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Weekly Spoon

The Weekly Spoon: How the June is Like the Band KISS, AEG Smart Cooktop & Plantjammer

This is the post version of our weekly (twice-weekly, actually) newsletter. If you’d like to get the weekly Spoon in your inbox, you can subscribe here.

One of my favorite pieces of writing ever is Chuck Klosterman’s breakdown of every KISS album. It’s hilarious and insightful and there is one nugget in there that illustrates the emotional connection I’ve made to my new June Oven.

In a nutshell, Klosterman compares the band Boston to KISS. People like Boston and respect them, but people who are into KISS — love KISS. And that love translates into a loyal, rabid fan-base spanning decades.

In much the same way, we look at a lot of high-tech kitchen gadgets here at The Spoon, and I like a fair number of them. I like the Anova Nano. I like the Meater thermometer. But I love my new June Oven. It took me a while to realize why. Sure, it’s pretty and packed with all kinds of gizmos and sensors and such. But I love it because it makes me feel like I can cook, and I’ve never felt that way before.

Admittedly, a big reason I feel this way is that the June is doing pretty much all of the work. I tap a few buttons and it does the rest. But it is empowering to know that I can make a perfect salmon filet in under fifteen minutes without any help. This means I can cook more often, want to cook more often, and can be a more active participant in the meals my family consumes.

You can see why so many companies are getting into the guided cooking space. Mike Wolf wrote today about AEG’s newly announced smart induction cooktop. As he points out, for AEG’s parent company, Electrolux, “…early smart kitchen efforts have centered around cavity/oven cooking, but this marks the first effort to integrate smart cooking technology into the company’s induction cooktops.” The June can do a lot, but it can’t sear a steak, so having a smart cooktop would be a nice addition to my kitchen.

Another European appliance giant, Miele, also added a guided cooking arrow to its quiver with an investment in Plantjammer. Catherine Lamb got the scoop writing that Plantjammer “creates custom recipes for users based off of whatever ingredients they have in their kitchen—then walks them through how to go from recipe to meal, step by step.” Between MChef, KptnCook and now Plantjammer, Miele is assembling an interesting portfolio of investments that help consumers throughout their meal journey.

Of course, there are companies looking to take over even more of the cooking experience. Over in Denmark, Simple Feast, raised a $12 million Series A for it’s vegetarian and eco-friendly meal kits. They do all the prep work so all you have to do is re-heat for ten minutes and you’re good to go.

And if re-heating is too much work for you (we get it), then check out Jenn Marston’s breakdown of how the food hall is the new food truck and most definitely not your father’s mall food court. These high-end eateries combine food, culture and community for a fun and fine dining experience.

With ovens like the June, our guided future will be here faster than you think, so if you’re interested in hearing from those defining the future of cooking (including June CEO Matt Van Horn!), you won’t want to miss Smart Kitchen Summit.  Just use discount code NEWSLETTER for 25% off. Get you ticket today!

 

Be kind. It’s more than a feeling.
-Chris

Stories in this edition:

A Nano Review of the Anova Nano
When Anova named their newest product the Nano, there was no mistaking the message they were trying to get across: that this, the latest in their lineup of sous vide circulators, is their smallest yet.

Review: Meet Meater, the Connected Thermometer
The meat probe becomes a guided cook to better prepare proteins.

I Got the June Bug. Now I Want to Cook Everything with the Smart Oven
My wife sat on our couch eating day old pizza she had reheated in our recently purchased (and now sold out) second-generation June Oven. Looking at the slice in her hand, she remarked “I can’t believe they have engineers working full time to algorithmically figure this out — but it is [expletive] amazing.”


AEG Rolling Out Smart Induction Cooktop and Wireless Sensor Probe At IFA
Electrolux’s AEG brand is rolling out a new smart cooking system in the form of a new induction cooktop (hob) with a wireless sensor probe at IFA next week.

Miele Invests in AI-Powered Cooking App Plant Jammer
German appliance giant the Miele Group has bought a minority stake in foodtech startup Plant Jammer. The Copenhagen-based company uses AI to suggest complimentary ingredients and build modular recipes.

Miele To Launch Food Delivery Service At IFA
According to a preview announcement released by Miele, the company is partnering up with a German startup called MChef to deliver meals to customers with the Dialog oven.

Miele Invests in Shoppable Recipe Startup, KptnCook
KptnCook, a Berlin-based shoppable recipe startup, today announced that it has received a “seven figure” investment from Miele Venture Capital, a subsidiary of Miele Group, the appliance making giant (and fellow German company).

Denmark’s Simple Feast Grabs $12M for Plant-based Meal Delivery
Danish meal delivery service Simple Feast raised a $12 million Series A. As TechCrunch first reported, the funding round was led by London’s Balderton Capital with participation from 14W and existing investors Sweet Capital and ByFounders.

Today’s Best Food Halls Are About Much More Than Cuisine
Some go as far as claiming food halls are the new food truck. And just as food trucks eventually expanded to pretty much every state in the U.S., the food hall concept is steadily branching outward, from Falls Church, Virginia to Portland, Oregon, and everywhere in between.

The Weekly Spoon: Where’s My SodaStream Fridge?

This is the post version of our weekly (twice-weekly, actually) newsletter. If you’d like to get the weekly Spoon in your inbox, you can subscribe here.

Every now and then a big company makes an acquisition that makes you wonder about the possibilities.

Pepsi scooping up SodaStream is one such deal.

The $3.2 billion purchase clocks in at 33 times forward earnings. The rich valuation is justified in part by SodaStream’s strong growth in the sparkling water market, but also because it puts Pepsi into a new category: home beverage creation.

“SodaStream is highly complementary and incremental to our business, adding to our growing water portfolio, while catalyzing our ability to offer personalized in-home beverage solutions around the world,” said Ramon Laguarta, CEO-Elect and President, PepsiCo, in the company’s press release.

Of course, this isn’t the first time Big Drink – including Pepsi – has looked at the in-home beverage market. They launched their Drinkfinity line earlier this year, and competitor Dr. Pepper has most likely at least considered the possibilities of a revamped Keurig Kold post-acquisition.

But at this point, it’s safe to say none of these efforts have been a runaway hit. Will a SodaStream armed with Pepsi’s resources change that? While Chris’s take is that it’s best for Big Drink to stay away from the home beverage machine business, my take it a little more sanguine. I think in-home creation dovetails well with two consumer megatrends that will only pick up more momentum:

-The soda business is shrinking fast, and low-calorie healthy alternatives will likely continue to be the fastest growing category in beverages

-Bottled drinks are bad for the environment, so a growing contingent of consumers will continue to look for more ecofriendly alternatives (like home beverages!).

While a countertop beverage machine may not be for everyone, who’s to say SodaStream couldn’t be built into my refrigerator some day? I just bought a new fridge and, I have to say, I would much rather have a tasty drink spigot on it than a touchscreen (and I’m probably not the only one).

Bottom line, whether built into a fridge or through a small machine on the countertop, I think the stars are lining up for continued growth for the in-home beverage market.

Now if they could make a home Kombucha as easy.

(Ed note: Reader Chris pointed out to me that in 2013 Samsung partnered with SodaStream to add a dispenser to a fridge, but the models have since been discontinued. With sparking water having a moment, I have to wonder if it’s time to revive this idea?)

Speaking of Interesting Drink Trends…

Have you ever had your name printed on a beverage?

We have:

While the idea of images printed on drink foam (whether its coffee, cocktails or beer) may seem like a novelty to some, I would argue drink “printing” could become commonplace in the next few years in restaurants and bars.  My guess is that not only would consumers pay a little extra for a drink printed “selfie”, but brands would jump at the opportunity to get the word out via drink-top messaging. Imagine the value of having your new vodka brand printed on all the drinks served in a bar on a given night.

You can read about the new Ripples cocktail printer announced today (and see a video of The Spoon logo printed on a drink) over at The Spoon.

Delivery Tech Is Hot

Grocery delivery and logistics continue to be one of the hottest spaces in food tech. This week we saw a massive $110 million investment in Boxed (which brings the total invested in the grocery logistics company to $243 million) and news of a successful trial of in-trunk delivery by Delivery.com/Phrame.  As someone who’s skeptical about letting a total stranger into my home, I’m intrigued by the idea of trunk delivery. Amazon apparently feels the same.

If you haven’t caught our the latest episode of The Smart Kitchen Show, I had a great time talking with VineSleuth’s Amy Gross about how AI can help consumers find the perfect wine.  Check it out at The Spoon or subscribe to the show on Apple podcasts.

And if you like my conversation with Amy, she’s just one of many great speakers coming to the Smart Kitchen Summit in just under seven weeks. Make sure to get your tickets today with the discount code NEWSLETTER for 25% off of tickets. 

In the 08/22/2018 edition:

Grocery Logistics is Hot as Boxed Nabs $110 Million Investment from Aeon Group

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 22, 2018 09:16 am
Boxed, an e-commerce company that sells bulk grocery items, yesterday announced a $110 million investment led by Aeon Group, one of the largest retailers in Japan. This minority stake brings the total amount raised by Boxed to $243.6 million and values the company at $600 million.

Ripple PM Prints a Selfie on your Cocktails

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 22, 2018 06:00 am
We are all used to the idea of Instagramming our cocktails, but the new Ripple Maker PM, made by Ripples, lets you place your Instagram-worthy photos directly on the foam of your favorite boozy beverage. To customize a cocktail, users upload selfies, logos, or other images to the WiFi-enabled appliance using a Facebook Messenger app.

Buttermilk Co’s Microwaveable Indian Meals Merge Authenticity and Convenience

By Catherine Lamb on Aug 21, 2018 01:15 pm
Founder Mitra Raman got the idea for Buttermilk Co. because of a craving for rasan: a tomato-y South Indian stew and her favorite food. Raman’s mother gave her the ingredients in a bag — all Raman had to do was add water and boil.

Hitachi to Use AI to Analyze Hospital Food Leftovers and Improve Patient Recovery

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 21, 2018 11:14 am
We often write about artificial intelligence (AI) being used on food before it gets to you: inspecting the supply chain, making sure your burgers are cooked, etc. But a new unit of Japanese company Hitachi is applying AI to food leftover on the plate after people are done with it.

Phrame and Delivery.com Partner for In-Trunk Delivery

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 21, 2018 08:16 am
Is your car trunk the new post office box? It could be if a new service from Phrame and Delivery.com catches on. The two companies announced today the conclusion of a successful pilot that saw deliveries made directly into car trunks in an attempt to provide a new method of convenience for grocery shoppers.

No More Lukewarm Coffee: How Heating Tech will Disrupt the Kitchen

By Catherine Lamb on Aug 20, 2018 02:27 pm
The ability to apply precision heat to food and drinks is a quick-evolving — and pretty darn exciting — area of the digital kitchen innovation. And no one is pushing more boundaries in this space than Clay Alexander. He’s the founder and CEO of Ember, a company which makes smart mugs which can exactly control and […]

Coca-Cola Should Stay Out of the Home Device Business

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 20, 2018 11:51 am
After I wrote up the news this morning about PepsiCo buying SodaStream for a bubbly $3.2 billion, a commenter got me thinking about what rival Coca-Cola’s next steps should be. Spoon reader “James” asked: So now that Pepsi has Sodastream and Dr. Pepper has Keurig, what consumer hardware company is Coke going to buy?

PepsiCo Buys SodaStream for $3.2 Billion

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 20, 2018 08:21 am
PepsiCo said today that it will buy SodaStream, makers of the countertop carbonation system, for $3.2 billion. The move not only pushes the sugary drink giant further into the healthy beverage market, but it also moves the company into more of a hardware space, which opens up new lines of recurring revenue.

Podcast: The AI Powered Sommelier With Amy Gross

By Michael Wolf on Aug 19, 2018 08:07 am
A decade ago, Amy Gross was enjoying a glass of wine with her husband when she noticed how the same wine tasted different to different people. From there she began to think about how technology could be used to make personalized wine recommendations, and it wasn’t long before IBM and others wanted to learn more […]

Food Tech News Roundup: Plant-Based Starbucks, Google’s Wearable Meal Plan, and Grocery Innovation

By Catherine Lamb on Aug 18, 2018 06:00 am
What a week for food tech fundraising! From DoorDash’s $250 million to a hefty raise for cellular aquaculture company BlueNalu to not one, not two, but three fundraising rounds for food waste startups, it’s been a doozy.

From the Newsletter: I Love LA(‘s Food Tech Scene), Robots are Everywhere and New June Oven

Chris here. I’m in LA this week, which I love because LA is genuinely one of my favorite cities. Sure there is smog, every street is clogged with traffic and it spawned the Kardashian empire. But it’s also vibrant, creative, and filled with tons of good restaurants. It’s for these reasons that you can already see LA emerge as a major food tech hub.

Beyond Meat, has its headquarters here and yesterday I got to take a tour of it to see the real science behind fake meat. While we were surprised to see that the number of vegetarians in the US has stayed the same over the years, it seems like it could change with all the new fake meat coming to market. Especially the Beyond Meat sausage patty, which I tried and is out of this world and will open up the breakfast market for the company (hopefully they can fix their scaling issues before its release).

Elsewhere, vegetarians who love fish will be happy to know that Good Catch just finished closing it’s $8.7 million Series A round to ramp up its plant-based seafood. But if you’re looking for a fake meat sandwich, Catherine Lamb can’t recommend eating the flavorless Lo-Dough flatbread.

I’m scrambling to write this before I head out to Pasadena to meet Flippy, the burger flipping robot at Caliburger. Once a novelty, food robots are becoming more mainstream. Pizza Hut in Seoul, South Korea just put Bear Robotics’ Penny to work in a limited engagement there, while here in California, it was reported that robot pizza company Zume could be getting as much as $750 million from Softbank (though that deal is more about data than robots). If you need further proof that robots are hot, Cafe X is raising another $12 million for its robot baristas to sling even more hot cups of java.

Caliburger also features automated kiosks that let you pay with your face. But is this type of hyper-personal payment system a good thing? It’s a question Jenn Marston asked when writing about the new CLEAR-based system that will let Seahawks fans pay for beer with their fingerprints. A good way to validate payments? Or a creepy way to keep track of how much beer you buy? (Or a little bit of both).

And finally, June released and started shipping its second-gen connected oven this week. Perhaps the best new feature of the June is the price, which dropped to $599 ($499 if you act quickly) from the first-gen’s $1,500 price tag. The sports an HD camera to identify what you’re cooking, loads of pre-sets (64 just for bacon!) to make that cooking easier, and improved product engineering that lets users cook with no pre-heating. I ordered one, so expect a review in the near future.

But for right now, I have to get to Pasadena and that traffic isn’t going to get any easier.

Have a great weekend, and be kind.

-Chris

Stories featured in this newsletter:

The Number of Vegetarians Today Is the Same as in 2012 — Is That About to Change?
Mara Judkis wrote a Washington Post article which blew our preconceived notions about the number of non-meat-eaters out of the water. In the piece, she wrote that only 5% of Americans identified as vegetarian; a number which has remained unchanged since 2012 — and, in fact, is down from the number of vegetarians in 1999 and 2001.

Good Catch Foods Reels In $8.7 Million for Plant-Based Seafood
Good Catch Foods, the Pennsylvania-based startup which makes seafood out of plants, closed an $8.7 million Series A funding round yesterday. This ups their Series A from the $5.5 million the company announced in April.

Lo-Dough is a No-Go for Bread Lovers, But Gives Food for Thought
When something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Such is the case with Lo-Dough, a fat-free, gluten-free, high fiber product that’s meant to be a substitute for bread. With 90 percent fewer carbs than bread and 39 calories per serving (a serving is one 9-inch disc), it’s geared towards the health-conscious and paleo market.

Bear Robotics’ Penny Clocks in at Pizza Hut in South Korea
Pizza Hut in South Korea today announced it is rolling out a new robotic employee at one of its Seoul restaurants. While the robot is called Dilly Plate there, Spoon readers might know it better as “Penny,” the self-driving dish busser robot from Bay Area startup Bear Robotics.

Report: SoftBank Cooking Up Potential $750M Investment in Zume
Bloomberg reported yesterday that Softbank Group is in discussions to invest from $500 million to $750 million into Zume, the Bay Area company that uses a combination of data, robots and specially outfitted vans to deliver hot pizza.

Cafe X Raising $12 Million “Seed-1” Round
Cafe X, the startup that builds robot baristas, is in the process of raising a $12 million “Seed-1” round. Crunchbase News broke the story after coming across regulatory filings which showed that Cafe X has already raised $9.42 million of the new round. Cafe X Founder and CEO Henry Hu later confirmed the news with Crunchbase.

Seahawks Fans Can Now Buy Beer With Their Fingerprints. Is That a Good Thing?
Planning on a Seahawks game in the near future? Leave your wallet at home. Ok maybe take your wallet, but you won’t need it to buy beer and snacks during the game, or even to enter CenturyLink Field. CLEAR, who makes biometric scanning technology, has teamed up with the Seahawks as well as the Seattle Mariners and the Seattle Sounders to get fans through security faster and allow them to purchase concessions without an ID or credit card.

June Ships 2nd Gen Smart Oven, Reduces Price to $499
June, the company behind the eponymous countertop connected cooking oven, today announced the release of its second generation June Oven, which is available and shipping immediately for $499.

From Our Partners

Is your startup pioneering a more sustainable food future? Foodbytes! is returning to New York City on October 17 & 18 and wants you to apply to pitch! Get the mentorship, connections, insights and continuous community to scale your business. Applications are open until this Sunday, August 12th.

The Weekly Spoon: Grocery Tech Exploding; Zest Labs Sues Walmart; Apeel Raises $70M

This is the post version of our weekly (twice-weekly, actually) newsletter. If you’d like to get the weekly Spoon in your inbox, you can subscribe here.

In the immortal words of Bob Dylan: “The times they are a-changin’.” I like to think that he wrote that lyric specifically about the grocery world, which is rapidly transforming thanks to the influence of technology like e-commerce, blockchain, and AI. (Just me?)

But seriously, we’re not the only ones who think so. This week grocery giant Albertsons teamed up with venture capital firm Greycroft to make a $50 million fund intended for investment in the grocery retail sector. Chris Albrecht wrote that this move was “a much needed move for Albertsons to keep up with its high-tech competition.” (*Cough* Amazon, *cough* Walmart, *cough* Kroger.)

Speaking of Kroger, they’re no slouch in the grocery innovation department. In fact, they just launched Kroger Ship, a direct to consumer e-commerce platform geared primarily towards non-perishable stuff like cereal and cleaning supplies. Pair that with Kroger Delivery, its 2-hour delivery partnership with Instacart, plus the chain’s investment in grocery-packing robots and self-driving vehicles, and Kroger just might be the one to watch in the grocery supremacy Battle Royale. Order your popcorn now.

This week Chris Albrecht, our grocery guru, spoke with Trigo Vision, a company using AI and computer vision to help stores recreate Amazon Go’s cashierless shopping experience. He makes the interesting point that tech like this is not on beneficial to the consumer, who gets a super smooth shopping experience, but is also helpful to the store itself, as well as CPG companies looking for data on consumer behavior.

Are you a food, kitchen or tech company looking to connect with the leading executives shaping the future of food and cooking? Become a sponsor @ SKS! Tell us a little about yourself and we’ll send you more info!

In other grocery news, Zest Labs is suing Walmart for $2 billion, arguing that the retailer stole their freshness-tracking technology. Walmart calls it Eden Technology, Zest Labs calls it Zest Fresh, but both companies have one goal: reducing food waste along the supply chain and optimizing profit.

In fact, quite a few businesses are working on this noble cause. Apeel Sciences, a company which makes plant-based coating that extends produce freshness, raised a whopping $70 million. All these dollars and cents just go to show that food waste reduction isn’t only good for the environment (and your conscience); it’s also a major moneymaker. Dana Gunders of Next Course, LLC and Raja Ramachandran of Ripe.io will be speaking about this market opportunity at Smart Kitchen Summit in October — you won’t want to miss it.

This week Japanese entity Shojinmeat announced that they had scored a grant from the Shuttleworth Foundation to grow their open source clean meat community. They told the Spoon that they were also preparing to release DIY cultured tissue incubators over the next few weeks — which means that you could (theoretically) soon be growing hamburger on your kitchen counter. We also covered the proposed ban to eliminate corporate cafeterias in San Francisco, and took a look at three ways science is changing our beloved sugar, for the better. Pretty sweet stuff.

Looking for something to listen to on long summer road trips (or just the morning commute? The Smart Kitchen Show is back with an episode featuring Matt Rolandson of Ammunition Group, who spoke to Michael Wolf about the process behind designing smart kitchen products. Give it a listen and subscribe in Apple podcasts while you’re at it.

As you probably know, we’re hard at work for our big event in October, the Smart Kitchen Summit. We have an amazing list of speakers, including celebrity chef extraordinaire Richard Blais, the person who convinced Nathan Myhrvold to investigate 3D food printing and the CEO of one of the world’s biggest appliance makers. These and many more will be at SKS to talk about building businesses in the world of food tech. You will not want to miss this event so get your tickets today! Make sure to take advantage of our early August flash sale for 30% off of tickets.

There will also be a pitch competition with 12 emerging food tech startups — if you think your company is a fit, make sure to apply by August 17th. All startups will get a chance to talk up their company in front of our audience of executives in the food space, and the winner will get a $10,000 non-equity prize. As always, we’d love to hear from you! If you’ve got news, send us a tip, or join our Slack channel.

Finally, our friends at FoodBytes! Are bringing their next-gen food and agriculture pitch competition back to NYC on October 17-18th. If you’ve got an innovative startup, apply to take part in a day-long mentorship intensive and pitch your business to hundreds of corporates, investors and media. Applications close on August 12th — learn more and apply here.

As always, we’d love to hear from you! If you’ve got news, send us a tip, or join our Slack channel.

Have a great weekend,

Catherine

In the 08/03/2018 edition:

Can Bitcoin, Bakeries, and Banning Straws Fix Starbucks’ Lagging Growth?

By Jennifer Marston on Aug 03, 2018 02:00 pm
Starbucks may have projected slower growth recently, but it looks to be business as usual for the coffee retailer, and that business traversed several industries and a couple continents this week. Most notably, Starbucks is reportedly one of the key backers of a new company, Bakkt, which the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) created to better integrate

Cannabis-Infused Beer is New Hot Edible (Er, Drinkable) Trend

By Catherine Lamb on Aug 03, 2018 11:25 am
Have you ever wanted to roll your vices together to make one uber-vice? No? Well now you can — sort of. Companies are capitalizing on marijuana’s march towards widespread legalization by developing new ways to ingest Mary Jane. One method in particular that’s on the rise is cannabis-infused beverages, from beer to soda.

Albertsons and Greycroft Form Venture Fund for Grocery Tech Startups

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 03, 2018 08:05 am
Albertsons and venture capital firm Greycroft announced today the formation of a $50 million fund to invest in emerging companies and technologies in the grocery sector. By partnering with Greycroft, which has funded companies such as Venmo, The Huffington Post and Plated (which Albertsons acquired last year), Albertsons will gain access to cutting-edge startups in the grocery tech sector.

No Substitute: Three Ways Science is Putting a New (and Improved) Spin on Sugar

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 02, 2018 03:12 pm
Though companies have come up with various sugar substitutes over time, none have overthrown the king (and those substitutes might create their own problems). If you can’t beat ’em, you may as well use science to get down on the molecular level and join ’em.

Shojinmeat Scores Grant for Open Source Clean Meat Initiative

By Catherine Lamb on Aug 02, 2018 12:00 pm
Last week DIY cultured meat educational platform Shojinmeat announced on Twitter that it had received a flash grant from the Shuttleworth Foundation. Shojinmeat was nominated for the $5,000 grant by Isha Datar, a Shuttleworth Fellow and the Executive Director of cellular agriculture non-profit New Harvest.

Zest Labs Sues Walmart for $2B Alleging Food Waste Tech Theft

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 02, 2018 10:00 am
Fighting food waste is a big problem with a big business opportunity for the growing number of companies trying to reduce it. Whenever there’s big money to be made, lawsuits are sure to follow. Sure enough, yesterday Zest Labs and its parent company, Ecoark Holdings, sued Walmart for $2 billion over Walmart’s Eden technology.

Trigo Vision’s Cashierless Tech Isn’t Just for Shoppers; It Provides Insight for Stores, Too

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 02, 2018 08:15 am
When we talk about Amazon Go-like cashierless stores, the conversation mostly focuses on the shopping experience from the customer’s perspective. The ease with which you can walk into a store, grab what you want — and just walk out. But as Israeli-based startup Trigo Vision points out, there are plenty of benefits for the retailer as well.

Kroger Ship Adds Another Online Ordering Platform for the Grocer

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 01, 2018 04:13 pm
Grocery giant Kroger announced today that it has launched Kroger Ship, a direct to consumer e-commerce platform. At launch, Kroger Ship is available in four markets: Cincinnati, Houston, Louisville and Nashville, but the company said it will expand to additional markets over the next few months.

San Francisco Eyes Ban on New Corporate Cafeterias

By Chris Albrecht on Aug 01, 2018 02:00 pm
Like a shark smelling blood in the water, the city of San Francisco is looking to clamp down on the free lunches that keep tech workers from spending money in local neighborhoods. San Francisco supervisors floated an ordinance that would forbid employee cafeterias in new corporate construction.

The Weekly Spoon: Miele Food Delivery, Robot Restaurant & Chick-fil-A Meal Kits

This is a the post version of our weekly (twice-weekly, actually) newsletter. If you’d like to get the weekly Spoon in your inbox, you can subscribe here. 

Are appliance companies ready for change?

That’s a question I think about a lot. I mean sure, many realize digitization of the kitchen is underway and the resulting shift in behavior from consumers will be significant, but I sometimes wonder if their thinking is too limited.

To get an understanding of what I mean by this, think about what happened during the transition to digital broadcast spectrum and the impact on the TV business.  Not only did you get an explosion of thousands of new channels, but the more significant change over time has been a complete reinvention of the home video and entertainment business model. The emergence of interactive services, video on demand, targeted advertising, TV commerce and more created an exponentially bigger market while also creating a new host of competitors to take on the incumbents.

I’ve talked about this comparison between digital living room services and digital food services before. At least year’s Smart Kitchen Summit on a panel about using RF/solid state cooking technology, I asked Yuval Ben-Haim, CEO of Goji Solutions, about the analog between digital services in the living room and those in the kitchen.

“RF cooking is a platform,” said Ben-Haim. “It’s no longer just a cooking appliance; it is a gateway to offer services and added value to the consumer.”

While Ben-Haim was talking about a specific technology – solid state cooking – I think his quote applies more broadly to kitchen digitization. Whether it’s food replenishment through your fridge or the ability of an appliance powered by software to cook like a chef, the opportunity to offer physical subscriptions, digital offerings and everything in between puts the appliance companies in potentially entirely new lines of business.

While startups have been ahead of the bigs in thinking like this for some time, one of the bigger companies eyeing an entry into entirely new service models is Miele. This past weekend, The Spoon was the first to write about Miele’s intentions to unveil a new food delivery service at IFA, the big European appliance show, in August.  The company is partnering – and giving support to – a German startup called MChef to roll the new offering out.

That it’s Miele to be the first big appliance company to roll out food delivery shouldn’t be that surprising. After all, it’s Miele that’s also the first company rolling out solid-state cooking technology into the consumer market, the same technology Ben-Haim refers to as a “platform.”

Long term, I expect other appliance brands to jump on board and offer a variety of new digital services. Much like the Comcast of today doesn’t much resemble the Comcast of the mid-90s, I expect the Mieles and other big appliance companies of tomorrow will be vastly companies from what they are today. Same goes for big food companies.

It’s a revolution we’re following closely, and we’re glad to have you along for the ride.

The home appliance business isn’t the only food-related industry being disrupted by technology. Restaurant-related innovations are seeing a huge influx of cash from venture investors, and one of the hottest sectors right now is restaurant robotics.

And just this morning we discovered a new startup looking to create fast-food robotics. The company, Ono Food, just received a funding round from three VCs: Lemnos, Compound and Pathbreaker. While the details on the new company’s tech is vague, the brief description of the company sounds like it’s aimed at fast food:

Ono Food Co. is building robotic systems to revolutionize the way we eat. We’re on a mission to create and serve delicious meals with high-quality ingredients at an affordable price.

You can read my story on Ono Food here.

Speaking of fast food disruption, it’s not always about robotics. New eating patterns and delivery formats are creating new opportunities as well for big chains, and so chicken sandwich darling Chick-fil-A thought it’d dip its toes into the meal kit business. It seems a bit of an odd idea at first – a fast food company with pick up windows ready to serve fully prepared meals offering ready to prepare meal kits – but as Chris Albrecht argues in his piece, it may not be a crazy as it first sounds.

In case you haven’t heard yet, we’ve released our first draft of the schedule for Smart Kitchen Summit. We’ll be exploring all the things I’ve written about in this newsletter – from robot restaurants to food delivery to connected kitchen services – and much more. You’ll want to use a special discount code – NEWSLETTER – to get 25% off of tickets at the Smart Kitchen Summit website(you can also go direct to Eventbrite with this link, where the discount is already applied).

I also can’t believe it’s less than two weeks to SKS Japan. I’ll be heading to Tokyo next month for the second annual event . I can’t wait to talk to folks from companies like CookPad, Oisix and Panasonic about how the digital food revolution is changing the Japanese market. If you want to attend SKS Japan, it’s not too late. You can use the discount code SKSJ2018A at the SKS Japan site here.

Finally, if you’re in the Seattle area, our next meetup is on the future of restaurants. Not only will we be talking about some cook topics with cutting edge chef Eric Rivera, but he’ll also be cooking a multicourse meal for those who attend. There aren’t many spots for this one, so you’ll want to move fast.

Thanks for reading.

Mike

In the 07/24/2018 edition:

Lemnos Backs Robot Restaurant Startup Ono

By Michael Wolf on Jul 24, 2018 09:47 am
Restaurant robots are kinda hot. The latest evidence of this? Yet another robot restaurant startup called Ono Food Company just got funded, this time from Lemnos, Compound and Pathbreaker ventures.

ezCater Acquires French Startup GoCater to Expand into Europe

By Chris Albrecht on Jul 23, 2018 09:01 pm
When ezCater raised $100 million last month, the corporate catering company said it would use some of that money to expand internationally. True to its word, ezCater announced today that it is acquiring Paris-based GoCater to gain an immediate foothold in Europe.

Chick-fil-A is Paving the Way for Fast Food Meal Kits

By Catherine Lamb on Jul 23, 2018 01:00 pm
Today Chick-fil-A announced that they would roll out “Mealtime Kits” in 150 Atlanta area locations this August, making them the first fast-food company to enter the crowded meal kit market. Each Chick-fil-A box will contain fresh, pre-measured ingredients to make one of five meals, from chicken enchiladas to chicken flatbread to pan-roasted chicken.

We Can Uber-Ize That: Cheff Applies the Sharing Economy to Personal Chefs

By Catherine Lamb on Jul 23, 2018 10:00 am
“Almost five years ago nobody had a personal driver, and now we have Uber. Why can’t we do that with personal chefs?” That’s the question that prompted 18-year-old Abbie Krech to drop out of college and start Cheff; a web platform which connects professional chefs with individuals who can’t — or don’t want to — cook.

Woowa Brothers CEO: Delivery Robots Should Take Your Recycling Too

By Chris Albrecht on Jul 23, 2018 07:53 am
When we talk about delivery robots, it’s often a one-way transaction: a robot delivering food (or whatever) to a customer. But KimBong-jin, CEO and Founder of Korean company Woowa Brothers, thinks the convenience is two-way, with robots taking items like recycling away from the customer.

Miele To Launch Food Delivery Service At IFA

By Michael Wolf on Jul 21, 2018 01:07 pm
At last year’s IFA, German appliance maker Miele made news by announcing the first consumer oven to incorporate solid state cooking in the Dialog. Their follow up act? Getting into food delivery business. According to a preview announcement released by Miele, the company is partnering up with a German startup called MChef to deliver meals.

Food Tech News Roundup: Just Eggs, Mealpal, and IndieBio

By Catherine Lamb on Jul 21, 2018 06:00 am
It’s that time again! Time for us to take a breath, take a beat, and look back at the week. At the Spoon we covered a large swathe of stories, from food delivery robots to cultured meat and milk news to the drama around meal kit company Chef’d’s sudden shut-down.

OrderOut Is Making It Easier for Restaurants to Do Third-Party Delivery

By Jennifer Marston on Jul 20, 2018 03:00 pm
In case you’ve been hiding in a bunker these last few years, delivery is becoming the new norm where restaurants are concerned. A recent survey noted 86 percent of consumers use off-premises services at least monthly, and food delivery is projected to grow 12 percent per year over the next five years.

Cargo and Uber Form Exclusive Partnership to Sell Snacks on the Go

By Chris Albrecht on Jul 20, 2018 01:57 pm
Cargo and Uber announced an exclusive global partnership yesterday that will see Cargo’s snack vending boxes inside more cars in the ride hailing giant’s fleet. Cargo allows drivers to make a little extra scratch from their driving gig by selling snacks and small sundries from their car’s center console.

Catch Video from the New Harvest Cultured Meat Conference

By Chris Albrecht on Jul 20, 2018 11:56 am
You can tell a market sector is heating up when it gets its own conference. Cellular agriculture, which includes cultured meat (or lab meat or clean meat or whatever you want to call it) is definitely getting hotter as people gather today and tomorrow at the New Harvest 2018 conference over at MIT.