World's First Edible Wrapper

A sustainable food & drink startup has developed what it claims are the “world’s first” wrapper-free snack bars and protein bars. Called One Good Thing, it has created an edible film coating for the bars – made from beeswax and other natural ingredients – which “dries hard enough to hold and protect the contents but is thin and soft enough to chew easily”, it claims. The edible, waterproof coating acts as a replacement to a traditional plastic or paper wrapper. As a result, the bars can be rinsed under the tap and bitten into, “just like eating an apple”. Underneath the coating, each bar features an edible rice paper label featuring the brand’s logo and the relevant variant description. Snack bars are priced at £2.20 per unit on one-time purchases, or for £1.54 when users sign up for a subscription. The innovation was the result of three years’ development. “The idea for OGT came to me when I was out cycling and saw the sheer volume of snack wrappers,” said co-founder Mike Bedford. “Developing the product was the easy bit for me, but building a consumer brand is another thing. That’s why I’ve focused on building a brilliant team that can help launch OGT as a completely new and innovative snacking concept.”

Edible Wrapper

Amazon Launches Humanoid

Amazon is trialling humanoid robots in its US warehouses, in the latest sign of the tech giant automating more of its operations. Amazon said the move was about "freeing employees up to better deliver for our customers". It said it was testing a new robot called Digit, which has arms and legs and can move, grasp and handle items in a similar fashion to a human. A union said Amazon had "been treating their workers like robots for years". "Amazon's automation is [a] head-first race to job losses. We've already seen hundreds of jobs disappear to it in fulfilment centres," said Stuart Richards, an organiser at UK trade union GMB. As the announcement was made, Amazon said its robotics systems had in fact helped create "hundred of thousands of new jobs" within its operations. "This includes 700 categories of new job types, in skilled roles, which didn't exist within the company beforehand," the firm said. According to the tech giant, it now has more than 750,000 robots working "collaboratively" with its human staff, often being used to take on "highly repetitive tasks". Rather than using wheels to move, Digit walks on two legs. It also has arms that can pick up and move packages, containers, customer orders and objects.

Amazon Digit

X to go Premium

Elon Musk has said his social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, will launch two new tiers of premium subscriptions. "One is lower cost with all features, but no reduction in ads, and the other is more expensive, but has no ads," the billionaire said in a post on X. It comes as the firm started charging new users $1 in New Zealand and the Philippines for accessing the platform. Mr Musk did not provide more details on the plans. New users who opt out of subscribing will only be able to take "read only" actions, such as reading posts, watching videos, and following accounts, the company said in its website. It is not clear if there will be any free options. Mr Musk has long said that his solution for getting rid of bots and fake accounts on the social media platform is charging for the service. Since taking over the firm in October last year he has looked to incentivise users to pay for an enhanced service, which is now called X Premium. Some users now opt to pay $8 per month for the blue check subscription service. Other big tech companies have also experimented with a mix of ad-supported and subscription plans. While Alphabet's YouTube has both paid and free, ad-supported ones, Netflix's ad-supported plans are also chargeable, though at a lower price.

X

New Coins

Large numbers on an entirely redesigned set of UK coins will help children to identify figures and learn to count, The Royal Mint has said. The coins will enter circulation by the end of the year, marking the new reign of King Charles III and celebrating his love of the natural world. The tails side of every coin from the 1p to the £2 will feature the country's flora and fauna. Old coins can still be used, with the new set struck in response to demand. Although cash use - and especially the popularity of coins - has been in decline in recent years, the Mint says heritage and need mean this change is still required. Definitive coins feature the standard designs seen on the majority of official currency. These designs stay the same for years or even decades. The coins follow centuries of tradition with the monarch now facing left - the opposite way to his predecessor. New banknotes featuring the image of King Charles are being printed in their millions but will not enter circulation until the middle of next year - some months after the coins.

New Coins

Refillable Milk Bottle

A dairy company has created what it claims is the UK's first washable and refillable plastic milk bottle. Abel & Cole, which has a dairy at Wroughton, Wiltshire, says the bottle can be refilled multiple times and won't cost the consumer any more. "They weigh 40g on average, compared to 200g for glass so there's less fuel used to transport them," said Ed Gosling, a Wroughton dairy farmer. "We've tested it for about 16 uses with washing," he said. Abel & Cole says 300,000 tonnes of carbon could be saved each year if the dairy industry switched to reusable plastic. Polypropylene is a hard-wearing plastic used in baby bottles "The customers will be positive about this because there's no loss in convenience," Mr Gosling said. "This bottle has been three years in the making, we've changed so much, and now it's signed off with the Food Standards Agency." Hugo Lynch, Sustainability Lead at Abel & Cole said: "Plastic is often seen as the enemy. "But we asked if it was better to use glass, which is heavier and more energy-intensive to make, or to go against the grain. "This is a more sustainable way to deliver and refill milk," he said.

Refillable Milk

Birkenstocks & Shares

German sandal maker Birkenstock has spent decades convincing shoppers that what might appear, at first glance, unattractive is actually desirable. That power will now be tested on Wall Street. The company's initial public offering priced the shares at $46 each, valuing the firm at roughly $8.6bn (£7.08bn) - double its worth in 2021. But shares started trading lower, reflecting doubts about how much more room there is to grow. The company, which traces its roots to an 18th Century cobbler and released its first sandal in 1963, has already come a long way. It found its first fans among hippie types drawn to the shoes' flexible, but sturdy support. Last year the company sold some 30 million pairs of shoes- despite lingering scepticism. The brands appearance in the recent Barbie movie increased demand by 340%. As shares start trading on the New York Stock Exchange, investors are facing the question of whether the company can maintain its momentum - and whether opening the firm up to the pressure of public markets for the first time in its long history will hurt or help.

Birkenstock

Onewheel E-stakeboards Recall

 

All Onewheel electric skateboards sold worldwide will be recalled after four people died while riding them. Future Motion, which makes Onewheels, told the BBC the recall applies to all customers, not just those in the US. A UK government spokesperson told the BBC it would make enquiries and "take action swiftly" if required. Future Motion said that UK customers could visit its website to view their options, which range from a software update to a $100 (£82) store credit, depending on the make and model of their skateboard. The watchdog said the four deaths were a result of head trauma, and the reports showed that in at least three of those incidents the rider was not wearing a helmet. Future Motion and the CPSC both encourage people to wear protective equipment while riding, such as helmets and knee pads. According to a legal document filed by the firm in September, it is facing 31 lawsuits in the US from people who "allege that they fell because the Onewheel stopped or shut off unexpectedly". It is legal to buy electric-powered devices such as e-skateboards and e-scooters and ride them on private land, but it is currently illegal to use privately owned ones on roads, pavements and cycle lanes.

Onewheel

Boohoo Slashes Sales Forecast

Fast fashion firm Boohoo is planning to make major cost cuts after it slashed its sales forecast. The retailer - whose brands include PrettyLittleThing - warned that sales could fall by up to 17% this year. Boohoo is facing tough competition from rivals such as Shein, while financially-stretched shoppers are also reining in spending. It said that it had identified £125m of cost savings it will make to try to get the business back on track. The online retailer has been making huge efforts to boost profits in recent months, starting to charge for returns and sourcing goods from Europe rather than from Asia. However, its half-year results showed pre-tax losses at the group widened to £26.4m, compared with £15.4m a year ago. Boohoo had made "substantial progress" on big targets, he added, including the launch of a US distribution centre and earmarking £125m in annual cost cuts to be made throughout its supply chains. It said it would focus on "more profitable" sales within its labels, after downgrading forecasts which previously suggested sales would remain flat or fall by up to 5%.

Boohoo

Could Rev Gum Crack The UK?

Blake Settle, a type-1 diabetic patient, wanted an energy shot to help study for his final exams at Texas University in 2019. Everyone else was drinking Red Bull, but Blake hated the taste of the no-sugar versions – and couldn’t drink the sugar-loaded straight red can. It turned out to be a light bulb moment. After a huge effort – and expense – on Research & Development, he came up with a formula, which he used to launch Rev Gum. The gum contains less than two calories per piece and delivers 100 milligrams of caffeine — the same amount of energy as a cup of coffee. It comes in six-piece packs in peppermint and spearmint flavours, with a suggested retail price of $2.99. Within two years, the gum was sold at 250 stores in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama. Then, in September 2023, Blake secured a $6 million investment to back the full national launch of Rev Gum. Could the idea work in the UK? The only downside for a UK launch is the gum market dominance of Wrigley. It has a 94% market share.

Rev Gum