Ocado is getting in early into what may become a profitable niche of the global food supply chain with its £17m plans to roll out vertical farms near its existing warehouses (Financial Times £). It is investing in a 58% stake in Jones Food and it has formed a joint venture, Infinite Acres, with 80 Acres Farms and Piva, suppliers of vertical farming equipment and expertise. The only catch concerns the dubious sustainability claims of the technique, the newspaper says.

The investment is the latest sign that Ocado is already looking to other markets beyond automated warehouses, says the (Financial Times £). The prospect of supermarkets delivering fruit and vegetables within hours of them being picked has moved a step closer (The Times £). The Daily Mail says Ocado’s shares jumped 4.7% to 1,165p after betting on “skyscraper farms of the future”.

The Guardian quotes Ocado finance director Duncan Tatton-Brown saying the group could open at least 10 more similar farms within five years. He said Jones Food and Ocado were considering how Ocado’s expertise in robotics and artificial intelligence could be used to make Jones Food more efficient. Sky News says Ocado’s technology chief, Paul Clarke, sees environmental benefits.

Shoppers are paying the cost as Sainsburys and Asda hike prices across hundreds of products following their failed £14bn merger The Daily Mail. They have pushed up the cost of around 500 own-brand goods such as biscuits, cakes, soft drinks, cooking oil, sauces and spreads, says the newspaper, citing The Grocer.

Amazon has clinched the top spot in the world’s most valuable brand rankings thanks to its strategic focus on expanding its ecosystem. Its brand value has quintupled in the past five years to reach $315.5bn, according to the 2019 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands rankings by WPP and Kantar, (Financial Times £). The full rankings, which can be found here, puts McDonalds is in ninth place, Coca-Cola 14th, Marlbro 15th, Starbucks 24th, Walmart 32nd, Budweiser 51st, Uber 53rd, Costco 62nd, KFC, 85th, Subway, 86th and Gillette 98th.

Beyond Meat shares jumped as much as 34.5% on Monday to a record high of $186.43 before settling down to a 23% daily rise (Financial Times £). The newspaper says competition in the market is heating up with Impossible Foods’ distribution deal with Burger King. Nestlé has also launched meet-free burgers. The report says a key test for Beyond Meat could come on 29 October when the 180-day lock-up period expires and more shares hit the market.

Tesco will increase wages for store and warehouse workers by 10.45% to £9.30 an hour over the next two years, offset by loss of their annual bonus The Guardian. Pay will initially rise this autumn to £9, bringing it in line with current rates paid by Lidl and Asda.

Deliveroo has linked with the Salvation Army to provide food to the charity’s shelters in north and east London before expanding the joint venture across the capital (Evening Standard).

Jim Brown, a former Royal Bank of Scotland executive, has been appointed the next boss of Sainsbury’s financial services arm (Sky News). He will replace Peter Griffiths later this month.

Theresa May is to announce a series of measures to build on the Modern Slavery Act and help protect people against forced labour, sexual exploitation and trafficking when she speaks at the United Nations’ International Labour Organisation centenary conference in Geneva reports Sky News.

US president Donald Trump has warned his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, he will tax the remaining Chinese goods currently not affected by the trade war if the Chinese president boycotts the looming G20 summit (Sky News). Trump told reporters he could impose tariffs of 25%, or “much higher than 25%” on $300bn in Chinese goods (Bloomberg).

Unilever has bought Tatcha, the luxury skincare brand for a rumoured £394m, says The Daily Mail.

Amazon’s chief robotics technologist, Tye Brady, has told the BBC its warehouses will always need human staff even though it has deployed more than 200,000 warehouse robots working in about 50 of its locations.

Tesco chief executive Dave Lewis will be among speakers at The Times (£) annual CEO Summit which will discuss the global economy among other issues.

Planet Organic founder Renee Elliott tells The Independent taking care of yourself is key to a successful career and family life.

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