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Could linking the Riverland’s food and wine industry more closely with tourism, health, education, recreation and the environment boost the identity and business prosperity of the region and attract greater overseas interest?
It’s a question which has led the key findings of a UniSA report, prompting a round table discussion in the region among key industry stakeholders and leaders who are keen to promote the Riverland’s unique qualities.
The report, Thinking, Linking, Leveraging and Maximising, was produced for Regional Development Australia by the Barbara Hardy Institute, funded by Primary Industries and Resources of South Australia (PIRSA) under the SA Co-innovation Cluster Program: premium food and wine from a clean environment.
Adjunct Associate Professor David Ness, who led the research, says that linking different industries and sectors through unified regional branding may boost business growth in the Riverland region, while attracting greater investment from Asia.
“The report suggests that the notion of health and wellness, reflecting the region’s clean and safe products, relaxing lifestyle, and healthy river and environment, could form the foundation of such a differentiated regional identity and brand,” Assoc Prof Ness says.
The report was launched in Berri with a round table discussion. Participants included Berri Barmera Council Chief Executive Officer David Beaton, Member for Chaffey Tim Whetstone and key local stakeholders from the wine and almond industries and the health sector. Also attending were UniSA’s Dr Jantanee Dumrak, Assoc Prof Sam Huang and Dr Ke Xing.
“To the participants, a regional brand was much more than a logo. Rather, it should convey a story and belief about the integrity, safety and sustainability of Riverland products and services,” Assoc Prof Ness says.
“An overarching Riverland brand could complement and add value to individual product brands, and its visibility could be enhanced by an accreditation tick or IT tag attached to products.
“It was pointed out that such a regional brand should encompass not only premium products, but also those such as bulk wines that are affordable to consumers.
“We discussed the growing interest and customer loyalty among China’s increasing middle class, in such clean, green imported products.
“In addition, it was suggested that wellness tourism including ‘health stays’, building upon the region’s health infrastructure and services, could be desirable for Chinese, Middle Eastern and other visitors.
“In turn, this would increase demand for clean, nutritious foods and beverages, and value-added health products such as essential oils, rose water, orange blossom essence and the like.”
The discussion also highlighted the potential of direct business to customer relationships in accessing overseas markets, using social media such as WeChat (China) and a virtual marketplace or e-platform, and highlighted the need for further research on what customers want.
Tim Whetstone (pictured right) raised the report’s findings and round table discussion in Parliament last month.
“Given the Riverland's unemployment rate is above South Australia's overall unemployment rate, there is an urgent need to focus on our agricultural export sector to create jobs, noting that more than 50 per cent of South Australia’s exports come from regional South Australia,” Whetstone says.
“The Riverland’s clean, green image and our very important fruit-fly-free and phylloxera-free status is critically important to our branding. So, there is much scope to increase trade with our key partners, particularly our Asian neighbours.
“Of the findings and recommendations of the report, I found most interesting the comments based around the region’s identity and branding.
“To me, it raises the question of whether the Riverland needs to have its own individual branding, its own logo, or a logo within the already prominent South Australian logo. Is there an opportunity to have the region’s own branding incorporating some of that Brand SA? I think we need to look at that.”


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Chevy Malibu Scores an Update and a Marketing Campaign
According to Bloomberg, the head of Chevy U.S. marketing, Chris Perry, told reporters Wednesday that the campaign for the 2014 Malibu will be comparable to that of a new vehicle introduction, running at least six months and including a handful of new television ads. U.S. sales of the Malibu fell 14 percent through September to 154,950, and now General Motors is ready to stem the losses by launching a new vehicle that addresses the criticisms of the redesigned sedan that was only introduced last year.
The new version of the Malibu fixes what critics considered its signature weaknesses: a lack of backseat space, poor fuel economy, and lackluster style. We learned of the 2014 model’s changes in May, and now consumers are waiting to see those promises come to fruition, as they expect a sportier front end, better fuel economy, and a bigger backseat from the new Malibu.

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February 8, 2023
According to a 2020 report by venture capital firm SignalFire, Creator Economy – a class of businesses built by over 50 million independent content creators, curators, and community builders including social media influencers, bloggers, and videographers, plus the software and finance tools designed to help them with growth and monetization. More than 50 million people around the world consider themselves creators, despite the creator economy only being born a decade ago. It’s become the fastest-growing type of small business, and a survey found that today more kids want to be a YouTube star (29%) than an astronaut (11%) when they grow up.
The top trends in the creator economy are:
With the rise of the “creator economy” the podcasting world has exploded with multiple platforms to choose from. But the key problem remains: Do you really own your audience as a creator, or does the platform own you? A lot of thought has gone into addressing this thorny question and Cohora is trying to address this by offering a platform that given greater control to creators than traditional social networks per their audiences.
Cohora is a unified engagement and customer rewards platform that enables creators to engage in meaningful conversation using deep engagement tools like social feed, video content, contests, dedicated chatrooms to have custom conversations and much more to build long term relationship with your audience that maximizes brand advocacy and user engagement.


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Forget about those inflatable dinosaur costumes. If you really want to be convincing as a dinosaur and looks menacing at the same time, you need to do what Dutch engineering student Esmée Kramer did: Projector Raptor: A Mechanical Dinosaur Costume.
Lets take a break from the usual geeky stuff and move on to an otherworldly form of geeky stuff: UFO. When it comes to life beyond Earth, there are believers and there are skeptics. However, what the U.S. Navy have recently confirmed may make skeptics think again (and scrambling for logical explanations) and believers, celebrating […]
I am sure you have heard about the fuss over the world’s blackest material, Vantablack, which came onto the market a couple of years ago. Since then, there have been a few “equivalents” like the Black 2.0 and a few others that seek to make the Anish Kapoor-owned Vantablack available to all artists.
Airbags serve to protect occupants from potentially deadly impacts on most parts of the vehicle’s interior. But what about impact between say, the driver and the passenger? Well, for that, Hyundai Motor Group will have you and your passenger covered in its future cars.
Here’s an amazing development called WeWALK. WeWALK is a revolutionary smart cane for the visually impaired that uses Google Maps to aid the visually impaired to navigate the streets. The development of smartphones have help the visually impaired, but with WeWALK it combines the benefits offered by a smartphone into an everyday probing cane.
You may remember Italian design firm CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati for its Scribit wall-crawling scribbling robot, among the many other pretty mind-blowing stuff. Well, they have made headlines again, this time for a project it has done for global energy exploration company, ENI.
HiSilicon, Huawei’s chip-making arm, has taken to IFA 2019 in Berlin, Germany, to unveil its next-generation System on Chip (Soc), the Kirin 990 Series which is offered in two flavors: a ‘standard’ version and a 5G variant. The latter is staking claim as the world’s first flagship 5G SoC powered with 7 nm+ EUV. It […]
Exoskeleton suit in real life is not even remotely close to fantasy tech of Iron Man, but rather, it is something like the Vest EXoskeleton (VEX), a wearable robot of sort developed by Hyundai Motor Group. That’s right. In addition to developing groundbreaking automobile tech like solar car roof, smartphone entry and more, the South […]
If you haven’t already heard, RBS has announced the launch of NatWest biometric payments card, AKA Fingerprint Debit Card, pilot. The card is the bank’s effort to deter fraud. Logically it would, but if biometric technology on mobile has proven anything, it is never foolproof. Then again, it is way more secured than simply waving […]
I am not sure why anyone need a robotic arm at home, but here it is anyways, the Mirobot 6-axis Mini Robotic Arm, in case you need one. It looks and performs like any large size industrial robotic arm because, well, it is a industrial robotic arm, but only 10x smaller. Mirobot 6-axis Mini Robotic […]


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Cricket NFT Marketplace to Raise $100M in Series A Fund.It is built on Flow, the same blockchain that hosts NBA Top Shot, the digital platform that won widespread popularity last year
FanCraze, the developer NFT marketplace trading official cricket collectibles, is raising around $100 million in Series A funding, according to a Bloomberg report
B Capital Group and Insight Partners are leading the round, with participation from South Korea’s Mirae Asset, according to the sources.
– FanCraze secured a partnership with international cricket governing body the International Cricket Council (ICC) last November to launch a cricket NFT marketplace. –
That coincided with FanCraze, named "Faze" at the time, raising $17.4 million in a seed funding round that was led by Tiger Global Management
CEO Anshum Bhambri said at the time that the firm's goal is to "build the metaverse of cricket.
– The platform is built on Flow, the same blockchain that hosts NBA Top Shot, the digital collectibles platform that won widespread popularity last year. –


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Check Point researchers today (Friday) revealed serious security vulnerabilities that were discovered in one of Amazon’s flagship products – the Kindle – the world’s most popular reading platform. The company’s research is presented at the DEF CON conference in Las Vegas, which is considered one of the most important in the world of information security, and shows that the vulnerabilities allowed the attackers to take full control of the Kindle, as well as steal the keys to the victims’ Amazon accounts.
The vulnerabilities have been corrected by Amazon following a joint work of Check Point with the company’s security department. They were activated by clicking on an e-book on which a malware is installed. The victims who click on the e-book – the usual Kindle mechanism – could not see what was happening “behind the scenes” and the takeover of the device. This means that in fact, an e-book alone could have led alone to a situation where attackers take over the device, to the victims’ original Amazon accounts.
As mentioned, the weakness worked on the basis of a disruption that existed in the Kindle memory mechanism, while processing the e-book before presenting it to the user. It made it possible, by taking advantage of this problem, bypassing the security system in the device, to run code remotely that would allow full control over the device and the information contained in it.
Itai Cohen, a senior researcher at Check Point, explained that “Kindle, like other IoT (Internet of Things) products, are unfairly considered to be products that do not require a high level of security. However, such research presents the dangers that exist in them. All An electronic device that is connected to the network, and contains information, is a potential target of cyber attacks. “
“Effective cyber-attacks target specific targets, and in this case the ability to produce an e-book that will attract the target’s attention – would easily have led to the download of the book to Kindle and with it the damage that takes over the device and information,” he said. “This would have led to the launch of the attack. We are pleased that Amazon soon understood the severity of the vulnerability and worked with us to correct it automatically.”
The Amazon Repair (5.13.5) is automatically installed on the Kindle all over the world, and users are not required to do anything to protect themselves from the vulnerability.


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Oct 10, 2018 – Charlottetown, PEI
The inaugural Forage Food Symposium will take place October 18th and 19th in Charlottetown, the capital of Canada’s Food Island, and at the Inn at Bay Fortune. Registration for this event remains open until Oct 17th and organizers are encouraging those involved in PEI’s food scene to take part in this industry-driven gathering.
“We’re really excited about Forage, it’s a rare opportunity for folks working in food on PEI and beyond to come together, learn from each other and share their food stories,” said Jeff McCourt, co-chair of the Forage PEI Committee and owner of Glasgow Glen Farm.
The first day of this two-day industry gathering will feature experts and trailblazers from across the region and beyond in four panel talks on topics impacting the industry: Women in Food, Creating Influence, Meet the Trendsetters and 420 Flavours. Panelists include Chef Todd Perrin of Mallard’s Cottage in Newfoundland; organic PEI farmer, Sally Bernard; social media influencer, Kayla Short; and Steve Beauchesne of Beau’s All Natural, an independent Canadian craft brewing company, along with 12 other food innovators and leaders.
“We want attendees to leave better informed on current topics impacting the industry, inspired by each others’ stories, and even more connected as a community of passionate food creators and leaders,” said McCourt.
A highlight of the symposium will undoubtedly be the keynote speaker, Canadian-born Chef Amanda Cohen of New York’s Dirt Candy. Known as a leader of the vegetable-forward movement, Cohen will share her food story, entitled “How Opening a Restaurant Ruined My Life and Saved My Soul”, and speak to specific topics impacting the industry including vegetable-centric cuisine, tipping, the year of the female chef and emerging food trends.
The second day of Forage will feature a fully-immersive, hands-on experience for attendees. Chef Michael Smith of the Inn at Bay Fortune and a member of the Forage PEI Committee will host a progressive 5-hour food experience at the Inn. A highlight of the day will be the creation of a Guinness World Record Charcuterie Board, guided and curated by renowned Canadian expert Michael McKenzie of legendary Seed to Sausage. The interactive feast will also include oysters, Island beef, Island pork, potato raclette, pine needle mussels, smoked sustainable blue salmon, lamb, a taco bar and more.
“We’re encouraging all attendees to bring two things with them to the Inn: a condiment or other contribution to the charcuterie board that represents their home’s flavours, and their unique food stories to share,” said McCourt. “We’re already seeing a great cross-section of food folks registering for the event, from local farmers to culinary students, food technologists and entrepreneurs, and we know each of them has a compelling story that can inspire others.”
An after-party at Upstreet Craft Brewing will close out the first annual Forage PEI Symposium with a taste of the Island’s burgeoning craft brew scene.
The Forage Food Symposium has been made possible through the funding support of ACOA, and the Government of Prince Edward Island, as well as several industry sponsors including the Inn at Bay Fortune, the Culinary Institute of Canada, Versatile Management Group and TechnoMedia.
Registration for Forage is open until October 17th, however it is capped at 300 attendees and a limited number of spaces remain. Registration is $390 plus taxes and fees.
For more information on the schedule of events and tickets to Forage please visit: foragepei.com, and follow along on FB at facebook.com/ForagePEl/.
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The judge who will decide if AT&T will be allowed to buy movie and TV show maker Time Warner indicated on Monday that he could be considering a decision that wasn't a clear approval or blocking of the $85 billion deal.
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc on Monday announced a national delivery partnership with DoorDash that covers more than 1,500 of the burrito chain's more than 2,400 restaurants in the United States.
LONDON (Reuters) - Sainsbury's $10 billion purchase of Walmart's Asda may pressure UK grocery prices and make the British market less attractive for newer players such as Amazon.com .
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street fell on Monday as healthcare stocks slid and investors worried about rising costs for companies as oil prices rose, although the major indexes eked out a gain in April to snap a two-month losing streak.
BERLIN (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG's Czech division Skoda said it will shift some production of sport-utility vehicles (SUVs) to Germany to meet growing demand for its models.
Benefit of Trump tax cuts overshadowed by technology and misplaced policies: Milken conference speakers
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The windfall gains from the tax cuts passed by the U.S. Congress in December have brought back "animal spirits" that encourage risk-taking throughout Corporate America, according to some of the participants at the annual Milken Institute Global Conference in California on Monday.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street dipped on Monday afternoon, reversing gains from earlier in the session, as healthcare stocks slid and investors worried about rising costs for companies as oil prices rose.
TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's stock exchange, the world's sixth largest, was back in business on Monday after a hardware glitch abruptly ended trading on Friday and the exchange operator TMX Group said it was working to ensure there will be no repeat of the embarrassing market disruption.
(Reuters) - U.S. stocks rose on Monday as strong earnings reports from McDonald's and a slate of merger announcements lifted sentiment, while inflation worries were kept in check after tepid data on U.S. income and spending.
(Reuters) - McDonald's Corp blew past analysts' forecasts for profit and revenue on Monday, helped by higher sales in overseas markets and as U.S. customers spent more at its outlets.


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In a piece of work with far-reaching consequences, researchers in Japan have analysed that country's fondness for accessing the internet on mobile phones and come to the intriguing conclusion that the mobile platform helps foster consumer loyalty.
Loyalty drives profit
Their conclusion that phone users were willing to pay more to keep their favourite services than they would if it were on a PC will shock many content providers in the West.
Sugai explains why: "The mobile platform has regularly been considered an 'inferior' platform to the PC since the launch of mobile data services. But these results clearly show that this is not the case, especially in terms of one of the key drivers of firm profitability; loyalty."
If network operators wish to learn a little from the most advanced mobile market in the world, it's clear they could start with a visit to Sugai's Mobile Consumer Lab in Japan.


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The Omise ICO has become a gold-standard for how the fund raising strategy is meant to work
Omise, a Bangkok-based payments gateway, announced today it has raised an undisclosed investment lead by the corporate venture arm Krungsri Finnovate.
Krungsri Finnovate is a subsidiary of Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya) and a member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, a Japanese financial holdings company.
This marks its second investment of the year for Krungri Finnovate after a US$3.2 million round into FINNOMENA announced a couple of weeks ago.
As part of the deal, Krungsri plans to adopt the payment technology to support its own online payment services.
“As we set out the ground works and continue to build the platform which will facilitate the future of open payments and value exchange (OmiseGO network), we’re excited to leverage synergy of our partners and this new capital to continue to build our platform as well as scale our operations into countries across the Asia Pacific region,” said Jun Hasegawa, the CEO & Founder of Omise and OmiseGO in a statement.
The Series B round comes just months after the company raised US$25 million for its blockchain-based e-wallet via an initial coin offering. The product is called OmiseGO and the goal is to allow people to build an ecosystem in which they can transfer money and potentially buy things without ever using a bank.
However, the product does not plan to fully launch until late-2018, according to TechCrunch.
Because of Omise’s track-record and the fact that they are an established company, their token sale has been exhibited as an example of the positive (and disruptive) potential of ICOs.
Including the ICO, Omise has raised US$45.4 million in funding before today’s undisclosed round, according to Crunchbase. The alphabet soup of funding rounds is a bit muddled in this case — Omise called today’s news a Series B, but it also raised a U$17.5 million round last year which it also called a Series B.
e27 has reached out to Omise for clarity and will update accordingly.
The core product for Omise — which means ‘store’ in Japanese — is a payments gateway like Braintree or Stripe. It is a white label solution that allows companies to quickly set up a platform for accepting transactions.
For SMEs, building the Omise solution is free and the company takes a 3.65 per cent fee from each transaction. It also has a full-scale enterprise feature on a tiered pricing structure.
Omise operates in Japan, Singapore and Thailand and the company plans to expand to Indonesia and Malaysia in the near future.
The post After raising US$25M ICO, payments startup Omise lands investment from Thai bank appeared first on e27.
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Like other dairy products, it contains a high amount of saturated fat - which has been recently connected to high cholesterol, atherosclerosis, and heart disease. On the contrary, people in the study who took advantage of cheese benefits by eating a little each day were less likely to develop heart disease or have a stroke, when compared to those who rarely eat cheese.
An examination of over 15 studies by researchers in China has come to the conclusion that yes, cheese isn't actually bad for you. Those who ate more cheese had a 10% lower risk of having a stroke and were 14% less likely to developing coronary heart disease.
Experts, however, warn that this is not linear - in short, the study does not mean that people should start consuming blocks of cheese to prevent heart disease. He also cautions against reading too much into data that's self-reported-as much of the data was-because people tend to over- or under-estimate their consumption of specific foods. Now, a new saturated fat has fallen under the scrutiny of researchers: cheese.
The findings after this research review were definitely different than expected.
Cheese makes everything better.
Adults should get about 1,000 mg of calcium a day and one ounce of cheese gives you roughly 20 percent. Either way, I've yet to find a weirdo who doesn't like cheese, whether they eat it or not. Those with the lowest risks of these illnesses were those who consumed around 40 grams a day of cheese - a quantity around the size of a book of matches.
Cheese also contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), an unsaturated fatty acid that may increase the amount of of HDL "good" cholesterol and decrease "bad" LDL levels. "But on the upside, a bit of cheese on a cracker doesn't sound unreasonable".
Cheese, glorious cheese. When Christmas comes around, we love the pungent stuff even more than usual. Researchers didn't specify whether one type of cheese was better than the rest.


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Seattle-based Opscode is getting a boost in the race to provide new tools for companies modernizing their tech infrastructure.
The company today announced that investors have provided another $32 million to fund its growth, bringing its total funding so far to $63 million.
“I think this gives us everything we need for the foreseeable future,” Chief Executive Barry Crist said.
Simultaneously the company is changing its name to Chef – using the moniker of its product platform, which is a suite of “cookbooks” that tech managers use to automate their systems.
Switching names ends confusion with Opsware – another enterprise tool vendor – and makes the most of Chef’s growing name recognition in large companies.
The Chef.com domain is held by Target – which declined to relinquish it to Opscode – so the Seattle company is using Getchef.com instead. If it goes public in a few years it may be able to make another pass at Target with a bigger check in hand.
Sales have been on a tear, with recurring revenues growing more than 220 percent this year, including 250 percent growth in the third quarter, according to Crist.
The positive momentum is bittersweet, though, as the company’s previous chief executive, Mitch Hill, died last week after a battle with cancer.
“He left a terrific legacy for the company,” said Crist, who moved from vice president to chief executive in August after Hill stepped down.
“We’re really proud for what he’s built here – we’re all motivated to see it through and see it be a big success not just for us but for Mitch and his family.”
First Hill and then Crist turned the company’s focus to larger customers and big companies now account for 60 percent of its sales.
Just over 100 people work at the Pioneer Square-based company and Crist expects the headcount to double over the next year as it accelerates product development, broadens its platform and expands sales across North America and in Europe.
The $32 million funding was led by Scale Venture Partners, which was joined by Citibank and Amplify Partner and previous investors Battery Ventures, DFJ and Ignition Partners.
“Chef’s strong revenue and customer growth, vibrant open source community and disruptive technology point to strong momentum and a huge opportunity ahead,” Scale partner Rory O’Driscoll said in a release.
The company also announced the hiring of several new executives. Tucker Callaway, former vice president at CA Technologies, is taking Crist’s former job as vice president of enterprise.
Also joining the startup as chief financial officer is Curt Anderson, former CFO for Microsoft’s manufacturing and supply chain division and a former director of investor relations for the company.
News of Anderson’s hiring comes just after another former Microsoft IR director and divisional CFO, Bill Koefoed, left to become the CFO at Chef’s primary competitor, Portland-based Puppet Labs.
Anderson made the leap before Koefoed, which may be why Anderson ended up with a shorter commute.


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Business News›insights tracker
Hiring activity dips 4% in April vs a month ago: foundit Insights Tracker
Hiring activity dipped by 4% in April compared to a month ago, indicating cautious sentiment among Indian recruiters, according to foundit Insights Tracker (fIT). While BFSI (+3%), travel & tourism (+2%), and import/export (+13%) picked up on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis, many sectors such as logistics, home appliances, and oil and gas saw a steep fall.
White-collar job posting activity witnesses two per cent growth in March: Report
White-collar hiring in India grew by 2% in March, boosted by demand from the retail, telecoms and tourism sectors. The annual rise in hiring was driven by recruitment in these sectors, according to Foundit Insights Tracker (FIT). However, hiring activity decreased by 1% month-on-month due to hiring slowdowns by several sectors. Gig workers saw an 11% year-on-year growth, the report said.
Demand for white-collar gig roles increases in March, shows foundit jobs report
The demand for gig workers in white-collar jobs in India increased by 11% YoY in March. The white-collar job posting activity also showed a rise of just 2% YoY in March, whereas it declined 1% month-on-month. Industries such as retail, travel, and tourism exhibited a yearly increase in hiring demand, whereas import and export had a 12-13% dip and IT, telecoms, and manufacturing had a 3-4% decline month-on-month.
Marginal increase in e-recruitment in white-collar space in February 2023: Report
"Despite rising concerns at a macroeconomic level, there is a rise in hiring freshers as well as enabling a diverse and inclusive workplace. In February, there was a marginal growth of 1 per cent in e-recruitment space compared to same month last year. The tech industry, despite a few setbacks, remains the single largest employer of fresh talent and women," foundit, a Quess company, CEO Sekhar Garisa said.
White collar hiring rise 5% month-on-month in February: Foundit survey
India's white-collar hiring market recorded a 5% month-on-month increase in February, according to data from Foundit (formerly Monster APAC & ME), a Quess company. Despite growing macroeconomic challenges, there was an increase in economic activity in India as domestic enterprises concentrated on accelerating their growth story, according to the foundit Insights Tracker (fit) for February.
Nykaa reports 68% fall in Q3 profit at Rs 9 crore; Big Tech battle it out for AI control
Nykaa's revenue from operations surged 33% to Rs 1,462 crore for the quarter under review. Revenues in the year-ago quarter stood at Rs 1,098 crore. Expenses surged 36% to Rs 1,455 crore in the December quarter against Rs 1,067 crore in the same period last year.
Hiring activity in e-recruitment space dips by 2% in January: ReportDemand for jobs in production and manufacturing declined by 8 per cent as did in healthcare (7 per cent), IT hardware and software (7 per cent), telecom (5 per cent) and banking, financial services and insurance (3 per cent), according to Foundit (formerly Monster) Insights Tracker (fit) for January 2023 .
India's Russian oil imports top 1 mn barrels a day in DecemberRussia, which in October 2022 for the first time surpassed traditional sellers Iraq and Saudi Arabia to take the No.1 spot, now makes up for 25 per cent of all oil imported by India. The imports peaked as a price cap was agreed upon by the EU on Russian seaborne oil. Russian oil is available at much lower than USD 60 per barrel cap agreed, industry sources said.
Employers optimistic about hiring in 2023; four in 10 foresee up to a 20% increase in hiringEmployers feel that inflation (18% of employers) and ongoing layoffs (15% of employers) are things to be on the lookout for in 2023 respectively, shows data from job site Indeed's October ’22 - December ’22 quarterly hiring tracker, which shares insights on the jobs landscape in 2022 and the expectations of jobseekers and employers for 2023.
India handset shipments may get hurt if China Covid waves persistThe disruptions - if at all - will impact the launches slated for early next year. Brands have already stocked up on components for older models to maintain production at levels required to service the local demand. Furthermore, they will also have higher inventory going into the next year because of an expected slower fourth quarter.
Wearables market in India to hit 117 million next year, to beat USGrowth next year, industry executives and market trackers added, will be led by smartwatches and on the back of brands trying to crack the offline segment, bringing in new features and form factors.
E-recruitment activity witnesses marginal dip of 1% in November: ReportA revival in the IT and media industries was also observed in November after months of decline, indicating a positive sentiment in hiring. Overall, the outlook for the Indian job market is positive and will only continue to do better in the coming months.
Tech jobs recover a tad in November; positive movement for the first time in seven monthsIT services and software service sectors registered growth in active jobs volumes by 17% and 14%, respectively. A rise of 27% (on a low base value) was recorded by the internet-enabled services & start-up sector that closed with 14,000 openings as against 11,000 in October.
Amazon US Black Friday Sale: Best Deals on Laptops, Headphones, AirTags, & MoreBlack Friday is just a few days away, and Amazon has offered many deals to make the shopping experience worthwhile. Amazon’s Black Friday Sale deals offer the best savings letting you snag steep discounts on every product category. To help you with the best tech deals on Amazon Black Friday Sale, we have compiled some of the best deals for you. Read this article to know more.
The ‘soonicorn opportunity’ is the India opportunity, says Times Internet’s Satyan GajwaniThe theme of the next five years will be whether Digital India and Startup India can demonstrate that we can build lasting businesses, said Times Internet Vice Chairman Satyan Gajwani in his keynote at the ET Soonicorns Summit.
Value creation, tech for good and corporate governance, among top startup themes at ET Soonicorns SummitAround 50 speakers, including startup founders and investors of Indian unicorns and soonicorns, came together at the ET Soonicorns Summit, powered by AWS and Intel, for deep-dive deliberations on the growth opportunity for Indian startups and to share valuable lessons on building lasting businesses.
As Indians prioritise spending, personal care makes cutMost of the discretionary personal care categories are in the mid-to-premium segment. The sales growth of such products defies the historical industry trend of consumers cutting down on discretionary FMCG spending in times of high inflation.
Hyundai Motor launches first electric sedan, taking on TeslaThe Ioniq 6 is one of more than 31 electric models that Hyundai Motor Group - including Hyundai Motor, its sister company Kia Corp and premium brand Genesis - plans to introduce through 2030 to secure a projected 12% of the global EV market.
World Health Day: Smart tech helps you with diet goals, workouts and managing sleep cycle. Do they impact well-being?Wearable technology and innovations are aiding millions to lead healthier lives.
ETtech Deals Digest: Addverb Technologies, Pixis, Lummo raise fundsRobotics company Addverb Technologies, California-based technology company Pixis and SaaS company Lummo were among the startups that raised funding this week.
View: Indian policymakers need to perfect timing to maximize impactTaking such decisions requires information - information that is accurate, frequent and actionable. The second wave of Covid in India earlier this year stretched resources to the brink. In such a situation, knowing beforehand where to target these resources can lead to saving of many lives. Waiting for 'where' and 'when' based on delayed information can fuel the spread, rather than stem it.
Freightwalla introduces AI-powered cargo tracker to help MSMEsThe platform will employ ML algorithms capable of predicting shipment delays based on satellite tracking, port congestion, and other signals.
New app can track corona symptoms, inform users about hotspots and hospital capacityThe app may be useful as a planning tool to inform guidelines around self-isolation.
Freshworks bolsters Business Software Platform with customer success trackerFounder and CEO Girish Mathrubootham unveiled Freshsuccess at the Refresh 19 conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
ICRA Online launches cloud-based mutual fund trackerMFI 360 aims to address the mutual fund research, analysis and portfolio tracking requirements of IFAs, distributors, wealth managers.
Early-stage deals hit as unicorns reap benefitsInvestment tracker, CB Insights noted that India closed just $206 million of angel- and seed-stage deals in 2017- a decline from the $283 million raised in 2016, and just 2% of the total amount raised.
From bots to trackers, retailers tap new ways to engage customersE-commerce players today are looking at multiple channels from bots to SMSes to increase leads and reduce cart abandonment.
iPad app helps astronauts track dietary intakeWashington, Oct 13 (IANS) An iPad app, designed specifically for use in space, simplifies the way astronauts track their dietary intake and offers greater insight for physicians and researchers on the Earth looking to keep crews healthy and fit, NASA said.
Luggage Tracker: Teched-out toys for travellers help track your luggageThis is a tiny, AA battery powered gadget that you pop into your baggage.Load More
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Tuesday 29 September at 5pm
Asda is introducing pre-agreed prices into some of its beef farmer contracts in a move that producers claim could set a blueprint for the industry. Under the terms of the contract, Asda will agree to pay farmers £2.70/kg for their...
Beef producers are currently receiving their highest share of the retail price for 14 years, new figures reveal.
The average retail beef price rose 15% last year to 520p/kg, but the average price cut received by suppliers was up 26% at...
The NFU has been left waiting for assurances from Tesco that it is committed to UK livestock farmers, after the beef price in the south west fell 12p/kg over three weeks. "We've seen some volatility in the market. This has fuelled rumours...
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The two new cameras are part of a new breed of digital cameras offering upwards of 1.3 million pixels per image. At this time last year, one megapixel cameras were just being unveiled and came with price tags well over $1,000. Today, these cameras claim to create pictures that rival traditional photographs at prices in the three digit range.
Price reductions and consumer awareness, as a result, are igniting a boom in the business. According to Semico Research Report, the digital camera market is expected to grow from 6 million units in 1999 to 26 million units in 2002.
Agfa's new ePhoto CL50 digital camera, which was announced about a month ago, is now shipping nationally for $799. The ePhoto CL50 offers an optical resolution of 1.3 megapixel, but can achieve resolutions of up to 1.9 megapixels, according to Agfa, because of a proprietary image enhancement technology.
The professional-ready ePhoto CL50 joins Agfa's entry level ePhoto CL30, which sells for $399 and comes with a maximum resolution of 1.5 megapixels.
The CL50 includes a built-in microphone, burst mode, panorama options and Agfa's PhotoWise image editing software. In addition, the CL50 offers a SunCatcher feature which is designed to prevent the LCD from appearing faint in bright sunlight.
Canon today announced its PowerShot A50, a new 1.3 megapixel camera with a 2-inch LCD monitor to preview images. The camera supports the Digital Print Order Format, which allows users to specify printing instructions for developers like Kodak and FujiFilm.
"We expect that the PowerShot product line will set the standard for the digital still market, just as Canon cameras before it became the de facto standard for Advanced Photo System and other photographic technologies," said Ted Ando, vice president and general manager of Canon's Camera Division, in a statement.
The PowerShot A50 will be available in the second half of this year. Pricing has not yet been determined.


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Retailers must shift focus to SMEs
Business Stream chief executive warns that large organisations and multi-site businesses have benefited most from the water retail market to date, and smaller companies are being left behind
Retailers urged to ‘sell the benefits’ of market
New in-depth study by CCWater has revealed SMEs need ‘more convincing’ that competition has something to offer them – and the water watchdog says the sector must ‘work harder’
Data still the biggest concern for retail CEOs
Data continues to be of greatest concern for retail chief executives in the open water market, a snap survey by Water.Retail finds
Over half of small businesses ‘unaware’ of market opening
Survey by SES Business Water reveals that many businesses in England don’t know they have a choice of water supplier
Customer complaints soaring
CCwater says a handful of poor-performing retailers are responsible for driving up the annual number of customer complaints by more than 300 per cent
Industry viewpoint: SME engagement – a bleak picture
“Any work to improve awareness is clearly welcome and positive. But is it enough? Studies say we are motivated more by the avoidance of negative outcomes than the prospect of positive ones”
No fireworks, no disasters
“The water market is improving, but there is more to be done”
What are brokers offering on water efficiency?
Water efficiency was supposed to be a key deliverable of the non-household water retail market, but an investigation by Water.Retail has revealed that not all brokers offer water-saving services.
21 Jul. 3 min read.
Market awareness ‘must still be improved’
The Consumer Council for Water is set to investigate the level of awareness of the non-household retail market among customers this summer, having challenged the industry to ensure at least one in two customers are aware of their new right to choose their water supplier.
23 Jun. 3 min read.


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After an Early Access release back in August on PC, developer Bloober Team created the surprise of the year with Layers of Fear. Now, they announced on both their website and on the Steam... by Jeff D_79214 days ago
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There are also a few new features in Worms 4 that will bring a new twist to... by KendraG1 month ago
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The team responsible for XCOM: Long Wars, the critically-acclaimed mod for Firaxis' XCOM: Enemy Unkown/Enemy Within titles, has recently formed a studio. It's rightfully called Long War Studios,... by Chan Moore1 month ago
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Street Fighter V associate producer Peter... by Dylan Jenkins1 month ago
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Vlambeer recently announced the release of its indie pixel game Nuclear Throne in its completion. The game finally hit its official release date for multiple PlayStation and desktop platforms... by Andrea Koenig2 months ago
It's been in the news before, but hopefully it's for real this time. The Fullbright Company announced today that its 2013 indie hit Gone Home will finally be making its way to Xbox One and... by Andrea Koenig2 months ago
Debuting to the world of Virtual Reality devices, the new Samsung Gear VR is now available for pre-order for $99. You won't have to wait long to have it, though, as the release date is Friday,... by Andrea Koenig3 months ago


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Canadian mobile network operator Telus is to begin making NFC SIMs available to subscribers on 10 October, according to an internal document seen by Mobile Syrup, marking the start of its NFC rollout. Subscribers will need a BlackBerry Bold 9900 or Samsung Galaxy S III to use the service at launch and will need to pay C$15 for an NFC SIM. “Additional details on eligible banks will be made available upon service launch,” the document says.
- Amazon begins delivering parcels to consumers’ cars
- Copenhagen Business School lets students make payments with just their finger — no card or smartphone required
- Contactless payments are now used for half of all public transport journeys in London
- Samsung Pay to go live in South Africa in June
- Walmart files blockchain payments data storage patents


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There is breaking news in the food world: The New York Times is reporting that the Food and Drug Administration has proposed measures that would all but eliminate artificial trans fats. You know trans fats, found in partially hydrogenated oils. They're the artery-clogging substances found in everything from pastries to chips to some fast foods. They also happen to be a major contributor to heart disease.
Now the FDA wants them gone from the food supply. Period.
The FDA would do this by decreeing that partially hydrogenated oils, the source of trans fats, were no longer "generally recognized as safe," the Times said.
The Institute of Medicine has concluded that there is no safe level for consumption of artificial trans fats.
So what do you say?
Is this step to wipe out all trans fats the right way to go? Or should Americans be free to eat what they want?
You provide the right recipe for this food debate in the comments.


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【Forecasts for FY2020 by Segment】
You stated that the impact of COVID-19 will be 30.0 billion yen for the full year. What portion of that impact was in the first half of the fiscal year? Additionally, at the announcement of the first-quarter results, you estimated the impact to be 38.0 billion yen. What factors led to the 8.0 billion yen improvement? Furthermore, in your estimation, to what extent will the COVID-19 impact diminish in the next fiscal year?
We estimate that, of the full-year COVID-19 impact of 30.0 billion yen, about 70% was in the first half and about 30% will be in the second half. Regarding the improvement from the previously announced 38.0 billion yen to 30 billion yen, one of the main factors was that the impact on Containership Business was less than originally expected.
Regarding expected COVID-19 impact from the next fiscal year onwards, we have yet to make any firm estimate at the current time. In terms of topline, we would estimate that liftings, operating revenues, and other figures may decrease by about 10% in Car Carrier Business and the Dry Bulk segment. As an example, if the margin were 10%, then 10% of that would represent a deterioration in profitability.
Please explain how the 30.0 billion yen impact breaks down according to business segment.
By segment, about one-third of the expected impact will be in the Dry Bulk segment, about 40% in Car Carrier Business, and the remaining amount in the Energy Resource Transport segment, Short Sea and Coastal Business, and Logistics Business.
Concerning Containership Business, in regard to your explanation of ONE, other shipping company has announced that they are taking a somewhat conservative view of freight rate trends in the second half of the fiscal year. Specifically, the other company’s forecast that freight rates will decline from late December through March in comparison with the rates in the latter half of the first half. Currently, as of early November, it appears that freight rate market conditions and cargo movements are strong, particularly for Asia-North American routes. What is your analysis of the current market conditions? Are ONE’s recent results exceeding forecasts? How do you see the market conditions trending over the second half?
ONE has made a rather conservative forecast for the second half, taking into consideration various factors in the fourth quarter, such as the Chinese New Year and seasonal factors, as well as a possible resurgence in COVID-19 infections.
In regard to October and November, liftings are firm and freight rates have remained at high levels. Overall, the results are exceeding the forecast. Right now, it is important to monitor how the near-term trends play out, specifically whether these conditions will continue through November and whether freight rates will climb entering December. As for the market conditions from January, under the current circumstances, we can only estimate the overall conditions will be conservative.
Dry Bulk and Energy Resource Transport segments have faced significant challenges this fiscal year due to the COVID-19 impact and other factors. In regard to profitability next fiscal year, what are your forecasts for these segments taking into consideration the initiatives you have taken this fiscal year to improve profitability, primarily the redelivery and disposal of vessels?
In regard to the next fiscal year, Dry Bulk Segment is forecast to return to profitability in the second half. Although we cannot estimate the extent of the continued impact of market conditions, our current forecast is more than twice the profit expected in the second half of the current fiscal year. With regard to Energy Resource Transport, there are some temporary factors weighing down profitability this fiscal year. Excluding those factors, the segment would post more than 4.0 billion yen in ordinary income this fiscal year, consistent with the original forecast. Therefore, our current forecast for the segment is 4.0 billion yen plus something.


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Finnish team gets funding to commercialise III-V interface technology
Johnny Dahl of University of Turku (UTU) in Finland has been granted â‚¬0.5 million funding for a new project titled 'Commercialisation of Novel Interfaces' to prepare for a market entry of a new compound semiconductor interface technology.
The project is the culmination of long-term research into III-V/oxide interfaces at UTU, in which the group has developed dielectric/III-V interfaces with a much lower density of interface defects (97.5 percent reduction) compared to industry standard interfaces. The technique involves passivated the III-V surface first with a crystalline structure, which works as a platform for subsequent dielectric growth.
"This significant step towards defect density comparable to interfaces of silicon will benefit all III-V market areas. For example, in electronics and photonics, the leakage and dark currents of transistors and photodiodes can be massively reduced," the project leader, Johnny Dahl explains.
"The new technology can also enable many new III-V applications, such as III-V digital electronics. The high density of defects in III-V/oxide interfaces has been a major hurdle preventing the commercialisation of III-V digital electronics, but that problem has been now solved", he continues.
The group thinks the new interface technology will be suitable for consumer electronics, fibre optics, telecommunications, digital electronics and even solar cells.
"The timing is just right to bring forth our new interface solutions. III-V materials have consolidated their importance in modern electronics and the technology has matured. The threshold to introduce our solutions to production lines is low and we believe that within two years the first products incorporating our technology will be available to consumers," says Dahl.
The new project will last until June 2017 and it is partly funded by Tekes, the Finnish Funding Agency for Innovation.


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NORWALK, Conn. – The science of parking and designing retail centers – also known, in some cases, as malls – was shared with Norwalk movers and shakers Monday night by a consultant hired by the Norwalk Redevelopment Agency.
To hear Robert Gibbs tell it, a properly designed mall could regenerate SoNo.
“As a rule of thumb, having a strong regional anchor would bring a lot of people here,” Gibbs said to about 50 people gathered in a lobby at 50 Washington St. “Those people would fill your restaurants and your shops. You would probably have better shopping than you do now, if it’s designed well, and I would be really careful about the design. But the new ways they are designing malls are much better than when I was designing them back in the ’90’s.”
Gibbs has been hired by the RDA to evaluate an expected proposal to build a mall on the 95/7 site on West Avenue, RDA Senior Project Manager Susan Sue Sweitzer said. The talk, which was, in part, to promote his book, “Principles of Urban Retail Planning and Development,” didn’t quite go off without a hitch (a projector could not communicate with Gibbs’ laptop) but there was plenty for the assembled former and current zoning commissioners, developers and interested citizens to absorb in the 90-minute presentation.
Gibbs said it was odd that parking garages in SoNo are more expensive than on-street parking – it should be the other way around, he said.
As a rule of thumb, parking garages should be free, or have the first two hours free, he said. It’s a reward for parking further away, he said.
“When people park, it’s important to see the front of the store from the car,” he said, at one point.
“Time has become the new luxury,” he said. “If you can provide to your shopper a place to park in front of the store or a few stores away, they will pay to do that. As long as they have a free lot or very inexpensive lot to park away.”
Gibbs said he didn’t agree with news reports that proclaim that the concept of a mall is dying. About 25 percent of malls have closed, but, “That’s generally because they are in very poor market areas,” he said.
About 25 percent of malls are “doing extremely well,” he said. About 9 percent of sales are over the Internet, and don’t offer the instant gratification, he said.
“It’s a format that is going to be around for a very long time,” he said. Malls are being developed to be more walkable, he said, with openings to the exterior and a main street running along the side.
Zoning Commissioner Michael O’Reilly asked him about the prospects of a mall in Norwalk.
“You are an extremely strong market demographically,” he said, referring to Southwest Connecticut. “I have worked with other developers that wanted to get into these general markets but they couldn’t find a site. But you are considered one of the best markets on the East Coast… I have a gut feeling that you could probably support a very good mall here or some other format, whether it’s enclosed or open air.”
A well-designed mall would likely bring shoppers who don’t come here already, he said. In his experience, people shop for two hours and then look to explore nearby areas, if it’s a mall that is not built as a fortress, he said. They go to the local restaurants and specialty shops, he said.
“I don’t think there would be many local stores that would close and go into the mall,” he said. “They’re different categories of use. What I have seen in other locations is the malls are very good at leasing. They have people that are, you know, the world class of leasing and they will go out and really hype up Norwalk as being the greatest place to open up a store since you know, whenever, Fifth Avenue. They will go out and really promote this … We have found that a lot of the retailers we talk to get excited about that market and then go into the downtown and open a store. Then you see really great shops that wouldn’t come here on their own. I don’t see a big negative right now, although depending on the design and the way it is laid out there could be big negatives.”
But, if a mall wasn’t built here, was instead built five miles away, that would be a negative, he said.
“Then it would pull people away from the downtown and you wouldn’t get any of that spinoff,” he said.
Most developers now realize that what is good for the local business and the area residents is good for them, he said.
But malls need an anchor, a big store to draw people, he said. One third of the people walking around malls came to visit the anchor store, he said. Experiments in building malls without an anchor did not work, he said, as department store owners “wised up” and began offering better service, drawing people away from those malls.
Funny thing – people are moving back to the cities, he said.
Department stores are moving back into urban areas, he said. “A lot of the bigger chains are building urban models,” he said. Walmart and Target both have half-size city versions of their stores now. That’s because, before the recession, developers built big stores in farmland, expecting subdivisions to spring up around them. It didn’t happen.
“They never hit their sales projections. So a lot of retailers are saying now I want to locate in the middle of a city where I can actually count real people,” he said. “… There is a new way of looking at urban retail. It’s positive. I think you’ll see a lot of retail coming back to the cities.”


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Beijing | China has suspended imports of beef from Lithuania since Wednesday, the General Administration of Customs said, amid a growing trade spat with the Baltic nation and its Western allies centred on Chinese-claimed Taiwan.
Customs did not give a reason for the suspension.
The agency typically halt imports of meat if exporting nations report outbreaks of disease in livestock. Lithuania has not reported any animal disease to the World Organisation for Animal Health recently.
However, the move comes after Britain said on Monday it will join the United States and Australia in backing an EU trade case against China at the World Trade Organisation over Beijing’s alleged trade curbs on Lithuania.
The European Commission says Lithuanian exports to China fell by 91 per cent in December compared with the same month in 2020.
Lithuania allowed Taiwan to open a de facto embassy in its capital Vilnius last year, angering Beijing, which regards the self-governed island as its own territory.
Lithuania’s top diplomat on Thursday called on the world to stand up to China, while acknowledging there would be a “cost” to taking such actions.
During a visit to Australia, Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis told the National Press Club in Canberra there is a need to strengthen partnerships “between liberal democracies that build and maintain the rules-based world order”.
Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry condemned the latest Chinese move, which it called “unilateral” and “bullying” and the latest example of Beijing trying to change Lithuania’s foreign policy.
“We firmly stand together with Lithuania,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou told reporters.
China is the world’s top importer of beef, but shipments from Lithuania are minimal. China imported just 775 tonnes of beef from Lithuania in 2021, out of a total 2.36 million tonnes of beef imports that year, according to Chinese customs data.
Taiwan has stepped up its food imports from Lithuania to help ease the impact of Chinese curbs, most recently rum. The first batch of 1200 bottles sold out in less than an hour after going on sale this month.
Fetching latest articles


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Thursday, July 12, 2018 1:00 am
Pfizer to split into 3 entities
NEW YORK – The drugmaker Pfizer, facing an aging population and shifting risks from the loss of patents, is reshaping its structure into three businesses.
The divisions, announced Wednesday, include Innovative Medicines, which will focus on biological science and a new hospital medicines business. An Established Medicines business will include sales for older drugs like the cholesterol pill Lipitor that have lost patent protection.
Lastly, the Consumer Healthcare business will handle over-the-counter medicines.
Innovative Medicines will bring in most of the company's revenue. Pfizer said the growth potential for that business is strong, due in part to an aging population that will create a growing demand for new medicines.
Pfizer Inc., based in New York, expects a significant reduction in the impact of patent protection losses after 2020 following the loss of exclusivity in the U.S. for the pain medicine Lyrica, which is anticipated to occur around December.
US wholesale prices up 0.3% for June
U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.3 percent in June, a slight slowing from May. But the 12-month gain was the fastest in more than six years, adding to evidence that inflation is beginning to rise after years of weak price gains.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the June increase in its producer price index – which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer – followed a 0.5 percent rise in May. The deceleration reflected a big drop in food costs in June and a much smaller increase in energy prices.
However, wholesale prices over the past 12 months have surged 3.4 percent. That marks the largest 12-month gain since a 3.7 percent rise in the 12 months ending November 2011.
Uber HR head quits amid investigation
Uber's head of human resources has resigned, reportedly after a probe into how she had handled racial discrimination allegations at the company, marking the latest departure of a high level executive there.
Uber launched an internal investigation after anonymous whistleblowers claimed that Liane Hornsey, the company's chief people officer, had systematically dismissed allegations of racial discrimination, Reuters first reported, which led to her resignation Tuesday.
Hornsey and chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi made no mention of the investigation's finding in emails to staff about the resignation, obtained by the Washington Post.
Judge OKs new plan to sell Weinstein Co.
A Delaware judge on Wednesday approved a revised plan for the sale of the Weinstein Co., the studio forced into bankruptcy by the sexual misconduct scandal that brought down Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
The revised plan calls for Dallas-based private equity firm Lantern Capital to pay $289 million for the Weinstein Co.'s assets.
Attorneys negotiated a price reduction after disputes threatened to torpedo the deal. Among those concerns was who would be responsible for paying potentially tens of millions of dollars owed on certain contracts that may be assigned to Lantern.
As part of the settlement, Lantern agreed to pay at least $8.75 million to satisfy certain contractual claims and pay for the Weinstein Co.'s operating expenses since June 29 in exchange for a lower purchase price.


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Barbadians must certainly be wondering if there is any major business operation left in this country that is Barbadian-owned.
The number of iconic local brands that have been gobbled up by big businesses from Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica seems to be getting longer and longer. This is certainly not a good look for those who see the takeover of local companies as an assault on our national pride.
The Fair Trading Commission (FTC), which regulates the companies to ensure there is no collusion or unfair competition, recently gave the green light to the purchase of Collins Limited and its pharmaceutical subsidiary, Carlisle Laboratories Limited.
Collins is an institution in Barbados, with the family business having been around for more than 100 years. The other local pharmacy Knights Limited, disappeared from local hands a decade ago when it was subsumed into the Massy group, when the Trinidad conglomerate Neal & Massy gained control of the island’s then largest conglomerate, Barbados Shipping &Trading (BS&T). This, after a long, bruising battle with ANSA McAL, another Trinidadian corporate giant.
The grave yard full of local brands that have slipped from Bajan hands include Trident Insurance, the Insurance Corporation of Barbados, Barbados National Bank, Barbados Light & Power, Nation Publishing, Starcom Network, Super Centre, Cave Shepherd Department Stores, Knights Pharmacy and the list goes on.
Of the Collins purchase by Agostini Limited of Trinidad and Tobago, the FTC said it “considered the structure of the markets likely to be affected by the proposed transaction, the degree of control exercised by the enterprises, the likely effect of the proposed merger on consumers and the economy, the actual and potential competition from other enterprises, and the likelihood of detriment to competition”.
Agostini Limited received the FTC’s approval “to control Collins Limited and Carlisle Laboratories Limited through the purchase of 100 per cent of the issued shares in Lambou Investments Limited”.
Further to its acquisition of Lambou’s 61.69 per cent shareholding in Collins, the Trinidad and Tobago company also got control of the remaining 38.31 per cent of the shares from 11 other shareholders of Collins Limited.
Collins, through its Carlisle Laboratories, is a major manufacturer of household-named brands of medicines that citizens have come to trust for their quality and effectiveness.
What citizens must also note is the important role that Collins and Carlisle Laboratories play in the supply of medicines and medical equipment and supplies to the country’s lone tertiary, teaching hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH).
It was not so long ago that when Government faced a cash flow crunch and difficulty paying its bills to suppliers to the QEH, it was companies like Collins that continued to supply the hospital with vital medicines and other supplies.
There is good reason to be concerned that the frequent takeover of local businesses has the potential of undermining the Bajan psyche and the belief in our ability as a people to take charge of our own patrimony.
At the same time, we are heartened by the significant shift in the mindset of so many young people, who, with no inheritance to rely on or friends in high places to call in favours, have made the decision to take their chances as entrepreneurs.
The COVID-19 pandemic, for all its devastation, became an important catalyst for many to take leave of the status of employee and emerge into the new role of business person. They have taken the plunge and all the risks that come with being an entrepreneur.
Some started as side hustles and have developed into sustainable, healthy enterprises with significant potential for growth. The expansion in entrepreneurship is not limited to the production of physical goods.
A significant level of trade in services is also occurring online by Barbadian knowledge workers who are taking their talents to markets around the world. In addition, many have entered emerging areas of enterprise such as motivational speaking, convention and event planning services, entertainment and the like.
As concern expectedly grows about the falling number of major businesses that remain in local hands, we can take comfort in the business excellence being displayed by businesses like Goddard Enterprises Limited (GEL), regarded as the last remaining local conglomerate.
The company’s expansive footprint across the Caribbean, Central and South America of this century-old enterprise reminds us that we still have the capacity to do what many Jamaican and Trinidadian companies are doing successfully – expanding and acquiring businesses in other countries.


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Walmart Limits Gun and Ammunition Sales
Source: Robert Workman, “Walmart Vows to Remove Violent Video Game Demos and Signs from Stores… But Not Actual Guns,” prosportsextra.com, Aug. 8, 2019
Walmart announced on Sep. 3, 2019 that the stores will stop selling short-barrel rifle ammunition that can be used in military-style guns, handgun ammunition, and handguns after current inventory is sold. The company estimates these changes will reduce their market share from 20% of all ammunition sold to a range of about 6 to 9%.
The announcement from CEO Doug McMillon comes after the Aug. 3, 2019 shooting in an El Paso, Texas, Walmart in which 22 people were killed, and after two Walmart employees were shot and killed by a coworker in Southaven, Mississippi, on July 30, 2019.
The retail giant had previously stopped selling handguns everywhere except Alaska. It also ended sales of military-style rifles such as the AR-15, raised the purchasing age for all guns and ammunition to 21, required a “green light” on federal background checks (federal law only requires no “red light”), recorded firearms points of sale, and only allowed trained employees to sell guns.
Walmart has also asked that customers in states with open carry laws no longer do so in Walmart or Sam’s Club stores.
McMillon committed Walmart to helping other firearms retailers make the industry safer and urged Congress to “strengthen background checks and to remove weapons from those who have been determined to pose an imminent danger.”
The stores will still sell some hunting weapons and ammunition, including long barrel deer rifles and shotguns.
Dan Bartlett, Walmart Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs, stated, “We feel like we are striking a responsible balance between the interests of law-abiding citizens who are exercising their legal rights and the safety concerns of our associates and customers.”
Earlier this month, at least four 2020 democratic candidates called on Walmart to end gun sales, including Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Julian Castro, and Cory Booker.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) said in response to the announcement, “It is shameful to see Walmart succumb to the pressure of the anti-gun elites… The truth is Walmart’s actions today will not make us any safer. Rather than place the blame on the criminal, Walmart has chosen to victimize law-abiding Americans.”
|Discussion Questions – Things to Think About|
|1. Should Walmart, or other big box retailers, sell firearms or ammunition? Why or why not?
2. Should retailers be allowed to ban open carry when the state allows it? Why or why not?
3. Should Congress enact more gun control laws? Why or why not? If yes, which laws?
Matthew Boyle and Polly Mosendz, “Walmart to Curtail Ammunition Sales after Store Shootings,” bloomberg.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Julia La Roche, “Walmart to End Certain Gun Ammunition Sales; Asks Shoppers Not to Open Carry,” finance.yahoo.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Thomas Kaplan, “Four Democratic Candidates Call on Walmart to Stop Selling Guns,” nytimes.com, Aug. 9, 2019
Doug McMillon, “McMillon to Associates: Our Next Steps in Response to the Tragedies in El Paso and Southaven,” corporate.walmart.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Nathaniel Meyersohn, “Walmart Ends All Handgun Ammunition Sales and Asks Customers Not to Carry Guns into Stores,” cnn.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Stephen Sorace, “Walmart to Stop Alaska Handgun Sales, End Sales of Short-barrel Rifle and Handgun Ammo Nationwide; NRA Hits Back,” foxnews.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Lauren Thomas, “Read the Full Memo from Walmart’s CEO about Pulling Back on Gun Sales, Asking the Government to Act,” cnbc.com, Sep. 3, 2019
Lauren Thomas, “Walmart Plans to Dramatically Step Back from Gun Sales after ‘Horrific’ Shootings,” cnbc,com, Sep. 3, 2019


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Campbell outlines progress on strategies, sets stage for long-term growth
Posted: 24 July 2012 | Campbell Soup Company | No comments yet
Campbell Soup Company will outline its progress on its growth strategies…
Denise Morrison, President and Chief Executive Officer, Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Soup Company (NYSE:CPB) will outline its progress on its growth strategies and its plans to return to growth in fiscal 2013 at a meeting with investors led by President and Chief Executive Officer Denise Morrison. A web cast of the presentation will be available at investor.campbellsoupcompany.com beginning at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time today.
Morrison said, “We’ve made progress in this fiscal year, and we will continue to advance our core strategies for growth in fiscal 2013. Our strategic framework is a roadmap to drive smart, meaningful and successful change at Campbell. We will tend very carefully to our core business, while we shift our center of gravity toward new consumer groups, new consumer needs, new consumer platforms and new geographies.”
Campbell’s three growth strategies focus on:
- Stabilizing and then profitably growing its North America soup and simple meals business;
- Expanding its international presence, particularly in emerging markets; and
- Continuing to grow its healthy beverages and baked snacks businesses.
Morrison and other members of Campbell’s management team will outline plans to continue to implement these strategies in the upcoming fiscal year.
U.S. Simple Meals
Mark Alexander, President Campbell North America, will outline plans to stabilize and profitably grow North America soup and simple meals by leveraging all the drivers of consumer demand across its portfolio, including new product innovation, compelling marketing and merchandising. Campbell plans to introduce more than 50 new products in its U.S. Simple Meals business in fiscal 2013—ranging from new varieties of “Chunky” and “Campbell’s” condensed soups to delicious new soups under the “Campbell’s Go” platform and “Campbell’s” Skillet Sauces.
Alexander said, “We’ve made a step change in our innovation efforts. When you look at what we have on tap for fiscal 2013, you’ll see that our newly implemented innovation program is really starting to bear fruit, helping us fill our pipeline with new products that appeal to our loyal consumers while also reaching new ones.”
In addition, the company will also highlight new advertising to promote enhancements to its line of “Chunky” soups with the return of its Mama’s Boys campaign featuring NFL player Victor Cruz.
Global Baking & Snacking
Irene Chang Britt, Campbell’s Senior Vice President of Global Baking and Snacking, will share her perspective on opportunities to drive growth through increased collaboration across Campbell’s businesses in North America and Asia Pacific.
As an example, Pepperidge Farm recently launched “Jingos!” snack crackers, a product based on the same bold flavor profiles as “Arnott’s” “Roadies,” introduced last year in Australia.
Britt said, “We’ve invested both dollars and people into innovation and collaboration, and it is paying dividends. This has led to a track record of growth and share gains in our core markets and will fuel the opportunity to grow beyond our core.”
Alexander will also outline fiscal 2013 plans for U.S. Beverages, including efforts to drive the “V8” 100% vegetable juice business and to fuel continued growth in the “V8 V-Fusion” franchise. Campbell will introduce the first line extensions to “V8” 100% vegetable juice in nearly 10 years, and will also launch “V8 V-Fusion” Iced Teas in lemon and peach flavors, among other new product innovations.
Reiterates Fiscal 2012 Guidance
Excluding acquisition costs associated with the planned purchase of Bolthouse Farms, Campbell remains on track to deliver results consistent with its previous guidance, with fiscal 2012 sales growth expected to be near the low end of the previously forecast range of 0 to 2 percent; adjusted EBIT expected to decline at a level near the low end of the previously forecast range of 7 to 9 percent; and adjusted EPS expected to decline at a level near the upper end of the previously forecast range of 5 to 7 percent.
Return to Growth in Fiscal 2013
Craig Owens, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer, said, “We expect improvement across our entire portfolio next year. We are doing the right things to continue to improve our trajectory, including a significantly enhanced innovation pipeline. We are making progress with our strategies and are vigorously working to deliver further progress in fiscal 2013.”
Campbell expects to return to growth in sales, adjusted EBIT and adjusted net EPS in fiscal 2013. The growth rates for fiscal 2013, before considering the positive impact of the Bolthouse Farms acquisition, are expected to be below the company’s long-term targets of net sales growth of between 3 and 4 percent, adjusted EBIT growth of between 4 and 6 percent and adjusted net EPS growth of between 5 and 7 percent.
Campbell plans to provide more specific guidance for fiscal 2013 when it reports fourth-quarter results on Sept. 4, 2012.


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Under the Spotlight Wall St: eBay (EBAY)
eBay is one of the undisputed pillars of the internet age, but its rise was not always certain. In today’s Under the Spotlight, we shine a light onto eBay, an e-commerce titan.
When it comes to e-commerce, Amazon ($AMZN) dominates the U.S. market, but for Australians the go-to is often eBay. The company had first mover’s advantage down under, launching here in 1999, just four years after it was founded. While eBay is now worth US$24b, at the start of the internet age its future was far from certain. In today’s edition of Under the Spotlight, we dive into what makes eBay one of the giants of the internet.
eBay started life as AuctionWeb in September 1995, and its mission was laid bare in its founding statement: ‘dedicated to bringing together buyers and sellers in an honest and open marketplace’. Like many pre-Dot-Com Bubble internet companies, AuctionWeb was developed over a single Labour Day weekend by its founder, Pierre Omidyar, on his personal computer. But code doesn’t make a business, and Pierre turned to Jeffrey Skoll for help writing the company’s inaugural business plan. It paid off, and by the end of the year the company had sold its first listed product: a broken laser pointer.
In 1996, AuctionWeb snowballed and reached several firsts. In June, the company hired its first employee, Chris Agarpao, who still works for eBay. The same month, AuctionWeb reached US$7.2m worth of goods sold on its platform. It was safe to say AuctionWeb had potential. In July, Pierre began working on it full time, while Skoll became president of the company.
At that time there was a plethora of Dot-Com Bubble startups and, as we know, many of them went bust. What did they have in common? A lack of growth to match their high valuations. This wasn’t a problem for AuctionWeb, as was evident when the Beanie Babies craze began, making 1997 the company’s breakaway year.
Beanie Babies were collectable stuffed animals with names, and people invested significant amounts of money into them, believing their value would eventually appreciate. Indeed a few rarer ones sold for over US$13,000 online after costing only US$5.
How does this relate to AuctionWeb? The company was known mainly for selling collectables, and it soon became one of the main sources for the Beanie Babies’ secondary market, selling over US$500m worth of the stuffed animals. In the second quarter of 1997, the company sold its one millionth item, a Big Bird jack-in-the-box. By September 1997, on solid footing, the company renamed itself eBay and ended the year earning US$5.7m in revenue – US$2.6m in Q4 alone.
In the early years, eBay ($EBAY) remained a niche marketplace for collectables, but if it wanted to continue its rapid sales growth, it needed to expand. Enter Meg Whitman. In 1998, eBay replaced Jeff as President with Meg, a Harvard Business School alumnus who had worked at major companies like Hasbro ($HAS). She quickly took to poaching several experienced senior staff and went to work expanding the company’s focus outside of collectables. As part of this plan, eBay made its first two acquisitions in July 1998, before listing on the NASDAQ in September.
Meg Whitman’s impact on eBay’s early years can’t be overstated. Under her leadership, the company expanded to Germany, Australia and the UK in July 1999. It continued to shift its focus from selling items to connecting people. Two major developments towards this goal were the introduction of eBay Motors, which would sell two million vehicles by 2006, and eBay University.
eBay University was a stroke of genius, as it taught people how to sell on the site and played a large part in making eBay an acceptable career for many. But don’t think the company abandoned the collectables market; it retained its prominence and in 2001 sold the oldest known pair of Levi’s jeans for US$46,000, a record at the time.
Still in 2001, eBay launched eBay Stores. People could build a business directly on the platform for just a few dollars a month, solidifying the work eBay University began. Another breakthrough came in the form of an acquisition that was arguably one of the smartest moves the company has ever made. No, we’re not talking about the 2005 acquisition of Gumtree. In 2002, eBay purchased PayPal ($PYPL) for US$1.5b.
Buying Out The Mafia
PayPal had gone public on the U.S. markets earlier that year, and it was much better run than Billpoint, the payment service that eBay had bought in 1999. As a Merrill Lynch analyst put it, ‘PayPal is the “gorilla” in the online payment market, as eBay is the “gorilla” in the online auction market’. If you can’t beat them, join them – or in Meg’s case, have them join you. PayPal’s founding members and employees who sold to eBay are known as the PayPal Mafia, and include Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, Ken Howery, Luke Nosek, Reid Hoffman, Jawed Karim and Max Levchin. Meg realised that electronic payments were the future, and boy was she right.
But PayPal’s tenure as an eBay-controlled company wouldn’t last forever. In 2015, long after Meg resigned from executive management at eBay in 2007, the company spun off PayPal at a valuation of US$47b. In other words, PayPal returned a 3033% capital gain, excluding the billions in profits it generated between 2002 and 2015.
Collecting The Past
For a company generating US$5.7m in revenue in 1997, eBay has seen mind-boggling growth over the last 24 years. In 2021, eBay generated US$10.3b in revenue, an increase of 17% year-on-year and 40% from 2019’s pre-COVID-19 results. Not one to rest on its laurels, eBay believes one of its key growth drivers in the future can be found in its past: collectables. Despite diversifying with the rise of Meg, the company never really lost sight of this cornerstone. In 1H21, two trading cards were sold on eBay every second and 63,000 new comic book listings were added daily in 2H21.
eBay believes this market is primed for expansion, and the facts seem to agree. Market Decipher estimates the global collectibles market was worth US$412b in 2021 and expects it to almost double to US$692b by 2032. To claim its share of this growth, eBay began authenticating trading cards valued at more than US$350 and, in March 2022, announced plans to build a vault to store physical and digital collectables.
The company has had success in snagging this market for its own since 1995, and it will likely continue to be a significant metric in its future growth. But remember: just as any responsible eBay bidder would do, always do your own research before you make a bid on any stock.
This does not constitute financial advice nor a recommendation to invest in the securities listed. The information presented is intended to be of a factual nature only. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. As always, do your own research and consider seeking financial, legal and taxation advice before investing.


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Apple has told staff that it anticipates reopening some of its stores in the first half of April, reports Bloomberg. The company has also extended remote work abilities for many employees through April 5th.
In a recent memo to employees, Senior Vice President of People and Retail Deirdre O’Brien revealed that the company is planning to stagger the reopening of stores.
“For all of our retail stores outside of Greater China, we will reopen our stores on a staggered basis. At this time, we anticipate some stores may be able to open in the first half of April depending on the conditions in their community,” O’Brien wrote. “We will provide updates for each store as soon as specific dates are established.”
Apple's New iPad Pro is Already On Sale! [Deal]
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20 Dec 2022
Australian startup Eighth Day Foods processes sweet lupins using mycelium coalescence and solid state fermentation to produce a novel protein and lower the number of functional ingredients required.
According to Eighth Day Foods, the novel plant-based protein market is split between the use of isolated or processed proteins, which are primarily sourced from pulses, and fungi-based products, that are either mycoprotein, achieved via submerged fermentation or liquid-air-interface fermentation.
When focusing on just one of these sources alone, the brand spotted challenges in scalability, cost, organoleptic properties, and functionality. Eighth Day Foods decided to merge the dry plant seeds that belong to the legume family, pulses, with fungal threads, mycelium, to produce an ingredient that progresses beyond the challenges associated with using either pulses or mycelium.
A pulse-mycelium coalescence bases itself on traditional solid-state fermentation. However, while this method was “nutritionally brilliant”, it struggled in terms of its organoleptic and functional properties and “was not scalable”, says co-founder and CEO Roger Drew.
By applying research and its proprietary Rapid Solid-State Fermentation (RSSF) process, Eighth Day Food was able to turn this methodology on its head and overcome all of the barriers.
“The coalescence of both results in substantially improved nutrition from the pulses—metabolising, not processing—and the fermentation’s creation of new proteins and inherent structure, form and functionality,” says Drew.
Utilising sweet lupins in the alternatives arena
The food tech startup, which focuses on developing diversified ingredients, utilises this solid state type of fermentation technology to prepare sweet lupins.
Sweet lupins are suitable as a substitute for red meat, white meat and fish in Asian dish types. Selecting sweet lupins as a key ingredient was a vital part of Eighth Day Foods’ aim to provide food manufacturers with an accessible and affordable option to produce a wide range of quality food products at a price significantly lower than meat.
“Sweet lupins hold the ideal balance of protein, fibres and fats, all the elements desired in a plant-based protein for consumers,” says Drew. Using this ingredient eradicates the need to extract and recombine elements from multiple sources and subsequently removes all the associated costs and complexities.
Commenting on how popular lupins are in progressing the plant-based segment, Drew relays: “This is the first serious global foray into this space using lupins that we are aware of.”
Balancing quality and price is a challenge when producing plant-based alternatives. A reality made even more prominent when a brand’s ambition is to reach a mass audience, like Eighth Day Food’s mission is.
“Simplicity has been our secret,” says Drew. “When simplicity is applied, price takes care of itself.” The producer finds value-adding benefits in working with natural processes rather than the “extreme” deconstruction and reconstruction of foods that the co-founder sees as both expensive and a route that diminishes consumers’ dining experience.
Beyond standard solid state fermentation technology
Solid state fermentation has become popular in food and beverage manufacturing due to its versatility. One study into the manufacturing process says it has grown in prevalence over recent years due to its wide-ranging applicability in traditional methods like enzyme production, recently-developed items such as bioactive compounds and organic acids, as well as new trends centring on free-from alternatives that can provide energy and environmental benefits for manufacturers and consumers.
Eight Day Foods found that solid-state fermentation provides both form and function to a pulse mycelium coalescence, resulting in a nutrition-rich whole cut that does not require multiple functional ingredients as part of its composition.
The alternatives producer states that its proprietary RSSF method enables a highly economical solution that provides a quality centre-of-plate protein at a price accessible to most people globally, which is “unlike the current alternatives”.
While it is limited due to intellectual property restrictions as to what it can share regarding its manufacturing process, Drew relays its biggest benefit is that 97% of the content of our product arrives at our facility in its original form, with no intermediatory processing.
“RSSF allows us to go from whole seed to a finished (ready-to-cook) product under one roof, and at a cost well below animal proteins,” Drew adds.
Funding to scale new plant protein
In 2022, Eighth Days Foods raised €966,000 ($1 million) in two days following its investment campaign to roll-out its plant-based protein, Lupreme. The food tech startup plans to use the cash injection to scale up.
Known for its healthy, sustainable and versatile benefits, Drew says that: “Whilst the sustainability and health aspects are key, ultimately Lupreme’s biggest attraction for investors is the pure economics of it.”
As it sets its sights on the mass plant-based protein market, the producer states it is working closely in R&D and with market prospects locally and globally. “Our products are market ready and scaled production will take place in the coming months,” says Drew.
Read the live article here: https://insights.figlobal.com/startups/novel-process-bring-together-pulses-and-mycelium


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Just as 2020 was an unpredictable year due to COVID-19, 2021 has proven to be just as unprecedented. Consumers are looking for foods and beverages that cater to changing needs as a result of the pandemic. Several companies have released their predictions for what flavors will be trending this year. Kerry Group, Flavorman, Comax Flavors and Symrise were among the companies that identified many of the same trends: nostalgic tastes, unfamiliar flavors and functional foods and drinks.
While these trends are a result of the pandemic and the increase in at-home food and beverage consumption, these flavors can still be incorporated into eating experiences once restaurant dining begins to return to pre-pandemic conditions.
“As the COVID-19 vaccine rolls out across the country, we can expect consumers to be more comfortable stepping out as fear for the virus is reduced,” said Sian Cunningham, senior marketing insights specialist at taste and nutrition company Kerry Group. “They’ll be interested in experiences previously avoided, and the way they access their food and beverage products may change.”
When retail pantry-loading was at its height last spring, food trends shifted to consumer packaged goods products that provided recognizable flavors.
“During times of hardship and uncertainty, consumers gravitate to comforting and familiar products and flavors,” said Cunningham.
As more consumers are preparing food at home, they are seeking out meals and desserts with classic flavors — mac and cheese, pizza, brownies and s’mores, for example — to provide that sense of comfort and normalcy, according to Kerry’s 2021 Global Taste Charts.
“It’s a turbulent time and the market is looking for something reminiscent of better times,” said Tom Gibson, chief flavorist at beverage development firm Flavorman. “That’s why we’re seeing so many blasts from the past emerge in the form of re-invented, new and improved flavors with more sophisticated applications.”
Adventurous flavor profiles
While stay-at-home orders have caused many people to seek out these familiar flavors, some consumers are looking for bold, new experiences during this period of lockdowns and coronavirus precautions.
“With reduced travel as a response to the pandemic, some consumers are looking to food and beverages to provide adventure and cultural exploration they would experience during travel,” said Cunningham.
Flavor producer Symrise unveiled its expected flavor trends for 2021 in a webinar last month and concurred that “culinary tourism” is likely to succeed as the pandemic continues. The company identified Mexican spices pipicha, hoja santa and mint marigold as some of the popular flavors that will be used in restaurant food and drinks, which the typical consumer is likely unfamiliar with and may be intrigued to try.
“As consumers continue to seek out new experiences from the safety of home, we’ve also identified flavors with an enhanced sensorial appeal — think spicy, smokey, or minty profiles,” agreed Gibson. “Adding sophisticated layers of heat, cooling, and tingling, these flavors will make their way into everything from craft cocktails to kombucha to RTD tea.”
Food and beverages with a function
Another trend identified for 2021 is incorporating flavors that serve a variety of functional benefits to shoppers and diners, which was popular far before COVID-19 arrived in the US, but increased in relevance even further when the pandemic hit.
“Health and wellness is a permatrend that has taken on new weight thanks to the circumstances of the last year,” said Gibson. “We’ll continue to see trends favoring flavor profiles associated with functional benefits, like fruits and botanicals.”
These plant-based ingredients are poised to show up in categories that already lend themselves to health-conscious consumers, such as protein bars and nutritional beverages.
“Although health-conscience beverages were trending well before the pandemic, consumers are increasingly reaching for naturally positioned beverages of all types, including functional drinks that support immunity and improve mood and relaxation, in particular,” said Katie Clark, lab manager and beverage architect at Flavorman.
Delivering on these trends
Food and beverage producers and foodservice businesses can build on these trends by finding flavors that cater to their brand purpose as well as their consumers. The same profile can even be used for many purposes, allowing brands to target different trends.
Kristen Wemer, director, beverage architect at Flavorman, identified how one flavor — citrus — works across these three trends. Grapefruit and lemon are fit to be ingredients in functional foods in many categories, while a classic dessert flavor such as key lime pie is ideal for the indulgent, comforting trend. Finally, regional ingredients like Texas Ruby Red Grapefruit and Sicilian Lemon can be a successful way to incorporate exciting new flavors into foods and beverages.
“To successfully incorporate these trends, you need to first and foremost know your consumer and how they are shifting in this highly dynamic time,” said Cunningham. “Know the consumer of today but create products for the consumer of tomorrow.”
- Top restaurant packaging trends for 2021
- 2021 will bring continuing focus on wellness, flexitarian diets, and ways to make dining out safe and memorable
- Datassential’s 10 food trends to know in 2021
If you enjoyed this article, you can sign up for Consumer Brands SmartBrief, FMI dailyLead or Restaurant SmartBrief to get news like this in your inbox. For even more great news content, sign up for any of SmartBrief’s 275+ free email newsletters today, free


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Oberthur Technologies has launched ‘ID-One PIV for eSE’, a software solution that enables US federal government personal identity verification (PIV) credentials to be stored on an embedded NFC secure element, allowing mobile phones to be used for logical and physical access control instead of smart cards. Oberthur’s Pearl embedded secure elements can be found in devices including the Xiaomi Mi3 and the Samsung Galaxy S4.
- India to rank states on digital transactions
- HSBC to launch Hong Kong P2P mobile payments app
- Indian mobile wallet adds healthcare services
- Singapore commuters to get NFC-enabled transport payment wearables
- Call to ‘digitise Indian rupee’ using blockchain