This weekend’s shaping up to be a chilly one. Kind of seems like a perfect opportunity to stay inside, make pancakes and catch up on the latest food tech news though, right? Here are a few stories from around the web that caught our eye this week, from Starbuck’s going vegan to a blockchain for beer. Enjoy!
Ben & Jerry’s to eliminate single-use plastic spoons and straws
This week Vermont-based ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s announced that they would be eliminating single-use plastics from all of their stores. The Wall Street Journal reports that sometime in “early 2019” Ben & Jerry’s will cease offering plastic straws and spoons in all of their roughly 600 stores. By April 9 — Free Cone Day — the company hopes to be fully transitioned to wooden spoons and paper straws. Ben & Jerry’s isn’t the only giant chain cutting out single-use plastics: a few months ago, Starbucks announced its intention to eliminate all single-use plastic straws from its 28,000 locations by 2020.
Starbucks unveils new vegan options in U.K.
Speaking of Starbucks, the coffee chain recently launched two new vegan options in the U.K.: dairy-free mac ‘n cheese and tofu breakfast burritos. The new plant-based offerings are available at select U.K. Starbucks locations. These are likely the first round of options for the chain’s new plant-based food line, which Starbuck’s COO Rosalind Brewer stated last year was on its way.
Photo: Wikicommons
Trader Joe’s ceases grocery delivery in NYC
Grocery chain Trader Joe’s announced this week that it’s shuttering its grocery delivery service in Manhattan. The seven stores on the island will cease deliveries on March 1st. According to Supermarket News, TJ execs decided to stop delivery because of cost and competition with other delivery services. The grocery chain currently works with third-party services like Postmates to deliver in other states.
Photo: TE-FOOD
New Bock Chain beer uses blockchain to trace its ingredients
You may have heard about ripe.io’s Blockchain for Food — but what about a Blockchain for Beer? This week four Alberta-based brewing/malting companies partnered with German food traceability company TE-FOOD to debut a new beer called “Bock Chain.” According to a Medium article by TE-FOOD, curious drinkers can scan the QR code on the Bock Chain beer can and get a visual timeline on their phone tracing the beer grain’s journey from farm to can. The beer launched on February 1st, but there’s no information as to where it’s available or if/when it will roll out into new regions.
Did we miss anything? Leave us a comment or tweet us @TheSpoonTech!
