Source: The Verge

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.

Despite the looming presence of Amazon in the grocery space, startups and traditional grocers are still rushing to compete. Accel Robotics has just raised $30 million from SoftBank to take its automated cashierless stores global. Walmart ceased Jet.com’s fresh food delivery business in New York City last week. Meanwhile, Kroger is getting into the business of ghost kitchens with its new partnership with Clustertruck.

In CPG news, Impossible Foods is looking to raise up to $400 million. PepsiCo has acquired the maker of PopCorners, BFY Brands, for an undisclosed sum.

Last but not least, the Trump Administration is moving forward with its cutback on food stamps, impacting nearly 700,000 people. The new rule makes it harder for states to waive work requirements.

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

1. SoftBank Leads $30M Investment in Accel Robotics for AI-Enabled Cashierless Stores – VentureBeat

The company is now ready to scale its “frictionless commerce platform” globally, a move that will include increasing its manufacturing capacity.

2. Hundreds of Thousands Are Losing Access to Food Stamps – New York Times

The USDA gave its final approval to the first of three rules that are ultimately expected to cut more than 3m from the food stamp rolls. The rule will remove 700,000 people from the food stamp program by enforcing federal work requirements.

3. Impossible Foods Eyes Doubling Valuation With New Funding – Reuters

The is looking to raises $300-400m at a valuation of between $3-5b, according to sources.

4. Walmart’s Jet to Cease Its New York City Fresh Grocery Business – Bloomberg

Jet.com is ending its fresh food delivery business just a year after introducing the service in New York City, another sign that the urban-focused site is scaling back.

5. PepsiCo Acquires PopCorners Maker to Expand Portfolio of Healthy Options – Nosh

PepsiCo announced plans to acquire BFY Brands, maker of PopCorner snacks, from Permira. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

6. To Grow, Kroger Is Diversifying Beyond Grocery – ModernRetail

The company is now focusing on prepared meals. It announced it would be launching four delivery-only kitchens in partnership with Clustertruck.

7. Postmates Cuts Dozens of Jobs and Shuts Mexico City Office After Investors Turn on Cash-Burning Business – CNBC

The delivery company filed confidential paperwork for an IPO earlier this year, but the markets turned on cash-burning business after the struggles of Uber and Lyft and near collapse of WeWork.

8. New Report Confirms Challenges for Young and Beginning Farmers – Civil Eats

Data from USDA shows that beginning farms are smaller and less financially successful than their more established counterparts—and reveals some surprises.

9. Grocery-Packing Robots Are Aiming For World Domination – Bloomberg

U.K. supermarket-tech company Ocado has won contracts around the world. Its latest deal in Japan is a tall order to fill on top of everything else.

10. FDA Issues Warnings to 15 CBD Companies — and Alerts Consumers of Possible Side Effects – Nosh

FDA said it cannot recognize CBD as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use in human or animal food.

11. Why a Robot Pizza Startup Could Be Worth $4B – Recode

Zume is in talks with investors to be valued at $4b in a new round of fundraising. Softbank pumped $375m into Zume just last year, and is expected to back Zume again.

12. Australia’s v2food Raises $35M for Plant-Based Meat – The Spoon

The round was led by Main Sequence Ventures and Horizon Ventures. V2food will use its funding to expand R&D and build a new production facility in Australia.

13. Online Grocery Shopping Could Help Alleviate Food Deserts – The Spoon

The Yale University study looked at eight states participating in the Online Purchase Pilot of the 2014 Farm Bill that allows people on SNAP to purchase groceries online. The provision could go nationwide after the trial ends in 2021.

14. Fresh-Food Vending Machines Will Be Graded Like Restaurants – New York Times

New York City health officials are requiring Farmer’s Fridge to get permits and inspections for its machines, which dispense salads and bowls.

15. 2018 U.S. Food & Beverage Startup Investment Report

Over $1.45B was invested across 247 deals in 2018, according to the research in our second annual investment report produced in partnership with Ryan Willams.  Check out the report for a deep dive into the investor and investment trends. We also share a complete list of deals and acquisitions.

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