With brief, occasional, italicized and sometimes gratuitous commentary…
• The University of Texas at Austin said that it is partnering with H-E-B "to offer campus grocery delivery to students, faculty members and staffers … Same-day shopping and delivery are available. Personal shoppers will handpick the items, and Favor delivery drivers will deliver the goods to the indicated campus location. Door-to-door delivery is also available to all students, including those living off campus."
Everything H-E-B offers online – from bread, milk and vegetables to toilet paper, make-up and aspirin - will be available to the students.
“Being able to offer this service is a great resource for students who don’t have time to shop or who don’t have transportation beyond campus, helping them easily access the groceries and supplies they need,” said Reagins-Lilly, vice president for student affairs and dean of students, in a prepared statement.
The announcement notes that "the university and H-E-B have had a symbiotic relationship, and the delivery service is a natural extension of the long established relationship. The corporation has supported UT Austin programs and research, donating more than $6.6 million.
One presumes that these young people are so busy studying that they can't get out for food.
• Bloomberg reports that Amazon has participated in an investment group that is putting $104 million into FreshToHome, described as "an online grocer that operates mainly in India and the United Arab Emirates."
According to the story, "FreshToHome, now one of the largest players in India’s $50 billion fish and meat market, was started in 2015 by eight co-founders who worked together at startups such as Zynga and Support.com in Silicon Valley and India. The company is present in 160 cities, and it makes about 15% of its revenue from the UAE … The company has been growing at 50% each year and plans to expand into Saudi Arabia in the next 12 months and then across the wider Gulf Cooperation Council region."
An initial public offering (IPO) is seen as being about three years down the road.
