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BULLHEAD CITY — Melody DuMouchel was asked to launch the inaugural Bullhead Area Chamber of Commerce Oktoberfest for 2017.
DuMouchel said that the notice she had for the event wasn’t enough to ensure a success, and it was put off until this Saturday.
The outcome of waiting a year?
“A full parking lot,” DuMouchel said. “Full tables, full vendors. I’m taken aback by how big it is.”
The event, which coincides with the “real” Oktoberfest in Munich, included the things one would expect — beer, pretzels, bratwurst and lederhosen — and some items that made it a family-friendly Bullhead City event.
At the Fatburger Kid Zone, children could get their faces painted, pet goats, rabbits, ducks, and cool off on a water slide, take in a puppet show and test their strength in a “bungee tug o’ war.”
The latter involved strapping a pack to one’s back, connecting to a bungee cord, and attempting to outrun an opponent and the tension in the cord, to be the first to grab a beanbag.
Food vendors offered a variety of treats, both Teutonic and domestic, including ribs, popcorn, shaved ice and chocolate.
Other vendors sold items that included jewelry, artwork, wind chimes, fossilized shark teeth and portraits drawn on the spot.
While the beer garden had four brews (two Oktoberfest beers and two domestics) on tap, Tish Todd had visitors to the Traveling Vineyard booth thinking of another libation. Traveling Vineyard arranges wine tastings in customers’ homes.
“We’re not pushing beer away,” she said. “We’re inviting other tastes. Someone who’s a beer drinker now may become a wine drinker at some point in time.”
Mary Dickinson of Fort Mohave said she found the event “totally happening.”
She said she enjoyed it as a venue for meeting new people.
“They have great choices in their beer selection,” Dickinson said.
Jacob Moon, 10, didn’t get any suds, but did score a pork-filled croissant.
“I don’t know what it’s called,” he said. “But it’s a sandwich.”
Jacob said his favorite activity was the bungee tug o’ war.
“I like that they pull you back,” he said. “You have to use all your muscle.”
Event sponsors included Anderson Ford of Bullhead City, Jenner’s Home Furnishings, Dot Foods, Inc., River Valley Air Conditioning, News West Publishing, Murphy Broadcasting, Perkins Family Restaurant, Baron Security Services, Hospice Compassus, Mohave State Bank and the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe.
“We couldn’t have done it without our sponsors,” DuMouchel said.
Volunteers included Key Club and Interact Club members from Mohave High School and Bullhead Chamber Ambassadors.
While the live music and fun was to continue well past sundown, DuMouchel had seen a pleasing amount of traffic by early afternoon.
“I honestly could cry a little bit, I’m so pleased with the turnout,” she said.


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Monday, 24 june 2019 | Redacción CEU
"Libra has the ambitious goal of reinventing money". Although this headline can be confused with a strange prediction of a daily horoscope, this statement has nothing to do with the world of astrology. Libra is the new digital currency that aims to transform the global economy model. Last week, the media of half the world spread the details of the upcoming launch of a cryptocurrency backed up by the Mark Zuckerberg’s social networking site. However, there are still many doubts about this announcement: Why do its promoters believe that this currency will achieve what other popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin have not? What challenges does Libra pose and how do its backers expect to overcome them? Will this financial model be safe for users? Today, on our CEU IAM Blog, we try to clear up some of the main doubts about this new digital currency.
For some time now, Facebook has shown signs of aspiring to be something more than just a social networking site. A clear example of it is its recent commitment to becoming an integrated video platform and also a marketplace. Everything seems to indicate that the company has found in WeChat, the Chinese multi-purpose social platform, a model of inspiration. Given the success of the implementation of its WeChat Pay feature, it should surprise no one that Facebook also wants to bet on its own payment system. In this case, the novelty is the creation, together with other partners, of a new virtual currency that is highly likely to become the core of a decentralized model, which is very similar to the well-known Bitcoin.
Why a new currency?
Based on the foregoing, a question arises: Why design a completely new currency if there is already a wide variety of cryptocurrencies in circulation? Libra shares certain attributes with other currencies such as Bitcoin (Libra is also based on a blockchain), but it is also true that it has significant differences with a large part of cryptocurrencies. For example, one of the great advantages of Libra is its low volatility. This digital currency will be supported by tangible assets such as bank deposits in different currencies and sovereign debt from different countries. This is the reason why it is considered a stablecoin. Of course, this does not mean that it cannot fluctuate, but it is considerably less volatile.
One of the best chances of Libra is that it has the support of large companies and organizations in sectors as different as payment platforms, technology and marketplaces, telecommunications, blockchain, capital funds, NGOs and academic institutions. Some of them are well-known firms such as Mastercard, Paypal, Visa, Booking Holdings, eBay, Spotify AB, Uber Technologies, Vodafone Group y Women's World Banking. Undoubtedly, this circumstance will help Libra have greater strength and trust. This may also lead to it being used by users who have not had any contact with cryptocurrencies before. Moreover, we should not forget the potential that it may have as a payment currency for WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.
The "who is who" of Libra
To understand well what Libra is, we must take into account what is the responsibility of the different actors who are involved in the development of this currency. On the one hand, there is Libra Association, an entity which is composed of 28 members at the moment (it aims to reach 100 members) which has control over Libra Blockchain and Libra Reserve and develops both. It is presented as a non-profit organization and is responsible for making the decisions. Among its most prominent members is Facebook which, in addition to being the promoter of this initiative, will keep the leadership of this project throughout this year. From 2020, the firm will become one more of its many founders. Decisions will be made democratically.
On the other hand, Facebook has created a financial and independent subsidiary called Calibra which is headed by David Marcus, the former president of the online payment company PayPal. The firm was born with the sound purpose of managing and serving as a digital wallet for this currency. This service will be available in Messenger and WhatsApp and as an independent app on iOS and Android.

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Nigel Farage: UK still has ‘unfinished business’ with Brexit
The final day of the Proms took place on 11 Sept 2021 at the Royal Albert Hall. It was reported in Euro-Guido that at this year's event a spectator was told by a Remainer to wear an EU beret. The news outlet said that after the spectator refused, "they were greeted with insults ranging from 'f**king Tory' to accusations of being a member of the Bullingdon'".
Euro-Guido reported that "the venue of the Proms was nonetheless bedecked with EU flags during the final performance".
The news outlet also reported that a large proportion of those in the crowd also wore EU-branded berets.
A Remainer was described as "attacking" the spectator with verbal insults for refusing to wear the EU beret.
Euro-Guido called the display of loyalty to the bloc a "spontaneous outpouring of middle-class metropolitan EU-loving".
The news outlet went on to describe Remainer activists going "in and outside of the building for free".
Euro-Guido added that the activists were "there to protest the inability for musicians to do visa-free tours of the continent".
The news comes after Britain's decision to delay Brexit import controls between the UK and the bloc.
A multitude of red tape for EU imports was set to come into effect but will be delayed until July 2022.
Brexit superwoman Liz Truss issues trade rallying cry in new vision [INSIGHT]
Boris to drop bombshell on EU with emergency Brexit package [REVEALED]
EU supertrawler scandal: UK fisherman urges Boris to BAN factory ships [ANALYSIS]
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These include Brexit controls on food and animal-related products.
It also delays on new red-tape on imports of food products, including dairy, eggs, honey and meals, such as lasagne and pizza.
However, this delay of border checks was mocked by Eu diplomats.
One EU diplomat told the FT: “It’s ironic.
“They talked about taking back control, but they are letting products into Britain without any controls at all.
“That’s fine with us.”
Brexit minister Lord Frost said these delays were to combat supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
In a statement, he said: “We want businesses to focus on their recovery from the pandemic rather than have to deal with new requirements at the border, which is why we’ve set out a pragmatic new timetable for introducing full border controls."


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Earlier in the week Flappy Bird creator Don Nguyen revealed his new game, Swing Copters, and now the game is available for both Apple’s iOS platform and Google’s Android platform.
Flappy Bird became sol popular earlier in the year, that the games creator Don Nguyen removed the game from the various app stores after he said it was too addictive.
Nguyen recently released a new version of Flappy Bird again for Android on the Amazon Appstore, we wonder if his latest game, Swing Copters will end up being as popular as Flappy Bird.
The game comes with slightly different game play to Flappy Bird, although has a similar difficulty level, so we suspect that this could end up being a popular game.
Source Phone Arena


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Target Is Dialing Back This COVID Safety Measure
The superstore is reducing this one method of keeping certain shoppers safe.
With the holidays approaching and festive plans already disrupted by lockdowns, quarantines, and COVID safety measures, shopping has been more difficult than usual for many recently. But one of the ways the most vulnerable among us have been staying safe is by taking advantage of special hours reserved for seniors and the immunocompromised. However, Target just announced that it will be reducing its special hours for vulnerable shoppers to one day per week. Read on to find out more about the big change, and for ways you can protect the most vulnerable, check out If Anyone Over 60 Lives in Your House, You Need to Be Doing This.
Overall, as USA Today reports, Target is extending its store hours in the days approaching Christmas—the majority of the brand's 1,868 stores will be open at 7 a.m. each morning and remain open until midnight. However, in tandem with these longer hours, Target has rolled back the special hours it previously made available for more vulnerable shoppers. Since March, Target had been offering two days a week where the first hour of business was exclusively reserved for shoppers age 65 and older, pregnant women, and anyone else defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as vulnerable. Now, at most Target locations, this will only be taking place on Tuesday mornings.
"If no vulnerable guests are waiting to shop when the store opens, and other guests are waiting to shop, store leaders may decide to open the store to all guests," Target says on its coronavirus information page. "Store capacity limits and social distancing guidelines apply and we'll continue to follow state, county, and city mandates related to vulnerable hours."
Additionally, most Target stores will be closing at 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve this year, a reduction of last year's closing time of 10 p.m. You can check the full store hours at your local branch on Target's website.
Target still has a number of other COVID-19 safety measures in place that will not change, however. Read on to find out more about those, and for more big stores making big changes, check out Walmart Is Now Selling This For the First Time.
Read the original article on Best Life.
Target stores are operating at under 20 percent capacity.
On average, stores are operating at less than 20 percent of their total capacity, in line with CDC guidelines around social distancing. And for more insight on where the virus is spreading, check out Almost All COVID Transmission Is Happening in These 5 Places, Doctor Says.
High touch areas are being disinfected frequently.
Increased cleaning and disinfecting is taking place throughout Target stores, with a focus on "high touch areas like checklanes." Target employees are also stationed at store entrances to clean and disinfect carts and baskets. And for more on how long it's safe to shop, check out Don't Spend More Than This Long in the Grocery Store, Doctor Warns.
There's plexiglass at checkout.
Plexiglass partitions have been installed at Target's checkout counters between cashiers and shoppers to minimize aerosol transmission. And to learn exactly why that is, check out Chances Are High Your Grocery Store Clerk Has Silent COVID, Study Says.
All Target customers and employees are required to wear face coverings.
All Target staffers have been issued face masks and gloves to wear while at work, while customers are also required to wear face coverings. Disposable masks are provided on arrival for anyone who has forgotten to bring one. And for more on the kind of face covering you shouldn't be wearing, check out This Type of Face Mask Isn't Protecting You From COVID, WHO Warns.


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The Hershey Company has unveiled a new look.
The new corporate logo has an updated version of a Hershey Kiss Chocolate at the end of the company name, which has also now been shortened from Hershey's to Hershey.
Officials with the candy maker said, "The new branding will impact all visual aspects of how the Hershey Company presents itself."
However, not everyone is sweet on the new look.
Some people have raised a stink on social media, saying the new logo looks like a certain popular emoji. We'll let you guess which one.


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Power to the batteries
Better solar panels and wind turbines are important to helping ensure a low-carbon future. But they are not enough. The energy from these intermittent sources must be stored, managed, converted and accessed ...
Turn that defect upside down: Twin boundaries in lithium-ion batteries
Most people see defects as flaws. A few Michigan Technological University researchers, however, see them as opportunities. Twin boundaries—which are small, symmetrical defects in materials—may present ...
Wearables may get boost from boron-infused graphene
A microsupercapacitor designed by scientists at Rice University that may find its way into personal and even wearable electronics is getting an upgrade. The laser-induced graphene device benefits greatly ...
The $9 computer wants you. CHIP heats up on Kickstarter
Chemistry student makes sun harvest breakthrough
The sun is a huge source of energy. In just one hour, Earth is hit by so much sunshine that humankind could cover its energy needs for an entire year, if only we knew how to harvest and save it. But storing ...
GoSun solar grill offers a greener way to barbecue
For batteries, one material does it all
Engineers at the University of Maryland have created a battery that is made entirely out of one material, which can both move electricity and store it.
GM cuts 2016 Volt plug-in hybrid car price by almost $1,200
General Motors is knocking nearly $1,200 off the price of the 2016 Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid car.
Tesla CEO plugs into new market with home battery system
Never lacking daring ideas, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk is determined to jolt the electricity market.
The history and development of batteries
Batteries are so ubiquitous today that they're almost invisible to us. Yet they are a remarkable invention with a long and storied history, and an equally exciting future.
Fonkraft modular smartphone makes crowdfunding debut
Inspired by humans, a robot takes a walk in the grass (w/ Video)
In a rolling, outdoor field, full of lumps, bumps and uneven terrain, researchers at Oregon State University last week successfully field-tested for the first time the locomotion abilities of a two-legged ...
Better batteries to break dependence on fossil fuels
By 2050 world population is projected to reach 10 billion people, and energy needs will double from what we require today. "We are nowhere near ready," said Héctor D. Abruña at a Charter Day Weekend lecture, ...
Tracking exploding lithium-ion batteries in real-time (w/ Video)
What happens when lithium-ion batteries overheat and explode has been tracked inside and out for the first time by a UCL-led team using sophisticated 3D imaging.


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Major League Baseball decided to move its All Star Game out of Georgia in opposition to the state’s newly passed voting law. The decision is one of the biggest moves yet by a brand to use its platform and its economic power to influence or punish a state for voting restrictions following the 2020 presidential election.
As more Americans get vaccinated against COVID-19 and the country begins to open up more, Washington D.C. and Connecticut are among some of the places launching new tourism campaigns.
Procter & Gamble, in conjunction with many firms working with state-backed China Advertising Association, has developed a way to get around Apple’s new privacy tools and collect data from iPhone users for targeted ads. So reports The Wall Street Journal.
More than half of marketing chiefs say their influence has grown, according to a recent survey. At the same time, just 5% say its decreased. So reports Marketing Dive.
Phil Bienert, CMO of 1-800 Contacts, weighs in on how his firm is navigating some “pretty dramatic shifts” in the “tools that marketers use to be able to reach customers.” So reports DigiDay.
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Square Enix has released their latest financial reports. In the midst of these reports, we got an update on how multiple Square Enix games are performing. According to the Wall Street Journal, NieR: Automata has crossed 4 million copies shipped. This is up 500,000 units from 3.5 million shipped, which was the number given by Square Enix last quarter.
This number includes sales from the recent Game of the Yorha edition that was released on PC and PlayStation 4.
The official Twitter account also shared the news that NieR: Automata has crossed 4 million copies shipped:
Over 4 million copies of #NieR:Automata have been shipped & sold digitally!
Thank you for your continued support soldiers!
Glory to mankind. pic.twitter.com/Tq5WnwXStI
— NieR:Automata (@NieRGame) May 14, 2019
Developed by Platinum Games, NieR: Automata is available on PlayStation 4, PC and Xbox One (through the digital-only Become as Gods Edition). 2B, the android protagonist of NieR: Automata, has been added to Soulcalibur VI as a guest fighter.


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Oppo seems to be gearing up to launch a new audio device in the home country of China called the Oppo Enco Free 2. So far there was no information about the TWS available on the internet, but it seems that the launch of the device is imminent. Tipster Ankit has shared the live images of the Oppo Enco Free 2 true wireless revealing the entire design of the audio device ahead of the official launch. Let’s have a detailed look at the design of the upcoming Oppo Enco Free 2.
Oppo Enco Free 2 Live Images
The images shared by the tipster revealed that the Oppo Enco Free 2 will be launched in a white colour option. The earbuds come with short steam and have detachable ear tips. At a first glance, the TWS looks similar to the Apple AirPods. Further, the live images also suggest that the upcoming Oppo audio device will feature an oval-shaped charging case along with an indicator LED on the front suggesting the battery status. Besides, the leaked renders didn’t mention anything about the specifications and price of the device. We can expect more information about the TWS moving forward.
Going with the previous leaks, it was reported that the company might launch the Enco earbuds on May 20, but it doesn’t seem to happen so far. A couple of weeks back Oppo dropped a teaser claiming that the upcoming audio device from the brand will arrive with more than 35dB of noise cancellation which is equivalent to Apple AirPods Pro.
Xiaomi has also launched a new TWS called the FlipBuds Pro which comes with an Active Noise Cancellation feature and offers a noise reduction of 40dB. The newly launched TWS comes with a price tag of Yuan 799 (approx USD 124). The headphones have recently been made available for sale in China. Meanwhile, Vivo is also gearing up to launch a new TWS in the Chinese market called the Vivo TWS 2. It’s said to be the company’s first TWS to arrive with an ANC feature and expected to launch soon.


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The Nazis are coming!
The game that invented the first person shooter is back, as Wolfenstein makes a return in 2013.
21 years ago, id Software changed the perspective of the shooter genre forever with the original Wolfenstein, a game which invented many of the aspect of the FPS that we still use today.
Now, new developers MachineGames are putting players back in the boots ofBilly"B.J." Blazkowicz for a game set in an alternative 1960s where the Nazis have been ruling the world for almost two decades. But that ain't gonna stand.
Check out the E3 trailer for some Nazi-ified takes on some iconic images, including The Beatles' Abbey Road. It's weird.
Wilfenstein: The New Order will be coming to PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and PC in December 2013.


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Peak Season shows signs of a modest return
LM reader survey points to myriad factors for Peak’s return for the first time in five years
in the NewsPanjiva data highlights a solid February for trade activity U.S. West Coast shippers discover intermodal advantages of Reno, Nevada New FedEx offering focuses on high-volume returns U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico sees annual gain in 2016, BTS reports Knight-Swift to add 400 trucks, drivers with Abilene tuck-in acquisition More News
Given the positive momentum occurring across freight trends and economic reports over the majority of the first half of the year, it was not out of the question to surmise that a real, live Peak Season may be unfolding. And it still may be, but things don’t appear to be as certain as they once were earlier this year.
Since the mid-year mark, there has been a somewhat steady downturn in the good news department, given slipping volumes across most modes of freight transportation, lagging retail sales once again, and lower GDP growth, among other downward-trending economic indicators.
What’s more, some industry stakeholders maintain that July may become the New October, when in comes to Peak Season. The reason being that inventory buildup over the first half of the year may become a permanent fixture, with retailers holding off on adding more stock in the second half of the year until it is truly needed. This would appear to be a wise move, given the inventory overhang that occurred from 2008 and 2009.
This theory was supported by the August edition of the Port Tracker report from the National Retail Federation and Hackett Associates, which is calling for July volumes to hit 1.38 million TEU (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) at U.S. retail container ports, compared to an anticipated 1.31 million TEU in October, typically viewed as the peak shipping month of the year.
“Shippers and importers have sort of moved ahead of the market by buying early partly out of fear that there was not going to be enough capacity later on, and it seems that they have gotten a head start,” said Ben Hackett, president of Hackett Associates. “This is what really drove the strong May-July import gains.”
July’s import strength was apparent in TEU totals at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) and the Port of Long Beach (POLB). July imports at the POLB hit 293,878 TEU for a 32.5 percent annual gain, and POLA imports at 369,388 TEU saw a 21.02 percent annual gain.
And while Hackett is calling for July to be the 2010 peak, POLA Director of Communications Phillip Sanfield noted that the port is expecting volumes to remain strong during the third quarter, adding that the end of the inventory replenishment system may not yet have occurred.
Regardless of when Peak Season occurs, there is a cautious consensus that there may actually be one in 2010; this would mark the first time in five years there would be a Peak Season.
This was illustrated in the findings of a recent Logistics Management readership survey, which found that 53 percent—or 170 of the 320 respondents—believe this year’s Peak Season will be more active compared to last year. This edges out the 30 percent—or 96 respondents—that think things will be the same this year, and the 17 percent—or 54 respondents—calling for a less active Peak Season.
Among the reasons cited for a busier Peak Season include: increased sales and larger average orders, and higher overall business levels compared to a difficult 2009.
But as Gregg Sayers, Director, Supply Chain-Transportation, at Jacksonville, Fla.-based discount apparel retailer Stein Mart, points out, there are other factors at play that could lead to an actual Peak Season, too.
“Capacity has shrunk, and there are some challenges when it comes to re-positioning intermodal equipment,” said Sayers. “Carriers are having a difficult time getting boxes back to the West Coast, and team and single linehaul is regionally challenged. This is going to be a doozy of a Peak Season. The activity level will be driven by lack of capacity, not growth in the economy.”
Tight capacity levels present a far cry from the excess capacity heading into the 2009 Peak Season, when ships, terminals, the railways, and over-the-road transportation networks were fluid and not backed up due to increased business levels.
Another shipper respondent said that while the economy is slightly better than a year ago, more shippers are trans-loading shipments this year, making it tougher to move boxes from the West Coast.
While chances of a Peak Season are better than recent years, Brooks Bentz, a partner in Accenture’s Supply Chain Practice, said it may be a little different this year.
“I don’t think there is going to be a deluge of import freight like we have had historically,” said Bentz. “But the ocean liner companies are finding their way back to more solid footing, along with a shortage of available capacity and containers. And they are not rushing to put ships back in service, with rates going up. Slow steaming has had an impact, too. If you are a shipper and did not plan accordingly for this Peak Season, you are likely going to pay more.”
In terms of how Peak Season impacts day-to-day operations, 6 percent of LM survey respondents said there was no impact, 23 percent said the impact was not significant, 47 percent said it was somewhat significant, and 22 percent said it was very significant.
About the AuthorJeff Berman, Group News Editor Jeff Berman is Group News Editor for Logistics Management, Modern Materials Handling, and Supply Chain Management Review. Jeff works and lives in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he covers all aspects of the supply chain, logistics, freight transportation, and materials handling sectors on a daily basis. Contact Jeff Berman
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Mumbai, February 26, 2020: Ashika Capital Limited, a future focused investment banking firm under Ashika Group, facilitated the first round of funding for cookie chain Sweetish House Mafia amounting to INR 120 million (USD 1.7 million). This deal was closed with Indian Billionaire Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of Serum Institute, one of the world’s largest vaccine makers in terms of doses produced.
Commenting on this deal, Mihir Mehta, Senior Vice President, Ashika Capital Limited said “Sweetish House Mafia has the status of an iconic neighborhood brand that has immense growth potential and an investment from Mr. Poonawalla comes as a great validation.”
Defying the normal timelines that a deal takes, Ashika Capital completed this fundraise in a record time of three months from initiation to post-closure formalities.
India is seeing a definite potential in the food retail market. As per industry estimates, this market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10 percent plus in the next 5 years. India is a consumption oriented country with the largest population of youth and is touted to be the largest middle class in the coming few years. This proves the growth potential of the country and the reason why investors are increasing their stake here.
Talking about future growth aspects in the food retail market, Mihir said “A few levers that will push this sector will be strengthening of the supply chain infrastructure, increasing disposable incomes and growing spend proportions, higher internet penetration resulting in better awareness and lastly, the availability of larger financial and human capital.”
In the past, Ashika Capital has worked with numerous brands in the consumer space, ranging from the sale of Devigarh Palace by Xander Group and facilitating funding for Bohri Kitchen to the sale of Pernia’s Pop Up Shop. Last year, Ashika assisted luxury fashion label House of Masaba raise its first round of funding led by Binny Bansal.
Ashika Capital is working with the cookie chain on their next fund raise which will be conducted soon. Stay tuned for exciting updates!


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WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass. -- Regional Albertsons-owned chain Shaw's Supermarkets here plans to launch a chainwide program May 3 that features chef-made meals for two.
The meals will be supplied by Grace's Kitchen, a Seattle-based frozen dinner company, and will differ from traditional tray-based meals in that each Grace's meal element (often the raw ingredients) is separately vacuum-packed for optimum freshness and flavor, says the supplier.
Offerings will include both vegetarian and nonvegetarian selections, with such menu items as Mahi Mahi Tacos, Spice-Rubbed Pork Loin, Spinach-Herbed Polenta Lasagna, and Wild Salmon Cakes.
"Grace's Kitchen has created a solution for consumers who want high-quality meals at home that are appetizing [and] nutritious, and can be served in less than 30 minutes from frozen," said Grace's president Jaap Langenberg. "We offer an alternative to restaurant takeout, and far exceed the quality of traditional frozen meals with superior, natural ingredients and a top-tier menu selection."
Shaw's will carry Grace's Kitchen meals across its six-state chain encompassing Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Vermont. Grace's meals currently sell at retailers such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, and Giant Eagle.
Each Grace's Kitchen meal includes simple cooking instructions, plating recommendations and suggested wine pairings.


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Check out some of the largest moving companies on the pre-market:
Peloton (PTON) – Peloton calls a new recommendation from the Consumer Product Safety Commission “inaccurate and misleading” and states that its treadmills are safe if safety recommendations are followed. The CPSC said consumers with young children or pets should stop using the treadmills after the investigation into the death of a child uncovered dozens of injury cases. The share fell 6.7% in premarket trading.
Coca-Cola (KO) – Coca-Cola posted quarterly earnings of 55 cents per share, beating estimates by 5 cents per share. Revenue was also above Wall Street forecasts, and operating margins improved year over year. The beat came despite continued sales pressure outside the home due to the pandemic.
GameStop (GME) – George Sherman, GameStop CEO, is stepping down effective July 31 or earlier if a successor has been found. The company announced in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had evaluated management to ensure it would be suitable for a changing business landscape. Keith Gill, the man known as “Roaring Kitty,” exercised options to buy 50,000 more shares in the video game retailer at an exercise price of $ 12 per share, according to a Bloomberg report. Gill now holds 200,000 GameStop shares. GameStop rose 8.6% in premarket trading.
Harley-Davidson (HOG) – The motorcycle maker earned $ 1.68 per share in the most recent quarter, well above the consensus estimate of 88 cents per share. The sales largely corresponded to the forecasts. Harley also raised its full-year forecast for motorcycle sales and profit margins, saying actions to transform its business have had positive results. Separately, Harley said it would appeal a European Union decision that could result in a massive tariff hike on European sales. The shares gained 8.4% in the pre-market business.
Herman Miller (MLHR) – The office furniture manufacturer’s shares fell 12% in the pre-market after announcing a purchase agreement for furniture and accessories company Knoll (KNL) for $ 1.8 billion in cash and shares. The deal is valued at $ 25.06 per share, compared to Knoll’s closing price of $ 17.23 on Friday, and Knoll’s shares rose more than 28% in the pre-market.
M&T Bank (MTB) – The bank earned $ 3.41 per share last quarter, compared to a consensus estimate of $ 3 per share. Income also exceeded estimates. The bank noted improvements in residential mortgage and trust business, among other things, and the stock rose 1.4% in premarket trading.
Coinbase (COIN) – Coinbase declined 2% in the pre-market, with two notable deals affecting the stock on the news. According to her company’s daily trading recap, Cathie Wood’s ARK funds bought more shares on Friday, while filings for filings show that Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong sold approximately $ 292 million worth of shares on Coinbase’s first day of trading .
Church & Dwight (CHD) – The consumer goods company fell 1.9% ahead of entry after Morgan Stanley downgraded it from “equilibrium” to “underweight”, with rising raw material costs being a key factor that could put earnings under pressure .
Tribune Publishing (TPCO) – Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss has discontinued its offering for Tribune, according to the Wall Street Journal. Stewart Bainum, chairman of Choice Hotels, is looking for a new partner for his newspaper publisher offering when he tries to outbid the hedge fund Alden Capital for Tribune.
Tesla (TSLA) – Texas police officers investigating the fatal crash of a Tesla vehicle are almost certain that no one was behind the wheel at the time. It is still uncertain whether the car’s “autopilot” system was activated when the accident occurred on Saturday. Tesla fell 1.9% in the pre-market.
First Solar (FSLR) – The solar energy company gained 3.1% in premarket trading after switching from “neutral” to “buy” at Citi. The company points to “several positive catalysts,” including a possible 10 year extension of the federal solar tax credit.


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New Delhi: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today hosted the company's first ever Live Audio Room in America, a new voice-only product that is being seen as a clone of Clubhouse. Zuckerberg was chatting with colleagues like Facebook VP and head of Facebook Reality Labs, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth as well as creators like StoneMountain64 and QueenEliminator.
A lot of the conversation focussed around the creators talking about their gaming, including their own gaming journey on Facebook. Zuckerberg also used this opportunity to talk about upcoming gaming features like "Looking For Players", an apt name for what it will do: let creators while streaming find other players in the community to play with.
The look and experience from all the photographs released on the web is uncannily similar to what we all first saw on Clubhouse, and then on Twitter Spaces. Profiles of speakers and listeners on all the three platforms appear in circles, with the host on the top left. The Live Audio Room hosted by Zuckerberg did not offer any feature for the audience members to "raise your hand" to join the speakers on stage. So that's different from Clubhouse and Twitter Spaces.
What's also interesting is that Zuckerberg today said Facebook would not immediately take a cut from creators' content. Now, he may have said this to first attract more creators to the service before starting to monetise, but it could also be a direct hit at Clubhouse. In the US, Clubhouse has already rolled out a direct payment feature that allows creators to charge their audience, and for now keep 100% of the revenue. But the eventual gameplan by Clubhouse is to take a cut from the creators earnings.
Now remember, Zuckerberg had also come on Clubhouse earlier. The big boss of the world's largest social network--that includes Facebook, Whatsapp and Instagram--had signed up as "Zuck23" on Clubhouse to talk about the future of tech in an interview to "the Good Time Show". Needless to say, Zuckerberg's appearance on a new, rival social network was discussed a lot more than what he actually ended up talking about. But it set the wheels in motion for Facebook to start a slew of audio products.
So what does Clubhouse think of others copying their success? Well we have the founders on record on this subject! ET Now on June 14, 2021, had bagged the first-ever TV interview of the Clubhouse founders, Paul Davison and Rohan Seth.
Here's a recap with edited excerpts of their interview to ET Now's Nayantara Rai:
ET Now: They say imitation is the best form of flattery. So when you look at Twitter Spaces, what do you make of it? Facebook is yet to launch its voice tools.
Rohan Seth: You know, we're just really excited about voice as a medium. We're just really really focused on our own product and are just really enjoying building it right now. I don't know if, Paul you want to add something to this.
Paul Davison: Its not too surprising to us that other people are getting into social audio. There are probably 10 other big networks that we've heard of that are launching social audio products. And, we think audio is a durable media. Text was, photos were, short videos were, and even audio will be. So there will be a lot more of that from many different companies all around the world. And we also think that its important to solely focus on only one thing. And, historically, you’ve seen a similar thing with other networks. There's sort of one network for text, one network for photos and one network for short form video depending on which region you’re from.
ET Now: Will you ever allow monetisation by the creators or is it too early to talk about it?
Rohan Seth: Yeah, I mean we've always wanted to build a business that is aligned with the interests of our creators. Direct creator monetisation is really, really important to us. We recently rolled out a direct payments for creators in the app in the US, and one of the things that we'd like to do is roll out tipping, tickets and subscriptions. I think we need to explore a lot more here.
Paul Davison: Well, to build on Rohan’s point, we're really excited to create a different and the right type of network: based on genuine authentic human connection that leaves you feeling better, rather than worse. We want to make sure that we're only growing in business if the creators are growing as businesses. So, we started off with direct payments, which we're really excited to roll out to more parts of the world, including India, and as quickly as we possibly can. We're excited about things like tipping and subscriptions and paid events. I imagine that the way we'll end up funding the business is by taking a small cut of a certain types of transactions.


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The pharma industries of India and China are competing for a position at the head of the global market. While India retains its position as a world leader in generic medicine production, China has increased its investment in research and development, signalling an interest in overtaking competitors.
Indian companies have been producing hundreds of generic medicines and their formulations of standard quality by using innovative engineering, chemical techniques. With China easing regulations in the pharma sector, many Indian players are now showing interest in foraying into that market, says Pharmexcil Chairman Dinesh Dua. Pointing out that the pharma market in China is pegged at a whopping $122 billion, Dua said this is the right time to enter as the cost of medication in China is six to seven times higher than India.
On the other hand, Reports also says, ‘Not a single Indian pharma company has been able to invent a single significant new drug in the last 70 years’, Indian pharma firms received 34% of FDA warnings last year. In order to quantify the inventorship associated with Indian Pharma Industry, reports have been published which studied the US patents assigned to non-Indian companies, with inventors based in India. Out of the 4094 patents in all disciplines, only 20 were relevant, an insignificant number. If creative skills in the drug discovery process are not being honed, the prospects of original drug discovery in India are poor. This should be a matter of concern to the Indian government and others concerned with the price of future drugs.
According to the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance (IPA), there are several challenges to the exponential growth Indian pharma could achieve. For one, an environment conducive to long-term investment decisions in the pharmaceutical industry has yet to be established. Other key challenges include lack of innovation, less access to skilled workers and stricter guidelines in quality compliance in international markets. The IPA reports there are about 29 skilled workers available for every 10,000 people in India, in comparison to China, where there would be about 41. India levies an extremely low registration fee of USD 1,000 per product for Chinese pharmaceutical companies, whereas China imposes an exorbitant fee of USD 145,960 for registering a product.
Indian drug companies are looking to local makers of so-called active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) or trying to make them in-house in a bid to end their reliance on China as ties between the two countries soured. Though India is known as the pharmacy of the world for its massive production capacities of both generic drugs and vaccines,
China accounted for half of its API needs in 2019 from nearly nothing three decades ago, industry data shows. China’s industrial policy aiming to make the country dominant in global high-tech manufacturing, biomedicine is a key strategic goal. A laser-sharp focus on expanding their burgeoning pharma market will provide China with a distinct edge in drug development compared with India.
China has increased prices of key starting materials (KSM) by 10-20%, leaving those of basic raw materials largely unchanged. Both KSM and APIs are imported in India for making life-saving antibiotics, steroids, and other medicines. While increased prices will put cost pressure on the domestic industry over the next few months, more importantly, it has sparked speculation that this could be a potential ploy by China to scupper efforts of India’s drug industry to be self-reliant, or ‘Atmanirbhar’. Any increase in prices of imported KSMs will discourage indigenous API production in the country, making units unviable and APIs less competitive against Chinese products globally. At present, India is dependent on China for KSMs and APIs, with 70-80% of basic raw materials imported for making medicines.
For certain life-saving antibiotics like cephalosporins, azithromycin, and penicillin, the dependence on Chinese imports is as high as 90%. To boost indigenous manufacturing and self-reliance, the government announced an incentive scheme to manufacture 50-odd crucial APIs, where import dependence is high. Indian Drug Manufacturers’ Association president Mahesh Doshi said, “Cost pressure will be there (on API manufacturers) due to the increase in prices of imported KSM.”
Earlier, not many players were keen on the Chinese market as product approvals would take anywhere between four to five years, but now with the new relaxed regulatory regime, approvals are expected to come within a year’s time for players who have FDA and EU approved units.
Dua said, entering into JV with local players is the best way to make further inroads into China and many Indian companies have already begun exploring this option earlier this month. While Pharmexcil is betting big on this opportunity and is collaborating with Chinese trade and industry bodies to help Indian players boost their trade in that country, PV Appaji, Director General Emeritus, Pharmexcil, said the window of opportunity for the Indian pharma players is very narrow as it is only a matter of time before China overcomes its domestic issues and starts manufacturing cost competitive generic drugs.
Old statistics of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing, which projected significant increase in ranks for India from 11th to 5th in the global manufacturing competitiveness rankings from 2016 to 2020, while China moving down one place from 1st to 2nd. So, both countries have their own edges over each other, right direction from government and innovation from manufacturers will lead them in time to come.
- News & Views: China Emerging as Big Opportunity for Indian Pharma Cos.” Chemical Industry Digest (Mumbai) (2019): Chemical Industry Digest (Mumbai), 2019-01-31. Web.
- Sajna Soby, Muthukrishnakumar Kandasamy, and Gayatri Saberwal. “Work Outsourced to Indian Biotech and Pharma Companies Is Not Yet Significantly Innovative.” Current Science (Bangalore) 102.3 (2012): 401-04. Web
- “Indian Pharma Firms Receive 34% of FDA Warnings This Year.” Down to Earth (New Delhi, India) (2019): Down to Earth (New Delhi, India), 2019-08-21. Web
- Singh, Seema. “Indian Pharma Enters the Global Arena.” Cell (Cambridge) 128.5 (2007): 811-14. Web.
- Meera Navlakha, M., 2021. China vs. India: the fight for pharma supremacy. [online] raconteur. Available at: <https://www.raconteur.net/global-business/asia/china-vshttps://www.raconteur.net/global-business/asia/china-vs-india-the-fight-for-pharma-supremacy/-india-the-fight-for-pharma-supremacy/> [Accessed 19 April 2021].
- PharmaBoardroom. 2021. Pharma Manufacturing and R&D in China and India: A Comparison. [online] Available at: <https://pharmaboardroom.com/facts/pharma-manufacturing-and-rd-in-china-and-india-a-comparison/> [Accessed 10 April 2021].
- News, B., News, I. and materials, C., 2021. Key starting material: China tests India’s efforts of Atmanirbhar; hikes prices of key drug materials | India Business News – Times of India. [online] The Times of India. Available at: <https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/china-hikes-prices-of-key-drug-ingredients/articleshow/78242710.cms> [Accessed 1 May 2021].
(Author of the article is Nikhil Nadarkhani, a pharmaceutical brand management & marketing professional. The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author in his private capacity)


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Washington farmers are expecting an above-average juice grape crop when harvest starts in mid-September. Prices are down due to a backlash against sugar in fruit juice and more consumer choices, industry members say.
New plantings are fueling a production boom for California almonds, which are expected to weigh in a
According to USDA estimates, Idaho will pass Oregon this year to nab the No. 2 spot for hop producti
James Rogers, 32, came up with the idea of putting a natural protective sheen on produce to keep it
Washington State Tree Fruit Association weighs in on Dovex case, piece rates
Prices dropped from record July volume but rebounded in August as the Northwest approaches the end of a long cherry season.
An outbreak of gypsy moths in Washington makes spring spraying likely
About two dozen temporary farmworkers who claim they were mistreated by a Washington farm are getting ready to leave for Mexico
Washington expects another large apple crop but sales may improve with fewer Red Delicious and smaller crops in Europe, Mexico and Canada.
Almond Alliance of California president Kelly Covello complains there hasn’t been an increase in recent Farm Bills for such initiatives as the Market Access Program and the Foreign Market Development Program.
Sumas, Wash., blueberry farm says worker who died was diabetic
Some plants shut down during lengthy hot spells, and may be slow to recover.
Production is expected to be 10 percent to 15 percent lower than last year due to weather conditions.
The state provides tamarixia each year to commercial growers, but this is the first year homeowners have been eligible to receive them.


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It’s been confirmed that Facebook is fined by the U.S. F.T.C. (Federal Trade Commission) a record penalty of $5 billion over privacy violations.
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Myanmar Consumers Union organized “Advocacy Meeting on Presenting Findings of Myanmar Consumer Report” at Nay Pyi Taw on December 12th, 2018.
During the meeting, Vice President of MCU, Dr. Htay Lwin and Joint Secretary-3, U Win Min presented the “Myanmar Consumers Union and Consumer Protection”, Joint Secretary-1, Dr. Mo Mo Tin presented “Findings of Myanmar Consumer Report”, and Adviser, Salai Naing Haikawn and Dr. Htay Lwin presented about “Importance of Consumer Education”.
After presentation, U Yan Lin, Pyithu Hluttaw, Chairmen of Agriculture, Livestock, and Rural Development Committee, also discussed on Importance of Consumer Education and History of Myanmar Consumers Union. U Yan Lin was also a former President of Myanmar Consumers Union.
Dr. U Khin Zaw, Director General of FDA, Myanmar, U Soe Aung, Director of Department of Consumers Affairs (DOCA) also discussed on Food Safety and Consumer Protection and Consumer Affairs.
Some Members of Parilaments also discussed and supported the some recommendations from Myanmar Consumer Report.


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Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus DLC roadmap with releases dates revealed
- 'Lord of the Rings' TV adaptation gets multi-season Amazon deal
- Hilarious play is a microcosm of Florida's disastrous season
- Christopher Plummer on Kevin Spacey: 'The situation is very sad'
- Alabama man awarded $7.5 million from Walmart after shopping injury
- Inflation hits seven-month high of 3.58pc in October
- Heavy rains back in Chennai, schools to remain shut on Monday
- Coutinho's latest declaration hints of a rift at Liverpool
- Texas shooter's ex-wife says he had threatened to kill her
- Cyber Monday Tops Black Friday For Holiday Shopping
- Call of Duty: WWII was accidentally launched with double XP activated
- Battlefront II Multiplayer Will Be "Adjusted"
- Sierra Nevada Corporation after glide test flight of Dream Chaser space plane
- Two dead after shooting at Cousin Stizz concert; rapper issues statement
- Pinarayi to decide on seeking Thomas Chandy's resignation
- Surveillance video shows TSA officer removing smoking bag from security checkpoint


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'City of the Shroud' is an RPG with a truly player-driven story
Gamers' decisions will shape the world.
Valve says it's not responsible for 'CS:GO' gambling
"As we have explained on multiple occasions, Valve is not engaged in gambling or the promotion of gambling."
Steam will soon natively support PlayStation 4 controllers
Valve is also working on native support for other gamepads.
Jackbox releases its latest party game pack on October 18th
Xbox One owners will have to wait until the 21st to play.
'Cuphead' and its deal with the devil pushed into 2017
It's the latest in a string of high-profile indie games not making their promised release date.
Fighting game's 'useless' add-ons help its creators
'Honey Rose' overcomes Steam's limits on donations through a clever use of DLC.
HTC Vive launches dedicated VR store for everything besides games
Several apps and titles are priced at $1 for the launch weekend.
Roam the Valve HQ reception in VR and find the cake already
Venture into the mouth of GabeN's lair...
Time-bending shooter 'Quantum Break' arrives on Steam
The fancy 'Timeless Collector’s Edition' is out too.


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AT&T has committed to offering Palm’s flagship webOS smartphone, but has yet to say when. However, information leaking out of this wireless carrier indicates that its launch date for the Palm Pre Plus is coming in just over a week.
This smartphone has a consumer focus, with a multi-touch capacitive display, 3G, Wi-Fi, GPS, and hardware keyboards. It is already available from Verizon Wireless, and Sprint has the original Palm Pre.
This carrier announced in March that it intends to charge $150 for the Palm Pre Plus. However, it might have decided to lower this price since then, as Verizon is asking just $30 for its version.
What About the Pal Pixi Plus?
At the same time AT&T committed to the Palm Pre Plus, it also said it plans to offer the Palm Pixi Plus. The unconfirmed report that revealed AT&T’s launch date for the Pre Plus said nothing about the second model.
It’s possible the Pixi Plus will debut from this carrier at the same time, but it’s also possible that AT&T has dropped its plans to offer this model. The Pre Plus isn’t selling as well as Palm first hoped, but the Pixi series is faring even worse.
An Overview of the Palm Pre Plus
This smartphone is a slider with a 3.1-inch HVGA touchscreen, 16 GB of internal storage, and a 3.0 megapixel camera with LED flash.
It runs Palm’s webOS, the replacement for the venerable Palm OS. This is a multi-tasking operating system able to wirelessly synchronize a wide variety of data with online services like Google, Yahoo, and Facebook, as well as Microsoft Exchange.


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The new office follows a recent $2.5 million funding round to expand its US operations.
Cloud offers benefits for data suppliers seeking more distribution channels, as well as advantages around usage monitoring and control, panelists said.
The bug has existed since 2008.
The bug has existed since 2008.
The cloud has been around the capital markets for some time, and while it might be the delivery mechanism of choice for all applications and services in the future, the industry is still coming to grips with what’s possible, feasible, cost-effective, and…
The new adapter features a smaller FPGA card that will enable it to fit in more servers and attract a wider audience.
Jock Percy, founder and CEO of managed services provider Perseus, says the Mifid II requirements to sync industry clocks go too far.
Market data provider Xignite is rolling out new Software Development Kits (SDKs), which will debut at the FinDEVr conference in San Francisco over the next two days and be available for Java and .NET on GitHub.
Datacenter provider Volta Data Centres and fiber network vendor Venus Business Communications have partnered to offer enhanced hybrid co-location solutions via Amazon Web Services at Volta's Great Sutton Street datacenter in London, in a move to provide…
In-memory analytics technology provider Quartet FS is planning to roll out version 5 of its ActivePivot data aggregation and analytics platform in June, which features improved microprocessor technology that will make the platform 10 times faster,…
Consultancy Excelian has announced that it is now offering grid computing on an as-a-service basis (GaaS), operated through Microsoft's Azure cloud platform.
Time synchronization attempts in the cloud have produced comical effects. FSMLabs thinks it has the answer.
Hardware-acceleration and data network technology provider Solarflare will later this year introduce a server security product designed to protect servers used to support trading platforms from malicious intrusions designed to access or steal data, to…
Australian low-latency networking technology vendor Exablaze, a spin-off from highi-frequency trading firm Zomojo, is developing a stripped-down version of its ExaNIC network interface card, and is building support into its products for 40 Gigabit…
The customizable Nano-TG trading gateway will build off the London-based hardware provider's earlier field programmable gate array (FPGA) expertise.
From proprietary field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to flexible kill switches, North American Trading Architecture Summit panelists say good strategy always fits the right hardware to purpose.
Mohammad Darwish's company, AdvancedIO Solutions, sells field-programmable gate array (FPGA) technology. But you wouldn't know it from hearing him talk—he does not sugarcoat the hardware's flaws.
One of the Obama Administration's first actions in the new term is proving controversial. All parties agree on the perils of hacking, but financial firms are skeptical that regulating cybersecurity, alone, is the right approach.
At this week's Waters USA conference in New York, executives from UBS, Lord Abbett, and Citi agreed that on matters of cloud, the questions will be “how” and “when,” rather than “if.”
Vendors must come up with ways to ease the pressure on financial services firms, allowing them to focus on their core responsibilities, rather than worrying about their technology, according to Francis Maden, executive director at Toronto-based…


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The Which? tech team has been at the CES tech show in Las Vegas and we’ve spotted a definite trend for cute robots. But are they actually useful – and would you want one in your home?
Posts tagged with "ces-2011"
We’ve so far been reluctant to turn our homes into Star-Trek styled palaces of technology, but the next generation of ‘smart home’ products holds more promise.
3D printers got their own zone at CES in Las Vegas. And with new models on the horizon at lower prices, is a 3D printer worth owning, or just an expensive way of making your own cracker toys?
After recently returning home from CES 2014 in Las Vegas, one thing I can’t seem to shift (apart from the jet lag) is the feeling that the days of flatscreen TVs may be numbered. Are curved TVs the future?
Buried beneath the 3D printers and bendy TVs of CES, Intel announced it would no longer source the raw materials it needs to make computer chips from ‘conflict zones’.
The 2013 Consumer Electronics Show revealed many common themes, including new Ultra HD TVs with eye-watering price tags. But the trend that caught my eye was ‘best of both worlds’ laptop-tablet hybrids.
There was no shortage of new cameras buzzing about CES 2013 in Las Vegas. But do any of them have enough new ideas to save the faltering compact camera market?
CES – the largest, most hype-fueled consumer electronics event – has lost its way. Where once it was a Mecca of revolutionary tech products, CES 2013 seems fixated on gimmicky gadgets and out-to-lunch technology.
If you haven’t heard of ‘ultrabooks’ yet, you won’t be able to avoid them for much longer. The word wasn’t far from the lips of most tech journalists at CES this year. But are ultrabooks more than just clever marketing?
Anyone care to hazard a guess as to what ‘Smart Thinq Technologies’ could mean in the world of fridges? How about a fridge that can plan your meals, tell you when your food’s off and order eggs when you’ve run out?
One day we’ll all have a 3D printer in our homes. And if not in our homes, they’ll be somewhere on the high street printing toys, kitchen implements, spare parts and anything else you can imagine. That’s my prediction.
A new book scanner revealed at the Consumer Electronic Shows (CES) allows you to digitise books for e-readers. But is it the device that book lovers are after, and does it have the hallmarks of a bestseller?
In their quest to make their TVs more appealing, TV manufacturers have confused ‘smart’ for ‘useful’. CES 2012 has done little to dissuade my view that TV makers are still grasping for a smart answer.
The Consumer Electronics Show, where tech giants flex their muscles with their latest innovations, is hosted each January in Las Vegas. Traditionally hardware has been on show, but I think services will soon take over.


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Independent Leicester vegan deli and coffee shop The Pantry is launching a second outlet.
The new ‘grab and go’ branch of The Pantry is opening in the University of Leicester Food Market - which is open to the general public as well as students.
The Indian-inspired menu includes mixed vegetable, potato and pea, and chickpea and spinach curry (£5.00 each, served with a chapati).
There's also 'extras' such as onion bhajis, vegetable samosas and chapatis, and a great value meal deal for £2.50, including a half portion of curry, chapati and vegetable samosa or onion bhaji.
The first branch of The Pantry opened in Loseby Lane in March 2018, serving a daily-changing offering of home-cooked vegan food as well as Peruvian coffee.
The eatery was launched by Leicester-born fashion designer Arti Chudasama, who had worked in the fashion industry around the UK for 15 years, and was looking for a new challenge.
Having experimented with her diet over the years due to health reasons, Arti decided she felt better than ever having cut down on meat and dairy products.
And, with the growing popularity of vegetarianism and veganism, she was keen to share the food she enjoys with the people of Leicester.
That food - including curries, wraps and buddha bowls, as well as home-made cakes - has proved very popular, both with customers at the shop and with students at the many university open days in which Arti has been involved.
Due to the popularity of her food with the students at the University of Leicester, and the high number of students choosing to go vegan, Arti was invited to set up a 'grab and go' outlet in the university's food market.
Arti told LeicestershireLive: "The passion and drive I have along with the hard work and determination I’ve put into building The Pantry is indescribable.
"Being recognised for this and rewarded by partnering with The University of Leicester on the opening of The Pantry grab and go is an amazing, overwhelming feeling."
The new outlet opens on Monday, September 24 and will be open from 11am until 3pm Monday to Friday.


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If you’ve ever connected with me, you would determine that my passion for Leduc has stemmed from residing here my entire life and operating my business for the last 50 years. I recognize my bias being a small business owner and I had every intention writing on subject matter pertaining to other areas of focus in my platform, however considering recent news, I was compelled to write one more article on how “essential” our local business community is.
I’m sure we’ve all heard the saying that small business “is the backbone of community” but what does this mean? According to LOCO-BC, a non-for-profit organization in BC who conducts Business Community Impact Assessments for communities across Canada, “the local economic impact of small businesses is twice that of multinational competitors, with $63 of every $100 spent at local merchants recirculating back into the community, contrasting the paltry $14 that remains from every $100 spent within large multinational retail locations. As a result, local businesses recirculate 4.6 times more revenue into local economies, multiplying their positive impact on the communities they serve.” I have seen firsthand, as a business owner and founder of a non-profit-foundation, while working with local businesses, the amount of revenue and time that is recirculated back to business and community causes.
So why is this important considering current circumstances? In the last two weeks alone, I’ve spoken with several businesses on the verge of closing who’ve all indicated that small loans would enable them to remain operational. The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses estimates that 1-in-5 businesses are likely to close their doors for good due to consequences of the pandemic. Small business employs 69.7% of the country’s private labour force and also “accounts for 97.9% of all businesses operating in the country and contributes toward just under 40% of the Canadian GDP”. Statistics Canada announced “The Canadian economy posted its worst ever performance, registering a 5.4% decline in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for 2020, marking the largest recorded decrease since data was first calculated in 1961.”
The reason I've decided to run is not to take a “cut and slash” approach to these capital projects, but to stop and redefine what “essential” is, especially during this pandemic, and how Leduc’s taxpayer’s dollars should be spent. I am concerned that our current council, 12-14 months into this pandemic, just approved more than what was “essential” for the expansion of the Cemetery, purchasing three times the amount of land that was required for $3-million.
They’ve also just approved $250-thousand for fence post upgrades which could have easily been postponed. This upgrade alone is more than double the amount the City has put towards small businesses in light of Covid-19, which also happens to be one of the City’s largest tax bases. As your Mayoral candidate, I believe small business is more valuable than fence posts, not only because of the large tax base they pay, but because of their integral role within our community.


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By Miranda Noland | 01/09/2012 - 08:28
By Mariela Rosario | 11/20/2009 - 14:44
Rumors are running rampant surrounding the astounding success of J.J. Abrams reboot to the popular Star Trek franchise. The prequel, starring Zoe Saldana as Uhura, made a killing in the theaters, and DVD sales have been brisk. Smelling an opportunity to cash in big time, studios are eager to expand the movie into a new franchise.


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Number six in our top stories of 2010 countdown is the seizure of raw-milk cheese that attracted national interest:
As 2010 dawned, Estrella Family Creamery in southwest Washington state was basking in its reputation as a world-class raw-milk cheesemaker with international and national awards to its name. As the year ended, the creamery was embroiled in a legal battle with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration after federal agents seized all of its cheeses on Oct. 21.
According to the FDA, the seizure was prompted by repeated testing by the Washington State Department of Agriculture and the FDA during the year that showed the persistent presence of Listeria monocytogenes, a dangerous foodborne pathogen, in the creamery’s cheese products and facilities.
Listeria can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and those with weakened immune systems. Listeria infections can also cause miscarriages and stillbirths.
Estrella’s handcrafted cheeses, which are aged for 60 days or more, are made with milk that hasn’t been pasteurized to kill harmful bacteria that might be in the milk.
The “federal raid” propelled the creamery into the national spotlight as a “poster child” for small-scale farms in the ongoing and often highly emotional battle over whether food produced on small farms is safer than food produced by agribusiness.
On one side are the local-food advocates who point to profit-driven corporate agriculture as the primary source for most of the nation’s foodborne illness outbreaks. On the other side, are federal agencies, food-safety scientists, and a coalition of farms, processors, and wholesalers — many, but not all, of them large-scale entities — that warn that potentially deadly pathogens such as E. coli, Listeria and Salmonella don’t discriminate between small and large farms.
To date, no illnesses have been linked to any of the Estrella creamery’s cheeses, which are sold to high-end restaurants, area farmers markets and retail shops throughout the region and in several states.
The meltdown for the family farm and its creamery began in February and March when testing revealed the presence of Listeria monocytogenes in some of its cheeses, in the salt brine used in processing the cheese, and in production and storage areas throughout the farm.
Estrella responded by recalling some of its cheeses and later revealed that its own tests between March and May 2010 showed the presence of Listeria in certain cheese products.
Following inspections in August that revealed the continued presence of Listeria at the creamery, the FDA in September asked co-owner Kelli Estrella to recall all of the creamery’s cheeses.
She responded to that request by refusing to recall all of the cheeses, saying that while the inspectors had found Listeria in some of the soft cheeses, the hundreds of wheels of hard cheeses were safe to eat.
Food-safety scientists say that soft cheeses such as Brie and Camembert are more likely to be contaminated with Listeria than are hard cheeses.
In early September, FDA inspectors also wrote up a report about the creamery, listing 10 “observations” ranging from inadequate handwashing to a leaking cooler.
According to the report, the “inspection observations” do not represent a final agency determination regarding whether or not the creamery is in compliance with state and federal laws.
Rolling up its legal sleeves, the FDA went to court in October, pointing to what was described as “the persistent presence” of Listeria at the creamery. Because of that, the agency said all of Estrella’s cheeses should be considered contaminated.
On Oct. 21, agents from the U.S. Marshal’s Service and the FDA went to the farm and seized all of its cheeses, under the authority of U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin Settle.
In her statement posted on the creamery’s website, Kelli Estrella wrote: “Last night at about 5:30 (p.m.), three cars pulled into the yard with FDA and Federal Marshals, alarming our kids. They posted a seizure order that named all cheeses on the property. This is serious, it could put us out of business.”
She later referred to the seizure as “gestapo like.”
Co-owner Anthony Estrella told Food Safety News that he would like to think that if a regulatory agency found a problem, it would work with a business to fix the problem. He also said that the family had spent $40,000 to remodel the creamery “from top to bottom and side to side.”
“We’re in a very hard spot,” he said. “We’re about to lose our farm. We’re a hardworking family. We don’t want to hurt anyone. We want to do things right.”
Referring to the hard cheeses the FDA seized, Anthony Estrella said he’s not opposed to throwing away a bad product, “but I’m not willing to throw away my life.”
Emily Langlie, spokeswoman for the United States Attorney’s Office in Seattle, said Estrella has filed a claim for the seized cheeses and also for the manufacturing equipment that was marked as “can’t be used.”
“Both sides will work together on this,” she said.
But if the dispute can’t be resolved, Langlie said it will shift to the court process, which will be controlled by a district court judge. “If FDA’s concerns are not addressed, FDA is prepared to go to trial,” she said.
FDA’s Siobhan DeLancey confirmed that the case is still open. She also told Food Safety News said that if a product is made in a facility harboring Listeria, it can’t be assured to be safe. And just because a sample of a product, such as a wheel of hard cheese, tests negative doesn’t mean the entire product, itself, is safe.
“Things can be recontaminated,” she said. “It might not be the milk, itself.”
As for when this case will be resolved, DeLancey said the timing will be up to the courts and the Department of Justice.
In the meantime, friends of the Estrellas have set up a fundraiser to help the family pay for its legal bills, feed their six adopted children from Liberia, and pay other bills, such as mortgage, labor, and utility expenses. Donations of $10 will cover each 1 pound of cheese that Estrella is prohibited from selling.
“When we get all the cheese in their inventory paid for, Estrella has a good chance to weather this storm and continue to provide their cheese to those who enjoy artisan cheeses and want freedom of choice in their food,” says the fundraising site.
Editor’s note: Photo illustration is a stock photo and not from Estrella farm.


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SMALL BUSINESS ADVICE
NEXT Insurance | August 10, 2021
NEXT Insurance, the leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance, today announced it is participating in Amazon Insurance Accelerator, providing Amazon sellers looking to buy insurance with instant quotes at competitive rates, directly within Amazon Seller Central. NEXT is the only US-based carrier currently participating in the initiative, further building on its partnership with Amazon Business Prime, NEXT's fully digital, customized e-commerce General Liability ...
AT&T Communications | October 28, 2020
AT&T* is launching a new wireless service discount, waiving home internet data overage charges for AT&T Internet customers through December 31, and offering free expert guidance and other resources to help small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) save money and virtualize their businesses to survive and thrive despite the impacts of COVID-19....
PDQ.com | August 24, 2021
PDQ.com, a leading provider of IT asset management software for small and medium-sized businesses, announced that TA Associates , a leading global growth private equity firm, is making an investment in the company. TA, together with the PDQ founders and executive management team, plan to accelerate PDQ’s growth as the company aims to expand its portfolio of easy-to-use IT asset management and scanning software solutions.
PDQ provides software for system administrators and IT...
wisdo.com | April 20, 2020
The burger chain Shake Shack says it has obtained new funding and will return a small-business loan it got to help weather the coronavirus crisis.Shake Shack has laid off or furloughed hundreds of its employees and needed the assistance, its CEO Randy Garutti and its founder Danny Meyer said in a statement seen Monday. But the company was able to get extra funding late last week through an “equity transaction” and decided to “immediately return” the $10 million paycheck p...
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By ADITYA RAJ DAS
After decade of negotiations, hectic parleys, many climb-downs and heartburn, India is now virtually ready to bring in what has been touted as Independent India’s most celebrated tax reforms– Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The introduction of the GST—considered to be the most radical reform in India’s Indirect Tax regime—will create an all India common market, which will act like a catalyst to woo the foreign investors to invest in wide range of economic activities.
The GST envisages a unified indirect tax regime replacing central levies like central excise and service tax and plethora of state levies in 29 states like Value Added Tax, entry tax and purchase tax on goods and services transforming the nation of near 1.3 billion people into a customs union.
The run-up to the introduction of GST has almost reached the final stage with the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approving four supporting Goods and Services Tax (GST) bills, which will now be introduced in Parliament during the ongoing Budget session.
The four supporting GST legislations include Central GST or C-GST, the Integrated GST (I-GST), and the Union Territory GST (UT-GST), and the Compensation to the States Law. The four bills were earlier approved by the GST Council– the highest body to formulate rules and regulations governing GST– after a thorough clause by clause discussion over 12 meetings held in the last six months.
The C-GST Bill makes provisions for levy and collection of tax on intra-state supply of goods or services for both by the Central Government. On the other hand, the I-GST Bill makes provisions for levy and collection of tax on inter-state supply of goods or services or both by the Central Government.
The UT-GST Bill makes provisions for levy on collection on tax on intra-UT supply of goods and services in the Union Territories without legislature. The Union Territory GST is akin to States Goods and Services Tax (SGST) which shall be levied and collected by the States/Union Territories on intra-state supply of goods or services or both.
The Compensation Bill provides for compensation to the states for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax for a period of five years as per section 18 of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
These four legislations would be taken up for discussion together in the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament. Once approved by Parliament, the states would start taking their SGST bill for discussion and passage in the respective state assemblies.
These bills will help in the rollout of the much-awaited indirect tax regime, which the Modi government plans to do from July 1 this year.
Underscoring importance of GST On Saturday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi very recently said people should make efforts to discuss and understand the new indirect tax regime.
As he says In GST, the entire process has been reached by consensus; the states have taken ownership. It is an example of cooperative federalism”.
At this juncture when India is emerging as the fastest growing economy in the world, the introduction of GST will further spur the growth momentum of the economy thereby consolidating the prowess of Indian economy in the global arena.
It is also being overwhelmingly felt that India’s adoption of GST will benefit the global economy. At this point when the global economy is getting increasingly gripped with gloom with Britain’s decision to pull out of Europe’s common market India’s efforts to build up a unified common market across the length and breadth of the country is laudable as it will also contribute to the growth of global economy.
It is being projected introduction of GST could boost India’s economic growth by up to 2 percentage points.
Most economists overwhelmingly feel that the positive impact of GST on Indian economy is enormous.
The current tax regime is riddled with indirect taxes which the GST aims to subsume with a single comprehensive tax, bringing it all under a single umbrella. The GST aims to eliminate the cascading effect of taxes on production and distribution prices on goods and services.
Cascading effect of taxes is caused due to levy of different charges by state and union governments separately.
This existing multiple tax structure– both at Center and states– raises the tax-burden on Indian products, affecting their prices, and as a result, sales in the international market. Thus the new tax regime of GST with a single comprehensive tax will help boost exports.
As the GST will do away with Gordian knot of multiple tax-rates, which is a burden on the common man, will also help usher-in an era of a transparent and corruption-free tax administration. It is also set to weed out the current shortcomings of the supply chain owing to the complicated, multi-layered policies.
As economists say the GST will cut down large number of taxes imposed by the Center and states and will lead to the creation of a unified market which will facilitate seamless movement of goods across states and reduce the transaction costs of businesses.
Most importantly while the GST will be critical in spurring growth momentum it will further enhance India’s potential as an attractive destination of Foreign Direct Investment.
Most of the potential foreign investors are keen that India should introduce GST as soon as possible thereby sending distinct signal that Indian economy is committed to reforms and ready to integrate with global economy in tangible way.
Sooner India adopts GST tax regime it is better for its economy as well as global economy.


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It looks, cooks, and apparently tastes like a meat burger – but what does the arrival of the vegan Beyond Burger mean?
This week (12 November), a plant-based burger from Beyond Meat, the US brand that has gained investors of the likes of Bill Gates and Leonardo DiCaprio, has been sold in its first UK supermarket.
The burger oozes ‘blood’ using a small amount of beetroot for colour, with coconut oil and potato starch providing ‘mouth-watering juiciness and chew’.
“We see the growing global demand for delicious, plant-based proteins and are excited to serve that demand in the UK with the revolutionary Beyond Burger,” said Seth Goldman, executive chair of Beyond Meat.
Dominika Piasecka, spokesperson for The Vegan Society, sees the new addition to supermarkets as a boost for veganism. She said: “Anything that gives more choice for people to eat vegan food is a positive move, particularly if it comes from a large company whose products are widely available around the world.
“Meat alternatives allow people to enjoy familiar dishes and some of their favourite comfort foods without compromising their values of kindness and compassion,” she continued.
Meat me at the end of the aisle
As in the US, the burger will be stocked in the chilled aisle – something that has come as a shock to butcher shop owner, Phil Bennett from Leeds.
“What about the vegan that really dislikes meat and doesn’t want to be in that area? It’s just to try and get under people’s skin; it should all be kept in the same aisle,” he said.
“I just can’t understand it really, if somebody is really that much against meat, why would they want something that looks like meat … that tastes like meat? I don’t understand why they’d want it to be in the meat section.”
Bennetts Quality Butchers made headlines over the summer when a member of staff waved raw meat in the faces of protesting vegans.
In October, the plant-based treat launched in Honest Burger and All Bar One restaurants, but this marks the first supermarket stocking, with more than 350 Tesco stores nationwide selling the product.
Costing £5.50, the meat replicator is a lot more expensive than its counterparts, with the Quorn meat-free classic burger costing £2.50 for two, and Vivera veggie burgers costing just £2.00 (Tesco). Tesco’s Finest British beef burgers cost £3.00 for four.
Bennett described the price of the Beyond Burger as “extortionate”.
Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love
While the placement of the burger in the meat aisle can, and clearly has, been argued, what about the burger itself? While the FitPro jury is still out due to trying to hunt one down, award-winning burger restaurant Cut and Grind, which serves both beef burgers and a vegan-friendly alternative, had its say on the burger’s introduction to UK supermarket shelves.
“Choice is key in my mind and if eating a plant-based burger that replicates an average beef burger helps to reduce the total quantity of meat people eat, that’s got to be a good thing,” said Paschalis Loucaides, founder of Cut and Grind Burgers, winner of National Burger of the Year 2018 for its Juicy Classic.
“I do, however, still have some doubts as to the overall environmental impact of the ‘bleeding burgers’. The fact they are produced in a food factory not a kitchen, the fact that extracted chemicals are used to replicate taste and texture rather than celebrating the natural flavours of the plant they come from – we just don’t yet know what the benefits are.”
Have you tried the bleeding burger? Should it be stocked in the meat aisle? Vegans and meat eaters alike, let us know.
We’re off to try and find one – any excuse for a burger.
In other nutrition news this week:
Campaign group call for ban on mega milkshakes
Action on Sugar survey shows ‘excessively high’ sugar levels in milkshakes sold in high street restaurants and fast food chains.
The survey, undertaken at Queen Mary University of London, showed that some milkshakes contain as much as 39 teaspoons of sugar – more than six times the recommended daily amount for a seven-to-10 year old.
Of those in the survey, Toby Carvery was found to have the milkshake with the most sugar with 156g (39 teaspoons) in its ‘Unicorn Freakshake’. The British Heart Foundation found that an average 25 year old would have to jog for nearly three hours to burn off the calorie intake (1,280kcal).
While Public Health England wants to see a 20% reduction by 2022, Action on Sugar feels this is not enough and sees a complete ban on shakes containing more than 300 calories as the way forward.
“Despite milkshakes being incorporated into Public Health England’s Sugar Reduction Programme as part of the Government’s childhood obesity plan, it is clear from our survey that much more needs to be done than a 20% reduction,” said Action on Sugar’s Professor MacGregor.
The group are also calling for an obligatory traffic-light system of nutritional labelling across all menus.
Registered nutritionist Kawther Hashem, researcher at Action on Sugar based at Queen Mary University of London, sees the lack of transparency surrounding the calorie count as another issue.
“Undoubtedly, some of these milkshakes contribute to excess sugar and calorie intake, and it is shocking this information is hidden from the consumer, who would struggle to find it,” she said.
The group found that many out-of-home companies do not publish their nutrition information online or in their outlets, including Byron, Creams, and TGI Fridays.
The worst-offending milkshakes, based on sugar content per serving in high street restaurants and fast food chains, were:
Toby Carvery Unicorn Freakshake – 156g/39 teaspoons
Five Guys Milkshake Base + Banana + Chocolate – 149g/37 teaspoons
Five Guys Milkshake Base + Cherry – 120g/30 teaspoons
Pizza Hut Salted Caramel Ice Cream Shake – 95.4g/24 teaspoons
Harvester Cookie Monster Freakshake – 95g/24 teaspoons
Toby Carvery Cookie and Chocolate Freakshake – 94g/24 teaspoons
Supermarket milkshakes weren’t spared either, with the worst offenders based on sugar contents per serving being:
Miller Milk Frijj Chocolate Flavour 400ml – 42.8g/11 teaspoons
Miller Milk Frijj Fudge Brownie Flavour 400ml – 42.8g/11 teaspoons
Miller Milk Frijj Cookie Dough Flavour 400ml – 41.6g/10 teaspoons
More delicious food content, right here.


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A Chinese think tank has said Arab uprisings that started in January last year across North African countries has had a limited impact on China-Africa trade.
The annual report on African development released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in early July said China-Africa trade volume in 2011 reached a historic high of $166.3 billion, a year-on-year increase of more than 30%.
Countries like Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia also registered a rapid growth in trade with China. Libya was the only exception in the region, the report noted.
The findings suggested that turmoil in North Africa did not have a significant impact on China-Africa trade, adding that two North African nations (Sudan and Egypt) ranked among China’s top five African trade partners in 2011.
According to Wu Chunhua, senior Chinese diplomat, North African countries are looking to boost their economies by investing in people’s livelihoods and social stability, which provides cooperative opportunities for China’s enterprises.
Chinese direct investment in Africa exceeded $14.7 billion in 2011, with more than 2,000 Chinese-invested businesses operating in the continent, the academy’s statistics showed.
“China-Africa cooperation in the new century features significant economic engagement, mutual benefit and increasing efforts to build up Africa’s ability to independently develop,” Qi Jianhua, director of the research center on France and French-speaking countries at the China Foreign Affairs University, said.
Meanwhile, Chinese President Hu Jintao has pledged $20bn in credit for Africa over the next three years, part of its bid for closer ties and increased trade with the rapidly developing continent.
President Hu Jintao made the announcement at a summit in Beijing with leaders from 50 African nations.
“As developing nations, China and countries in Africa should work better together in response to the big bullying the small, the strong domineering over the weak and the rich oppressing the poor in international affairs,” the Chinese president said in his opening speech.
He also expressed China’s desire to continue to enhance traditional friendship with Africa, which Hu said, is based on mutual understanding and trust.
Africa has emerged as an important source of raw materials to power China’s economic boom and an important market for cheap Chinese products. The long-neglected continent is also benefiting from huge infrastructure projects led by Chinese firms.


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In the post-COVID business world, digital transformation has become a common reality borne from necessity.
In the post-COVID business world, digital transformation has become a common reality borne from necessity. Yet businesses must ask themselves if they’ve done enough to make their digital transformation projects sustainable.
Global digital transformation spending is expected to touch US$3.4 trillion in 2026 with a five-year CAGR of 16.3%, according to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Digital Transformation Spending Guide. More regionally, India’s digital economy alone is expected to surpass US$1 trillion as early as 2025, according to MeitY.
Despite these predictions, more than 80% of such transformations fail and the remaining aren’t always able to deliver continuous value beyond the immediate gains. A staggering 88% of the Fortune 500 firms that existed in 1955 have been relegated to the history books because they failed to innovate.
For example, Kodak, once the world’s biggest film company, lost out during the digital revolution due to a fear of dismantling its strongest product lines. This digital hesitance has now become what the brand is renowned for, surely affecting its reputational standing in turn.
With these examples in mind it’s clear that companies need to work hard to stay ahead of the digital curve. But how can companies know if they’re competitive, appeal to the ever-changing consumer, and are thoroughly prepared for the digital environment of the market?
Sanjib Sahoo, the Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Ingram Micro, says “Digital Fitness” – a measure of how fit a company is in the current digital business environment – is one solution.
But why does a business need digital fitness?
“When you are born in the digital era, you should always assess your digital fitness on an ongoing basis and then create an agenda that suits you. For example, if you have really old legacy systems and want to use machine learning to create valuable results it is just not going to work. This is because you have to first focus on rationalizing your legacy systems and harmonize all your data. That’s the plumbing,” he says.
So, when can we call a company digitally fit?
“We know physical fitness is a lifestyle change. You can diet for a few months, but you might put on weight because it’s an ongoing process. Then you measure your BMI, based on which, somebody will tell you to do 30 minutes of additional cardio or reduce your carbohydrate intake. We follow a fitness regime for longevity, we want to live a long, healthy life and actively reduce our risk of disease as we age. The same goes for a business,” he says.
He envisages that the same principle can be applied to business organisations and their digital abilities.
“Since 2000, more than 50% of Fortune 500s have been disrupted. Either incumbent companies themselves have transformed or new startups have taken over their market share. The technology world is changing all the time and competition can come from anywhere. This makes it crucially important to evaluate your digital BMI and understand whether the organization is truly digitally fit or not,” he explains.
Many companies today are facing performance gaps and missing opportunities which could risk the viability of the whole organization.
“Pretty much every company today is going through digital transformation, but they have to first assess and understand that digital fitness is a mindset change in the company,” he adds.
“That’s one of the reasons some companies have fallen from the Fortune 500 list, and why every company is worried about the next disruptive startup with the digital speed and agility to seize up and coming market opportunities,” he says.
Digital BMI: A Mindset Change
“You have to plan fast. You have to be agile. A digital BMI means you have to understand where you stand in the market,” advises Sahoo.
To measure it, businesses can ask themselves several questions.
“Are your legacy codes and legacy systems nimble? Do you have customer centricity? Can you always create an omnichannel customer experience? Are you ready to innovate, operate, integrate at the same time? What is your speed and time to the market? Is it weeks, is it months, or is it years? And are you willing to pivot to create multiple monetization models? All of this makes you measure how digitally fit you are,” he explains.
Who is a digitally fit leader?
He calls digital transformation a spirit because it cannot be taught in a class.
“The number one factor why digital transformation projects fail is due to spirit and mindset. People focus on what they’ve been doing for years, resisting change. This will not work,” he says.
“A digitally unfit company will take a long time to make decisions. It doesn’t really move fast. It doesn’t understand and measure where competition is. It is not taking bets or risks to move forward,” Sahoo answers.
“It is not really addressing the opportunity gap, and such companies are prone to being disrupted, because you have to always understand where the market is going,” he advises.
A pivot in the market can come from unprecedented and unexpected directions, as the pandemic has taught us clearly. For example, the airline industry started getting competition from video conferencing software.
“Today, you never know where competition comes from. Companies that are digitally unfit, do the same thing, the same way, in perpetuity. They don’t have multiple monetization models. They don’t move fast. Their systems are getting older and not addressing that. And that’s when they become slower and slower like a physically unfit person will be,” he explains.
“And just as a physically unfit person becomes prone to the risk of diabetes or heart attack, digitally unfit organizations become prone to the risk of disruption and falling from market dominance,” he adds.
“You cannot be complacent, because when you are complacent, you are done. And that’s digital unfitness,” he says.
Digital transformation is neither an experiment nor a luxury. It does not have a stop sign. It’s a necessity if a company wants to remain successful. It’s also not just a level to cross and be done with, but a permanent mindset change that will help the company and its team move forward continuously.


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The global frozen fish and seafood market was valued at $48.54 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach USD60.88bn by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 4.63%, according to the latest report by research company Technavio.
“The demand for seafood continues to increase globally, and the significant population growth in China, India, and Brazil is an important demand driver in the frozen fish and seafood industry. The development of modern distribution channels along with technological improvements in the processing, packaging, and storage of seafood products also helps market growth,” says Technavio lead food and beverage analyst Vijay Sarathi.
In Europe, the frozen fish and seafood market is growing at a moderate rate, because of the mature nature of the market. Increased consumption of fish and seafood, high imports and exports, and increased disposable income drive the market in the region. The continent is one of the major fish producers, consumers and traders. The UK, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden are key contributors to the market in this region. The report estimates that people will consume more frozen fish and seafood owing to increasing desire for convenience. As such, the frozen fish and seafood market in Europe was valued at USD24.83bn in 2015 and is expected to reach USD31.21bn by 2020, growing at a CAGR of 4.68%.
“The Northeast Atlantic fishing region accounts for over 70% of catches. Catch limits are in place for several species such as anchovy, herring, blue whiting, cod, and sole due to the unsafe biological stock levels. The poor state of a number of commercially important fish stocks has led to a decline in catches in the EU. Pelagic species such as herring, mackerel, blue whiting, and sprat constitute EU catches,” explains Sarathi. “In the EU, seafood self-sufficiency is declining because of a drop in catches due to diminished stocks, strict fishing policies and environmental laws, and the reduced fishing fleet. This, in turn, will impede the supply of frozen fish and seafood in Europe,” he concludes.
For a full copy of the report, please visit www.technavio.com