Food trucks in the U.S. have taken many forms, but have long been a popular option for dining. Now as the coronavirus pandemic alters the way we interact and engage with others, these kitchens on wheels may have a new function, especially on college campuses.
Rod Keller, CEO of the electric vehicle manufacturer AYRO is jumping at the opportunity to capitalize on the niche industry in a partnership with Gallery Carts. The new collaboration will combine AYRO's expertise in developing electric vehicles with Gallery's expertise in creating food delivery vehicles.
"Colleges are faced with, 'Well how do we provide food and beverage while at the same time, avoiding the mass crowds that you would typically see inside of a cafeteria?'" Keller told Cheddar.
So far, more than $500,000 has been poured into the collaboration as orders for the vehicles continue to amass. Keller said he's confident that as universities and other large campuses seek safer ways to feed their communities amid the pandemic, the need for their services will grow.
AYRO is also banking on buyers in higher education considering the long-term savings electric vehicles can provide. Keller said its electric vehicles save fleet operators at least 50 percent on fuel and energy costs.
"When people are moving cargo from one side of a university to another, or business campus, or hotel and resort, you don't need a full-sized truck with 400 miles of range running on gasoline to do that," Keller said.
While investors soured on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on interest rates Monday, Anthony Saccaro, Founder and President at Providence Financial explains why he is supportive of the Fed's approach on Cheddar News' Closing Bell.
HSBC announced that it is buying a plot of virtual land in decentralized gaming virtual world The Sandbox. Mathieu Nouzareth, U.S CEO of The Sandbox, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he elaborates on what his platform is providing to HSBC and how his company is helping companies across different sectors embrace Web3.
Deepwell Digital Therapeutics is a game development company looking to transform the way we look at video games — this time to improve health outcomes. Its goal is to create software to aid those who deal with conditions such as depression and ADHD. Company co-founder and co-CEO Ryan Douglas and co-founder Kate Edwards joined Cheddar News to talk about the technology is being used to help patients. "From a research perspective, the game industry itself has been well aware for many, many years of the kind of inherent, kind of anecdotal therapeutic value of playing games," said Edwards.
After a tough start amid the pandemic, lifestyle brand Magnolia Network, a collaboration between Chip and Joanna Gaines and Discovery, is pressing forward. Allison Page, the network's president, joined Cheddar to discuss the challenges and rewards of putting together the latest cable television content offerings from the Gaines team. "Really, behind the scenes, this is their vision, and we saw bits of it in Magnolia Journal, their fantastic magazine," Page said. "And just getting to bring that to life in a broader cable landscape has been such a joy and such a great opportunity." The accomplished television executive who moved over from HGTV also had encouraging words for women in the workplace as Women's History Month continues.
Nadia Brown, actor and host of 'The Green Room with Nadia Brown,' and Jenny Makholm, executive producer of the show and co-founder of Be An #ArtsHero/Arts Workers United, join Cheddar News to talk about their new Ovation TV series.
Actors Courtney B. Vance and Tosin Cole joined Cheddar News’ senior reporter Michelle Castillo at South by Southwest to talk about their new series “61st Street” on AMC. The show takes a look at the harshness of Chicago’s criminal justice system. When asked what he hopes the audience takes away from this show, Tosin Cole said, "Just some empathy and just showing a different perspective."
A recent survey from employment website Indeed and career growth platform Luminary found that at least half of women are considering a change to their careers over issues of unequal compensation and upward mobility as compared to men. Cate Luzio founder and CEO of Luminary, and Abbey Carlton, Indeed's global head of social impact, joined Cheddar News to talk about the study and working for women to push more self-advocacy. "I think the silver lining here is that women are in a moment where they can renegotiate the terms of work. And we're seeing that in this survey, women are thinking about what is my next step and what do I need in that next step. And compensation is right at the top of the list there,” said Carlton.
Allego, a European electric vehicle charging company, is officially public. With charging stations in 16 European countries and counting, Allego will play a strong supporting role in Europe's transition to clean energy, as its stations pull exclusively from renewable sources. Mathieu Bonnet, CEO of Allego, spoke with Cheddar's Opening Bell about its recent listing, the future of the EV industry, and what the Russia-Ukraine war means for the adoption of electric vehicles.
A new coalition called "Organizations For Pay Equity Now", or "OPEN" imperative, has launched with the goal of eliminating the gender pay gap among pre-IPO startups by 2027. More than 200 founders, CEOs and investors have already joined the coalition -- and it's only expected to grow. Emily Sweet, Lead of the OPEN imperative, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss the new coalition and how it plans to achieve these ambitious goals.
