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☆ Reddit has acquired an AI startup to beef up its ad business in a deal worth around $40 million
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Lara O'Reilly | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Brands like Unilever, L'Oréal, and NotCo pay Memorable AI an annual fee to use its tools. The company said this allows advertisers to reduce the time they would usually spend testing and optimizing ad creative, the company said. Related storiesThe Memorable AI team has joined Reddit as part of the acquisition. AdvertisementIts ads business is growing, but still tiny compared to Google, Meta, Amazon, and TikTok.

Persons: —, Reddit, van, Cofounders Camilo Fosto, Sebastian Acevedo, Michael Kassan, Brian O'Kelley, hasn't Organizations: Service, Business, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Brands, Unilever, L'Oréal, Aperiam Ventures, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, LDV, Ventures, Google Locations: New York

☆ Kraft’s newest Oscar Mayer hot dog is missing meat
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-06 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

In the past year, the company rolled out a vegan boxed Mac & Cheese, mayonnaise and vegan cheese slices. Sinking sales have sparked troubles for pioneers, like Beyond Meat (BYND), which also has sausage products. The once-trendy plant-based meat company has faced falling demand and ballooning costs in recent years. Frey said that recent innovations in plant-based meat products, such as improving taste, texture and expanding options (i.e. Besides taste, plant-based meat “faces challenges like price competitiveness, distribution issues and consumer skepticism,” Frey said.

Persons: New York CNN — Oscar Mayer, Kraft Heinz, Oscar Mayer “ NotHotDogs, NotSausage, there’s, Sherry Frey, Frey, “, Oscar Mayer, ’, ”, ” Frey, Kraft, NIQ’s Frey Organizations: New, New York CNN, CNN, Kraft The Kraft Heinz Company, Kraft, Kraft Mac Locations: New York, Kraft’s, ”

☆ Kraft’s newest Mac & Cheese is ditching cheese
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Jordan Valinsky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Kraft’s new Mac & Cheese is ditching the cheese and going vegan. “Curiosity is a major factor in trying plant-based foods and beverages,” Sherry Frey, vice president of Total Wellness at NIQ, told CNN. The vegan cheese sauce is made with fava bean protein and coconut oil powder, creating a sauce that has a “similar taste, look and feel to dairy-based mac and cheese,” the company told CNN. Goodles, for example, is a Gal Gadot-backed startup that sells boxed pasta with more protein and fiber at a higher price that also has a plant-based mac and cheese in its portfolio. In particular, the Kraft brand recently rolled out a makeover of its Kraft Singles cheeses that emphasizes the cheese doesn’t have artificial flavors, colors or preservatives.

Persons: New York CNN —, “ Kraft, Kraft, ” Sherry Frey, “, NIQ, ” Frey, Annie’s Organizations: New, New York CNN, NotCo, Kraft, CNN, ”, Kraft Mac, Kraft Heinz Company Locations: New York, ”

☆ Bill Gates: This is the major contributor to climate change that people are 'probably least aware of’—It's 'a challenge’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Tom Huddleston Jr. | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bill Gates has spent years, and billions of dollars, working to combat climate change. But, according to Gates, most people are still unaware of the role played by one of the biggest contributors to climate change: agriculture, specifically methane emissions from livestock and fertilizers. While plant-based foods have won support from those looking for alternatives to products made from animals, Gates said that he started backing plant-based food ventures because of their potential to combat climate change. In his 2021 book, "How to Avoid a Climate Disaster," Gates wrote that effectively combating climate change will take people being willing to commit to new ideas, like switching to electric cars and synthetic meats. Speaking to Thompson about the plant-based meat startups, like Impossible, Gates said that "they're doing well, but a lot of people want him to make [the product] even slightly better."

Persons: Bill Gates, Gates, Ahmir, Thompson, Barack Obama, Warren Buffett Organizations: U.S . Environmental Protection Agency, MIT Technology Locations: Gates, Philadelphia, U.S

☆ Fernando Machado, CMO of NotCO, talks about what marketers overlook while trying to embed DEI into their campaigns
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-20 | by ( Michael Kaminer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Fernando Machado is the CMO of NotCo, formerly of Burger King and Activision Blizzard. This article is part of CMO Insider, a platform that explores how the role of chief marketing officer is evolving. Fernando Machado, CMO of NotCo, a plant-based food company, is known for his bold campaigns at Burger King and Activision Blizzard.His repertoire has often tackled current social issues like LGBTQ rights and representation of other minoritized groups. In an conversation with Insider, Machado explains what most marketers overlook and how they can align their DEI strategies with agency partners. At Burger King, we had agencies sign a pledge to reach certain targets [around diversity], but only because we had targets ourselves.

Persons: Fernando Machado, Burger King, Machado, you've, It's, Burger, victimize Organizations: NotCo, Activision Blizzard, Burger King, Activision Locations: Burger

☆ Shake Shack is rolling out new plant-based menu items made using AI, including dairy-free shakes and veggie burgers
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-03 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Shake Shack is launching three plant-based menu options this week. The new items include a veggie burger and two desserts with recipes designed by AI. The fast food chain is rolling out a new Veggie Shack burger, non-dairy chocolate shake, and non-dairy frozen custard this week, each designed using AI. The new veggie burger was "born out of testing many different veggie burger iterations" and includes "mushrooms, sweet potatoes, carrots, farro, and quinoa, topped with American cheese, crispy onions, pickles and ShackSauce," Shake Shack said in a statement. NotCo also makes it own line of products including NotMilk, NotBurger, and NotChicken, and the new Shake Shack milkshake options use the company's non-dairy milk.

☆ AI Food Startup NotCo Hires Activision’s Fernando Machado as CMO
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Patrick Coffee | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

NotCo co-founder and Chief Executive Matias Muchnick, right, with Chief Marketing Officer Fernando Machado. Mr. Machado will develop a marketing plan to help the plant-based food startup break through into the U.S. market, according to Mr. Muchnick. The Not Co. or NotCo, a Chilean startup that uses artificial-intelligence technology to produce plant-based foods that mimic dairy and meat products, has hired Fernando Machado as chief marketing officer. He succeeds Flavia Buchmann, who left the company in late 2022. NotCo has also brought on an unnamed U.S. general manager to work alongside Mr. Machado and will announce that hire in the coming weeks, according to a company spokeswoman.

☆ Philadelphia is launching a plant-based cream cheese
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

New York CNN Business —Philadelphia Cream Cheese is launching a non-dairy version of its signature spread. The plant-based cream cheese is now available at grocery stories in Atlanta, Houston, Miami and other locations in the Southeast, with a wider rollout planned for summer 2023. Philadelphia's plant-based cream cheese is available in the Southeast. According to data from IRI, only about 41% of households who buy plant-based cream cheese make a second purchase within the year. “It’s just easier to forgo cream cheese and cheese … than it is to forgo meat,” he said.

☆ Kraft Heinz turns to gimmicks and nostalgia to revive its ‘dusty’ brands
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Danielle Wiener-Bronner | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

Because they’re incredible.”More than half of Kraft Heinz’s business comes from just eight brands — the aforementioned three, plus Kraft Mac and Cheese, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, Heinz, Lunchables and Ore-Ida. For Kraft Heinz, which is relying on Patricio to execute a comeback, there’s a lot on the line. So we have more loyalty.”For that reason, Kraft Heinz has leaned in to promoting its legacy brands — and with sometimes outrageous marketing. Kraft HeinzOther Kraft Heinz brands have also used attention-grabbing marketing campaigns. Kraft Heinz’s brands now have a presence on gaming platforms like Roblox, in addition to social media channels and other platforms.

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