A lot has been written about the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on the U.S. meat industry and sitdown restaurants, but what about the other sectors of the food and beverage industry?
Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King, told Cheddar Tuesday that the pandemic pushed him and his team to build a bigger digital presence for its customers.
"When this kind of big disruption happens I think it was kind of a big wake up call," Kim said. "We really started to think of what else we could do, and there's a lot of things we could focus on like our digital stage."
The CEO is so committed to growing the company's digital presence that he announced on Cheddar that Smoothie King is planning to launch a subscription service this summer.
"We are also doing some research about whether we can actually roll out any subscription model and we are looking into it because, once again, changes are hard but actually this is the perfect time for us to do it," he said.
The fitness industry has also been rattled by the coronavirus pandemic. Gyms have been closed to reduce the spread of the virus and more people are taking advantage of at-home workouts, which is why Kim said it was important for Smoothie King to make deliveries.
"I see a lot of people actually getting the virtual workout as we speak and if that's what going to happen in the future, then we need to make sure our products actually get delivered to homes," he said.
The smoothie chain has ramped up its digital presence amid the pandemic by increasing its deliveries and teaming up with DoorDash to get smoothies to more customers. The company is also offering curbside pickup as well.
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Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
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