Reading the plethora of fun food news each week is just one of the perks of editing Food Dive. From ice cream beer to data science-driven meal delivery, below are interesting reads from the week.
Ben & Jerry’s is teaming up with New Belgium Brewery to make an ice cream-inspired beer to debut this fall, Salted Caramel Brownie Brown Ale. If you can’t wait until then, the brand will soon be offering a BRRR-ito: two flavors + fudge drizzle + cookie crumbs in a waffle wrap. Food Dive had to take a long pause to process all this buzz.
San Francisco-based startup Sprig, a meal delivery service, announced $45 million raised in its Series B funding round. With this latest boost, that’s $57 million funding altogether. The service delivers ready-made meals from two kitchens and gives consumers three choices for lunch and dinner each day, plus weekend brunch. Sprig has cars out before customers place orders, which its CEO and co-founder Gagan Biyani says increases its speed over other services, using data science to predict order times. Meal delivery startups are quite a trend right now, and as Fortune notes consumer spending at restaurants has surged past grocery sales, this funding makes sense. Of course, grocery delivery services have their own stake in this convenience game.
Rice Krispie treat fit for a king
University of Wisconsin-Madison students have done the unthinkable: they created an 11,327-pound Rice Krispie treat on campus, and while behind their goal, they reportedly beat a Guinness World Record by just over a ton. Food Dive would like to note that one probably shouldn’t try this at home.
While Coca-Cola this month had a billboard that gave out free Coke Zero samples, Carlsberg is getting in on the game with ads for a "poster" with a keg and tap at the center as part of its "probably the best" campaign. This scene from AMC’s "Mad Men" is all that comes to mind.
Think you can design a Pepsi can? You’ll get the chance as part of Pepsi’s #PepsiChallenge. Meanwhile, rival Coca-Cola is getting a documentary for its signature bottle.