The Amazon-Whole Foods deal could have killed Instacart. Instead, the startup is stronger than ever

When its investor and biggest customer at the time, Whole Foods, was bought by Amazon this summer, the world speculated that Instacart had more to lose than anyone from the deal. But instead of defeat, the grocery delivery company’s founder Apoorva Mehta said he felt vindication, after years of warning the grocery industry to watch out for Amazon. And what followed was a boom in business, with Costco and Kroger deepening their partnership with Instacart, which now has more than 165 partners and half a million customers who, on average, use the service twice a month and spend $95 per order. Read more at Forbes…

This entrepreneur who left tech for food got $3 million in funding after she decided not to be ‘too innovative’

Did you know that Nona Lim, best known for its heat-and-sip bone broth and soup cups, started out as a meal kit delivery business? That was back in 2006, and it failed. But the founder, also named Nona Lim, brought the company back to life as a food-based detox program a few years later. But that failed, too. It did, however, provide an important learning to Lim: the program’s soups were popular and had good shelf life. So she decided to shift her focus to retail and got the soups on Whole Foods shelves in 2011. Three years later, Nona Lim launched one of the first refrigerated bone broths on the market.  This year has been its most successful yet, as it’s doubled its retail presence and become the fastest-growing refrigerated soup brand nationally. Even better, it raised a $3 million seed round that will allow the fledgling company to hire more people and create new products. Read more at Entrepreneur…

New York’s sanitation bureau is searching for food waste innovations

New York residents and businesses produce about 4,800 tons of food waste every day. So it’s no wonder that the city sanitation department’s nonprofit arm is offering up $50,000 in microgrants to local businesses developing initiatives to cut food waste, and working with the New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, Kickstarter and other organizations to supplement the grants. Read more at Fast Company…

Designing the future of food

Denise Morrison is helping Campbell Soup Company reimagine innovation as the U.S. CPG industry faces a big demographic shift, a shrinking middle class and erosion of trust in big companies and institutions. Read more at Misc Magazine…

Six ways Amazon could reshape the pharmacy business

There’s been speculation that Amazon might enter the pharmacy business, and other pharmacies are already making moves. Could it win with generics, or use its shipping power for mail-order pharmaceuticals? Read more at Health Data Management…