• From CNBC:
"Food delivery company DoorDash is taking steps to try and help drivers offset rising gas prices, though unlike ride-share apps Uber and Lyft, it says the added costs won’t be passed on to consumers.
"DoorDash said on Tuesday that all U.S. delivery drivers will be eligible for 10% cash back on gas through a prepaid business Visa debit card. They’ll earn cash back any time they use the card, even when they’re not working, the online delivery service said."
The story goes on: "DoorDash also announced a weekly gas bonus for those who drive more frequently in their job, saying, 'Dashers who accept and complete orders totaling 100 miles in a motor vehicle will earn an extra $5'."
• From the Wall Street Journal:
"Salad chain Sweetgreen Inc. is reassembling a delivery program for office buildings as employees trickle back to workplaces and the competition for delivery customers reaches new heights.
"The program, called Outpost and introduced in 2018, lets workers at participating employers pick up orders at locations in office buildings without paying a delivery fee. It had grown to more than 1,000 locations when the Covid-19 pandemic abruptly drove many workers to set up shop at home.
"Most of Sweetgreen’s Outpost locations paused service or pivoted to providing meals to people in apartments, hospitals and other locations. Sweetgreen began gradually rebuilding its network with some new and existing partners in the summer of 2020, reaching 250 delivery stations at the end of the third quarter of 2021 and more than 500 today, according to the company. Sweetgreen in the past two weeks restarted Outpost operations at 10 delivery stations and opened 18 new ones, it said."
• The Beet reports that Amazon Fresh's "Plant-Based selection offers 15 new-to-the-market products that will be distributed to retailers nationwide. Customers will also be able to order any of the plant-based foods directly from Amazon Marketplace. The Fresh Plant-Based line will include signature vegan Patties, Italian meatballs, Chick’nNuggets, and almond milk. The company intends to bring affordable plant-based options to people everywhere, guaranteeing that the new products do not sacrifice quality or taste at all … Amazon announced that the company intends to continue expanding the Fresh product selection throughout the year. The Fresh Plant-Based line aims to make plant-based food more affordable marketwide as more people take interest in healthier and more sustainable foods."
The story points out that "people worldwide have started leaning into plant-based foods and major companies including Amazon have taken note. Last summer, Amazon recorded that shoppers searched for vegan meat 44,000 times during the month of June. The data signified an unprecedented demand for plant-based meats alternative."
