Jack Daniel’s lawsuit against a dog toy that parodies its whiskey bottle — it reads “Bad Spaniels” and “100% smelly” — will be heard by the Supreme Court.
P.S.Happy Thanksgiving! We’ll catch you back here Monday.
In today’s email:
Plant meat:Not so hot anymore.
Chart:Famous meme sales.
Zmail:Why you can now email from Zoom.
Around the web:An app for meeting people (with a catch), alpaca muscle, a curious game, and more cool internet finds.
🎧 On the go?Listen to today’s special podcastto hear Zack and Mark discuss the dark side of Black Friday. The shoppers holiday has seen 17 deaths and 125 injuries since 2006. WTF is going on, and why do people turn into assholes when a good deal is at stake?
THE BIG IDEA
What happened to Beyond Meat?
Beyond Meat was soaring when it went publicin 2019.
Its faux-meats popped up in myriad restaurant and grocery chains, and at one point it reached a$10B+valuation — thoughThe Motley Foolcautionedit was overvalued.
But now? The hype is cooling
Beyond Meat shares have dropped ~83% this year while sales have stagnated,perThe New York Times.
In October, it laid off 200 workers, or ~19% of its workforce.
The company lost four execs, including the COO, who wasaccusedof biting a man’s nose during a fight.
Employees alsotoldThe Wall Street Journalthat CEO Ethan Brown, who founded Beyond Meat in 2009, rushed timelines, resulting in wasted resources and unenthused customers.
But it’s not just Beyond Meat
Brazilian meatpacker JBS announced it would shutter its plant-based arm in October, while Kellogg’s Morningstar Farms has seen sales drop, reportedly over supply chain issues.
Also:
Amid inflation woes, plant-based meat is rarely cheaper than real meat.
It may be better for the environment, but it isn’tnecessarily healthier— something meat lobbyists use in ads.
In the US, where~5%of consumers identify as vegetarian, meat-eating has also become weirdly political.
Cracker Barrel wasaccusedof being too “woke” for introducing plant-based sausage.
The hope for alt meats….
… may lie in cheaper, frozen products vs. refrigerated and fake chicken over beef or pork.
Impossible Foods claims sales are up 60% YoY, buoyed by those two categories.
Meanwhile, the FDA justapprovedthe first cultivated meat in the US — Upside Foods’ cell-based chicken — meaning an entirely new option may be on the way.
TRENDING
That’s rough:An Australian companylost$100k worth of drones after 50 of them malfunctioned andfell from the skyduring a fireworks-esque drone light show.
SNIPPETS
A federal judgeruledthat Amazon must stop firing or interfering with workers who participate in protected activities, like unionizing.
Nestléisrolling outcompostable Nespresso capsules, starting with pilot programs in France and Switzerland next spring.
Venmoaddedthe option to donate to charities within the app.
US egg pricesare43%higher YoY and 10%+ higher than September, the largest jumps of any USDA food category. The culprit? Bird flu and high holiday demand.
Several retailerswillavoidBlack Friday creep and stay closed on Thanksgiving this year, including Best Buy, Costco, and Target.
Zuckisnotresigningfrom Meta, per communications director Andy Stone, despite rumors fromThe Leak— though shares did briefly rise on the false news.
Yikes:The Markupfoundthat tax services including H&R Block and TaxSlayer have sent online filers’ financial data to Facebook.
The TikTokification of…PowerPoint? Microsoft is letting users create vertical,portrait-modeslides in its mobile app.
Niche opp:Trendster Sam Eitzen cleared seven figures after one year of selling artisan gifts to big brands. Check out how onTrends.
Maybe Zoom fatigue wouldn’t be so bad if you could get more done in Zoom.
At least that seems to be the hypothesis behind Zoom One, the videoconferencing giant’s all-in-one suite that recentlyaddedin-app email and calendar functionality.
So the solution to Zoom fatigue is more Zoom?
Right. Zoom says it wants to solve the “toggle tax” — the time it takes workers to regain focus after switching between apps — which canadd upto four hours per week, perHarvard Business Review.
You may still be asking: Why Zoom?
Someestimatespeg the average weekly time in online meetings at 21 hours, making videoconferencing tools some of the most-used apps for many workers.
By allowing employees to keep up with their work between (and during) video calls, Zoom hopes to make knowledge work more efficient.
Of course, there are also business reasons
With its stock down ~70% in the past year, and as alternatives like Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Google Meet grow their own features and market share, Zoom is trying to retain customers by offering an all-in-one solution.
Up next, Zoom is rolling out digital whiteboard and appointment booking tools, taking aim at Miro and Calendly.
Want to keep tabs on how Zoom’s strategy is going? Just count the number of “@zmail.com” addresses in your inbox.
AROUND THE WEB
📷 On this day:In 1868, French inventor Louis Ducos du Hauronreceiveda patent for a process to create color photographs.
☕That’s cool:It’s on Meetis an app where people can connect with others they find interesting. The catch? To initiate a conversation with someone, you’ve got to buy them a drink.
🦙That’s interesting:Alpacasmake great bodyguards for turkeys.
🧠Cure boredom:Amind-bending gamewhere you must decide who to save. Each decision unlocks more of the story.