From gaming with friends to investing in real estate, there are a lot of things you can do in the metaverse. Now, there is yoga and meditation, too, after lifestyle and activewear company Alo Yoga set up a virtual sanctuary on the Roblox gaming platform.
"Alo will jump at any opportunity to share wellness, mindfulness, and movement with people wherever they are," said Alyson Wilson, Alo vice president of brand and innovation.
The sanctuary, where users can participate in classes through Alo's on-demand fitness platform Alo Moves and earn virtual apparel, has been popular. More than 15 million people have visited since its launch in February.
Brand partnerships are nothing new for Roblox, which has teamed up with brands like Gucci, McLaren, and Vans among others. Monetization of brand experiences can mean big bucks — Roblox paid out its developer community more than $538 million in 2021. But for brands like Alo that choose not to monetize, there are other benefits.
"Brands are seeing an engagement on our platform that they haven't seen anywhere else. You can really have this two-way conversation with your audience," said Christina Wootton, vice president of global brand partnerships at Roblox.
An estimated 50 million people per day come to Roblox worldwide. Over half of users are over 13 years old, with the fastest-growing demographic being 17 to 24-year-olds.
"What's really neat about Roblox is we're able to reach out to people who maybe haven't been able to find us on their own, maybe people who aren't in yoga studios, who aren't in their own practice, and maybe haven't even discovered meditation yet," Wilson said.
Nestlé has dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe after an investigation into an undisclosed relationship with a direct subordinate. The company announced on Monday that the dismissal was effective immediately. An investigation found that Freixe violated Nestlé’s code of conduct. He had been CEO for a year. Philipp Navratil, a longtime Nestlé executive, will replace him. Chairman Paul Bulcke stated that the decision was necessary to uphold the company’s values and governance. Navratil began his career with Nestlé in 2001 and has held various roles, including CEO of Nestlé's Nespresso division since 2024.
Kraft Heinz is splitting into two companies a decade after they joined in a massive merger that created one of the biggest food companies on the planet. One of the companies will include brands such as Heinz, Philadelphia cream cheese and Kraft Mac & Cheese. The other will include brands like Oscar Mayer, Kraft Singles and Lunchables. When the company formed in 2015 it wanted to capitalize on its massive scale, but shifting tastes complicated those plans, with households seeking to introduce healthier options at the table. Kraft Heinz's net revenue has fallen every year since 2020.
About 780,000 pressure washers sold at retailers like Home Depot are being recalled across the U.S. and Canada, due to a projectile hazard that has resulted in fractures and other injuries among some consumers.
