Welcome to the weekend, and the weekly Food Tech News round-up. This week, we gathered news regarding GROW’s 2021 food and ag-tech cohort, the US Plastic Pact’s goals, Sonic’s international expansion, and Kind Healthy Snack’s free dietician program.
GROW Impact Accelerator accepting applications for 2021 Impact Accelerator Program
GROW is a Singapore-based agriculture and food tech accelerator backed by AgFunder, and it recently announced that it has opened its application for the 2021 cohort. Selected applicats will receive mentorship, funding of $200,000, and access to the accelerator’s network. The program is open to food tech and agriculture tech start-ups and will be held virtually for now. Applications close on February 28th.
US Plastic Pact sets goals for 2025
The US Plastic Pact, led by The Recycling Partnership (TRP) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF), is comprised of 84 public and private sector stakeholders in the plastics value chain. The pact recently set forth its upcoming goals for the next few years, which includes ensuring all plastic packaging is 100% compostable or recyclable, taking action to compost or recycle 50% of all plastic packaging, and guaranteeing that at least 30% of plastic packing is comprised of recycled content or bio-based content. The US Plastic Pact aims to achieve these goals by 2025.
Sonic unveils plans to expand internationally with new model
Sonic’s president shared that the fast-casual restaurant chain currently has plans to expand internationally with an updated restaurant design.Sonic didn’t say which countries will be on the list, but the expansion will roll out in the next few years. Sonic debuted an updated restaurant model last summer, which included wider car docks, different drive-thru formats, and an “order ahead” option through its app.
Kind Healthy Snacks launches Kind RD Connect to link consumers with local dieticians
Kind Healthy Snacks, known for its bars and granola, recently announced the launch of its new platform called Kind RD Connect. The platform aims to assist customers who are looking to improve their diet and will match them with local registered dieticians. Three thousand, 15-minute virtual call sessions where customers can ask nutrition-related questions will be offered completely free of charge. Kind RD Connect is currently available and will be running until February 18th.
