Coca-Cola will start selling its Dasani zater brand in aluminium containers in north-east US before rolling them out next year. Reuters
Coca-Cola will start selling its Dasani zater brand in aluminium containers in north-east US before rolling them out next year. Reuters

Coca-Cola buys stake in company behind New York’s cashierless drinks store



Coca-Cola, facing shifting shopping habits that have roiled the food and beverage industry, is taking a minority stake in Iris Nova, the company behind a cashierless New York City store where customers pay for drinks via text message.

Coca-Cola, now the startup’s largest backer, led a $15 million investment round that values Iris Nova at about $60 million. Iris Nova is the maker of Dirty Lemon, a line of upscale drinks.

For Coca-Cola, the stake gives it a window into a brand that has picked up customers outside of traditional retail channels, using social-media buzz and direct-to-consumer sales to drive growth.

Coca-Cola is one of the most recognisable brands in the world, with a massive retail presence, but for now Iris Nova isn’t looking to expand into outlets such as Walmart, Target and Kroger, according to founder and chief executive Zak Normandin.

“That would dilute everything that we’ve built,” he said. “We believe in a future with consumers having a direct connection to brands and you don’t get that in the traditional retail system.”

Coca-Cola, in its search for growth, made a splash with a $5.1 billion deal to buy the UK coffee chain Costa earlier this year. The beverage giant has also invested in smaller brands, such as the sparkling water company Topo Chico.

Iris Nova spoke to other large beverage companies and private equity firms before deciding to partner with Coca-Cola, Mr Normandin said. The company hopes to be profitable by the end of next year and is targeting $100m in sales by the end of 2021. In addition to Coca-Cola, actress Kate Hudson and veteran tech executive Tim Armstrong were among the investors who took part in the funding round, according to the company.

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Read more:

Coca-Cola buys Costa Coffee from UK's Whitbread in $5.1bn deal

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Customers can walk into the Dirty Lemon shop - called The Drug Store - in New York’s Tribeca district, grab a drink and depart. They are encouraged to send a text message to the company, which then responds. New customers are asked to open an account, while existing shoppers are charged. The company says it has processed about 90 percent of its orders via text, including those from online subscribers, since it started selling in 2015.

Dirty Lemon relied heavily on Instagram to develop its brand but is pivoting away from social media. In recent weeks, the company has turned off Facebook and Instagram advertising entirely and hasn’t seen a sales dip, according to Mr Normandin. The company will open at least two more retail spots in 2019, with a second Manhattan location planned along with one in Chicago.

TWISTERS

Director: Lee Isaac Chung

Starring: Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos

Rating: 2.5/5

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher:  Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5

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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099

Tree of Hell

Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla

Director: Raed Zeno

Rating: 4/5

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Votes

Total votes: 1.8 million

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
How to invest in gold

Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.

A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.

Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”

Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”

Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”

By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.

You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.

You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.

Jawan
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Specs

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MATCH INFO

Asian Champions League, last 16, first leg:

Al Ain 2 Al Duhail 4

Second leg:

Tuesday, Abdullah bin Khalifa Stadium, Doha. Kick off 7.30pm


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