Up in Smoke

Mars undergoes C-suite shakeup ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

June 23, 2022 Read in Browser TOGETHER WITH Good morning. According to a new Deloitte survey, 70% of high-ranking executives in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia say they are considering quitting their job for one that better supports their well-being.   So, if this morning's team meeting wasn't stressful enough, remember that you could be running it next week. Good luck. Morning Brief • Chocolate and pet giant Mars now makes more revenue than Coca-Cola. • Juul is being removed from US markets. • The UK and the US are in a spat over fishing in Antarctic waters. Please do not delete this text. Please do not delete this text. Retail Mars Makes More Revenue Than Coca-Cola Chocolate conglomerate Mars is so famously private, the company might as well be based on the planet with which it shares a name.   The sixth-largest privately held firm in the US came down to Earth Wednesday to share rare, important news: CEO Grant Reid is stepping down after eight years, and he leaves the firm with more revenue than Coca-Cola. Paws-itive Growth Earlier this week, Kellogg's proposal to split itself into three different companies — with one based around its leading snacks business — highlighted the major challenges large food conglomerates face to maintain organic growth. Kraft Heinz's sale of its nuts business last year, including the Planters brand, is another example of slimming down to build back up.   Mars, on the other hand, has bested many rivals by taking a radically different path. Rather than beef up its food portfolio and collect underperforming assets, the company became a giant player in a completely different industry: pet food and veterinary services. This incredibly weird combo — chocolate bar and petcare giant — has nevertheless worked: • Mars, which is actually based in Virginia, said it grew annual sales more than 50%, from $28 billion to $45 billion, during Reid's eight-year tenure. That easily bests Coca-Cola's $38 billion revenue in 2021, while the growth outpaces consumer giants Nestlé and Unilever. • After a $9.1 billion acquisition of veterinary group VCA in 2017, Mars became owner of 800 petcare hospitals. The company now makes 20% of its revenue from pet-related business lines, half of its 140,000 employees work for its veterinary business — one of them, Mars Petcare President Poul Weihrauch, will succeed Reid as CEO of the entire conglomerate come September. The Mars family, worth $94 billion, is the country's third-wealthiest family after the Waltons and the Kochs. But their quiet approach has allowed them to stake out the company's unique path: the family notably praised Reid, who oversaw the pet segment growth, for his "healthy dissatisfaction for the status quo" Wednesday. Regulatory Muzzle: Mars' pet business might be even bigger if it weren't for scrutiny from the US Federal Trade Commission. Mars agreed to divest 12 veterinary clinics to three other pet services companies after the FTC said its VCA acquisition was an antitrust threat. Earlier this month, the FTC also required veterinary chain JAB Consumer Partners to divest clinics in order to complete an acquisition. When it comes to petcare, the FTC apparently is more territorial than a rottweiler. Please do not delete this text. Please do not delete this text. Tobacco and Cigarettes The FDA is Preparing to Ban Juul E-Cigarettes Altria — the tobacco giant formerly known as Phillip Morris Companies, Inc — is about to lose the crown Juul of its business empire.   On Wednesday, The Wall Street Journal reported the Food and Drug Administration will boot electronic cigarette maker Juul from US markets. Shun the Juuls Altria spent $12.8 billion to acquire a 35% stake in Juul in 2018 at a roughly $35 billion valuation, but it's been bumpy sailing ever since. Its vape cartridges were supposed to provide Altria with a gateway to a younger generation increasingly quitting cigarettes, but Juul users were often too young, according to regulators, teachers, and concerned parents. A criminal investigation led by federal prosecutors into whether the company targeted underage teens is still pending, not to mention thousands of civil lawsuits. To address criticism, in 2019 Juul stopped selling sweet and fruity-flavored cartridges popular among underage users.   Sales tumbled, falling over 11% to just $1.3 billion last year. With Juul now going up in smoke, its competitors — somewhat conspicuously facing far less scrutiny — stand to benefit: • Vuse Vapor already overtook Juul as the top vaping and e-cigarette brand on the market in the 12 weeks ending on June 4, according to a Goldman Sachs analysis of Nielsen data. Meanwhile, a federal study published last Fall found Juul had already fallen to fourth place among high school vapers, behind Puff Bar, Vuse, and Smok. • The ban is the result of an FDA order in 2020 for all US e-cigarette manufacturers to submit for review comprehensive reports on their products — apparently, Juul's submission, which sought authorization for its tobacco and menthol-flavored products, didn't meet the regulator's standards. While Juul products are also sold in Italy, France, the U.K., the Philippines, and Canada, nearly all of its revenue comes from US sales, according to WSJ. Altria's stake in the company was worth just $1.6 billion, one-eighth of what it paid, as of October 2020. Non-Smoking Section: The government isn't just going after e-cigarettes. On Tuesday, the Biden administration and the FDA announced plans to mandate the elimination of nearly all nicotine in cigarettes. The policy is intended to prompt millions of people to quit smoking and would disrupt the $95 billion US cigarette industry. We're guessing Altria executives are taking quite a few smoke breaks today. Please do not delete this text. Please do not delete this text. SPONSORED BY ALUMNI VENTURES Invest Early Alongside Big-Name VC Firms Tech-driven, VC-backed startups. They have been the center of the investing universe for two decades. But most investors are still shut out of deals like Airbnb, Snowflake, and Upstart. While venture investing is high risk, their early investors made game-changing returns. That is the potential of venture investing.   With Alumni Ventures, investing in VC-backed startups is easier than ever. • Choose from diversified or sector- and stage-based funds, like the Alumni Ventures Seed Fund • Make a single investment, and Alumni Ventures provides you with a smart venture portfolio • Invest in deals alongside well-known VC firms, like Sequoia, Kleiner Perkins, and Bessemer Professional venture investing is open to you. Sign up to start YOUR venture portfolio.   Go to Alumni Ventures. Please do not delete this text. Please do not delete this text. Retail US and UK in Surprising Standoff Over South Pole Fishing Quotas Time to rethink dinner plans. One of the world's tastiest pieces of wild-caught fish, which sells for $32 a pound at Whole Foods, is suddenly at the epicenter of a feud between the United States and the United Kingdom.   The reason? Russia. Yeah, we're gonna need to explain that one. Bass Notes Forty years ago, 26 countries, including the US, UK, and Russia, joined forces to protect wildlife in deep-fishing waters near the South Pole. Fishing quotas for many species, including the delicious Chilean sea bass, were adopted and respected under the Commission on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). The population of sea bass — also known by the less appetizing moniker Patagonia toothfish — rebounded from dangerous levels caused by poaching.   But last year, with concerns already arising over its military positions around Ukraine, Russia rejected the latest quotas proposed by CCAMLR. Since they have to be adopted unanimously, Russia effectively turfed them. While the US has held its ground, Britain's approach has been bass ackwards: • According to the Associated Press, the UK has been quietly issuing fishing licenses without catch limits via South Georgia, a remote and inhospitable island north of Antarctica that it controls as an Overseas Territory. Privately owned British-Norwegian company Argos Froyanes owns three of the four ships the UK has licensed. • US officials warned the UK they will likely block imports of sea bass caught near South Georgia, according to correspondence reviewed by the AP. The global sea bass market was worth about $3.5 billion in 2020, according to Allied Market Research. "In a world beset by conflict, the UK is playing a risky game," Will McCallum, Greenpeace UK's head of oceans, told the AP. "We trust that countries who have previously imported South Georgia toothfish will not accept the catch of what is now an unregulated fishery." Scale Back: America supplier Mark Foods, which buys from Argos Froyanes, said it's working with US officials to resolve the dispute, but won't import anything they deem illegal. In the meantime, this salmon roasted in butter recipe looks nice. Please do not delete this text. Please do not delete this text. Extra Upside • President Joe Biden called on Congress to suspend gas taxes for three months. • The nonprofit group behind Wikipedia is getting paid by Google to provide up-to-date info for its search engine. • 1.2 trillion. That's the number of dollars that will be deployed as part of the recently passed infrastructure bill. Buried in the 2,700 page Bill is tens of billions allocated for green investment. AquiPor, a construction tech disruptor, is set to ride this green wave with its environmentally friendly, patented concrete. Made from upcycled aggregates, AquiPor's permeable concrete has an ultra-low carbon profile and allows water to pass through, naturally managing stormwater pollution and helping to mitigate urban flooding. It's low CO2 manufacturing profile can also help decarbonize the concrete industry. For only a short while longer, you have a chance to invest in AquiPor's crowdfunding campaign - learn more now. Please do not delete this text. Just For Fun Intruiging.   Werid room. Written by Sean Craig and Brian Boyle. Disclaimer The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between The Daily Upside's in-house sponsored content team. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. 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