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.
The Federal Reserve announced that it will raise its interest for the first time in more than three years to fight record inflation. Cheddar News spoke with Mark Hamrick, Senior Economic Analyst at Bankrate how the move will impact the wallets of everyday Americans.
Paul T. Murray, president at PTM Wealth Management, joined Cheddar News to break down the implications of the Starbucks CEO shakeup, as the coffee company faces issues of unionization and pandemic-related closures. "Well, shareholders love Howard Schultz returning. I mean he's an iconic CEO, a visionary, a guy who made coffee as American as apple pie and shareholders are gonna continue to love that," Murray continued. "But he's got an uphill battle, frankly, because, this unionization push has now spread to 26 states, 100 stores, and the COVID pandemic is going to continue to be a headwind, especially in China where Johnson really made a lot of headway."
Social audio app Clubhouse reached $1 billion valuation milestone this January, and Fadia Kader, head of strategic media partnerships at Clubhouse, joined Cheddar News to talk about what its been doing to keep the drive going. "We are the category first leaders. We are 100 percent focused on social audio. It's not just a feature that we've just like bottled up and put on there. We are a medium that is 100 percent focused on community and social audio," she said.
European antitrust regulators gave Amazon approval for its MGM acquisition deal. Amazon expects MGM's collection of content will help it compete in the increasingly crowded world of streaming services.
Online retailer Boxed reported a significant growth in its latest earnings, and CEO Chieh Huang joined Cheddar News to talk about its Q4 report, what's upcoming for the company, and how the business avoided the mass labor shortages dubbed the great resignation. "We've been really lucky when it comes to what we're known about as a company. Half of what comes up if you search us on the internet is how we treat our frontline team even before, I guess, it was the kind of soup du jour to do so," he said. "We treat them extraordinarily well."
