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.
But we didn’t have time to cover everything that happened this week. Here are the food tech news stories that caught our eye around the web, here for your reading pleasure. Enjoy!
Mealpal rolls out in Asia
This week Mealpal, the takeout meal subscription service, launched in Singapore. Users can select from a set number of meals from various local restaurants, pay for their food online, then skip the line to pick it up — for around $6 per meal. This is the 17th market for Mealpal, which is already available in cities in the U.S., Europe, and Australia. The startup launched in 2016 and is based in New York City.
JUST rolls out their plant-based eggs in more locations
Plant-based food company JUST Foods (formerly Hampton Creek) has been making waves with its vegan egg product, which is made of mung beans but looks and tastes like the real thing. According to a press release, this week they forged a partnership with Italian company Eurovo, Europe’s leading producer of packaged, pasteurized, and dried eggs, to distribute JUST’s plant-based product. In Europe, Just Egg will have a different name, due to regulations.
This news comes around the same time that JUST announced that vegetarian fast-casual chain Veggie Grill would bring Just Egg to its 30 locations. They’ll also be rolling out the vegan scramble on e-commerce site Jet.com (owned by Walmart), as well as Sysco, New Seasons Market, Wegmans, and other retailers.
IndieBio to open New York City location
New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced this week that IndieBio, a leading bio-accelerator, would open a branch in New York City. Run by VC firm SOSV, San Francisco-based IndieBio works with select life science startups to provide resources, guidance, and networking opportunities. Companies that are selected for IndieBio’s cohort receive $250,000 in seed funding and take part in a four-month program where they get access to labs and co-working spaces as well as a chance to pitch to investors and partners. Over the next five years, New York state plans to invest $25 million in IndieBio’s startup accelerator.
A new service lets Philly fans order beer with their iPhones
Stadium concession company Aramark will partner with the Phillies to conduct a food-ordering experiment in Citizens Bank Park. Starting on July 20th, fans in certain sections can order water and beer, without leaving their seats. To order, they’ll scan a QR code on the back of their seats and then text their order, which is completed via Apple Pay. Aramark is the first concessionaire to try this method of stadium ordering. Unlike previous seat-delivery stadium food concepts, this partnership wouldn’t require a separate app — anyone with an iPhone can use it.
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