Nestle’s $1B Vegan Push, Carl’s Jr. Launches Beyond Meat + More

Source: Nestle

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.

Nestle is gearing up for its biggest push yet into the booming vegan market: the Incredible Burger. The Swiss giant sees its vegan business reaching $1 billion within 10 years.

In restaurant news, Beyond Meat has made its biggest restaurant partnership yet, with an expansion into 1,100 Carl’s Jr. restaurants across the US. In South Korea, the Woowa Bros have landed a $320 million investment to drive expansion overseas and further develop its autonomous robots.

And finally, Amazon plans to add more Whole Foods stores to put more customers within range of its two-hour delivery service.

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. Nestle Plans Vegan Push With No-Meat Burger, Purple Walnut Milk – Bloomberg

Seeking millennial cred with alternative proteins, the Swiss giant sees its vegan business reaching $1b within 10 years.

2. Carl’s Jr. Launches Plant-Based Burger in 1.1K Restaurants – Nation’s Restaurant News

The chain is now Beyond Meat’s largest US restaurant partner.

3. Why & How Square Roots Launched Its Transparency Timeline

Inspired by the romaine lettuce recall, Square Roots offers a deep into how its making its data accessible to customers through its transparency timeline.

4. South Korean Food Delivery Startup Woowa Bros Lands $320M Investment – Reuters

Hillhouse Capital, Sequoia Capital and GIC led the investment. The capital will help drive expansion to overseas markets and the development of autonomous robots.

5. Amazon Plans to Add Whole Foods Stores – Wall Street Journal

The push would bring Whole Foods to more suburbs and put more customers within range of Amazon’s two-hour delivery service.

6. Canadian eGrocer SPUD Raises $8.2M Pre-IPO Funding for Food-X Urban Delivery – AgFunder

Financing was led by CIC Capital Ventures and joined by existing investors including Walter Capital Partners. The funds will be used to advance Food-X Urban Delivery.

7. American Chain Restaurants Had a Tough Year and 2019 Looks Worse – Bloomberg

Higher labor and food costs could weigh down profit this year. Demanding diners want delivery and customization as habits shift.

8. American Farmers Brace for More Pain As Pacific Trade Deal Kicks in without the US – CNBC

US beef and wheat exports could especially feel the pain from this deal.

9. 119 Organizations Shaking Up the Food System in 2019 – Food Tank

Watch these 119 organizations making change in the food system.

10. Consumers Buy from Companies That Take a Stand – New Hope Network

Sixty-three percent of consumers globally prefer to buy goods and services from companies that stand for a shared purpose that reflects their personal values and beliefs, and are ditching those that don’t.

11. Grocers Could Lose Up to $700B to Alternative Channels by 2026 – Grocery Dive

As many as half of conventional grocery stores could meet their demise in the coming years as the industry continues to evolve.

12. Women, Women of Color & Gender Non-Conforming Innovator Database

We created this open-source list to increase representation, support and investment in women, women of color & gender-nonconforming innovators in food. Join the list & help us spread the word using #womxninfood

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