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Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

food tech news

Food Tech News: Food Waste For Solar Energy, DoorDash Announces New Gifting Feature

Food waste used to produce solar energy

A recent winner of the Sustainability 2020 James Dyson Award, Carvey Maigue (a student at Mapúa University in the Philippines) created a technology that converts food waste into UV light-capturing windows and walls. The system, called AuReus, traps luminescent particles from certain fruits and vegetables (which would otherwise be wasted) in a resin substrate. The particles then absorb and reflect the light, and PV cells along the side of the walls and windows absorb this light. Lastly, the captured light is converted to DC electricity.

DoorDash announces new gifting feature

This week, DoorDash announced its new gifting feature for the holiday season. Users can now send favorite food items to friends and family located anywhere in the country through the app. To send a food gift, a user simply needs to enter the recipient’s address on the app, and then customize the order with a digital card. Not sure what to send? According to DoorDash, the most popular requests include french fries, burrito bowls, and cookies.

Ikea pledges to make 50% of menu items vegan

By 2025, Ikea’s goal is to make half of its menu items and 80 percent of its packaged meals vegan. The multinational chain already carries vegan items like meatballs, soft-serve, and hot dogs. After reading scientific reports and consumer research studies, the company aims to do its part in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions through providing foods with a lower carbon footprint.

UK Pizza Huts adds Christmas Pizza

Do you think that pineapple on a pizza is a weird topping? I personally think traditional Christmas dishes as pizza toppings might triumph over pineapple for being even stranger. Pizza Hut locations in the UK are now carrying a Christmas pizza, which includes shredded chicken, bacon, sage & onion stuffing, and a red wine gravy. The pizza is available now and until supplies last.

Food Tech News: $45M Raised for Mycelium Leather, Pistachio Milk Launches in U.S.

With COVID-19 cases spiking once again and winter creeping in, today might be the perfect time to get cozy and catch up on some Food Tech News. This week we have stories on mycelium leather, pistachio milk, a seasonal Pepsi flavor, and a line of formal wear created by your favorite stuffing brand.

MycoWorks raises $45m Series B round

MycoWorks raised a $45m Series B funding round this week, led by WTT Investment and DCVC Bio. New investors include two celebrities, John Legend and Natalie Portman, as well as Valor Equity Partners, Humboldt Fund, and Gruss & Co. MycoWorks makes an animal-free leather from mycelium, which is essentially the root system of mushrooms. In addition to the funding news, the company announced the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Emeryville, California. This funding round will be used to open several more manufacturing plant locations.

Táche launches “first true” pistachio milk

Táche, a New York-based startup, made its pistachio milk available for purchase this week. The milk is the first to be made purely from pistachio nuts and is free of other nuts and added oils; the milk also comes in a sweetened and unsweetened version. During the past few months, the company has raised $1.1 million through angel investors and friends, with one notable investor being the former CEO of Stonyfield Farms. A 32-ounce carton of Táche’s pistachio milk costs $7.99, and customers can purchase a six-pack of the milk on the company’s website. The milk is also available in some coffee shops and cafes in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and California.

Pepsi releases limited addtion apple pie flavor

Pepsi’s release of this seasonal special aims to emulate all of the goods things in a fresh-baked apple pie: cinnamon, a buttery crust, and warm apples. The company wanted to provide an option for those who don’t have baking skills but want to enjoy the flavors of an apple pie. However, there is a catch; not everyone can get their hands on a bottle of this limited-edition soda. In order to enter for a chance to receive a free 2-liter bottle, participants must share a photo of their baking fails on Twitter or TikTok with the hashtag #PepsiApplePieChallenge.

Stove Top creates a line of formal wear for Thanksgiving

Stove Top, a brand of Kraft Heinz known for it’s packaged stuffing mixes, created a line of formal wear for Thanksgiving. The line includes items such as “Stufflinks” (featured above), a stuffing-print shawl, and a headband. Surprisingly, many of the items have sold out already, with the exception of the $30 crushed velvet jacket with a stuffing print lining. The line of formal wear can be found on LetsGetStuffy.com.

Anova Launches New Line of Plastic Neutral Vacuum Sealer Bags

Sous vide specialist Anova announced they had launched a new line of plastic neutral vacuum seal bags through a partnership with Plastic Bank, a social enterprise focused on reducing the amount of plastic entering the waste stream. Companies within the Plastic Bank program become plastic neutral goal through the purchase of plastic reduction offset credits from the Plastic Bank, which use the funds to reclaim ocean-bound plastic and recycle it. Anova’s new bags also feature an accelerated degradation additive so they break down faster when exposed to air and light.

Food Tech News: Potato-based Chicken R&D, Good Catch Launches D2C Platform

If you’re reading this week’s Food Tech News, that means we’ve made it past Friday the 13th, 2020. Congrats! A few stories stood out to us this week, including potato-based chicken alternative development, Good Catch’s D2C platform, and a funding announcement in AI-driven vertical farming.

Large Nordic chicken producer invests in potato-based, chicken alternative

Scandi Standard, the largest producer of chicken in Nordic countries, announced this week its partnership and investment in Veg of Lund, which is a producer of bottled plant-based smoothies. It seems like an unlikely duo, but Veg of Lund has patented its smoothie base of potato and rapeseed oil, which will be used to create the plant-based chicken alternative. The meat producer has invested in a two-year research project to create the chicken alternative, with the investment totaling SEK 4 million (approximately $460K USD).

Good Catch & Alpha Foods now offer home-delivery

Good Catch Foods, producers of plant-based seafood, and Alpha Foods, a plant-based meat company, have now made its products available direct to consumers. The home delivery service can be used by those based in the USA. Consumers can purchase plant-based tuna made from a blend of legumes directly from Good Catch’s website. The company’s other products are not yet available for home delivery, and there is a three tuna pouch minimum order requirement.

On Alpha Food’s website, consumers can purchase plant-based chicken nuggets, burritos, and pouches of “beef” crumbles. The company’s products are sold in bundle packages, with the option of reoccurring shipments every month.

Good Catch and Alpha Foods join companies like Beyond, PepsiCo, Impossible, and many other brands in launching its own D2C platform.

Swegreen secures funding for AI-driven vertical farming

Swedish-based Swegreen and research partners have received an investment totaling 9.1 million Swedish Krona (approximately $1.05M USD) from Vinnova. Research partners include Mälardalen University and RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, and the three entities will be working together to continue to develop Swegreen’s AI-platform for vertical farming. Swegreen additionally aims to advance the digital supply chain and achieve climate neutrality through its urban food production.

Food Tech News: Greenhouse Gas Straws, Improved Amazon Grocery Delivery

If you’re ready for a break from all those political memes, here’s your chance to catch up on some final pieces of food tech news from the past week. A few stories that stood out to us include foodware made from greenhouse gases, improved Amazon grocery delivery, PBR’s THC-infused seltzer, and a limited-edition plant-based tuna melt.

Straws made out of pollution

Newlight Technologies, a biotech company based in Southern California, launched commercial foodware and fashion lines made from pollution-eating microorganism secretions. In the company’s Huntington Beach facilities, ocean water conditions are recreated in vats, and then microorganisms are added. Then the vats are purposefully polluted with collected greenhouse gases. Microorganisms then gobble up greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and their excretions are gathered to be dried and formed into pellets. The substance that is molded into pellets in called AirCarbon, and it is then melted and molded to make things like straws, utensils, and wallets. The end products are actually carbon-negative since the gases did not end up in the environment.

Amazon adds feature to improve grocery delivery

If you tried ordering a grocery delivery through Amazon at the start of the pandemic, you might remember checking for available slots around 10 times a day with no luck. Or you might have been one of those people who woke up in the middle of the night to reserve a slot. Amazon just announced a new feature as a solution to this problem: if there are no available slots at the moment, a customer can sign up to wait for the next open delivery time. With the new feature, customers will be given an estimation of when the next available spot will be then notified when it opens. They will have two hours to place an order.

Photo from Npr

Pabst Blue Ribbon releases THC-infused seltzer

Last week Pabst Blue Ribbon announced the release of its 4.2 percent hard cold brew coffee. This week, the company’s new THC-infused seltzer hit shelves. The lemon-flavored seltzer contains no alcohol and has 5mg of THC. The new beverage is targeted at consumers who are curious about cannabis and would prefer eating or drinking it rather than smoking it. Apparently the product is already popular, with both the first and second productions selling out quickly. Priced at $24 each, four-packs of the seltzer are available at dispensaries and online.

Veggie Grill launches Good Catch tuna melt sandwich

Gathered Foods, makers of Good Catch plant-based tuna, partnered with vegan restaurant chain Veggie Grill to release a limited edition tuna melt sandwich. Good Catch makes a protein-rich plant-based tuna from a blend of six legumes: peas, chickpeas, lentils, soy, fava beans, and navy beans. This January, Good Catch raised a $32 million Series B funding round, and Veggie Grill is the first restaurant that Good Catch has partnered with. The tuna melt sandwich will be comprised of a tuna salad, American cheese, pickles, and tomato on griddled rye bread, and it will be available until the end of the year.

Food Tech News: InnerPlant Launches Sensor Plants, $3.5 Million Grant for Cultivated Meat

I’m taking over the weekly Food Tech News post, and this week I bring you both plant-centric and meaty news. Money is being pumped into cultivated meat research, a plant-based burger company signed a partnership with a football team, and tomato plants can now tell you if they are feeling stressed. Oh, and the world’s smallest gum company raised $1.2 million in funding.

InnerPlant Launches “Living Sensor” Plants

InnerPlant, based in Davis, California, announced the launch of the InnerTomato™ this week. The tomato plants are fed a protein that amplifies the natural signals a plant releases to warn neighboring plants of different stressors. A farmer can use an iPhone, drone, or satellite to take a photo of the plants, and through augmented reality, will be able to see if the plant is a certain color. Different colors signal if the plant needs water, is stressed, or under attack from a certain disease or pest. This is InnerPlant’s first proprietary plant.

Photo from UC Davis’ Aggie Transcript

UC Davis Receives Funding For Cultivated Meat Research

UC Davis recently received a $3.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation to research cultivated meat. One of the main goals of this five-year grant is to develop methods to amplify stem cells efficiently. Researchers aim to create methods that enable sustainably lab-grown meat to be an option for feeding a rapidly growing world population. This is the first major grant in the U.S. for cellular agriculture.

The World’s Smallest Gum Factory

Copenhagen-based True Gum just raised $1.2 million (USD) from a German VC Oyster Bay. True Gum makes plant-based gum that is free of petroleum ingredients (which are found in many gum brands), and instead uses a sustainably-sourced tree sap, called chicle, from South America as the main ingredient.

Planterra’s Brand, OZO, Partners With Denver Broncos

OZO, a brand of Colorado-based Planterra Foods, just signed a three-year partnership with the Denver Broncos. Planterra is a subsidiary of JBS Foods, the largest beef and pork processor in the world. OZO’s products include plant-based ground beef and burger patties made from pea protein, and are currently available in 12 U.S. states. As part of the partnership, OZO will be advertising at the Mile High Stadium and serving up its vegan burgers from its traveling food van.

The last time we brought up the Denver Broncos and the Mile High Stadium on The Spoon, it was to announce the installment of a beer-pouring robot at the stadium. Vegan stadium burgers and beer robots might be convincing enough to get me into a football stadium during a pandemic.

Tesco and Olio Team Up to Fight Food Waste

And in some non-meaty but still-sustainable news, Tesco and food-sharing app Olio announced this week they have partnered to fight food waste. Olio volunteers (of which there are around 8,000) will pick up surplus food at Tesco stores then upload it to the Olio app. Food is then distributed for free to households in need and community groups looking to help.

Tesco is launching this food-drive-like initiative across all 2,700 of its U.K. stores. The company said it was able to redirect 36 tons of food — which would have otherwise gone to waste — through an earlier trial of the program.  

Food Tech News: Cell-Based Seafood and a New Documentary on Urban Farming

Whether your weekend plans involve golf, Instagram listening parties, or baking yet-another loaf of quarantine bread, add a side dish of food tech news to your agenda to get things started. Here are a final few bits from this past week. 

Call It Cell-Based Seafood

A consumer study by Rutgers University professor William Hallman has found that “cell-based” is the preferred term for describing seafood made from cells grown in a lab. Other labels up for consideration were “cultivated,” “cell-cultured,” “cultured,” and “produced using cellular aquaculture.” The final text of the study, which was funded by BlueNalu, a company in the cell-based fish game, will be published in the near future.

Stop & Shop Launches a Digital Nutrition Program

Joining in the trend of offering nutritionists for grocery shoppers, Stop & Shop this week announced its Nutrition Partners program. The free program will be 100 percent digital at first, connecting shoppers with registered dietitians. It will also offer webinars, recipes, cooking demos, and other nutritional education online. In the event we ever make it out of the pandemic, the program will eventually be available in-person.

JUST Heads to Canada

JUST, makers of the plant-based egg that uses mung bean as its main protein, announced its expansion into Canadian grocery stores. According to an email sent to The Spoon, the company will launch its frozen folded egg product in Whole Foods and Walmart stores in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria, and Ottawa. JUST is also working with regulators to bring its pourable egg product into Canada, too.

2-Min Trailer for "Hearts of Glass – A Vertical Farm Takes Root in Wyoming"

Watch: New Documentary Follows Urban Farm Workers With Disabilities

A new documentary, “Heart of Glass,” will air on over 200 TV stations this month to coincide the 30th anniversary of the Americans With Disabilities Act (July 26). The film details the story behind the creation of Wyoming indoor vertical farm Vertical Harvest, which provides employment for persons with disabilities. Check the trailer above and mark your calendars.

Food Tech News: Grubmarket Acquires Boston Organics, Surplus Food App Karma Pivots to Delivery

Here are some things that have been making us feel good lately: pancakes on weekdays, video calls with family, and foodtech news.

We can’t help you with the first two, but we’ve got the latest lineup of foodtech-y stories ready to go. This week we rounded up stories about grocery e-commerce acquisitions, food waste service pivots, and curbside grocery pickup.

Grubmarket acquires Boston Organics
Grocery delivery service Grubmarket announced its acquisition of Boston Organics, an online farm-to-table delivery service, earlier this week. Boston Organics is the first east coast foothold for Grubmarket, which is based in San Francisco. According to a press release this acquisition is part of Grubmarket’s plans to expand nationwide. Over the past year alone, Grubmarket has acquired other artisanal grocery delivery services Doorganics and Eating with the Seasons.

Weis Market and Hannaford restart curbside grocery pickup
East coast grocery chains Weis Markets and Hannaford have restarted their curbside pickup services (via GroceryDive). Both retailers hit pause on curbside pickup in March as COVID-19 started spreading rapidly, but are resuming the service to cater to customers who want to avoid crowds in grocery stores. To minimize contact, cstomers are asked to remain in their vehicles during the pickup and store employees will not accept cash or paper coupons. Both grocers have stated that some items might not be available due to high demand.

Photo: Karma.

Surplus food resale platform Karma pivots to delivery + food boxes
Before COVID-19, Sweden-based startup Karma’s platform partnered with restaurants to sell their surplus food for pickup at a discount. Now, with many foodservice establishments struggling or closing down altogether, Verdict reports that Karma has pivoted to delivery. The service provides its own drivers to deliver cooked restaurant meals, priced at half off, to customers who place an order on the app. Deliveries are available on weekdays up until 7pm, within a 3km radius of the restaurant. Karma is also launching Karma Box, a fruit and vegetable box sourced from their foodservice partners.

Food Tech News: Synthetic “Wine,” Peach Raises Funds for Office Lunch Delivery

The Spoon team is packing their bags for New York, where we’ll be for next week’s Customize summit! If you’re interested in the effect that personalization will have on the food system — in CPG, grocery, nutrition and the home kitchen — you should really join us. Good news! Spoon readers can snag one of the last remaining tickets for 15 percent off with code SPOON15.

But first, let’s catch up on some intriguing food tech tidbits from the week. Our latest dispatch includes stories on office lunch delivery fundraises, a new AI accelerator, and synthetic wine grown in a lab. Enjoy!

Endless West debuts synthetic “wine” and “sake”
Two years ago Endless West came out with Glyph, a spirit that’s constructed on a molecular level to taste like whiskey, without the aging. This week the San Francisco-based startup unveiled two new products: molecular wine and sake. The products, which are made in a lab, don’t contain any grapes — instead, they consist only of water, ethanol, and chemical compounds which mimic the flavors and aromas of the beverages. If you’re curious, you can buy Endless West’s first wine and sake products on their website.

Danone and Microsoft team up for AI accelerator
CPG giant Danone and Microsoft announced the launch of AI Factory for Agrifood, a startup accelerator targeting early-stage companies working on sustainable food and beverage projects (via FoodNavigator). The program is part of Microsoft’s AI Factory, so it will focus on companies leveraging AI. Target projects include regenerative agriculture, food waste reduction and supply chain optimization. Applications have closed and selections will be announced on March 6.

Photo: Peach

Office lunch delivery company Peach raises $5 million
A new SEC filing reveals that Peach, the Seattle-based startup offering discounted office lunch delivery, has raised $5 million as part of a larger round (h/t Geekwire). The company, which was founded in 2014, has raised $15.75 million thus far. This news comes two years after Peach cut a third of its staff in an attempt reach profitability.


Food Tech News: KFC Canada Partners with Alexa, Blockchain and a New Peanut Allergy Drug

Pat yourself on the back — you made it to February. We’re in the thick of winter and here at The Spoon we’re busier than ever reporting on news and prepping for our Customize food personalization summit (you’re coming, right?)

But there’s always time for food tech news! Here are a few interesting stories from around the web this week: an Alexa skill that lets you talk to Colonel Sanders, food safety blockchain, e-grocery funding and a new peanut allergy drug. Enjoy!

KFC Canada unveils new Alexa skill
This week KFC Canada announced a new Alexa skill which allows users to chat with and reorder fried chicken from… the Colonel himself. The fast food chain teamed up with AWS to develop the skill, which uses AI to turn text into speech that sounds like the voice of Colonel Sanders. According to a release from KFC Canada, KFC is the first global QSR to use this text-to-speech technology. 

Photo: Neogen

Neogen partners with riope.io for food safety blockchain
Neogen Corporation, an international food safety company, is partnering with blockchain-for-food startup Ripe Technology (creators of ripe.io). Neogen will use ripe.io to create a blockchain to track food safety diagnostics and animal genomics for their customers. The company hopes that incorporating blockchain will help customers verify the authenticity of their food products and lead to increased transparency and traceability. 

FDA approves drug for peanut allergies
Those who suffer from life-threatening peanut allergies may soon be able to breathe a little easier. US health regulators have approved the first ever drug for peanut allergies. Called Palforzia, the oral drug works by slowly ramping up exposure of peanut protein to desensitize allergy sufferers. It’s specifically meant for children and teenagers.

E-grocery Supermercato24 raises €11 million (~$12.1 USD)
Supermercato24, a Milan-based e-grocery marketplace, announced that it had raised  €11 million (~$12.1 million USD), bringing its total funding to €28.4 million ($31.2 million USD) (via EU Startups). The round was led by DIP with participation from current investors 360 Capital Partners, Innogest and more. On Supermercato’s online platform, users can shop for groceries from local supermarkets, which will then be delivered to their door. With its new funds, Supermercato24 will expand its operations throughout Italy and Poland, where it’s already available, and grow into new countries. 

Food Tech News: Longer-Lasting Strawberries and Plant-Based Meatballs

The holiday limbo is over and we at The Spoon are preparing to jet off to CES to report on cool kitchen and food tech. If you’re there, be sure to say hi — and get your ticket to attend Food Tech Live, if you haven’t already!

Before we head to the airport it’s time to share a few food news stories from around the web. Enjoy, and be sure to follow along on social media to keep up to date on all the CES food tech news!

USDA unveils longer-lasting strawberry
You know how when you pick up a pint of strawberries at the store they seem to start molding before you even get home? That’s not the case with a new strawberry variety developed by the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service. According to Food Dive, the new fruit, called “Keepsake,” lasts longer than the average berry while kept in cold storage (AKA your fridge). The new berry is being distributed in Redding, California but could adapt to climates in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S.

Photo: Subway

Good news for sub sandwich-loving flexitarians across the pond. This week Subway announced it would add the Meatless Meatball Marinara sanwich to all of its locations in the U.K. and Ireland (h/t VegNews). The chain began testing the meatless sandwich in that region in October, just a month after Subway in the U.S. piloted a meatless meatball sub of its own made with Beyond Meat.

Swiss coffee trading company Algrano raises $4.04 million
This week Algrano, a Swiss company which trades green coffee, raised 4 million Swiss Francs (~$4.04 million USD), according to Daily Coffee News. Algrano has a digital platform connecting coffee producers and roasters to create a traceable marketplace for unroasted coffee beans. The company raised an additional $2 million roughly 18 months ago.

Food Tech News: KitKats Sweetened with Upcycled Cocoa Pods, QFC Sells Produce Grown In-Store

As the days get colder and shorter and darker and rainier (thanks, Seattle), I turn to my favorite winter pastime: baking. Considering all the holiday cookie collections that came out this week — especially the New York Times and Food52 — I think this weekend will be one for the books.

But cookie guides aren’t the only food-centric news that happened this week. There are also stories about Nestlé sweetening KitKats with upcycled cocoa pods, Starship’s newest university partner, QFC launching produce grown in-store, and more. Read on to get the highlights.

Nestlé Japan launches Cacao Fruit Chocolate
This week Nestlé Japan launched its so-called “Cacao Fruit Chocolate,” its first chocolate — a KitKat — made with powdered cacao pulp as a substitute for sugar. Back in July, the Swiss company announced it had developed a way to upcycle cacao pods, which are typically wasted, to replace sugar in chocolate candy bars. Now Nestlé is bringing the initial product using this new sweetener to market. The new KitKat will be available at KitKat Chocolatory stores (I want to go to there) and online.

QFC sells first store-grown produce
Talk about locally grown. This week two QFC grocery stores in the Seattle area started selling produce — lettuce, kale, and assorted herbs — grown on Infarm vertical farming units within their stores. The greens were planted in a distribution center in Seattle then transferred to the individual stores, where they retailed for $2.99 per bunch. According to FoodDive, thirteen more QFC stores will add Infarm grow cases after the holidays.

Starship bots roll onto UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas welcomed a fleet of Starship autonomous delivery robots onto campus this week. According to CBS DFW, the robots will deliver food and groceries to students in a three-mile radius of campus and will charge $1-2 per order. In addition to UT Dallas, Starship’s ‘bots already operate on-campus at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Houston, Purdue, George Mason University, and Northern Arizona University, and were recently pulled from the University of Pittsburgh after an accessibility incident.

Air New Zealand pilots edible coffee cups
In an attempt to reduce waste, Air New Zealand is trialing edible cups to customers both in-flight and on the ground (via NZ Herald). The airline already uses compostable cups, but those still end up in a landfill (although they break down much more quickly than styrofoam cups). The new vanilla-flavored cups are made by the New Zealand company twiice, and can be used for coffee or as an edible dessert bowl.

Food Tech News: UK Grocery Stores Sell Discounted Food and Grey Goose Meal Kits

You’ve made it through Thanksgiving. By this time you’re probably working your way through a fridgeful of leftovers (turkey pot pie FTW) and turning your eyes towards the next holiday, whatever that may be for you.

This past week may have been short, but it was still a busy one for food tech news. Here are a few stories that caught our interest from around the web, including a new grocery food waste initiative, some extreme holiday sweaters, a Grey Goose prepared meal kit and more, Enjoy!

Morrisons sells discounted food through Too Good to Go in UK
Starting this week, consumers can purchase discounted food past its “best before” date from all UK supermarket Morrisons (h/t Bristol Post). The service is available through app Too Good to Go, where people can purchase mystery boxes of fruit, vegetables, bakery and deli items worth at least £10 for as little as £3.09. The contents won’t be revealed until they pick up the boxes from the supermarket. Morrisons has trialed the service at select stores but it will now be rolled out to all 494 locations in the U.K.

Tofurky to sell cheeky holiday sweaters
Looking for something to wear to an ugly holiday sweater party? You might want to consider this latest offering from Tofurky. The alternative meat company recently unveiled two holiday sweaters with a tongue-in-cheek social justice bent. One encourages people to “Say Yum” to a plant-based diet, while the other wishes people a “merry and politically air-tight” holiday. The sweaters cost $34.99 and all of the proceeds will go to non-profit WildAid.

Grey Goose launches prepared meal kit for holiday season
Vodka brand Grey Goose has partnered with Cocktail Courier and Cooked to create a prepared meal kit intended specifically for the holiday season (via MarketingDive). Called “Holiday Dinner by Grey Goose,” the kit has chickens, potatoes, carrots, salsa, and, of course, a bottle of Grey Goose vodka with cocktail fixings. It costs $200 and is meant to feed eight people, so the price not actually absurd. ($20 of each kit is donated to Meals on Wheels.) If you want to get lazy on holiday cooking, you have until December 31 to order the kits off of the Cocktail Courier website.

Starbucks in Japan to eliminate plastic straws
This week Starbucks in Japan announced it would eliminate single-use plastic straws from all 1,500 stores nationwide next year (h/t QSR Magazine). The chain will start offering paper straws with its iced beverages in select stores in January 2020, and will roll them out to all locations across Japan by May. No word yet on whether Japanese Starbucks will eventually embrace the strawless plastic lid currently used in U.S. locations.