Walmart's new subscription service is a direct competitor of Amazon Prime.
Launching later this month, Walmart+ will cost $98 a year with perks like same-day delivery of groceries and general merchandise, discounts on fuel at Walmart gas stations, and early access to product deals. Still, Amazon Prime's dominance in retail could be hard to beat.
Food Institute Focus
Autonomous trucking company TuSimple unveiled an autonomous freight network
, which it claims is a world first. The company expects to make automated shipping a reality and plans to expand its network over the next four years, reported
Recode
.
Full Story
Dairy substitute startup Perfect Day reached $300 million in Series C funding
due to a $50 million investment from Thematic Investing. The startup uses fermentation to produce a plant-based replacement for milk protein, with the goal of replicating milk's nutrient profile as well as its behavior and texture. Perfect Day's cofounders do not plan to compete against other dairy alternatives but to offer their particular whey protein blend to other brands as an ingredient, reported
Fortune
.
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Potandon Produce experienced a security breach that may have exposed employees' information
, including driver's license numbers. The company cited potentially suspicious activity that may have allowed an unauthorized third party to access the information in a server but there is no evidence it was accessed or viewed. The company immediately launched an investigation, got the assistance of computer forensic experts, and sent letters to those potentially impacted.
Full Story
Tiff's Treats raised $15 million in a recent funding round
exceeding its $10 million goal. The company specializes in warm baked-to-order cookie and brownie delivery, and will use the funding to accelerate its nationwide expansion.
Full Story
Kroger chose Dentsu Aegis Network as its integrated media agency.
It will be responsible for TV, radio, print, out-of-home, search, social, display, online video, and streaming audio advertising, as well as reassessing existing sponsorships. Kroger selected the organization because it offers customer research and a data-based media planning and buying approach.
Full Story
Fare launched a food delivery service in New York City that doesn't charge restaurants commission
. Betting on economies of scale, the company's method allows customers to place advance orders from a curated menu and it delivers the food in batches within a set time window.
Full Story
Coffee Tech Industries, Inc. will build its headquarters and a manufacturing facility in Seguin, TX.
The $56 million investment is expected to provide 91 jobs. Coffee Tech offers grinding services to roasted coffee providers making instant coffee and does not produce its own named store brand. The facility is expected to be operational in 2022, reported the
Seguin Gazette
.
Full Story
Superior Dairy Inc. is investing $25.5 million to expand its milk processing in Canton, OH.
The expansion, which will add 123 jobs, will support new aseptic processes and packaging lines to expand into new markets. The company will also implement new manufacturing lines, which will include growth in its cottage cheese, sour cream, and cream product lines as well as preliminary implementation of a new caseless line, reported
Cleveland Business Journal.
Full Story
Amazon plans to open a fulfillment center and delivery station in Little Rock, AR.
The 825,000-sq. ft. fulfillment center is anticipated to launch in 2021 and will create over 1,000 new full-time jobs. Amazon is also planning a 85,000-sq. ft delivery station to be installed in late 2020, providing last-mile fulfillment, reported
Area Development
.
Full Story
Seed & Roe rebranded as Upward Farms and will build a new headquarters farm in Brooklyn, NY
. The indoor aquaponic operation for leafy greens and fish will allow the company to increase production 20 times compared to the original facility, and it's slated to open in 2020.
Full Story
U.S. Farmers & Ranchers changed its name to U.S. Farmers & Ranchers in Action
to communicate the active role farmers and ranchers play to advance food and nutrition security, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity. The non-profit also launched a digital platform that highlights the stories of food and agriculture leaders.
Full Story
Delivery Developments: goPuff
launched its fourth Miami-area facility and added Panther Coffee Roasters and Vegan Schmegan Bakery to its delivery platform.
Full Story
New Product News: Happi Foodi
expanded its distribution to more retailers.
Full Story
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Soylent
revamped its nutrition drinks.
Full Story
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Mondelez International
introduced Ritz
Cheese Crispers in two varieties.
Full Story
...
Gathered Foods launched
Good Catch plant-based crab cakes, fish cakes, and fish burgers.
Full Story
Store News: Muscle Maker Grill
will open in El Paso, TX.
Full Story
...
BJ's Wholesale Club
will open in Chesterfield, MI, on July 31.
Full Story
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China continued to cut back on its approved meat imports
, limiting imports from Brazilian operations of BRF and JBS. While the country has not given an official reason for the suspensions, many speculate the effort stems from the country's push to stop a second wave of COVID-19, reported
Forbes
.
Full Story
The UK Treasury chief said the country faced unprecedented economic times
and was entering one of the most severe recessions it had ever seen. Rishi Sunak argued the government would pay companies a 1,000-pound bonus for each employee they take back, but critics argue the plan could cost the treasury as much a 9.4 billion pounds, reported
Yakima Herald-Republic
.
Full Story
Saudi Arabia completed the first step of privatizing state flour mills.
The process of transferring mills from the state to large agribusiness companies has been slow since the onset in 2016. The first and largest sale saw a milling company valued at $540.1 million transferred to the Raha AlSafi consortium, reported
Reuters
.
Full Story
Nespresso is investing $170.4 million in its Romont coffee production center in Switzerland
. Construction will begin in June 2021 and the first of the of the new production lines are expected to be fully operational by June 2022.
Full Story
A nationwide summer voucher program encourages UK diners to eat at restaurants.
The "eat out to help out" program offers a 50% discount up to $12.64 per person Mondays to Wednesdays. The country also cut VAT sales tax from 20% to 5% for restaurants, cafes, and pubs, reported
Reuters
.
Full Story
Burger King UK may permanently close up to 10% of its restaurants as result of the pandemic.
The CEO said the chain will do everything possible to avoid the closures but government efforts to help the restaurant industry don't do enough to offset the combination of fixed costs and lost sales, reported
BBC.
Full Story
American Express, Discover, Mastercard, and Visa will expand Click to Pay to international markets
. Technical preparations are underway and once complete the system will allow businesses to offer a simple and secure checkout experience that doesn't require customers to key account numbers and information.
Full Story
Vietnam's coffee growing regions saw an outbreak of 60 diphtheria cases.
The disease affected triple the number of people this year compared with 2018, and could impact coffee production if the outbreak continues into the October harvest, reported
Bloomberg
.
Full Story
Brazil's largest pork producing state is considering ending COVID-19 protections
in a move said to "harmonize" state and federal regulations. The state government might roll back rules requiring meat plants maintain distancing, supply PPE, report cases of suspected COVID-19 to the local health department, and remove pregnant and Indigenous workers from food plants. State labor prosecutors estimate 480,000 workers could be affected, reported
Reuters.
Full Story
Vertegrow will open Scotland's first commercial vertical farm in Aberdeenshire
. The four-tower facility will be used to grow a variety of crops and will have the capacity to produce about 77 tons per year, which is intended for the local food supply chain including retailers, caterers, and restaurants.
Full Story
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CDC reported 16,233 cases of coronavirus among workers in meat and poultry processing facilities
in April and May. The data was collated from 23 states and 239 facilities, and found 86 COVID-19-related deaths.
Full Story
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A national coalition of labor unions will stage a mass walkout from work in July
. The Strike for Black Lives will include racial and social justice organizations, with tens of thousands of fast food, ride-share, nursing home, and airport workers joining, reported
Boston Globe
.
Full Story
A class action lawsuit alleged Kraft used milk from cows on hormones in the past
. The lawsuit argued the company began advertising its products as made with milk free of artificial growth hormones, and theorized that if the change was recent, then Kraft advertised "natural" cheese products inaccurately for years, reported
Legal Newsline
.
Full Story
A 10% cap on fees delivery apps can charge restaurants passed in Portland, OR
. The city joins Seattle, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia, which instituted limits at 15%, and New Jersey which applied a 10% cap to restaurants across the state, reported
The Oregonian
.
Full Story
OSHA issued a new safety tips poster for meat packing, poultry, and pork workers
to protect against exposures to the coronavirus. The poster, available in 17 languages, highlights nine infections prevention measures employers can take.
Full Story
USDA expanded the number of specialty crops eligible for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program.
USDA said additional review is ongoing, which could result in a subsequent expansion.
Full Notice
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Concerns are mounting over the growing trend of shipping surplus Midwestern pigs to the Northwest
. Slaughterhouse capacity is already tight and the influx of animals is making it more difficult for Northwestern pigs producers to get their animals slaughtered. Additionally, the younger Midwestern pigs will spend months fattening on farms raising the risk that they introduce new hard-to-eradicate diseases to Washington and Oregon, reported
The Wichita Eagle
.
Full Story
California fig growers expect the 2020 fresh harvest to reach between 10 million-lbs. and 12 million-lbs.
, lining up with 2019's total, according to the California Fig Advisory Board. The board noted weather patterns were cooperative this year, with excellent growing conditions, reported
The Packer
.
Full Story
U.S. turkey eggs in incubators totaled 26.9 million June 1
, down 4% from June 1, 2019, according to USDA. Turkey poults hatched during May reached 21.4 million, down 9% when compared to both April and May 2019.
Full Report
USDA made an initial purchase of vaccine for the National Animal Vaccine and Veterinary Countermeasures Bank
. The agency's Agricultural and Plant Health Inspection Service will invest $27.1 million in foot-and-mouth disease vaccine, which USDA would use in the event of an outbreak to protect animals and help stop the spread of disease.
Full Story
USDA increased the assessment rate for spearmint oil
handled under the Far West Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee. The new rate for the 2020-2021 and subsequent marketing years will be $0.14 per lb., up from the current $0.10 rate.
Full Notice
Meanwhile,
USDA increased the assessment rate for sweet onions
grown under the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Marketing Committee. The assessment rate was increased to $0.15 per 50-lb. bag or equivalent from the $0.10 rate.
Full Notice
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Sax LLP
is a multi-disciplinary accounting, tax and business advisory firm with a dedicated team of advisors in the Food and Beverage industry. Our specialized compliance and tax planning services, financial statement audits, reviews and compilations help manufacturers and distributors increase their productivity and profitability in the Food and Beverage space. Beyond traditional accounting services, our team uses a wealth of industry experience and expertise to offer profitability studies, performance benchmark studies and strategic planning advice.
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