Magically delicious

Cereal meant a lot when you were a kid, but so did the prize inside. A Toucan Sam licence plate for your bike made Froot Loops an easy choice. Then again, for the right toy you’d probably beg your mom for a cereal you didn’t even like 😂

Sugary bowls of breakfast may be less of a concern for you these days, but that’s not stopping cereal from making major headlines. News broke this week that Ferrero has acquired WK Kellogg for a whopping $3 billion! 

Talk about a sweet deal ;)

(Love nostalgia? Play today’s trivia below for a chance to win a $25 Amazon eGift Card!)

FEASTING FRIDAYS

Nutella prices could skyrocket after Turkish frost

65% of the world’s supply of hazelnuts comes from Turkey, and after the country’s worst spring frost in over a decade, wholesale prices have already risen 30%.

“Fluctuations in Turkish supply and pricing ripple through the entire market,” the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council, an umbrella body for the industry, said. Some alternative supply is available from smaller producers in Italy, the US and Chile, “though not enough to fully offset Turkey’s dominance.”

The biggest buyer of hazelnuts in the world happens to be the Ferrero Group, which makes Nutella.

The company says it is certainly susceptible to being financially impacted by weather events, but claims it has other avenues of obtaining the hazelnuts it needs to make the chocolatey goodness known as Nutella.

Hazelnuts account for 13% of Nutella’s ingredients, however, suggesting there could be a noticeable price hike over the next year as supplies run out and Ferrero—along with every other wholesale buyer of hazelnuts—is forced to procure from other countries like Italy, Chile, and the United States.

TRAVEL

Buy the ticket, take the ride

Travelling everyman Rick Steves has done it all, and in a recent blog post, he made sure to pass along a key piece of advice: when it comes to travelling Europe, it’s better to take the train than rent a car.

“The European train system shrinks what is already a small continent, making the budget whirlwind or far-reaching tour a reasonable and exciting possibility for anyone,” he wrote.

“The system is generally slick, with well-signed stations, easily accessed schedules, and efficient connections between popular destinations."

It really is a marvel, particularly for North Americans who once had a bustling rail system, but innovation for which has slowed nearly to a halt in recent decades. If you want to connect from one city in Europe to another, there’s almost definitely an easy-to-access and easy-to-understand train system to get you from A to B.

On top of that, driving in Europe can get fairly confusing and requires you to take control and remain fully attentive.

On the other hand, "You can forget about parking hassles [on the train], confusing road signs, speed limits, bathroom stops, and Italian drivers,” Steves says. “Watch the scenery instead of fixing your eyes on the road, and maybe even enjoy a glass of the local wine."

The way America’s highway system is built certainly takes the cake on this one, but the roles are reversed when it comes to railways.

INNOVATION

Belgium’s Koppie making moves to save coffee

Experts estimate that by 2050, the amount of land on earth that can sustain Arabica coffee plants will have declined by 50%. At the same time, global coffee demand is rising 2% annually, meaning if an innovative plan isn’t implemented, coffee will continue to cost a hell of a lot more.

That’s where Belgian startup Koppie comes in, which has a single-ingredient solution for the growing chasm between supply and demand in the form of an alt-coffee made of chickpea pulses.

“We chose chickpea and yellow pea because they’re abundantly available here locally, but we’re pulse agnostic,” says founder, Daan Raemdonck. “The heavy lifting comes during the patent-pending fermentation process. The core of our technology is not necessarily around having developed specific [microbial] strains. It’s more how our strains work together, the conditions in which they work, and the sequence in which they work.”

The average coffee drinker reportedly wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between Koppie and Starbucks, and that’s a good thing from a business perspective, according to Raemdonck.

“One thing I learned from my experience at [Danone’s plant-based dairy brand] Alpro is that you can try to play the sustainability card with consumers, but ultimately it’s all about taste and health.”

Starting out with a B2B strategy, Koppie plans to launch its commercial operation in Q1 of next year.

MUSIC

Live Aid, 40 years on

You read that right, Staker. The epic event that was our Woodstock happened 40 years ago this Sunday. 🤯

As Rick Springfield aptly pointed out in a recent interview with the Associated Press, Live Aid is as far back from today as World War 2 was from Live Aid.

It’s been 40 years since the most ambitious simulcast television spectacle of its time took place, during which $100 million was raised for famine relief. Music was played live for 16 straight hours between London and Philadelphia by some of the greatest rock ‘n roll bands of all time.

Queen’s set at Wembley Stadium is today considered one of the most memorable concerts of all time, despite only consisting of seven songs. On top of that, they were followed by David Bowie, The Who, Elton John, and Paul McCartney.

On the other side of the pond at JFK Stadium in Philly, Led Zeppelin was reuniting, Neil Young was helping to harvest the gold rush, Judas Priest was livin’ after midnight, Mick Jagger and Tina Turner were entering a state of shock, and Jagger’s bandmates were joining forces with Bob Dylan.

Few musical events have been able to replicate the star power that emanated across the world on July 13, 1985. Organizer Bob Geldof explained why he thinks Live Aid worked, and why it would be hard to pull off today.

“You need rock ‘n’ roll as a creature of a social, economic and technological movement," he says. “And I think the rock ‘n’ roll age is over…It did determine how young people articulated change and the desire for it…That isn't the case anymore.”

So let’s take a few minutes for a glimpse of the greatest concert of all time. Then we’d love it if you’d hit this link and tell us where YOU were that day. We’ll share your stories next week. 🤘

STAKE TRIVIA

A little this, a little that

It’s another round of trivia à la carte, Stakers! The only thing that ties these questions together is that they’re relevant for all the cool kids born in the ’60s 😎 

Major events, music, TV and more—test your knowledge of the ’70s and ’80s with today’s trivia! Complete the game and earn a shot at a $25 Amazon eGift Card ;)

Winner will be notified on Monday afternoon. Keep an eye on your inbox!*

Have a great weekend Staker!

Today’s issue written by Michael Cowan, Joey Cowan, and Maureen Norman.


*SEE FULL STAKE TRIVIA CONTEST RULES HERE.