Hey Snackers,
$49.99 gets you actual ice from the St. Louis Blues' Stanley Cup Game 7 hockey win (update: now water).
Markets celebrated-ish Thursday, boosting stocks despite an explosion in the Gulf of Oman that popped up oil prices.
Got this Snacks from a friend? Sign up for the daily newsletter here.
There's now a big alt-meat competitor: Tyson unveils"Raised & Rooted"
"It even lays eggs"... That's the fake final line to Tyson's fake chicken announcement. America's biggest meat company officially rolled out "Raised & Rooted — Nuggets Made With Plants!" It's a direct shot at Beyond Meat, the faux-"meat" pioneer whose stock is enjoying one of the best 6-week starts in history (up 464% since its May 2nd IPO). Tyson used to be an investor in Beyond, now it's imitating it.
It really looks like a chicken nugget... but there's no chicken. It's a mix of pea protein, egg white, bamboo (not just a panda thing), and golden flaxseed. That's the vegetarian option. Its reduce-tarian product is the "Blended Burger," which still has some beef, but it's diluted with some veggie stuff.
Can anyone make meatless meat?... The race is on to whip together some plant by-products in a bowl and somehow make it sticky enough for a respectable burger patty. Here's who's getting in besides Tyson and Beyond:
- Impossible Foods: Still-private maker of the Insta-famous "Impossible Burger."
- KFC: The chicken king launched "The Imposter" in the UK on Thursday, a Quorn (fungus-based meat) fillet sandwich that looks like chicken.
- Nestlé: Just revealed an "Awesome Burger".
- Campbell Soup: Announced yesterday it plans to somehow take the animal out of bone broth.
Fiverr wants to own the gig economy — and surged 90% on IPO Day
Need new website, logo, and data entry?... Fiverr knows a guy. The “freelance marketplace for the lean entrepreneur” is a platform connecting growing companies with freelancers — Gig workers for 200 categories of services, from SEO to resumé reading/writing (picture Uber, but for graphic design instead of a ride). While shares surged 90% on its IPO, we side-hustled some Fiverr facts:
- It literally trademarked the word "gig."
- And it's catching this wave: The US gig economy is growing 3X as fast as the general US workforce.
Fiverr's got 1 career weakness... Benefits. Technically, the freelance writer who Fiverr connects to Startup X to write website copy is an "independent contractor." If new laws and regulations start requiring gig workers to earn full-time employee-style benefits, that could hurt freelance hiring. And Fiverr knows it.
The gig economy is two economies — Not one... Fiverr has focused on creative and professional services, like similar freelance connector Upwork (it IPO'd last year). Uber and Lyft target more functional jobs, from driving cars to dropping off gyros. The existential question: Is there room for multiple middlemen to own these two separate gig economies?
HSBC became top Saudi Arabia's top investment bank
You are the wind beneath my wings... That's the message from Saudi Arabia to HSBC whenever it needs a big bank, according to the WSJ. Founded in Hong Kong and now HQ'd in London, HSBC is a banking beast (#7 globally). And despite Saudi Arabia's 2018 killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its controversial Yemen war, HSBC is standing by.
$65M in banking fees over two years... That's how HSBC is being rewarded for its loyalty. Since the Khashoggi murder, many banks and corporations have cut off business with Saudi Arabia. HSBC has turned its head and opened up its wallet.
- Investment banking: The Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco (aka the most valuable company in the world) got its bonds structured by HSBC this year.
- More I-Banking: HSBC helps the government issue bonds — Basically IOUs from the government — to help it handle inconsistent revenue from its giant oil business.
- Retail banking: After an expected merger, HSBC will own 29% of the 3rd biggest bank for basic Main Street-style banking in the Kingdom.
Higher risk = higher potential reward... Banks are in the business of calculated risks. There are conventional risks and unconventional ones, and HSBC is showing it's willing to take on both to make some $$$.
- "Credit risk": Banks lend money, taking on the risk they won't get paid back.
- "Investment risk": They also drop money into startups and new ventures, knowing they might completely fail.
- "Reputational risk": HSBC is on speed dial with Saudi Arabia, knowing it could be labeled an accomplice to murder in the court of public opinion.
What else we’re Snackin’
- Committee: Facebook reportedly recruits Visa, Uber, PayPal and others to it's "GlobalCoin" crypto project
- Sliced: Callaway Golf surges 14% after an activist investor pushes the Big Bertha-maker to sell itself
- Auction: GE is trying to sell off its portfolio of investments in over 100 startups
- Devoured: Zume is the robotic pizza pioneer that just bought a plant-based packaging startup
- Spilled: Oil prices jump 3% after explosions on 2 tankers in the Persian Gulf
Friday
- Chewy.com's pet-focused IPO