Hey there and welcome back to Farm2Me. We help you discover the best CPG brands, emerging trends, and the tech stacks powering them.

We hope you are staying warm! This week we have a new brand to breakdown (Wonder), a ghost kitchen (restaurant group that rents “kitchens” to multiple restaurants, sometimes in basements or second floor retail fronts) $650 million acquisition of GrubHub signals a n astronomical shift in dining, aiming to create a “monopoly in restaurants” that gives Wonder restaurants preferential treatment in a world that all other restaurants’ pay 30-50% of their profit to platforms like GrubHub, DoorDash and UberEats. And why that matters. And Seaweed - knowing the ingredients in your food, health benefits, use cases in biophysics and Fertilizers, the seaweed farmers growing them, and what’s trending so you can become a leader in the space before anyone else, so you don’t get ripped off when your competitors dominate the market. As well as a unique tool to discuss (Vino Vest) how to learn about Wine & Whiskey Investments so you can get into the industry.

Now, let’s get started!

New Products

Newly Launched Farm2Me

• Mezcla Bars – GF Quinoa Bars, New York, United States (Link)

• Jamie’s Farm Granola – GF Granola Cereal, Local Ingredients, New York, United States (Link)

  
  Avec Non-Alcoholic Drinks – Fresh 100% Juice, Whole Ingredient Mixers, Brooklyn, United States (Link)

• Three Sisters Charcuterie – Sustainable Pork Spanish Dry-Cured Chorizo, Richmond, Ca, United States (Link)

Headline

What’s the Deal With Wonder the “Food Hall” “Ghost Kitchen”

Wonder just acquired GrubHub for $650M, bringing it one step closer to its goal of becoming the “monopoly of restaurant delivery” like Amazon is the monopoly of e-commerce, and Google is the monopoly of search. Think about it this way: To rank in Google you have to end up high in search results, which requires lots of website visitors, which requires you to buy Google Ads, since 75% of traffic clicks the first result (which is a Google Ad). And if you don’t? You’ll give that 75% of traffic to your competitor, which will then push visitor traffic to their website, not yours, and thus helping your competitor rank higher in Google organic search results. This is the same in Amazon, even worse Amazon controls the warehouse fulfillment (Fulfill by Amazon) — which is “Prime”, an essential badge to make 75% of sales on Amazon. Ads cost 30% of your spend, and the warehouse / Prime costs another 30%. In Amazon land, Amazon has their own product lines of product as well — often rip offs of first to market products. These products show up in search results for free (since Amazon owns these products, and thus doesn’t have to pay for Ads on its own platform). Think about that! That’s what Wonder is doing on GrubHub.

That’s what Wonder is.. a restaurant version of Amazon / Google , with retail warehousing (retail stores that restaurants have to pay to get higher on GrubHub search than anyone else for free), and also the owner of the e-commerce (GrubHub, the original and largest food delivery platform in the world), that charges all other restaurants 30% for Advertising, and now will charge 30% for rent/warehouse. We need to stop this! Restaurants promote GrubHub, Door Dash and UberEats , and we can stop doing that! Take them off your websites, call your congressman to block this deal and regulat these e-commerce brands. Wonder uses all that traffic and as the owner will push its own Wonder Restaurants higher in search results over your Family Owned business. This is a monopoly and needs to be shut down! Imagine McDonalds owning DoorDash, Burger King owning UberEats? That’s where we are. Amazon E-commerce, Google Search, Wonder GrubHub need to be regulated and split apart - they should not be allowed to own the #1 E-commerce, Search, and Food Delivery platforms and offer their own products on these platforms.

$650M.

That’s how much they scrapped together to monopolize the restaurant industry. $650M. As much as 6 wealthy families donated to the Trump or Harris campaign in the Presidential Election. Something is wrong here! And we’re not going to sit here quietly.

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News!

Seaweed Gets $2.5M

Triodos’ investment into the Faroese seaweed farming industry - the group’s first investment into the sustainable aquaculture industry - raises the total capital raised by Ocean Rainforest to € 2.5 million. Other notable shareholders include Katapult Ocean, Twynam, and WWF.

Founded in 2007, Ocean Rainforest was ahead of the curve, seemingly anticipating the massive boom in global seaweed production that was to come in the following years. Driven by the idea that growing seaweed in the ocean would take up CO₂ and mitigate climate change, cultivation began in 2013 after years of research and trials. Today the company employs 25 people and expects to produce 400 tonnes of seaweed biomass by the end of 2024, making it the largest cultivated seaweed producer in Europe.

“Ocean Rainforest addresses three impact pillars: from an environmental perspective, cultivating seaweed at scale is associated with significant enhancement of marine biodiversity and water quality. Seaweed-based fertilisers and animal feed also contribute to the sustainable agriculture transition. From a consumer perspective, consumption of seaweed-based products improves the digestive system and brings anti-inflammatory and other benefits,” said Adam Kybird, fund manager at Triodos, in a press release.

“Finally, from a socio-economic perspective, the company creates positive impact for coastal communities, creating jobs and positioning the Faroe Islands at the forefront of sustainable seaweed cultivation,” he added.

Ocean Rainforest has also begun to expand its reach, cultivating giant kelp in Santa Barbara, California, as part of a research and development project. The company recently applied for permission to transition this to commercial cultivation.

“We see the investment by Triodos Food Transition Europe Fund as a confirmation of our business strategy and our purpose to improve people’s wellbeing and make a unique contribution to our blue planet. With the funding provided by Triodos we will be able to further scale our production and capitalise on the huge potential of this global growth market while contributing even more to our sustainability goals,” said Olavur Gregersen, Ocean Rainforest co-founder and chief executive.

Tech AI

Tech tools powering the best DTC brands

Rebuy: AI-powered personalization for e-commerce (link)
Klaviyo: Email personalization with AI integrations (link)
Smartly.io: Personalize your Ads 100,000x with AI, per geography and customer use case (link)
Range.me: Meet 3 buyers free, and over 50,000+ emerging food buyers (link)
Okendo: Reviews & Loyalty based on paclaging, flavor, ingredients, CX, and more (link)
Fairing: Attribution Surveys to help make sense of customer intent blackholes (link)
Algolia: Personalized Search using AI for e-commerce (link)
Braze: Personalized Customer Profile Databases (CDP) (link)

Local Farms

Farmers Markets Near Me

Farm2Me Guide of Farmers Markets is not just a map – you can finally search by day, location, and see what’s open — it’s a vibrant, living community celebrating the hardworking farms and makers all over the country, every day.

Get lost in the intricate stories of the farms. Discover their journeys, the products they love, and the reasons behind what they do.

Take advantage of the map when you’re visiting a new neighborhood, when you’re traveling around the country / world, or just looking for something special in your neighborhood.

We’ve spent 14 years building this, so enjoy!

Local Grocery

Tiny Grocers Near Me

Farm2Me Map of Independent Grocers is not just a map – it’s a vibrant, living community celebrating the hardworking shops and shopkeepers you pass by every day.

Get lost in the intricate stories of shop owners. Discover their journeys, the products they love, and the reasons behind what they do.

Take advantage of the map when you’re visiting a new neighborhood, when you’re traveling around the country / world, or just looking for something special in your neighborhood.

We’ve spent 14 years building this, so enjoy!

Pro Tip #1

Go to our Tiny Grocer or Coffee Roaster or Farmers Market maps. Shop direct from your favorite emerging brands!

Fine & Raw Chocolate was established in 2007 in a notorious Williamsburg, Brooklyn artist loft by Daniel Sklaar. Daniel launched into making small Fine & Raw Chocolate batches and sharing them with friends, Fine & Raw Chocolate wholesale then started delivering them on his bicycle to local purveyors of fine food. It was apparent that the chocolate flavor was so good it was borderline addictive. Fine & Raw Chocolate wholesale grew based on the premise of producing organic, unparalleled quality chocolate and a shear love of the chocolate making process.

The “raw” in Fine & Raw is something of a misnomer. Sklaar and Fine & Raw Chocolate company do roast some of their organic cacao beans under lower temperatures and for longer durations than common in standard high-heat processing. Says Sklaar, “Raw chocolate is an amazing source of antioxidants. We’re basically looking to maintain those while playing with the unique flavor profiles of raw chocolate.” Fine & Raw offers chocolates using both “raw” and combinations of “raw” and conventionally roasted beans.

Fine & Raw Chocolate wholesale manufactures the finest chocolate in the world. Fine & Raw Chocolate wholesale specialize in bean-to-bar, organic chocolate bars and truffles, spreads and well, anything our imaginations can think of it. Fine & Raw Chocolate start by sourcing the worlds finest cacao beans and specialize in clean ingredients lists. Their products are always organic, plant-based and next level.

Fine & Raw Chocolate's first point of sustainability is a radically-transparent cacao supply chain which is focused on quality and direct relationships with cacao farmer! Fine & Raw's cacao is sourced from the highest quality and most ethical suppliers in Ghana and Ecuador. "We ensure that our farmers are paid above fair trade wages, because we believe farmers should have the economic freedom and empowerment to farm organically and develop sustainable land management practices. It is currently estimated that less than 0.5% of cacao beans are organic. By cultivating long-lasting and ethical relationships with suppliers and farmers, we hope to continue providing economic support for the organic cacao industry."

Made in Brooklyn, NY

Founded by Daniel Sklaar in 2007

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AI TOOLS

Tech tools powering the best DTC brands

Rebuy: AI-powered personalization for e-commerce (link)
Klaviyo: Email personalization with AI integrations (link)
Smartly.io: Personalize your Ads 100,000x with AI, per geography and customer use case (link)
Range.me: Meet 3 buyers free, and over 50,000+ emerging food buyers (link)
Okendo: Reviews & Loyalty based on paclaging, flavor, ingredients, CX, and more (link)
Fairing: Attribution Surveys to help make sense of customer intent blackholes (link)
Algolia: Personalized Search using AI for e-commerce (link)
Braze: Personalized Customer Profile Databases (CDP) (link)

THAT’S A WRAP