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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Editor Roundtable

Podcast: What Does Nomiku’s Demise Mean For Consumer Sous Vide?

Last Friday, Nomiku announced it was closing its doors.

Alongside Anova and Sansaire, the San Francisco based startup founded by Lisa and Abe Fetterman was part of an early class of consumer sous vide startups looking to democratize the high-end cooking technique through technology. Now, nearly a decade after the publication of Modernist Cuisine, only Anova is left standing (after being acquired by Electrolux) while Nomiku and Sansaire are no more. So what does it all mean?

No spoilers here! You’ll have to listen to The Spoon editor podcast to find out.

In addition to discussing the end of Nomiku and the broader meaning of it all, the Spoon editor team also discuss the following stories:

As always, you can listen to this episode of the Food Tech Show on Apple podcasts or Spotify, download directly to your device, or just click play below.

Audio Player

The Food Tech Show Podcast: A Tech-Powered Fourth of July BBQ

Ok sure, our attention spans were a bit short this week and I was at it again with the sound effects, but we managed to record a podcast on this holiday week.

So if you’re heading to that Fourth of July day party across town or just busy preparing lots of plant-based meats to throw on the grill, just load up the latest episode of The Food Tech Show and listen to the Spoon gang talk about:

As always, you can listen to the Food Tech Show by on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, by downloading direct to your device or just by clicking play below.

How to Tell the Difference Between a Startup Accelerator and a Startup Incubator

This past week, The Spoon hosted the first-ever Food Tech Fireside event, a live conversation between our editors, notable food industry figures, and with some participation from the audience itself (you can listen to a podcast version of the conversation here).

To kick off the series, Mike Wolf explored the topic of food accelerators with Peter Bodenheimer of Food-X and Tessa Price of WeWork Food Labs. And right from the get-go, the discussion prompted a question that, while seemingly basic, confuses the heck out of a lot of people: What’s the difference between an accelerator and an incubator?

Worth noting ahead of any discussion about the terms is that they do overlap to some degree in this day and age. As Bodenheimer said during the event, they’re “interchangeable in certain aspects.” That caveat aside, you can usually tell the difference between an accelerator and an incubator by the companies they accept into their programs.

In other words, it’s all about the stage of growth at which participating companies are.

As their name suggests, accelerators help move existing companies along, or as Price said, “the goal is to work with earlier stage companies who are looking to accelerate their growth.” WeWork’s newly launched Food Labs is one such program. Other notable names include Y Combinator, TechStars, and AngelPad. For most companies participating in these or any other number of startup accelerators out there, the common denominator is that there’s an actual business already in place — that is, there’s actually something to accelerate.

If there isn’t, or if it’s more an idea than established business model, that’s often where incubators come in. “When you think of incubators and studio models, to me [the company is] a little bit earlier,” Bodenheimer noted. “So these may be companies that are not quite yet ready to commercialize. They’ve got the seed of an idea and now they’re working on how to build a little bit of a business structure around that.” In the food tech world, The Hatchery is one of the top incubators for startups and entrepreneurs.

Timeframe is another key differentiator. Typically, accelerators have a fixed time period for everything, from the application process to the actual program itself, which will run anywhere between a few weeks and a few months. And as Price pointed out during the event, a set curriculum is planned out for the duration of the accelerator program.

Incubators, on the other hand, don’t necessarily have an application process and take applicants on an ongoing basis from a variety of different sources. For example, The Kitchen incubator in Israel takes a portfolio approach to its companies, which it works with on an ongoing basis. Chobani’s incubator is another good example, as it focuses on finding compelling, disruptive ideas for the food system then helping companies turn those ideas into sustainable businesses. That said, Chobani is a also a great example of the interchangeable nature of incubators and accelerators nowadays. Traditionally, most incubators wouldn’t operate within a given timeframe; Chobani’s program runs for a pre-defined four-month period.

We’ll see more of those overlaps and nuances in future, and it’s likely the line between accelerator and incubator will get more muddled over time, not less. At the end of the day, finding the right fit should ultimately come down to what you want your company to be and whether a program can help you meet those goals.

Here’s a sampling what’s out there in terms of programs. Mind you, this barely scratches the surface, so drop any additions and suggestions into the comments below:

Food Tech Accelerators:
Food-X
WeWork Food Labs
Y Combinator
BSH
TechStars Farm to Fork
Hatch
The Yield Lab
The Good Food Accelerator
Accelerating Appalachia

Food Tech Incubators:
The Kitchen
Union Kitchen
Chobani Incubator
Kraft-Heinz Springboard
Nutrition Greenhouse
301 INC

Newsletter: The Spoon’s Food Tech 25 Is Here. So Is the Battle for the Drive-Thru.

This the post edition of our newsletter. To get the Weekly Spoon delivered to your inbox, subscribe here. 

One of my favorite things about tech is that it starts a lot of debate. Even within our small team here at The Spoon, we’re constantly on different pages about what’s groundbreaking and what’s just hype, whether something’s progressive or just invasive, how to spell the phrase “food tech.”

So when it came time to put together our annual Food Tech 25 list, which dropped yesterday, you can bet it took a whole lot of discussion to whittle the entire food industry down to just 25 companies.

As we always do, though, the Spoon team — Mike Wolf, Chris Albrecht, Catherine Lamb, and myself — managed to compile a list of companies we individually and collectively, believe are truly impacting the human relationship to food. That impact takes many forms, from the way Creator makes it possible for humans and robots to coexist in the kitchen to Yo-Kai’s vending machine of the future to Goodr’s efforts to use tech to keep food out of the trash and redistribute it to those in need.

I’m hoping readers enjoy this list, but I’m also hoping it sparks some healthy dispute, too. Who else should be on the list? For that matter, who shouldn’t, and why? We encourage you to email us with any additions, subtractions, rants and raves on the matter.

And, most important, congratulations to the companies who made it on this list!

Image via Unsplash.

Drive-Thru Tech Moves Into the Fast Lane

One area of food tech that’s going to raise many more questions over the next few years is the QSR drive-thru. Specifically, how AI is changing the drive-thru and what that means for both restaurant operators and customers.

We’ve been following closely the story behind McDonald’s acquisition of Dynamic Yield, a New Zealand-based AI company whose tech has already been rolled out to almost 1,000 Mickey D’s drive-thru lanes. Then, this week, Clinc, best known for its work in the financial sector, announced a new funding round that will allow the company to expand into other markets with QSR drive-thrus at the top of the list.

Clinc’s using AI-powered voice controls to facilitate more natural conversation between the customer and the ordering system in the hopes of making the drive-thru experience smoother and faster. Drive-thru order times are much longer than they used to be, and companies are betting AI will speed up the order process by making it more accurate and also making more personalized recommendations, like immediately suggesting a pastry to someone when they place their morning coffee order. There are even companies working on making those recommendations not just in real time but also based on existing customer data. One such company is 5thru, which does away with voice altogether by scanning your license plate number, which is attached to a profile stored with the restaurant and can make real-time recommendations based on your existing preferences and order history attached to that license plate number. Cue progressive-versus-creepy debate.

Join the Conversation at The Spoon’s New Food Tech Fireside Event

As much as we value the sound of our own voices over here, though, we actually want to hear more from readers on their thoughts around tech. That’s why we started a new online event, The Spoon’s Food Tech Firesides. Every month, we’ll hold a virtual sit down with one or two food industry innovators and invite the audience to join in the talk via written questions.

First up will be Tessa Price of WeWork Food Labs and Peter Bodenheimer from Food-X talking about food accelerators: what they are, what they’re not, and which companies and entrepreneurs should consider them as a path towards growth.

The event takes place May 30 at 10:00 a.m. PDT/1:00 p.m. EDT. Catch the full details here, and be sure to register early, as there’s limited space available.

May your week be filled with lively debate.

Onwards,

Jenn

Editor Roundtable Podcast: AI Everywhere, CBD Crackdown & Finding Love in a Fridge

Sure you’ve tried Tinder or Bumble, but have you looked for love with a fridge?

Now you can, kinda (not really), with Refrigerdate.

Samsung’s gimmicky smart fridge dating service is just one of the topics we talk about on our latest Spoon editor’s roundtable podcast edition of the Smart Kitchen Show.

Other topics include:

  • The growing number of AI-meets-food stories and whether the term AI is being overused
  • The pushback by local city and state governments against the use of CBD in beverages
  • The foodtech accelerator trend (including agtech) and why the new BSH Appliances smart kitchen accelerator may be a new angle for the appliance industry

Joining me on the podcast are the usual cast of characters: Jenn Marston, Chris Albrecht and Catherine Lamb.

As always, you can download the episode, listen to it on your favorite podcast app like Apple Podcasts, Stitcher or Soundcloud, or just click play below.

Editor Roundtable Podcast: 2019 Predictions And CES Preview

We’re just a couple days out from CES, and the Spoon team is heading to Vegas to hunt down all the food and kitchen tech stories we can find (and to throw a little party).

Before that, though, here’s another quick look at our predictions for the year 2019, which the crew discussed on this week’s Editor Roundtable Podcast:

    • Smart kitchen outlook for 2019
    • What will happen in food delivery
    • CBD predictions for coming year
    • What will happen in the white-hot food robot market

As always, you can listen to the pod by hitting play below, downloading it direct, subscribing on Apple podcasts, listening on Stitcher or anywhere you find podcasts.

Editor Roundtable Podcast: Gather ‘Round the Botfire

Each week, our editors get together for an planning call where we discuss topics, trends and stories we want to cover on The Spoon. Since we always have a blast talking foodtech, we thought we’d double-dip this week and also record the conversation.

So here it is, the first Spoon editor roundtable podcast!

The topics we discuss include:

We had a lot of fun recording this, and may turn it into a regular thing. Let us know what you think on Twitter and in the comments below!

As always, you can listen to the pod by hitting play below, downloading it direct or subscribing on Apple podcasts.