5@5: Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods fight for China's meat market | Kroger enters ghost kitchen business

Beyond Meat, Impossible Foods hungry for a cut of China's meat market

China is the next big frontier for alt-meat giants Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods. Officials are encouraging Chinese citizens to switch to meat alternatives after a deadly swine epidemic recently inflated the prices of pork, beef and poultry. Impossible Foods has already entered the country via a Shanghai trade fair, while Beyond Meat has plans to make its Chinese debut sometime in 2020. Read more at The Wall Street Journal... 

Kroger dives into the ghost kitchen business

The supermarket chain has partnered with delivery-only kitchen operator ClusterTruck to offer consumers multiple diverse menus they can order food from. The service is called Kroger Delivery Kitchen in most of the trial cities and promises fresh prepared meals delivered in under 30 minutes. Read more at Restaurant Business Online...

Ex-Bumble Bee CEO is latest catch in tuna price-fixing hunt

A long-term U.S. investigation into price-fixing within the packaged seafood industry has resulted in the conviction of ex-Bumble Bee CEO Chris Lischewski. Per the indictment, Lischewski faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $1 million for his part in the conspiracy. Read more at Bloomberg...

America's first 'vegan butcher' is fighting Nestlé over the term's trademark

The founders of plant-based "butcher" Herbivorous Butcher had applied to trademark the term "vegan butcher" after establishing the bulk of their recipes, but were denied by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. However, when Nestlé-owned plant-based food manufacturer Sweet earth filed paperwork for the same term, it was approved. Now, Herbivorous Butcher is taking Nestlé and the USPTO to court to either keep "vegan butcher" un-trademarked in the public domain or allow Herbivorous Butcher to use the phrase themselves. Read more at Vice...

Eating in sync with biological clock could replace problematic diabetes treatment

Insulin injections are used widely by Type 2 diabetics to promote glucose balance. They have also been linked to weight gain and "loss of control of blood sugar levels." Researchers in search of an alternative treatment recently found that a starch-reach meal early in the morning when coupled with a small dinner could effectively replace such injections and other diabetes medications for many with the condition. Read more at Science Daily...