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  • Tim Cook Passes the Apple Torch: A New Era Dawns with CEO Transition

    Tim Cook Passes the Apple Torch: A New Era Dawns with CEO Transition

    Speculation has been rife for some time about the imminent departure of Apple CEO Tim Cook from his position. The unexpected announcement of his replacement has therefore caught many by surprise. Despite forecasts suggesting Cook’s remaining tenure might run into a few more years, it now appears his exit is imminent.

    Tim Cook’s New Role

    Tim Cook is slated to relinquish his CEO role later this year after a successful and influential period of leadership at Apple. Starting from September 1, Cook will transition into the position of executive chairman on Apple’s board of directors.

    According to typical patterns, Cook is expected to serve as executive chairman for a substantial period, though his presence at the launch of the iPhone 18 in the upcoming months remains uncertain.

    The decision to appoint Cook’s successor, John Ternus, as the new CEO seems like a well-anticipated move to many. Recently, Ternus has been increasingly in the public eye, having even presented the iPhone Air. Some believe this was a strategic move to familiarize the public with Ternus’s presence during significant product launches.

    Cook’s Farewell Message

    In an internal memo to Apple employees, Cook reflected on his time with the company and the collective accomplishments of the team. He praised the company’s values and expressed his confidence in Apple’s future prospects. This, he noted, influenced his decision to transition to the role of executive chairman and pass on the CEO baton to John Ternus. He affirmed his belief in Ternus’s capability to guide Apple into the future and maintain the company’s core values.

    Cook also expressed his intention to support Ternus and the company in various key areas in his new role and thanked the executive team for their brilliance throughout the years. He concluded by expressing his optimism about the future and inviting all to join him in congratulating Ternus.

    John Ternus’s Response

    In a memo of his own, John Ternus expressed his excitement about his new role as CEO and gratitude for the opportunity to lead the hardware engineering team. He revealed that as he transitions to the CEO role, Tom Marieb will take over as the head of hardware engineering, reporting to Johny Srouji, who is taking on an expanded role of Chief Hardware Officer. Ternus expressed his anticipation for their continued work together and shared his confidence in the team.

    Reflecting on Cook’s Legacy

    Reflecting on Cook’s tenure, it’s astounding to consider the significant impact he has had on Apple and its global user base. Cook’s strategic prowess following the passing of Steve Jobs was instrumental in sustaining the company’s stability and growth.

    Under Cook’s leadership, Apple’s product range has evolved remarkably. The MacBook has become a powerful technological asset, and the iPhone 17 Pro is widely regarded as one of the best flagship smartphones on the market.

    The upcoming launch of the iPhone 18 Pro and the iPhone Ultra later this year will be a poignant moment, given Cook’s absence. The future Apple events are inevitably going to be different, marking a shift in an era in the company’s history.

    Questions & Answers

    Who will replace Tim Cook as CEO of Apple?
    John Ternus has been announced as the successor to Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

    What will be Tim Cook’s new role at Apple?
    Tim Cook will transition to the role of executive chairman on Apple’s board of directors.

    Who will take over as head of hardware engineering at Apple?
    Tom Marieb will assume the role of head of hardware engineering at Apple as John Ternus transitions to the CEO role.

  • Weber opens New Store in Singapore

    Weber opens New Store in Singapore

    Weber Singapore will open a new store at No 4, Sixth Avenue.

    The US-based barbecue brand’s new store will showcase the full range of Weber’s cooking products including gas-, charcoal- and electric-powered grills.

    “Weber aims to create succulent moments that draw family and friends closer together through great food, grilling fun and unforgettable memories,” says Steven Lim, VP and MD for North and Southeast Asia of Weber-Stephen.

    Weber has also launched the first Grill Academy in Singapore and South East Asia at the Joo Chiat Weber Store, adding to more than 100 Grill Academies in the world.

    The academy allows people to get hands-on grill demonstrations and an opportunity to practice with Weber’s gas grills and charcoal grills in a three-hour Weber Essential Course.

    Weber grills are sold in more than 72 countries, including a recent expansion into Asia via India, China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan and Singapore.

  • Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain collapses

    Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain collapses

    International outlets, such as those in Hong Kong, Singapore and Thailand, will continue to trade.

    Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain has collapsed – but the international outlets remain trading for now.

    “I am deeply saddened by this outcome and would like to thank all of the staff and our suppliers who have put their hearts and souls into this business for over a decade,” said Oliver, who rose to fame as a television celebrity chef before founding a network of high-street restaurants in 2008.

    “I appreciate how difficult this is for everyone affected.”

    Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain employed about 1300 people in 25 outlets bearing the brands Jamie’s Italian, Barbecoa steakhouse and Jamie Oliver’s Diner. They are now in administration.

    UK news media reported the process did not affect the business’ international operations which are largely run by local franchise partners. They include restaurants in Causeway Bay and Harbour City, in Hong Kong, at VivoCity and on Orchard Road in Singapore; and at Bangkok’s Siam Discovery.

    High-street restaurant chains have been hampered by a rough trading environment in recent years, in both the UK and the US. In the UK, rival operator Boparan Restaurant Group revealed plans in March to shutter more than a third of its outlets, trading under the Giraffe and Ed’s Easy Diner brands. Other operators, including Prezzo, Strada, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Carluccio’s all closed stores last year.

    In the US, casual dining chains like Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s and Ruby Tuesday have scaled back their networks.

    The collapse of Jamie Oliver’s UK restaurant chain this week follows a rescue attempt last year in which the company entered a company voluntary arrangement with landlords to close some stores and reduce rents on others in a bid to continue trading.

    But the company has now succumbed to intense competition, rising costs and a tough consumer market.

  • Ready-To-Eat Food: Millennial’s new favourite

    Ready-To-Eat Food: Millennial’s new favourite

    Convenience food is a concept that has been prevalent and popular in the western countries for a long time now. Globally, the demand for ready-to-eat (RTE) food products has been increasing over the last few years on account of busier lifestyle of consumers and their rising income levels. Similar factors are fuelling the growth in the packaged food sector in India.

    Increased employment opportunities have increased migration of people from tier 1 and tier 2 cities to metropolitans, which is an important driver for RTE food products in the country. Nuclear families and bachelors residing in metros for study or employment purpose are among the major consumers of RTE food products in India. The number of working women is particularly on the rise, which is again driving the demand. All these factors are creating significant awareness about ready meals among consumers. Growth in retail chains and outlets is also adding to the product awareness among consumers in the country’s, supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarkets, which are emerging as the key points-of-sale for offering a wide range RTE food products.

    The Indian cooking styles have undergone considerable changes over the past few years owing to the advent of modern technology and several other changes such as urbanization, increasing working population, increase in female work population and the rise of nuclear families. People have been increasingly shifting to ready-to-eat food items in order to save the time involved in preparing meals.

    With the growing media awareness, literacy rates and standard of living, people have grown more responsive towards the health and hygiene standards associated with food products. There has been a shift witnessed in the customers focus from price to quality in the recent years, particularly in the urban and a few semi-urban areas. Consumers have been drifting from openly or loosely sold food products to the consumption of hygienically packaged fortified RTE foods.

    The Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth largest, with retail contributing 70 percent of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32 percent of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. It is believed that the Food Processing industry will be a US$ 25 billion market in India by 2020. Out of which, the serviceable metro market is expected to be close to almost US$ 20 billion. The past couple of years have seen a tremendous growth of this segment due to high consumer acceptance for convenience food nationwide.

    A recent survey done by Assocham (Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry of India) says about 79 percent of Indian households today prefer to have instant food due to time constraints. With two working parents and families becoming nuclear, people prefer authentic, nutritious store bought options rather than spending hours in the kitchen after work. In recent years, the focus of the ready-to-eat market has gradually shifted from just homemakers or students to young professionals and families.

    It is found that 76 percent of parents in big cities, mostly both working with children under the age of five, are serving easy-to-make meals in some form or the other, at least 10-12 times every month! No wonder that the RTE market continues to expand at a brisk pace. The market for spreads, sauces and dips is now close to US$ 2 billion and growing at 22 percent CAGR. The RTE meals market is currently valued at INR 23 crore. It grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 3-5 percent in the last five years. According to data research company Nielsen, the breakfast mixes market is growing at 17 percent and is currently pegged at Rs 275 crore.

    However, as fancy as the various breakfast cereals available in the market might be, we crave the satisfaction that only a traditional dish can give. And hence the traditional brands are coming up with options that are suitable for the Indian palate. The traditional brands such as ITC and MTR have forayed into items such as bhel bar, pot upma, poha which can be had on the go, anytime, anywhere.To fulfil the demand of this large section of consumers, one will find a lot of new RTE brands in the market.

    Unlike the giant brands though, the new entrants are trying to create a niche category for themselves, be it breakfast cereals, canned, frozen foods, spreads, chutneys, and so on. Companies are looking to attract consumers within areas like olive oil, spreads and ready meals by offering promotions, new product developments, health and nutritional benefits and attractive packaging.

    The Indian consumer behaviour has been influenced by exposure to other cultures primarily in the West through travels, and popular literature. The ready-to- eat market is somewhat saturated in the West, hence developing countries like India are attracting the majority of big players in the promise of a high growth opportunity. The booming food sector, multiple food outlets, the popularity of international brands and distinctive distribution channels adopted by players are expected to help the market grow at a continuous pace.

    Consumers are increasingly realizing that majorly RTE foods are loaded with preservatives for a longer shelf life. Increasing health awareness, particularly in the young generation, is hindering the growth of this market. Still a large Indian population is price sensitive and therefore the price factor of RTE food makes them affordable only to select economic classes of the society. Hence it becomes all the more essential for new players in this field to marry convenience with health benefi ts to ensure convenience food does not mean compromising on quality. The key is to provide RTE food options focused on Indian taste for everyday consumption, which are is not harmful in the long run.

    This is the challenge taken up specifically by food tech start-ups who want to be considered as serious players and are getting into the game after years of R&D. With state of the art technology in packaging and processing to ensure the end product is not just a world class product that can eventually be on the shelves in countries across the globe but a product that is a strong contender in being a game changer.

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  • Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina opens second store in Nepal

    Kutchina has opened its second store in Kathmandu spanning across 500 sq.ft. Targeting middle and higher income group customers, the store offers complete kitchen solutions including entire range of big appliances and modular kitchen. Look and feel of the store is a mixture of Kutchina’s modern concept with a traditional touch of Nepal’s rich culture. The walls of the store are given a look of Brick Mounting which resembles traditional houses of Nepal and adds that wow factor to the store.

    Designed by in-house designers, the store highlights all the elements of the products with the use of LED and Track lights. At present, the brand has 20 stores in India and 2 in Nepal.

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  • Vietnamese prefer fresh food by far to processed items

    Vietnamese prefer fresh food by far to processed items

    Vietnamese citizens spend three times more on fresh food than fast-consumer moving goods (FMCG), a new survey says. A family in urban Vietnam spends about VND1.1 million ($47.12) on fresh food a month, according to the recent survey by market research firm Kantar Worldpanel Vietnam.

    The survey polled over 2,000 households in Hanoi, the central city of Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City and southern Can Tho City, and over 1,000 households in various rural areas across Vietnam.

    Fruits top the spending category in fresh food, accounting for 19 percent of the total, while vegetables come second at 11 percent. The rest goes to meat, seafood and rice.

    The traditional market remains the favorite shopping outlet for Vietnamese people, accounting for 85 percent of total spending on fresh food.

    Vietnamese people spend VND930,000 ($39.81) per week on fresh food at traditional markets, mostly on meat and seafood.

    Although locals spend only VND220,000 ($9.42) per week on fresh food at supermarkets, the figure shows a 28 percent growth over last year. Most of the supermarket spending is on fruits and processed food.

    Fresh food and FMCG make up the majority of Vietnamese people’s spending at 26.8 percent last year in the cities and 25.9 percent in rural areas.

    With rising incomes, Vietnamese people, especially in the cities, have been spending more on education and health, the report finds.

    The share of spending on education by urban families increased from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 12.9 percent last year, while spending on health grew from 3.5 percent to 3.9 percent in the same period.

    The report also finds that Vietnamese consumers accord top spending priority to food safety, health and environmental issues/disease.

    The majority of survey respondents, 96 percent, are confident that their spending capability will be stable or increase in upcoming months, and 86 percent expect the Vietnamese economy to be stable or grow stronger in the near future.

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  • Now you can book a cook on Singapore Airlines

    Now you can book a cook on Singapore Airlines

    It’s like dining a la carte 34,000 feet above sea level. That’s the “Book the Cook” experience that you get when you fly Singapore Airlines. It’s an exclusive advance inflight meal-ordering service that allows passengers in Suites, First Class, Business Class and Premium Economy Class to pre-select a gourmet dish of their choice before their flight.

    “It’s a departure from our regular meal service,” says Hermann Freidanck, food and beverage, inflight services manager. “You get to order your main course from a wide selection in a specially prepared menu up to 24 hours before your flight. Now you won’t have to settle for a dish that is not your choice.”

    At the exclusive meal presentation before local media recently at Singapore Airline’s new-concept Silver Kris Lounge in NAIA3, we got to experience firsthand what this was like. A couple of days before the event, we were sent a special menu to choose from, which included beef tenderloin steak, roasted rack of lamb, slow-cooked marinated duck leg with mushroom risotto, marinated free-range chicken, and baked herb-marinated salmon.

    The sit-down meal included an appetizer of marinated lobster with Mediterranean vegetable salad and balsamic dressing, as well as roasted pumpkin soup or snow fungus chicken soup with Chinese mushroom and quail egg. The salad was spinach and green frisée garnished with cherry tomatoes and olives with a choice of balsamic vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil or honey-mustard dressing, while dessert was a choice of  either chocolate and banana cake with vanilla ice cream and raspberry coulis or fresh mango tiramisu with verbena mango compote and biscotti by three-Michelin-starred chef Georges Blanc.

    As part of the Book the Cook service, passengers can choose from a menu of ICP dishes. “These are dishes created by Singapore Airline’s esteemed International Culinary Panel (ICP), which is a team of celebrated Michelin chefs who have restaurants or groups of restaurants in our main destinations in Europe, America and Asia,” Freidanck explains. “They work closely with our own chefs to develop unique dishes that we serve on board.” The panel includes Alfred Portale (United States), Carlo Cracco (Italy), Goerges Blanc (France), Matt Moran (Australia), Sanjeev Kapoor (India), Suzanne Goin (United States), Yoshihiro Murata (Japan), and Zhu Jun (China).

    “Our menus are planned four to five months ahead of time, on a four-month cycle. First Class and Business Class have four different main courses, while Premium Economy Class has a third choice in addition to the usual two choices,” Freidanck shares. “The way we do our menus is what we call ‘destination-specific.’ If you are going to Frankfurt, for example, you’ll have a German dish. In First Class and Business Class, you will always have  an ICP dish. Seasonal ingredients would also affect which dishes would be available.  The Japanese, as well as the Chinese dishes, go by the seasons. A bestseller is the Maine lobster, but not every country has it. It is difficult to get lamb, for instance, but because you can order in advance, you are guaranteed your main course.”

    “And then we have the Asian dishes. We look at the passenger profile, and if it’s predominantly Singaporean, for example, we try to put a Singaporean dish. We emphasize that we must represent the cuisine properly. It always has to be authentic. It must be traditional,” Freidanck adds. ‘There are also what we call the special meals which address certain conditions of the passenger, either due to religious beliefs, dietary or allergy restrictions. You can order them and we will serve you according to what you order. It’s not like other airlines where one menu fits all.”

    Singapore Airlines also launched a new “Deliciously Wholesome” program catering to the needs of an increasing number of health-conscious travelers.

    Preservation of freshness is an important consideration. Dishes are cooked with the reheating process in mind. “There is a fine line because we have to follow the hygiene regulations,” Freidanck explains. “Steak, for instance, has to be seared from the outside, so when it’s reheated on board, it’s just right. Sushi has to either be grilled or pickled or smoked. Nothing is raw. Oysters have to be cooked, following hygiene regulations.” Certain dishes can be a challenge. “Not impossible, but difficult,” Freidanck says. Dim sum, like pasta, does not reheat very well. The texture of risotto can be less appealing when overdone.

    The dishes are cooked in the kitchen, then kept in the chiller below 10 degrees so no bacteria can thrive, until it goes on board. The dishes are deconstructed and put into different containers. On board, it goes in the oven where the heat is calibrated to a certain temperature. “There is a training center in Singapore where the crew learn to do this. It’s very specific. There’s a lot of details which they have to go through,” Freidanck says. The crew gets a plating guide, which they must follow when they assemble the dishes.  First Class passengers get their meals served on real plates with fine cutlery.

    “Complementing Singapore Airline’s World Gourmet Cuisine is a selection of the finest wines from the very best vineyards, selected by some of the world’s most educated and sought-after palates. These wines are handpicked by world-renowned wine experts and blind-tasted under simulated cabin pressure, since our taste buds are affected by the cabin pressure,” notes Carol Ong, Singapore Airlines general manager for the Philippines, Guam and USTT. The Singapore Airlines Wine consultants include three Masters of Wine: Michael Hill-Smith, Jeannie Cho-Lee, and Oz Clarke.

    “So, you have just flown First Class, basically,” Freidanck says, addressing the intimate media group of happy diners at the end of the meal. The only thing missing was the altitude.

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