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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Bon Appetit

Food Tech News: Food Waste Sneakers, Cell-Ag Children’s Book, and Bon Appétit’s New App

If you had a busy week and missed out on news in the food tech space, we’ve got you covered. In this round-up, we gathered some news on Bon Appétit’s recently launched app, HelloFresh’s new online marketplace, MoEa’s sneakers made from food waste, and a children’s book on cellular agriculture.

Bon Appétit launches ordering app for people with dietary restrictions

The Bon Appétit Management Company launched an app this week called Curated, which was developed by chefs and registered dieticians. The app was created to make ordering food from restaurant menus easier for those who have dietary restrictions and needs. Through the ordering system, diners can select from 12 different diets, including plant-based, low-carb, gluten-free, as well as dishes free from major allergens. Once a dietary preference is selected, Curated shows dishes and ingredients that are available and can accommodate. Diners can then customize their meal with ingredients, sides, and sauces that fit into their preferences. The app can be used at Bon Appétit cafes and dining service locations, and it is available for free through the Café BonApp mobile app on iOS and Android phones.

HelloFresh now offers an online marketplace

Meal kit company HelloFresh has now added HelloFresh Market to its online platform. The new market offer will offer a wide range of add-ons for customers’ weekly orders. The new options include snacks, fresh produce, desserts, sides, spices, breakfast items, and pantry essentials. HelloFresh offers predominately dinner meal kits, but the introduction of the market will provide customers with options for breakfast, lunch, snacks, and desserts. The offerings on HelloFresh Market will be rolling out to customers in the U.S. over the upcoming months.

MoEa is using food waste to make vegan leather sneakers

Companies have developed technology to make leather from mushrooms and prickly pear fiber, and now a company called MoEa is using food waste to craft alternative leather. Specifically, the company sources leftover grape pulp from the Italian wine industry, cactus leaves, non-edible corn, pineapple leaves, and apples that would otherwise be wasted. Customers can pick out what type of leather they want for the shoe, and each type of leather is offered in two colors. The company currently has a Kickstarter campaign for the shoes, and backers who pledge €86 or about $108 USD will receive a pair of shoes in September 2021.

A new book on cell-ag for children

Called “Where Do Hot Dogs Come From?“, authors Alex Shirazi and Anita Broellochs explain how cellular agriculture works through a story of a family barbeque. Geared towards children aged 3 to 7, the purpose of the book is to teach children about the sustainability of cell-based meat and inspire the next generation of scientists working on alternative protein options. There is currently a Kickstarter campaign for the book, and backers who pledge $25 or more will receive a copy of the book in October 2021.

Ok Google, What’s For Dinner?

When Google Home first arrived on the scene, Mike and Ashley speculated on the Smart Kitchen Show about how it would stack up against Amazon Echo. Amazon’s big entrance into the smart home, Echo came with convenient functions like timers, grocery lists, playing on-demand streaming music and radio services and eventually included recipe skills. It was an ideal device to sit on your kitchen counter.

Google introduced its answer to Echo but at first lacked the functionality that Echo has grown to enjoy due to its open API and thousands of skills developed by third parties. One of those skill areas that’s seen growth is in food & beverage, especially recipes. But this week, Google partnered with big food content houses like the Food Network, New York Times and Bon Appetit to give Home users access to over 5,000 recipes that can be read step by step by the Google Assistant.

The interesting thing about Google Home’s announcement is the way Google is adding functionality to its device. Amazon’s Alexa relies on skills developed by other companies – in order to get access to Allrecipes content, for example, you have to enable that skill in your app before you can use it.

Google takes a different approach; if you have a specific recipe you want to look up, you can head to the Google Assistant app on your phone, pick it out and send it to Google Home to walk through. So a component of this feature still involves your phone – unless you want suggested recipes, and then you can just ask “Ok Google, let’s make spaghetti” and Google’s Assistant will suggest a recipe for you. That suggestion feature, enabled without any input on the part of the user, is fairly unique.

The process is a little more intuitive and baked into the platform than Alexa skills, which sometimes can be clunky depending on how the developer choose to integrate. Some skills require you to say “Alexa, ask (brand/company) to XYZ” which is an awkward way to speak and harder to remember.

Google also choose powerhouse brands to partner with for this integration – collectively, Food Network, NYT and Bon Appetit have amassed loads of food content through the years and probably have recipes for just about anything you’d want to cook. In fact, these and other publication and content houses are constantly thinking about how to leverage their digital warehouses of recipes and food knowledge and partnerships like these are easy ways to make money outside of traditional advertising.

According to Google, the feature will start rolling out in the coming days. We’ll finally be able to say – Ok Google, let’s eat.