COLOGNE, Germany — Germany twice had to come from behind to earn a rollercoaster 3-3 draw against visitors Switzerland in an exciting Nations League group game packed with incident on Tuesday.
The Swiss took an early lead through Mario Gavranovic and Remo Freuler added a second before goals from Timo Werner and Kai Havertz levelled the scores. Gavranovic then grabbed his second only for Serge Gnabry to earn Germany a point.
The result moves Germany within a point of League A Group Four leaders Spain, who remain on seven points after losing 1-0 away to a Ukraine side now on six points, while the Swiss, still without a win, stay bottom with two points.
Germany coach Joachim Loew reverted to a four-man defence for the game in an empty stadium, after they had led in the last four games only to concede equalizers in three of them.
But it remained their weak spot on Tuesday as they struggled with quick breaks from the Swiss who found far too much space.
“It was extremely intense. We started badly but showed great attitude in coming back,” Loew said. “That was positive. In defense, we made our share of mistakes which we have to stop, but we showed that the team is ready to fight.”
The Swiss had stunned Germany with Gavranovic’s fifth minute header and doubled the lead in the 26th when they intercepted a pass from Toni Kroos, playing in his 100th international, and Freuler beat goalkeeper Manuel Neuer with a cool chip.
Werner hit back for the hosts two minutes later, wrongfooting keeper Yann Sommer with a clever low shot, as the Germans maintained possession and kept pushing forward.
Robin Gosens’ effort was tipped over the bar by Sommer late in the first half, but the keeper was beaten when Havertz charged into the box and fired in the equaliser in the 55th.
But Germany’s backline kept leaking goals as the Swiss went back in front in the 57th. Neuer made consecutive saves from Haris Seferovic, but Gavranovic drilled in on the rebound.
A sensational Gnabry back heel flick on the hour pulled the home side level once more and rescued a point for Loew’s team.
“We have to defend better, defend more intelligently and smarter,” Havertz said. “But we kept coming back, we showed a strong mentality. We need more patience, but today, there were lots of good signs. We will keep working at it.”
The Swiss finished with 10 men following the stoppage-time dismissal of defender Fabian Schaer for a second booking. — Reuters
KYIV — Ukraine pulled off a shock 1-0 win at home to Spain in the UEFA Nations League on Tuesday at a raucous Olympic Stadium as fans savored a first ever victory over the 2010 World Cup winners.
Andriy Shevchenko’s side took the lead against the run of play in the 76th minute when Viktor Tsygankov took David de Gea by surprise by firing home from outside the area, after latching on to an outstanding reverse pass from Andriy Yarmolenko.
The goal was wildly celebrated by the whole Ukraine team and some 21,000 fans spaced out across the stadium, with the hosts taking advantage of UEFA regulations allowing 30% capacity at certain matches in an easing of coronavirus restrictions.
Ukraine had lost their last three outings, including a 4-0 reverse to Spain last month and a 7-1 thrashing at the hands of France in a friendly last week, after losing six players due to COVID-19 positives.
“I don’t see myself as a hero. All our team are heroes,” said match-winner Tsygankov.
The result shook up League A Group 4, giving Ukraine an outside chance of finishing top of the group with two games remaining.
Spain still lead with seven points, with Germany second on six, level with Ukraine in third, with Switzerland bottom with two points after their 3-3 draw with Germany.
“At the end of the game, we entered into panic mode,” said Spain coach Luis Enrique.
“I’ve lost many games like this in my career, when you are playing better but the opponent grows in confidence then scores on the counterattack. But overall, I liked what I saw from my players.”
Spain took control of the play in the first half and practically monopolized possession, nearly going ahead with a Sergio Ramos free kick which struck the bar and when Ansu Fati caught a clear sight of goal but missed the target.
Ukraine were much better after the break and Oleksandr Zubkov missed a golden chance to give them the lead when he deceived De Gea in the area, but somehow missed the target with the goal gaping.
Spain then went for the jugular, as midfielder Rodri hit the post and Mikel Oyarzabal was thwarted by the outstanding Ukraine goalkeeper Georgiy Bushchan, who was making only his third appearance for his country after three other goalkeepers tested positive for the coronavirus.
Yet the visitors were soon undone down the other end by some lax goalkeeping from De Gea and were left to dwell on a shock defeat in the stadium, where they had beaten Italy 4-0 in the Euro 2012 final.
“We played with heart and absolute commitment. We had to defend a lot and wait for our chance,” added Bushchan.
“Our plan worked 100% because we got what we wanted. All the team are heroes, they ran themselves into the ground.” — Reuters
LIMA — A hat-trick from Neymar helped Brazil to a 4-2 victory over Peru in a 2022 World Cup qualifier in Lima on Tuesday and moved the Paris St. Germain forward second behind Pele on his country’s all-time goal-scoring list.
Peru’s Andre Carrillo got his third goal in two games to put the home side ahead after six minutes with a crisp volley from outside the box, but Neymar equalized from the spot in 28 minutes after he had been fouled.
Peru went ahead again after 59 minutes when Renato Tapia’s 25-metre shot hit Rodrigo Caio before rolling into the net, only for Richarlison to equalize five minutes later.
Neymar put Brazil ahead with another penalty with seven minutes left and, after Peru’s Carlos Zambrano was sent off, scored his 64th international goal when he stabbed home in injury time to make it 4-2.
Only Pele, with 77 goals, has scored more for Brazil than Neymar.
In Merida, Paraguay took the points with a 1-0 win over Venezuela, Gaston Gimenez scoring for the visitors with five minutes left.
Brazil and Argentina top the group after winning both of their opening matches, while Paraguay, who drew with Peru in their opener, are third on four points.
Peru’s point keeps them above Venezuela and Bolivia, who have lost their first two matches.
The next round of games take place next month.
The top four from the 10-team group qualify directly for Qatar with the fifth-placed side going into an inter-confederation playoff. — Reuters
FREDDIE Freeman and Ozzie Albies each hit home runs for the second consecutive day and the Atlanta Braves held on for a 8-7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday to take a 2-0 lead in the National League Championship Series (NLCS) at Arlington, Texas.
Rookie right-hander Ian Anderson extended his postseason scoreless streak to 15 2/3 innings while the Braves jumped in front 6-0 with a four-run fifth inning when they sent nine batters to the plate. Atlanta moved two victories away from its first World Series appearance since 1999.
Game 3 is slated for Wednesday.
Trailing 7-0, the Dodgers got a three-run homer from Corey Seager in the bottom of the seventh. Down 8-3 heading to the bottom of the ninth, Los Angeles rallied within a run on an RBI double from Seager, a two-run home run from Max Muncy and an RBI triple from Cody Bellinger, but AJ Pollock grounded out to third base against closer Mark Melancon to end it.
“This is a good ballclub we’re playing, and they’re explosive, as we saw,” Braves manager Brian Snitker said. “I didn’t feel good with a big lead because these guys are too powerful.
“That is a good ballgame to win. They all are now. We kind of shot ourselves in the foot there at the end, and Melancon did a great job coming in.”
The Braves tagged Dodgers replacement starter Tony Gonsolin with five runs in 4 1/3 innings, even though they didn’t get their first hit until Freeman’s two-run home run in the fourth inning.
The Dodgers’ move to Gonsolin came after left-hander Clayton Kershaw was scratched earlier Tuesday due to back spasms. Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts believes Kershaw can return later in the series, but the Braves could have things decided by then.
Anderson allowed just one hit and struck out five in four scoreless innings Tuesday, but his outing was cut short after he gave up five walks and threw 85 pitches. Left-hander Tyler Matzek (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to earn the victory.
Anderson said, “The coaching staff does such a good job of keeping you in the moment and giving you the information you need at that time. Then it’s up to executing. We had a good game plan, and in the playoffs, you have to keep your opponent from scoring and we were able to do that.”
Rookie outfielder Cristian Pache, who was getting a start after Adam Duvall was removed from the NLCS roster because of an oblique injury, gave the Braves a 3-0 led with a fifth-inning RBI double. After a walk to Ronald Acuna, Gonsolin (0-1) was removed from his first career playoff appearance.
Freeman greeted right-hander Pedro Baez with an RBI single for a 4-0 lead. Two batters later, Travis d’Arnaud walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-0. An Albies sacrifice fly added the fourth run of the inning.
Dansby Swanson made it 7-0 in the seventh inning with an RBI double off Dodgers left-hander Alex Wood.
After scoring one run in Game 1, the Dodgers’ offense was stymied again until the seventh, when Seager belted his second homer of the postseason.
Albies’ home run came in the ninth inning against Dodgers left-hander Adam Kolarek.
Melancon saw Will Smith reach base on an Albies error and gave up Bellinger’s RBI triple, but he got Pollock for his second save of the postseason.
Seager said, “This team has a lot of fight and we’ve done it all year. We were one swing, one anything away from tying that ballgame and going into extras. It’s never over until it’s over. This is a long series and we are looking (forward) to the challenge.”
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, “I think it’s just one game at a time and I know it sounds cliche, but that’s the only way to do it and to approach it. I think us showing life late was good to see. Early on, we created some traffic and couldn’t get that one, two big hits and they did. But to see us fighting, that was a good thing.” — Reuters
ZURICH/BERLIN — Countries straining to contain a second wave of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) are turning to faster, cheaper but less accurate tests to avoid the delays and shortages that have plagued efforts to diagnose and trace those infected quickly.
Germany, where infections jumped by 4,122 on Tuesday to 329,453 total, has secured 9 million so-called antigen tests per month that can deliver a result in minutes and cost about 5 euros ($5.90) each. That would, in theory, cover more than 10% of the population.
The United States and Canada are also buying millions of tests, as is Italy, whose recent tender for 5 million tests attracted offers from 35 companies.
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) now recommends antigen tests to complement existing molecular PCR tests, which have become the standard for assessing active infections but which have also suffered shortages as the pandemic overwhelmed laboratories and outstripped manufacturers’ production capacity.
PCR tests detect genetic material in the virus while antigen tests detect proteins on the virus’s surface, though both are meant to pick up active infections. Another type of test, for antibodies the body produces in response to an infection, can help tell if somebody has had COVID-19 in the past.
Like PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests, antigen tests require an uncomfortable nasal swab. They can also produce more “false negatives,” prompting some experts to recommend they only be used in a pinch. Still, the alarming rise in new infections globally has health officials desperately pursuing more options as the winter influenza season looms.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reported more than 2 million new cases last week, bringing the total worldwide to 37 million, with more than 1 million deaths from COVID-19.
“These point-of-care tests could make a big difference,” said Gerard Krause, epidemiology department director at Germany’s Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research.
NO TEST NO FLIGHT Mr. Krause said low-priority patients — those without symptoms — could initially be screened with antigen tests, leaving the more accurate PCR tests for those showing signs of the disease.
Antigen tests have already gained traction in the travel industry. Italian airline Alitalia offers Rome-Milan flights exclusively for passengers with negative tests and Germany’s Lufthansa has announced similar testing plans.
But pandemic’s vast scale has strained the ability of countries to test all of their citizens, making it difficult to track the twisting paths of infection comprehensively and prevent a resurgence.
In the United States, for example, reliance on automated PCR machinery over the summer left many patients frustrated as they waited for a week or more for results. Testing in Europe has also suffered glitches.
France does over a million tests a week but its free-for-all testing policy has led to long queues and delays in results, prompting French researchers to come up with a test they say can produce results in 40 minutes, without using a swab.
Italy does between 800,000 and 840,000 tests a week, more than double April’s levels, according to the Ministry of Health. But a government adviser, University of Padua microbiology professor Andrea Crisanti, said the country needs 2 million tests a week to really get on top of the virus.
In the Netherlands, where infection rates are among Europe’s highest, the government has been scrambling to expand weekly testing and lab capacity to 385,000 by next week from 280,000 now. The target is nearly half a million tests a week by December and just under 600,000 by February.
But people have been waiting days for a test. The authorities blame the overwhelming demand from those without clear symptoms for clogging up the system.
In response, the authorities have restricted rapid antigen tests to health workers and teachers, while others go on a waiting list.
‘GOLD STANDARD’ The various hitches highlight a conundrum for governments: how to get people back to work while tracing the virus within the population quickly — without running out of supplies.
Swiss diagnostics maker Roche, announced plans on Tuesday to launch a new antigen test by the end of the year that can be processed on lab machines at up to 300 tests per hour, not counting collection time.
Rivals including Siemens Healthineers, Abbott Laboratories and Becton Dickinson also offer numerous COVID-19 diagnostic tests.
Roche said the test could be deployed in places such as nursing homes or hospitals, where speedy results could thwart a potentially lethal outbreak.
By early 2021, the Basel-based company said it could make some 50 million of the new tests a month, on top of the rapid point-of-care tests it already sells.
“The primary use case is the testing of symptomatic patients,” a Roche spokeswoman said. “The secondary use case is the testing of individuals suspected of infection … which could also include asymptomatic patients.”
Expert opinion, however, on just how to use antigen tests is evolving and remains the subject of debate.
Switzerland, where new infections have spiked to about 1,500 a day from as low as three in June after schools reopened, is only now validating the accuracy of the rapid tests.
“Deployment of the rapid tests — where it makes sense — will be integrated into our testing strategy,” a spokesman for the Swiss federal health ministry said. “We’ll update our testing recommendations in November.”
Sandra Ciesek, director of the Institute of Medical Virology at the University Clinic in Frankfurt, Germany said rapid antigen tests could be an option for asymptomatic patients planning to visit elderly patients at nursing homes.
But people should refrain from using them as a definitive substitute to judge their infection status.
“The PCR test remains the gold standard,” Ciesek said. “An antigen test should only be used as an alternative if PCR is not possible in a timely manner.” — Reuters
TOKYO — Japan plans to sign an agreement with Vietnam to allow it to export defence equipment and technology to the country, part of a move to strengthen defence capabilities of Indo-Pacific nations to counter Chinese maritime advances, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday told his ruling Liberal Democratic Party that he will visit Vietnam and Indonesia next week, the newspaper said, adding he was expected to sign the Vietnam deal during the trip.
Japan ended a decades-old ban on overseas arms sales in 2014 to help beef up the nation’s military and lower the unit cost of home-built military equipment but has so far struggled to strike export deals for finished products.
Japan’s only export deal for a finished product has been one signed with the Philippines in August for the export of a warning and control radar system developed by Mitsubishi Electric, the Nikkei said.
Tokyo is also negotiating with Indonesia and Thailand to sign an agreement regarding defence equipment transfers as it seeks to draw on Southeast Asian demand, it added.
Mr. Suga’s visit to the two countries would be his first overseas trip since taking office last month following Shinzo Abe’s resignation due to ill health. — Reuters
Eli Lilly and Co. said on Tuesday that the government-sponsored clinical trial of its COVID-19 antibody treatment similar to one taken by US President Donald J. Trump has been paused because of a safety concern.
Mr. Trump touted the Lilly drug, along with the antibody treatment from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc that he received for his COVID-19, as tantamount to a cure in a video he posted last week.
The announcement comes one day after Johnson & Johnson said it was forced to pause a large high-profile trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine because a volunteer fell ill. J&J said it does not yet know if that person was given the vaccine or a placebo.
AstraZeneca Plc’s US trial for its experimental COVID-19 vaccine has also been on hold for over a month after a volunteer in its UK study fell ill. Trials of that vaccine resumed in other regions after a brief halt.
Lilly said earlier this month it was applying for emergency use authorization (EUA) for the antibody drug, LY-CoV555, for patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 based on data from another clinical trial.
It is not uncommon to pause drug trials to investigate safety concerns, and such actions do not necessarily indicate a serious problem. Because of the urgent need for drugs and vaccines to tackle a pandemic that has claimed over 1 million lives worldwide—and the speed with which they are being developed – these trials have come under intense scrutiny.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the ACTIV-3 independent data safety monitoring board (DSMB) has recommended a pause in enrollment,” Lilly spokeswoman Molly McCully said in an e-mailed statement. “Lilly is supportive of the decision by the independent DSMB to cautiously ensure the safety of the patients participating in this study.”
The Indianapolis-based drugmaker did not comment on the implications for the paused trial, called ACTIV-3, which is testing the treatment on COVID-19 patients who require hospitalization, or on its other ongoing trials. It is also testing the drug in nursing homes to see if it can prevent staff and residents from getting infected.
The US Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health did not immediately reply to requests for comment.
Lilly began its ACTIV-3 trial in August and is aiming to recruit 10,000 patients primarily in the United States.
The trial compares patients who receive its antibody drug plus Gilead Sciences Inc’s antiviral drug remdesivir with those who receive remdesivir alone.
Lilly sought the EUA from US regulators after publishing data in September showing LY-CoV555 helped cut hospitalization and emergency room visits for COVID-19 patients. The treatment is being developed with Canadian biotech AbCellera.
Lilly shares closed nearly 3%. — Michael Erman and Carl O’Donnell/Reuters
Advancing its commitment to support government efforts in the fight against COVID-19, Meralco powers up two of Marikina City’s new quarantine and treatment centers – the Marikina Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office’s quarantine treatment facility and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) – funded isolation facility. The energization of these projects involves the installation of metering facilities, forty (40) meters of secondary service wires, and four (4) distribution transformers. Completion of these priority projects assures the front liners, patients and the medical staff of stable and uninterrupted supply of electricity to the new centers.
Globe CEO Ernest Cu is Asia’s Best CEO, and Rizza Maniego-Eala is Asia’s Best CFO (Investor Relations) at the Corporate Governance Asia Awards’ 10th Asia Excellence, with the theme, “Communicating through the Fog of Uncertainty: The story of the Asian Corporation response during the pandemic.” Globe is likewise named Asia’s Best CSR, Best Investor Relations Company (Philippines) and Best Investor Relations Professional (Philippines, Jose Mari Fajardo) at the 2020 Asian Excellence Award which recognizes environmental, ethics, sustainability, social and Asian values of corporate governance.
“I would like to thank the Asian Excellence Award for this recognition. We at Globe take pride in being able to rise above the challenges of an unprecedented pandemic, as a digital-ready, agile and collaborative company. This is a testament that Globe leads the way in connectivity, service, communication and sustainability,” said Cu.
For her part, Maniego-Eala said, “We welcome the commendation of the esteemed Corporate Governance Asia group of Globe’s transparency in our financial performance and prospects which is our commitment to our stakeholders.” On being Asia’s Best CSR, Globe’s Chief Sustainability Officer Yoly Crisanto said, “We thank the group for recognizing our service to the community through programs that uphold diversity, inclusivity, and humanity. We are fully committed to our purpose of doing a #GlobeOfGood.”
Aldrin Monsod, Founder, Managing Director and Publisher of Corporate Governance Asia shared his congratulatory message to Globe, “This year has been devastating for so many of us but we are grateful to God for still allowing us to continue our small mission in Asia despite the pandemic. We also would like to commend your amazing contribution to the Filipino people during these times of crisis. Your support is truly remarkable and a source of inspiration to us and to so many.”
Emerging as a true leader amid the health crisis, Globe released over P1.3 billion in combined services and assistance packages for COVID-19, consisting of support for Globe employees and vendor partners, services and promos, external fund-raising efforts, and monetary and in-kind donations. The award also commended the impressive scale and speed of Globe’s shift to work-from-home adaptability as well as its arrangements to safeguard the health of its employees. “This is an important part of this award which we hope to inspire the next generation of corporate leaders in Asia,” said Monsod.
SEOUL — In South Korea, some of the world’s biggest food delivery firms are scrambling to surf an estimated $4 billion wave of new orders, contracting thousands of new riders in a boom triggered by the scourge of the global economy—the coronavirus pandemic.
Koreans had already developed such an appetite for meal deliveries that the country ranked third in the world last year for food order services, according to consultancy Euromonitor. Now, tough social distancing rules and work-from-home policies to counter the pandemic have fuelled explosive growth.
South Korea’s food delivery market is expected to jump 40% this year to around $15.4 billion from $11 billion in 2019, Euromonitor data showed, topped only by China and the United States.
Surging coronavirus-era consumer demand has stoked orders, supported meal pricing and made the prospect of a career as a self-employed rider—earning more per hour than many other part-time jobs—an attractive option for many after the pandemic drove Korea’s jobless rate to a 10-year high earlier this year.
Contractor jobs like delivery riders will keep growing in number amid the pandemic, predicted Kim Sung-hee, professor of labor studies at Korea University, highlighting the need for government scrutiny of “non-regular work.”
“A lot of the contractor jobs, including riders, have minimal access to labor rights,” Kim said, “they have no access to occupational health and safety insurance and no employment safety net.”
Responding to the demand surge, Woowa Brothers, the operator of leading food delivery service Baedal Minjok, said it expanded its pool of motorbike delivery riders this summer by nearly 50% from 2,100 previously. Smaller peer Barogo, which like Woowa Brothers doesn’t disclose details of its financial performance—said it is recruiting 5,000 more, creating openings for some otherwise unlikely riders.
Among those is Chey Young-ah, a 37-year-old former art teacher in Seongnam, 20 km south of Seoul. After the pandemic forced classes at her day job to shut, she saw brisk delivery orders at a fried chicken restaurant where she worked part-time, opted to become a rider herself instead in mid-August.
“I feel lucky I found this field at a time when deliveries are booming,” she said. “One of the merits of this job is that the entry barrier is low. They don’t care whether you’re a man or a woman, you don’t need a job interview.”
Ms. Chey, who already owned a motorbike, says she earned around 1.8 million won ($1,565.22) last month while working six to eight hours a day, seven days a week—already nine times the pay as an art instructor.
COMPETITIVE PAY Ms. Chey rides for Baedal Minjok and Coupang Eats, operated by SoftBank-backed e-commerce firm Coupang. Like other services, delivery jobs are offered to riders on call via an app, with riders selecting which jobs to take depending on distance and payment terms.
Riders say most orders earn them around 3,300 won per delivery—the minimum rate—with the influx of new riders creating greater competition even to secure those deliveries, and to get the job done faster.
“The competition is getting fiercer … Some (riders) violate traffic rules to make one more delivery, putting their safety at risk,” said Ms. Chey, who herself has already been involved in a minor accident.
Delivery companies are also offering bonuses hoping to secure faster riders. Coupang Eats said riders can earn up to 15,000 won per order, depending on order volume and weather conditions.
Data from Rider Union, a labor union representing the new dispatch workers, showed one of its members earned as much as 585,700 won—comparable to 68 hours of work by minimum wage—on a single day in August.
Numbers like this are a magnet in an otherwise depressed jobs market.
You Young-sik, a 28-year-old Seoul Internet cafe worker who has seen his pay halved since the coronavirus hit and now fears losing his job, recently signed up for motorbike lessons to get his licence.
“As I was looking for new openings, I figured delivery business is in vogue these days,” said Mr. You, who currently makes below 1 million won a month. “Riders’ salary looks way higher than what I get paid now.” — Joori Roh and Sangmi Cha/Reuters
With data as the key to success, ride-hailing and delivery apps such as Uber, Grab, and Gojek are partnering with dark kitchen operators. “Dark,” “cloud” or “ghost” kitchens have no physical presence, and offer delivery-only services from a centralized location through a mobile app.
BANGKOK — Singapore’s Ebb & Flow Group took an unusual route to creating one of its most popular food items: analyzing more than 200,000 data points to predict customer preference and potential demand.
The result, launched shortly before the coronavirus sent the city into lockdown, was Wrap Bstrd— wraps with fillings such as chicken satay rice and beef bulgogi, borne from the insight that customers preferred Asian flavors in a fuss-free fashion.
“We were able to combine advanced behavioral data capabilities and pattern analyses with the expertise of our chefs to create a brand and menu that was specifically tailored for our customers,” said chief executive Lim Kian Chun.
“It is Singapore’s first food and beverage brand that is driven entirely by insights derived from artificial intelligence,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Ebb & Flow Group is one of a growing number of companies operating restaurant kitchens known as “dark,” “cloud,” or “ghost” kitchens, which have no physical presence, and offer delivery-only services from a centralized location through a mobile app.
Often operating out of warehouses and semi-industrial buildings on the outskirts of cities, dark kitchens allow for burgers and biryanis to be made in the same location, and delivered directly to consumers ordering online.
While food delivery was already on the rise in recent years with aggregators such as Zomato, Uber Eats, and foodpanda, coronavirus lockdowns and concerns about eating out have precipitated a boom in these services lately, analysts say.
“The cloud kitchen model was already gaining momentum, now it is at a tipping point for the model to be fully utilized because of the shift to at-home consumption,” said Ali Potia, a partner at consulting firm McKinsey.
“We are now starting to see data-driven menu design and pricing for greater personalization. It is the future,” he said.
ROBOT CHEFS The coronavirus has upended how people live, work and experience leisure, with urban experts predicting that cities will look very different as more people work and shop from home.
The cloud kitchen market is seen as one of the biggest beneficiaries of this trend, with Allied Market Research in India estimating that the global industry could be worth about $71 billion by 2027 compared to $43 billion last year.
Autonomous vehicles and drones that can lower delivery costs will fuel the industry’s growth, the research firm said in a recent report.
Swiss bank UBS, in a 2018 report, had forecast that deliveries would make up 10% of the global food services market by 2030, or more than $350 billion, helped by dark kitchens, robot chefs, cheaper deliveries, and younger people who do not cook.
But with coronavirus, “food delivery has become a necessity rather than a luxury” for even older people, said Phuminant Tantiprasongchai, co-founder of Singapore-based TiffinLabs, which aims to have 1,000 cloud kitchens in cities worldwide.
The company has created nine brands so far in Singapore—from pasta to “mind blowing” fries— with each brand based on analytics of consumers in the delivery zones of its kitchens.
“Data touches every aspect of our business—right from conceptualizing restaurants, to testing and creating menus that match consumer preferences, to even identifying the right locations for our kitchens,” Mr. Phuminant said.
“We also use analytics to predict demand—as a result we’ve seen little waste in our kitchens,” he added, as a counter to the argument that cloud kitchens are fuelling an explosion in plastic waste.
With data as the key to success, ride-hailing and delivery apps such as Uber, Grab, and Gojek are partnering with dark kitchen operators. Gojek has tied up with Indian virtual kitchen company Rebel Foods to create 100 cloud kitchens in Indonesia.
Uber Eats invites restaurants to launch “delivery-focused concepts” from their current kitchen, based on its data that can identify dishes and cuisines that customers are searching for.
The data—which will need to be “stored safely and managed effectively”—can also be used in other ways, said Mr. Potia.
“Can you pay a lower insurance premium if you order healthy food often, for example? Smart operators will find ways to use the data optimally,” he said.
HYPER LOCAL The coronavirus has forced the food service industry to adapt: restaurants got on to delivery platforms, and added tables on pavements and in parking lots.
Still, the National Restaurant Association of India predicts up to 40% of restaurants in the country may close, with big cities hit the hardest. The Indonesia Hotel and Restaurants Association said up to 30% of restaurants in Jakarta may shut.
Not everyone sees delivery services as a panacea.
Restaurants had been complaining about the high fee charged by aggregators, with labor rights groups also opposed to the low wages paid to gig workers who are mostly hired on contract.
Some also worry about the social cohesion and sense of community if restaurants are forced out by cloud kitchens.
Anurag Katriar, president of the National Restaurant Association of India, an industry group, pointed to aggregators’ “high commissions, the heavy discounting on the platforms, the opaque nature of the algorithms and their control of the data.”
“But I don’t see deliveries replacing restaurants—eating out is still a special experience, a little celebration with family and friends that cannot be replicated by ordering in,” he said.
But cloud kitchens can also help small brands compete, revitalise abandoned properties and neighbourhoods, and bring about innovations with data, analysts say.
“The market will sort itself out,” said Mr. Potia.
“Places that have something unique to offer will survive, and there is always going to be room for neighborhood dining—particularly now, as people go hyper local,” he said.
Indeed, the pandemic has given an unexpected boost to street food, said Chawadee Nualkhair, a food blogger in Bangkok.
“Go to Chinatown at night or the Old Town at lunchtime, and they are absolutely packed,” she said, referring to neighbourhoods that are typically frequented by tourists, but are seeing more locals now.
“So while Bangkok’s fine dining scene seems to be holding its breath at the moment, street food seems to be experiencing something of a rebirth.” — Rina Chandran/Thomson Reuters Foundation
NEW YORK — When Diane Leonard checked in to a conference the other day, the routine was familiar: Watching keynote speakers, interacting with other attendees, bumping into friends.
One key difference: The grant writer was at home in Clayton, New York, with her favorite black coffee, treadmill desk, and mini goldendoodle, Ollie.
Like many gatherings this year, the tech conference for nonprofit professionals by Blackbaud, a cloud computing provider, was fully virtual.
“I’d say I have been to more than 40 of these over the last six months,” Ms. Leonard said. “It’s become a way of life.”
In Meeting Professionals International’s summer survey, 86% of respondents foresaw declining attendance for live events over the coming year, while 87% projected an increase for virtual ones.
“In six months of running virtual events, I’ve found that they are about 20% different from real-life conferences—but it’s a critical 20%,” said Sree Sreenivasan, co-founder of digital consultancy Digimentors, which produces TV-quality virtual events.
This new normal is more challenging, but in some ways it is easier. It requires an entirely new playbook—for how you interact with people, access meaningful content, and maximize what you get out of the experience.
“Virtual events require more preparation and action from attendees,” said Leslie Marshall, head of experiential marketing for Chicago-based investment research firm Morningstar. Ms. Marshall ran a September online conference for almost 3,000 US participants and is rolling out other global events.
Virtual will absolutely be the norm for now. According to education consultancy Tagoras, 92% of those who have held virtual conferences plan to do so again.
So how can conference attendees thrive in a virtual world? A few tips:
USE TECH TOOLS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE Virtual conference organizers have gone to a lot of trouble to create tech tools for networking and interactivity, so you might as well use them.
During keynote speeches, chatboxes allow participants to share insights or provide queries for Q&A sessions. “Breakout” areas offer chatrooms for specific interests, or places for one-on-one dialogues.
Morningstar even experimented with virtual reality. At its September conference a few dozen attendees received Oculus gaming headsets, with goggles that create 3D images, so they would feel like they were there in person.
PREP BEFOREHAND In-person interactions tend to be a lot looser: Running into someone you know, having a drink at a hotel bar, making last-minute dinner arrangements. Online, you have to be much more deliberate and strategic about who you want to meet.
That means scouring over attendee lists, researching which exhibitors or sponsors to contact, and connecting with speakers and presenters.
By doing your homework and publicizing the takeaways on social media channels like Twitter or LinkedIn, you are setting the table for relationships which could endure beyond the event itself.
MINIMIZE DISTRACTIONS Conferencing from the comfort of your own kitchen has many positives: No travel, no health risks, lower costs. “When you’re at a conference in-person, it allows you to get away from everything and really focus,” said Ms. Marshall.
“At home, it’s more challenging to put away all the distractions. So turn off your mobile occasionally and don’t try to multitask all the time.”
Interruptions are inevitable—dogs, kids, work e-mails—but if you do get pulled away, an online event allows you to go back and access that content later.
FOCUS ON THE BENEFITS Price is another benefit. Almost 70% of such meetings cost less than before, often “significantly” so, according to Tagoras.
“Think of it as an opportunity to do things you couldn’t do before,” said Mr. Sreenivasan. “Before, these events took place behind closed doors, with high ticket prices, in faraway places.
Now, every day, dozens of fascinating people around the world are available to talk about issues of great importance. You can tour the world and listen to interesting people all day long.” — Chris Taylor/Reuters
