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Listen: Leading the Charge for Sustainable Food Production with Kit Franklin

On today’s podcast, we chat with Kit Franklin from the Hands Free Hectare. We discuss the project’s success, the inherent logic in building autonomous systems for agriculture, the efficient usage of both data and manpower in the industry, and how automated machines can grow crops remotely, without operators even having to be on-site. For…

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On today’s podcast, we chat with Kit Franklin from the Hands Free Hectare. We discuss the project’s success, the inherent logic in building autonomous systems for agriculture, the efficient usage of both data and manpower in the industry, and how automated machines can grow crops remotely, without operators even having to be on-site.

For more information on Hands Free Hectare, check out – handsfreehectare.com

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Yellow Wood to Acquire Nestlé's Nature's Bounty Platform for $1B

Yellow Wood to Acquire Nestlé's Nature's Bounty Platform for $1B

Yellow Wood Partners agreed on Sept. 1, 2026 to acquire Nestlé's vitamins, minerals and supplements platform, which includes Nature's Bounty, Nuun, Osteo Bi-Flex and Gard, for $1 billion. The deal is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the first half of 2027.

  • 01Yellow Wood Partners agreed to buy Nestlé's vitamins, minerals and supplements platform for $1 billion on Sept. 1, 2026
  • 02The platform includes Nature's Bounty, Nuun, Osteo Bi-Flex and Gard; The Wall Street Journal cites Sisu as part of a seven-brand portfolio
  • 03The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory approval

Sep 10, 2026

Restaurant kitchen automation is moving from robots to connected equipment

Restaurant kitchen automation is moving from robots to connected equipment

Sweetgreen says its Infinite Kitchen can assemble up to 500 bowls an hour and costs $450,000 to $550,000 per unit. Foodservice Equipment and Supplies reports 2024 Kitchen Innovations Award winners are adding sensors, AI and tighter links to POS, KDS and delivery systems. The operational shift is toward automation that removes steps and variability, not fully staffless restaurants.

  • 01The KI Awards trend is integration, robotics that season and pack, and pizza systems designed around POS, KDS and delivery feeds, which is where automation stops being a demo and starts being a production line.
  • 02For operators with small footprints or volatile staffing, equipment that recognizes food and auto-selects cook programs is becoming a training strategy as much as a cooking strategy.

Sep 8, 2026

GLP-1 users cut food spend

GLP-1 users cut food spend

PwC and Acosta Group data show GLP-1 users are spending less on food and changing what they buy. PwC reported GLP-1 users spent about 11% less across most food categories, and the steepest pullbacks were in sweet and salty snacks and baked foods. Acosta Group found users report buying more fresh and high-protein items while reducing purchases of sweets, salty snacks and sugary beverages.

  • 01The bigger operational risk is mix, not just volume: surveys from PwC and Acosta Group point to snack and sugary beverage softness alongside protein and produce lift, a pattern worth validating in loyalty and POS data.
  • 02Pack architecture becomes a supply-chain decision: when 47% of users report smaller portions (PwC), right-sizing case packs, planograms, and menu portions can prevent margin leakage from shrink and waste.

Sep 6, 2026

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