Happy Spring! No matter the weather or season, you can depend on The Spoon for keeping you up to date on news in the food tech space. In this week’s round-up we have news on a chicken nugget vest, edible food packaging, a new food delivery service, and Starbucks ‘ carbon neutral coffee bean goals.
LikeMeat releases “nugget pocket” for keeping vegan chicken nuggets warm
Germany-based LikeMeat makes plant-based meat alternatives like nuggets, patties, bratwurst, and schnitzel made from soy protein, and the company just announced the launch of a very specific clothing accessory – the “nugget pocket”. The piece fits like a vest, and has a large insulated pocket for keeping LikeMeat’s vegan chicken nuggets warm, as well as a pocket for hot sauce bottles and a napkin dispenser. It is made from organic cotton, upcycled delivery bags, and tencel, and can keep nuggets warm for an hour and a half. The vest is not available for purchase at the moment but can be won through a giveaway on LikeMeat’s Instagram. Additionally, LikeMeat launched four of its plant-based chicken products in Sprouts nationwide throughout the US earlier this month.
Scientists from Russia and India developed edible film for food packaging
A group of scientists from Russia and India announced this week that they have developed an edible transparent film that can be used for food packaging of fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, and baked goods. The film is made from seaweed biopolymer sodium alginate, and can almost fully dissolve in water within a 24 hour period. The scientists cross-linked alginate molecules with a natural antioxidant ferulic acid, which makes the film more rigid and also helps preserve food longer. Although this product is new, it can be produced on an industrial scale with no need for special equipment.
Chekout, a new food delivery service, launches in New York City area
Chekout is a new delivery service recently launched in the New York City area that charges a flat delivery rate of $2.50 and a maximum 10% service fee to customers. The company aims to benefit restaurants and does not charge them to use the service while also offering free online exposure and marketing. Some food delivery services can cut into a restaurant’s profit with high service fees, which can even cause menu item prices to become inflated, and Chekout prides itself in avoiding this. So far, about 100 restaurants have signed up to use the service in the Manhattan area. The app can now be downloaded from the Apple app store, and Chekout has plans to expand its service throughout the US.
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