🎢 China’s Disneyland lockdown

Candy Apples for breakfast... Being stuck in the Happiest Place on Earth isn’t as fun as it sounds. On Sunday, a woman who had visited Shanghai Disneyland tested Covid-positive somewhere else. Cue: China locked over 30K Shanghai Disneyland visitors and staff inside the park. Visitors were forced to get Covid tested before being released from Mickey's house before midnight.

• One picture of the scene shows Disney fireworks erupting behind people in hazmat suits. One visitor's reaction: “I never thought that the longest queue in Disneyland would be for a nucleic acid test.”
• The 30K people tested negative, but were ordered to self-isolate for two days and take several more tests. The Disney fiasco is a stark example of China’s zero-tolerance Covid policy.

Déjà vu... China's crackdown is reminiscent of the one instituted early in the pandemic. Except now, China has an 80% vaccination rate (higher than the US), and it's logging about 50 cases a day, out of a population of 1.4B. For reference: The US recorded 30K cases on Saturday. Over the past few months, China has mandated business closures, event cancellations, and mass testing in certain areas. Meanwhile, other countries are loosening up:

• Australia, which used to fine people thousands of $$$ for violating lockdowns, just eased border restrictions for vaccinated citizens.
• South Korea and Japan relaxed distancing measures, while Thailand reduced quarantine requirements for vaxxed tourists.
• The US plans to lift travel restrictions for fully vaxxed global travelers on Monday.

Potassium-packed Peach Mango… Coke has invested in electrolytes before: In 2018 Coke spent $300M for a 15% stake in BodyArmor, which makes coconut-water-based sports drinks. But that was just a sip. Yesterday Coke announced plans to swallow BodyArmor’s entire biz for $5.6B — its largest brand acquisition ever.

• Growth-thirsty: BodyArmor’s sales are on track to hit $1.4B this year, though Gatorade sales were still 5X higher in 2020.
• Power-aided: BodyArmor’s share of the sports-drink market has 6X’d over the past four years, surpassing Coke’s 30-year-old Powerade.
• Vita-hungry: Thanks to “healthy” branding and partnerships with pro athletes like Naomi Osaka and Mike Trout, BodyArmor’s sales have 6X’d since 2018.

Functional is fashionable… The market for “functional” beverages (think: vitamin-packed energy drinks) was worth $100B+ last year, and is expected to nearly double by 2030. Big Bev brands want a taste of the action: Pepsi bought Rockstar Energy for $4B last year, Coke acquired protein milk company Fairlife, and Dr. Pepper bought low-sugar fruit drink Bai for $1.7B.

• Juiced: Amazon-backed electric-truck maker Rivian is targeting a $60B valuation for its coming IPO, just months after delivering its first EVs.
• Meet: India vowed to boost renewable energy and hit “net zero” emissions by 2070 as the UN climate summit kicked off yesterday.
• Stuck: American Airlines has canceled 2.3K flights over the past four days, as weather and staffing issues continue to slam the industry.
• Awk: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin criticized his party’s $1.8T social and climate spending effort, which Biden said would earn the support of every Senate Democrat.
• EUlon: Tesla is making its charging network available to other EV brands for the first time through a pilot program in the Netherlands.
• Uncovered: Amazon could lift mask mandates for fully vaccinated US warehouse workers, if it’s allowed under state/local law.

• Earnings expected from Public Storage, Avis, Pfizer, T-Mobile, Estée Lauder, Activision Blizzard, Ferrari, Zillow, Lyft, and Under Armour

Authors of this Snacks own shares of: Amazon, Tesla, and Disney

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