Snacks Daily

Scooter pioneer Bird just acquired a German rival, but it’s a sign the future scooter wars are going to look a lot like today’s delivery wars. Casper’s valuation dropped from over $1B to $744M before its IPO as public investors laugh at the VCs that thought it was a tech company. And MGM is looking to sell itself to Apple, Netflix, or the rest of the “Big 6.”

Women’s coworking icon The Wing enjoyed a major investment from fellow coworking pioneer WeWork… which just sold off that stake. GM’s latest moves in Detroit have turned a shutting down factory into its new capital of electric vehicles. And coronavirus dropped stocks big to start the week, so we’re looking at who got hit the hardest and why.

The “Seamless of Weed” is Eaze, but it’s having problems growing. Intel’s stock hit its highest point since the first internet boom, so we’re looking at chips on chips on chips.  And Clay Christensen passed away, but his word “disruption” is living on aggressively.

Tinder is adding new security features for your first date — it’s consistent with a trend that’s defining tech in 2020. Google made a minor tweak to google.com with major implications. And our “Half-icorn of the Day” is The Athletic, the digital sports news company that just snagged a $500M valuation.

Delta unveiled the biggest corporate bonus plan ever, so we’re looking at its Return On Investment strategy (Happy flight attendants = Happy fliers). GM unveiled a robocar that reaches Level 5 on the all-mighty (and unofficial) self-driving car measuring stick for self-driving-ness. And startup Memphis Meats snags the biggest ever fundraise for a cell-based meat company — growing chicken thighs in the lab.

Amazon is pursuing a new feature to sell to retail stores to take on Apple Pay — We’re talking “pay by hand” (and we’re calling it “Amazon Hand”). Uber’s whipping up a “name your own price” idea for drivers so it can prove to regulators it’s just an app, not a ride company. And PetMed Express shares fell 6% even though it’s sitting on top of 2 trends. Also, we’re flying over to London for the Robinhood launch across the pond — you can sign up to attend our live pod recording on Jan 28th or Jan 29th at rbnhd.co/uksnacks.

We’ve got a new #1 in the US meal kit market — HelloFresh is beating Blue Apron (even though mealkitting may be in trouble). Zales/Kay/Jared’s owner Signet Jewelers watched its stock pop 40% last week, but its “Path to Brilliance” plan may not be working. And Microsoft is acting more like a non-profit, announcing it’s not just going carbon neutral… it’s going carbon negative (mic drop).

Shares of the Gap pop 5% on word it’s doing the opposite of what it planned to do — it’s no longer spinning off Old Navy, its best-performing brand. NBC reveals the details of Peacock, but it’s acting like the flaky friend of the Streaming Wars. And China holds German car companies hostage (the USA is no longer the only global economic police). 

We finally got to see what was actually in the Phase 1 trade deal that was just signed. We noticed Build-A-Bear shares popped 14% because it’s working on what Hasbro can’t: A Baby Yoda doll. And Califia Farms is our (almost) “Unicorn of the Day,” snagging $225M in fresh funding to make plant-based milks bigger than plant-based meats.

It’s big bank earnings season, so we went financial on this one. JPMorgan Chase apparently covers half of America, which led to its record profit (more than the value of 2 Lyfts). Visa dropped $5.3B to acquire Plaid, the fintech app that sits on a treasure trove of financial info, like your Venmo account. And BlackRock’s CEO whips up a new mandate: $7T to fight climate change through good, clean, financial pressure.

We slept on the Casper IPO documents released over the weekend, then realized they spent $80M just dealing with mattress returns last year. 23andMe hits a new corporate milestone — treating diseases with your saliva. And Primo Water boasts that it’s a pure-play water company, but it just got swallowed up.

Quibi raises (another) $400M to create a new “era” (their words) beyond video streaming. Sweetgreen gets a profile in the NYT, and we think it may be the most innovative company in food right now. And “the OPEC of chocolate” may raise prices on the critical ingredient for Hershey and Mondelez sweets.

Verizon whips up a new pricing model for its cable TV, but it’s basically creating subscripturation in our lives. Softbank startups like Zume Pizza and Getaround are starting the year by firing employees (we’re in a new decade of unicorns). And 100% wine tariff threats may mess with your Friday evening pinot plans.

We’re testing out a new title format, Snackers. Grubhub shares jumped 13% on news it’s trying to sell itself. Spotify’s launching a dynamic new advertising format that reminds us of Facebook. And the “you might die from this” fitness event startup Tough Mudder is reportedly being pushed to file for bankruptcy.

Impossible Foods is adding plant-based sausage — but rival Beyond Meat’s stock jumped 10%. Goldman Sachs’ stock has barely budged in the last 3 years, so it’s redecorating itself to focus on 1 word: Transparency. And Tesla shares just hit an all-time high as its Gigafactory opens in China, so we’re looking at whether that makes sense.