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TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Orkla Snacks

TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Orkla Snacks

TikTokkers fell hard for Swedish candy in 2024, especially Bubs gummies, which come in three shapes (oval, skulls and diamonds) and have a distinctive foamy texture thanks to a unique manufacturing process. The sudden spike in demand sparked by a few viral influencer hauls from candy store BonBon triggered a global shortage that 'came as a total surprise,' says Ingvill Berg, CEO of Orkla Snacks, the Oslo-based company that owns the Swedish Bubs brand. When retailers in the U.S., U.K., France and Korea reached out to order the colorful candy, 'we just have to say no,' Berg says. But sweet tooth relief is in sight. Orkla is ramping up production in Sweden and has partnered with Texas-based Mount Franklin Foods to help produce and distribute Bubs stateside. Four bagged varieties are slated to go on sale in the U.S. by fall 2025. 'We could sell much, much more, because we are in a situation with uncontrollable demand,' Berg says.
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This auction is selling a treasure trove of vintage Apple tech
This auction is selling a treasure trove of vintage Apple tech

Fast Company

timea few seconds ago

  • Fast Company

This auction is selling a treasure trove of vintage Apple tech

For hardcore retro-tech fans and Steve Jobs groupies, a treasure trove of vintage Apple devices, ultraexclusive memorabilia, and forgotten tech has just been collected into one website—and it's all for sale. The collection of items, titled ' Steve Jobs and the Apple Revolution,' is currently being sold by RR Auction, and will remain live until August 21. It's one of the company's 12 annual speciality auctions, which focus on specific subjects like space exploration, the Olympics, and animation. 'Created over a decade ago, this signature auction tells Apple's full arc—from garage-built Apple-1 to world-changing innovations,' says Bobby Livingston, executive vice president at the Boston-based auction house. 'We source directly from early engineers, employees, and elite collectors, often bringing items to market for the first time. It's Apple's history told through the objects that made it possible.' From Apple-1 to the iPod RR Auction's Apple collection, though, is composed of true vintage items, some of which are one of a kind. A particular highlight is the fully functional Apple-1 computer —the first Apple device ever built—signed by cocreator Steve Wozniak and early Apple employee Daniel Kottke. According to an analysis by eBay, only about 200 Apple-1 devices were ever built, with just 82 believed to still exist. In 2022, eBay sold an Apple-1 for $340,100 at auction. Livingston points to one specific check in the collection, signed on March 28, 1976, as another standout object: ' Check No. 6 —written four days before Apple's founding, signed 'steven jobs,' listing all three cofounders—reads like Apple's birth certificate,' he says. Other items of note include a rare Lisa computer, released in January 1983, with its custom 'Twiggy' floppy drives intact; a prototype iPod with a red logic board; a factory-sealed 4GB iPhone; and an assortment of vintage Apple-branded merch. 'Together, they track Apple's evolution from startup to giant,' Livingston says. So far, Livingston adds, interest in the collection has been 'extraordinary,' ranging from veteran collectors to first-time bidders. With more than a week left for incoming bids, the Apple-1 computer has already surpassed the $100,000 threshold, while many other items have top bids in the tens of thousands. 'These aren't just nostalgic artifacts; they're cultural touchstones,' Livingston says. 'The strongest interest comes from seasoned tech collectors and younger successful entrepreneurs who see these as physical chapters of a story still shaping the world.' The early-rate deadline for Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies Awards is Friday, September 5, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply today.

GE Appliances shifts more production to US as part of a $3 billion investment
GE Appliances shifts more production to US as part of a $3 billion investment

Associated Press

timea few seconds ago

  • Associated Press

GE Appliances shifts more production to US as part of a $3 billion investment

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — GE Appliances plans to shift production of refrigerators, gas ranges and water heaters out of China and Mexico as part of a more than $3 billion investment to expand its U.S. operations in Kentucky, Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee and South Carolina. The investment — the second-largest in the Louisville-based company's history — is expected to add more than 1,000 jobs while ramping up domestic production and modernizing plants in the next five years. 'Our long-term strategy is about manufacturing close to our customers,' said CEO Kevin Nolan. 'With lean manufacturing, upskilling our workforce and automation, the math works for manufacturing in the United States.' The majority of GE's appliance production is already in the U.S. and the shift means only that the company will transfer more work to its domestic plants. GE will relocate production of gas ranges from Mexico to a plant in Georgia, while six refrigerator models now made in China will be manufactured at its Alabama plant, the company said. In June, the company said it would move production of clothes washers from China to its sprawling manufacturing complex in Louisville. The reshoring announcements come as President Donald Trump tries to lure factories back to the United States by imposing import taxes — tariffs — on foreign goods. GE Appliances said Wednesday that the first phase of its new investment will begin at plants in five Southern states — Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and South Carolina. 'We are defining the future of manufacturing at GE Appliances by investing in our plants, people and communities,' Nolan said. 'No other appliance company over the last decade has invested more in U.S. manufacturing than we have, and our $3 billion, five-year plan shows that our commitment to U.S. manufacturing will continue into the future.' The multiyear plan includes ramping up production of gas ranges that have been made in Mexico but will shift to the company's plant in LaFayette, Georgia, the company said. Production of six refrigerators now made in China will move to its plant in Decatur, Alabama. GE's plant in Camden, South Carolina, will add production of electric and hybrid heat pump water heaters, doubling the factory's output and employment once the project is complete, the company said. The plant now produces gas water heaters. Production of the company's electric and hybrid water heaters — now made in China — will shift to South Carolina. In Selmer, Tennessee, its plant will produce two new models of air conditioners. The latest investment includes the June announcement that GE Appliances will pump $490 million into its Kentucky complex to produce a combo washer/dryer and a lineup of front load washers that are now made in China. In all, production of more than 15 models of front load washers will shift to the company's Louisville complex — known as Appliance Park, it said. Once its new plan is fully implemented, GE Appliances will have invested $6.5 billion across its 11 U.S. manufacturing plants and nationwide distribution network since 2016, it said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Wednesday that the investment shows his state's ability to support world-class companies with a skilled workforce and the resources needed to thrive. 'GE Appliances has established Kentucky as America's destination for advanced manufacturing and job creation, and today's news shows this iconic company's unwavering belief in the commonwealth and the role we play in their success,' Beshear said. GE Appliances handles product design and engineering work at its Louisville headquarters but doesn't make all of its products in the U.S. It contracts with other manufacturers, including in China, for some of its production where it doesn't have capacity or needs access to a global supply chain. The company said its core business strategy is to base production in the United States, and investments announced in June and on Wednesday are another step toward achieving that goal. The company said it's partnering with universities, technical schools and high schools to help ensure that its plants and other facilities have a trained workforce. 'Infrastructure and tools matter, but they are not enough,' said Bill Good, vice president of supply chain for GE Appliances. 'America's manufacturing renaissance will be built by people.' GE Appliances is a subsidiary of the China-based Haier company. Overall, GE Appliances says it contributes more than $30 billion annually to the U.S. economy and supports more than 113,000 jobs – both directly and indirectly – through its operations, suppliers and distribution network.

GE Appliances Plans $3 Billion U.S. Investment to Help Blunt Tariffs
GE Appliances Plans $3 Billion U.S. Investment to Help Blunt Tariffs

Wall Street Journal

time2 minutes ago

  • Wall Street Journal

GE Appliances Plans $3 Billion U.S. Investment to Help Blunt Tariffs

GE Appliances said it plans to invest $3 billion to expand and modernize its U.S. factories over the next five years, helping to blunt the effects of tariffs by reshoring some work now done in China and Mexico. The appliance maker, which is owned by China-based Haier Smart Home 600690 -0.12%decrease; red down pointing triangle, said the money will go into factories in South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama. A previously announced project, the $490 million expansion of a washing-machine factory in the company's home base of Louisville, Ky., is also part of the total.

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