DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ 6 Disney executives Bob Iger will trust to drive his new strategy as he radically remakes the business structure implemented by former CEO Bob Chapek
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The returning CEO will have to unwind the business structure implemented by Bob Chapek while finding a successor. Disney CEO Bob Iger returns to a company facing significant pressures on its linear and streaming businesses. He'll also need to unwind the business structure implemented in 2020 by his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek — which separated budgeting and distribution decisions from creative content development. Alan Bergman, chairman, Disney Studios ContentAlan Bergman. Dana Walden, chairman, Disney General Entertainment ContentDana Walden.

☆ Driving simulator helps teens with ADHD keep eyes on the road - study
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Shawana Alleyne-Morris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Teens with ADHD are one of the highest-risk groups of drivers on our roadways," said study leader Dr. Jeffrey Epstein of Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. "Other than refusing or delaying licensure, parents have not had options for addressing their teen's driving risk." Teen drivers with ADHD are twice as likely to be involved in vehicular collisions as neurotypical teens, earlier research has shown. Rates of collisions or near collisions during these events were 3.4% in the intervention group versus 5.6% in the control group. At the same time, other aspects of the teens' driving will still need to be supported, he said, including compliance with speed limits and other rules of the road.

☆ McDonald's CEO takes a 'saucy' bite of the messy McRib during a video review of iconic sandwich before it leaves the menu for good
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

McDonald's brought back the McRib nationally for a farewell tour on October 31. Today, CEO Chris Kempczinski hinted it was exiting the menu soon during a video review of the item. It was his mother's favorite McDonald's item. To mark the sandwich's purported final exit, McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski released a video review Wednesday of his mother's favorite McDonald's menu item. McDonald's did not return an immediate request for comment when asked if the McRib would leave menus for good this year.

☆ McDonald's CEO takes a "saucy" bite of the messy McRib during a video review of iconic sandwich before it leaves the menu for good
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

☆ DoorDash is laying off 6% of its staff, and it's a warning for the entire food delivery business
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Jordan Hart | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

CEO Tony Xu said DoorDash is laying off 1,250 people in a Wednesday memo, Bloomberg reports. In the third quarter, DoorDash logged a $308 million loss from operations. The Covid-19 pandemic served as a big boost for DoorDash and food delivery services like it. Hundreds of workers have lost their jobs at restaurant tech startups like Nextbite, Sunday, ChowNow, Lunchbox, Gopuff, and Reef. The company has been pouring its resources into expanding outside of traditional restaurant delivery over the past year by striking delivery partnerships with supermarkets, convenience stores, and retailers.

☆ Sweetgreen is among the 12 chains Taco Bell owner, Yum Brands, could buy as the company's CFO tells investors it's hunting for an acquisition
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

A Yum Brands exec said the company was "scanning categories" that don't compete with its brands. Analyst Mark Kalinowski identified 12 chains Yum Brands could target, including Sweetgreen. Habit was Yum Brands' latest acquisition — it purchased the fast-casual chain in March 2020 in a deal valued at $375 million. Zoe's Kitchen could be a buy target for Yum Brands, a veteran analyst wrote in a research note last week. "It has a market cap bigger than I would have expected, so it'd be an expensive purchase for Yum Brands."

☆ 29 foodtech power players of 2022 revolutionizing how restaurants operate and deliver amid a looming recession
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Rising labor and commodity costs put a squeeze on restaurants in 2022. Insider's 2022 foodtech power players are helping restaurants elevate their digital business. But sunny skies turned stormy in 2022 as the restaurant industry faced headwinds tied to market volatility, a labor shortage, and record inflation. Ghost kitchens, virtual brands, and online-ordering startups are now morphing to survive and stay relevant post-lockdown. Insider's 2022 list spotlights foodtech leaders who are helping restaurants take their digital business to the next level as they face a looming recession.

☆ Researchers test mRNA technology for universal flu vaccine
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

It delivers tiny lipid particles containing mRNA instructions for cells to create replicas of so-called hemagglutinin proteins that appear on influenza virus surfaces. A universal vaccine would not mean an end to flu seasons, but would replace the guess work that goes into developing annual shots months ahead of flu season each year. Moderna and Pfizer both have mRNA flu vaccines in late-stage human trials, and GSK (GSK.L) and partner CureVac (5CV.DE) are testing an mRNA flu vaccine in an early-stage safety trial in humans. These vaccines are designed to defend against only four recently-circulating influenza strains but could theoretically be changed up each year. The universal flu vaccine, if successful in human trials, would not necessarily prevent infection.

☆ Uber's polarizing surge pricing is coming for your food deliveries
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The food-tech startup Sauce allows restaurants to use dynamic pricing to raise delivery prices. Piada, a fast-casual restaurant chain, is testing dynamic pricing using the tech startup Sauce. Novak, whose VC firm Rackhouse invested in Sauce last year, said price-lowering features are often overlooked when discussing dynamic pricing. Sherri Kimes, a professor emeritus at Cornell's Hotel School, echoed Novak, saying dynamic pricing can give consumers "some control" over how they spend their money. For restaurants, dynamic pricing is still worth a shot.

☆ Predictive value of 'good' cholesterol level varies by race, U.S. study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

In contradiction to what has generally been assumed, low HDL levels did not confer any higher risk of heart disease in Black people, researchers said. Among white people, however, those with HDL levels below 40 milligrams per deciliter had a 22% higher risk for coronary heart disease compared with those whose HDL levels were higher. High HDL levels (above 60 mg/dL), which are thought to be protective, were not linked with lower coronary heart disease risks in either race, researchers found. Participants of both races were similar in age, cholesterol levels, and other heart disease risk factors, the researchers said. The early studies that shaped perceptions about healthy cholesterol levels overwhelmingly involved white American participants, Pamir said.

☆ Cancer diagnoses lag after screenings fall during pandemic, U.S. study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Shawana Alleyne-Morris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The decrease in diagnoses "does not mean these cancers are suddenly less common," said study leader Allison Oakes of data analytics company Trilliant Health in Brentwood, Tennessee. By the end of 2021, screening rates had rebounded but were still below pre-pandemic levels, researchers reported in JAMA Oncology. Ongoing analysis of 2022 data suggests screening rates in 2022 are unlikely to have improved dramatically, Oakes said. The issue appears to go beyond cancer testing, the study found. "Not only are people missing their annual cancer screenings, but they are using less primary care," Oakes said.

☆ Most Imperfect Foods employees lost money on their stock options after the grocery startup was acquired by Misfits Market. It's a cautionary tale for startup employees.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( Alex Bitter | Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Roughly two-thirds of employees who exercised stock options lost money in the all-stock deal. A Misfits Market spokesperson confirmed that two-thirds of Imperfect employees who exercised their options lost money in the deal. Some startups have even offered loans to employees who want to exercise their stock options. "Just because I gave you stock options does not mean that you were going to make money," Zimmerman said. For current Imperfect employees with unvested shares, stock options will still be part of their compensation.

☆ How this 27-year-old entrepreneur built his $8 million dessert empire after leaving Wall Street
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

With the help of a business loan, the Wall Street analyst turned food entrepreneur bought a 16 Handles franchise in Manhattan in 2019. Taking advantage of a depressed real-estate market amid the pandemic, he negotiated favorable long-term leases and opened several 16 Handles locations. Last month, I closed on the acquisition of 16 Handles, the frozen-yogurt and soft-serve franchise with over 30 units across five states. Buying 16 Handles and growing it to a national brandAs the largest franchisee working with the franchisor, we were misaligned on what we saw as the vision for 16 Handles. A key reason for my success with 16 Handles is that I found creative solutions to what otherwise seem like impossible obstacles.

☆ Sequoia-backed grocery startup Getir is close to buying its troubled rival Gorillas in a heavily discounted deal said to be worth less than $1 billion
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Callum Burroughs | Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Grocery-delivery startup Gorillas is set to be acquired by its major rival Getir, sources say. Gorillas' valuation is expected to collapse from $3 billion to less than $1 billion, with layoffs anticipated. Beleaguered grocery delivery startup Gorillas is set to be acquired by Turkish rival Getir in a cash-and-equity deal that is expected to close in the coming weeks and at a substantially lower valuation, Insider understands. Gorillas' investors and shareholders will be paid out in cash while others will be offered preferred stock in Getir, the people said. Most of Gorillas' senior management is expected to stay on with with Getir shares as part of their package.

☆ This startup just hired a former DoorDash exec to bring robotic restaurant delivery to the masses
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-11 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

When it comes to amassing a large food-delivery footprint, the startup has hired a ringer in the delivery sector — the former DoorDash executive Prahar Shah. Serve's robots have the potential to be ubiquitous in our everyday lives, he said. This is "very similar to part of the playbook that we ran at DoorDash," Shah said. Most of Serve's restaurant partnerships have been with local restaurants in Los Angeles, such as Bossa Nova and Lala's Grill. As he approaches restaurant chains in his new role, he said most understand the necessity of automation.

☆ Repeat COVID is riskier than first infection, study finds
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-10 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long COVID," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "Even if one had prior infection and was vaccinated - meaning they had double immunity from prior infection plus vaccines - they are still susceptible to adverse outcomes upon reinfection," Al-Aly, the study leader, said. The higher risks were most pronounced in the first month after reinfection but were still evident six months later. The cumulative risks and burdens of repeat infection increased with the number of infections, even after accounting for differences in COVID-19 variants such as Delta, Omicron and BA.5, the researchers said. "We had started seeing a lot of patients coming to the clinic with an air of invincibility," Al-Aly told Reuters.

☆ Keurig Dr Pepper just invested $50 million in Athletic Brewing, the brand dominating the nonalcoholic beer sector. Here's how the founder started and grew his brewery after leaving the hedge-fund worl
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The investment gives Keurig a minority position in the beverage startup, which controls over half of the $328.6 million nonalcoholic-beer market. He quit his position at Point72 Asset Management in 2017 and cofounded Athletic Brewing a year later with the head brewer John Walker. Athletic Brewing now controls 45% of the non-alcoholic craft beer market. Athletic Brewing said it distinguishes itself from big beer brewers by being the only brewery in the country dedicated solely to nonalcoholic craft beer. The restaurateur Danny Meyer and Chang serve Athletic Brewing in Eleven Madison Park, Gramercy Tavern, The Modern, and Momofuku Ko.

☆ Burger King's owner just opened a delivery-focused food hall where customers can order from Popeyes, Firehouse Subs, and other chains. The company is one of many expanding the ghost kitchen model to r
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-08 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Burger King's owner recently opened its first ghost kitchen, or digital food hall, in Miami. And recently, the parent of Burger King, Restaurant Brands International, opened its first ghost kitchen in Miami. Wonder is part ghost kitchen, part food delivery van, part meal-kit provider. These ghost kitchens on wheels, outfitted with cooking equipment and chefs, can be hailed through an app. The company, which ended its partnership with Miami-based Reef Technology this year, is not labeling the facility as a ghost kitchen.

☆ As the rapid-delivery segment collapses, Food Rocket is betting on delivering restaurant meals and opening 'dark warehouses' for walk-in customers as a way to survive
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

The Circle K-backed startup is opening up its dark warehouses to walk-in customers. Food Rocket, backed by the owner of Circle K, offers about 3,000 grocery and convenience-store items. Eventually, he sees Food Rocket delivering more than convenience goods. With "Food Rocket" marquee signs visible to walk-in customers, Alexandrov said the startup won't have to invest in money-losing promotional ads like rivals. Food Rocket plans to launch rapid-delivery services in North Carolina.

☆ Travis Kalanick's CloudKitchens startup is cutting jobs as a pandemic-era surge in food ordering subsides
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-03 | by ( Nancy Luna | Meghan Morris | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

CloudKitchens, the richly valued startup founded by former Uber chief Travis Kalanick, is cutting jobs as a pandemic-era boom in online food ordering subsides and a recession looms. The ghost kitchen operator has shed corporate recruiting employees, a move made to get closer to profitability, according to a person close to the matter. On November 1, employees on the recruiting team were asked to attend an impromptu Zoom meeting, described as a "global update." Tunna said Kalanick's goal is for CloudKitchens to be profitable next year, and with that, the startup has to make some changes, according to the witness. CloudKitchens raised about $850 million last fall from backers, including Microsoft, in a round that valued the startup at $15 billion.

☆ DoorDash Analysts Optimistic on the Firm's Grocery and Retail Growth
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Expanding selection has made DoorDash resilient as restaurant-delivery growth declines and recession worries grip consumers, analysts say. "DoorDash's greater selection, convenience, and value are proving resilient," Andrew Boone, a JMP Securities analyst, said in a note earlier this year. Last month, DoorDash surpassed 75,000 retail stores on its platform, up from 40,000 a year ago. DoorDash opened the first DashMart in 2020, and the convenience stores have grown to 25 locations in cities in the US and Canada. "DoorDash is going to strangle Instacart using their own system," the grocery and supply-chain consultant Brittain Ladd told Insider.

☆ Analysis: Wanted: an oxygen monitor reliable for all races
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-02 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Expert advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration met virtually on Tuesday to discuss improvements in standards for pulse oximeters. Imarc Group market research firm forecast the global pulse oximeter market reaching $3.25 billion by 2027. Pulse oximeter problems "suddenly became enormous" during the pandemic, said Dr. Philip Bickler, director of the University of California, San Francisco's (UCSF) Hypoxia Research & Pulse Oximeter Test Facility. Current rules require that pulse oximeters be tested in a minimum of just 10 subjects, only two of whom must be "darkly-pigmented." While the devices are still useful, UCSF's Bickler said, doctors "should not base patient care only on pulse oximeter findings."

☆ DoorDash is making 7 keys moves to dominate retail and grocery delivery after conquering restaurants — and creating new rivals in Instacart and Gopuff
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In August 2020, DoorDash launched retail delivery with chains like 7-Eleven and Walgreens. Lately, DoorDash has its sights set on a new prize — dominance in retail and grocery delivery. DoorDash has leaned heavily into grocery, convenience-store, and retail delivery since launching these expanded services in 2020. "We have more retail stores, grocery included, than any other platform in North America today." DoorDashDoubleDashA year after launching grocery delivery, DoorDash introduced DoubleDash.

☆ Explainer: COVID, flu and RSV this U.S. winter: Why experts are worried
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Nancy Lapid | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File PhotoOct 26 (Reuters) - U.S. doctors are warning that a surge in cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is coinciding with an increase in COVID transmission and an earlier-than-normal flu season, raising the specter of a "tripledemic" of respiratory illness this winter. In particular, RSV infections among young children are reportedly filling some U.S. hospitals to capacity. Older children and most adults typically experience mild, cold-like symptoms. In the meantime, it is important "for everyone to get up to date on their COVID and flu vaccines," Varma said. Part of the increase in RSV cases is due to the relaxation of COVID-precautions, such as masking and social distancing, which reduced rates of both RSV and flu during the pandemic, Varma said.

☆ Reef quietly exits Houston as the SoftBank-backed ghost kitchen continues to face operational issues and loses partnerships
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Houston officials say Reef is no longer operating in the city, where it once had 29 trailers. The ghost-kitchen startup Reef Technology is no longer operating kitchen vessels in Houston, Insider has learned. But in January this year, Reef temporarily closed about one-third of its food trailers as it focused on large chains that generate more revenue than independent restaurants. A year ago, Reef operated at least 29 food trailers in Houston, according to the city's health department, which inspects the food trailers. The startup has been cited for operating trailers without permits in several US cities.

Search resuls for: "Nancy L"

25 mentions found