Thanks to an early and unexpected gift from her father, 36-year-old Yang Huiyan is Asia's youngest female billionaire. She's also one of the richest women on the continent outright, with a worth of $13bn. All of it more or less came to her overnight after her father spontaneously decided to give her 55% of his real estate company Country Garden Holdings in 2007. At the time she was just 24.
Huiyan may not have been expecting the gift, but she was being groomed to take control of the company in the long term. She traveled to America to study as a teenager, graduating with a degree from Ohio State University in Marketing and Logistics. She's shown her worth to the company on multiple occasions; her dad is still in charge, but she serves as vice chairperson and was credited with the idea of creating new shares in the firm. That brought in revenue of $410m, which goes some way to repaying the enormous investment her father made in her.
For the past few years, we've been seeing more and more food halls dominate the retail industry. The craze has swept Los Angeles and New York by storm and is now making its way to Miami. In Magic City alone, ten of these food parks have opened just recently. The mania is even set to triple in size by the year 2020.
Now more than ever, more people have been adopting a vegan lifestyle. A survey in the United Kingdom reveals that 3.5 million residents have turned vegan, while 20 percent have at least tried the concept. People are now wanting to cut down on meat, and the food industry is giving in to the demand. Even wineries have started stocking up on vegan wines.
Due to increased awareness and desire to help the environment, companies have become more committed to eco-friendly food packaging. Previously, companies didnt care much about producing a ton of waste; but now, efforts to reuse, reduce, and recycle are much more apparent. For instance, PepsiCo has committed to creating completely recyclable packaging by the year 2025.
Who would have thought that young millennials would be into rum? These barrel-aged, small-batch rums are the latest trend in booze, and now even British companies such as Essexs English Spirit are joining in. The spirit is one of the most popular and versatile forms of alcohol, whether it be sweet or strong, dark or white, neat with ice or served with coke.
Nowadays, people have become more accepting of imperfection; when it comes to fresh produce that is. Imperfect Produce is just one of the grocery delivery companies that serve physically flawed fruits and vegetables. This effort is geared toward reducing waste, and the disfigured foods are often turned into hummus, crisps, and juices.
Various Asian restaurants have been popping up recently, and Sri Lankan cuisine is slowly making its way to the western palate. Sri Lankan dishes such as kottu roti, pol sambol, coconut relish, and hoppers, are being introduced to the market, and people are loving it. Unlike before, the Sri Lankan flavor is finally being recognized as an individual cuisine, separate from Indian food.