-Trays to expand the footprint of its on-demand food delivery service, Caviar, in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas area. It will also allow Caviar to deliver from long-standing favorites, grow existing markets and pilot cross country pop-ups.

12. 5 Women Sue Monster Energy Over Abusive, Discriminatory Culture – Huffington Post

The women say they were bullied, harassed and even assaulted. They’re out of work, and the men who allegedly behaved badly still have jobs.

13. Hong Kong: Asia’s Favorite Bean Just Got Served Up as Scrambled Eggs – Quartz

JUST, formerly Hampton Creek, debuted its “Just Scramble” for the Asian markets in Hong Kong. The company is showing off the fruits of its $90m investment from Horizons Ventures. It plans to get its products into China, Japan and India.

14. How China Plans to Feed 1.4 Billion Growing Appetites – National Geographic

As more Chinese crave Western-style diets, the booming nation rushes to industrialize an agricultural economy long built around small farms.

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