Today in Food Tech: Venmo Comes To Supermarkets; Restaurants Respond To Vaccine Mandates

Today in restaurant and grocery tech news, Giant Eagle becomes the first grocery chain in the country to accept PayPal and Venmo payments, while cities across the country begin mandating vaccinations for indoor dining. Plus, Ken Venturi, CEO of prepared foods brand Martha Stewart Kitchen, talks Stewart’s food empire.

Giant Eagle Grocery Stores Become First In US To Accept PayPal, Venmo

The divides between the ways people pay peers, workers and businesses are breaking down, as consumers are increasingly able to use the payment options with which they feel most comfortable wherever they may be. Giant Eagle announced on Friday (Aug. 13) that it is becoming the first United States grocery and convenience chain to take PayPal and its peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform Venmo in stores.

US Senators Press Amazon On Palm-Recognition Security

Three U.S. senators — two Democrats and a Republican — have asked Amazon to provide details about privacy and security protections for its new Amazon One palm print-recognition system. Amazon One lets customers use their palms to verify their identifies while making purchases at brick-and-mortar retail locations, including Whole Foods and Amazon retail stores.

AMZN vs WMT Weekly: Marketplaces, Groceries And Payments Predictions

Walmart is forging ahead with new efforts to protect its share of consumers’ grocery spend, this week announcing a new partnership with cooking app SideChef that will include five shoppable recipes targeted toward families who have less time to grocery shop with students returning to the classroom.

Martha Stewart Aims to Take on Every Aisle of the Grocery Store

With the 10,000-store rollout of Martha Stewart Kitchen, the brand is in the middle of the “biggest launch maybe ever,” MSK Foods CEO Ken Venturi tells PYMNTS, and the freezer aisle is only the beginning.

Restaurant Roundup: Cities Require Vaccines for Dining, IHOP Gets Boozy

Cities mandate vaccines for indoor dining, Texas pushes back, and IHOP adds alcohol to the menu.