from Hacker News

Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

by thejacenxpress on 5/4/17, 2:46 PM with 640 comments

by johnfn on 5/4/17, 3:07 PM
Soylent gets a lot of hate (I'm looking forward to skipping out on this thread before the inevitable negative comments from people who assume that Soylent consumers will eat nothing but Soylent for the rest of their lives), but to me, it's solved a large problem in my life: what to eat when I'm hungry but I don't have enough time to prepare a full meal. It can happen every now and then when I'm rushing around, and soylent blows away whatever I'd eat before (nothing, some Mexican I bought in the Mission, clif bars, etc).
I've actually switched over to a product called Ample which is similar to Soylent but a bit more health conscious with ingredient choice. Still, I've got nothing against Soylent.
by rubatuga on 5/4/17, 3:58 PM
Although I was initially brought onto the hype train by great marketing and the promises of health and complete nutrition, I realize that my initial reliance on Soylent was actually part of a deeper problem, brought on by problems such as depression and inappropriate time management. When in reality I should have had enough time to eat out or possibly even cook a meal, I found myself relying on Soylent. I didn't leave my room, and had trouble doing anything. I soon began to lose my appetite and had to force myself to gulp it down, attempting to make sure I wouldn't starve myself. Drinking Soylent was ruining my health.
I think many people approach Soylent as a way to solve some of their problems, but people should realize it won't be and can't be. Another person I knew had bought a few boxes of Soylent attempting to lose weight. In reality, she did not change her weight appreciably, as all she did was consume the same number of calories she would have otherwise.
Lastly I would like to add that there is some debate over the actual nutritional efficacy of the composition of Soylent. If you look at the bioavailability of their calcium supplement, calcium carbonate, it is significantly less than the one found in milk, calcium phosphate. However, Soylent will still claim that it is possible to have 100% D.V. of calcium with 5 bottles.
Overall, Soylent is probably not a healthy solution to your problems.
by dreammakr on 5/4/17, 6:02 PM
Long-time lurker, first time commenter. I've seen several people mention that there have not been meal replacement products like Soylent ever. The nutritional profile reminds me of EAS Myoplex + additional vitamins. Myoplex has been around since the mid 90s and was always marketed as a meal replacement. Learned about it from a bodybuilder website when trying to gain weight and easily "eat" extra meals. They have never marketed in the way Soylent has but it serves the same purpose. I took it to replace at least one meal a day for about two years. Blood work during that time period was normal and it worked well imo. Nothing against Soylent but the product is not a new concept.
by tommynicholas on 5/4/17, 3:04 PM
The new cacao Soylent is so much tastier than I expected it would be. Despite all the mocking Soylent gets, the product is excellent. Maybe it's groundbreaking and maybe it's not, but it's definitely helpful to my life.
by Afforess on 5/4/17, 3:51 PM
The crowds here saying that Soylent is "just" rebranded Ensure/Slimfast/etc sound like the same voices that said Dropbox was rebranded rsync/scp/ftp. The arguments are cookie-cutter and wrong for the same reasons they were with Dropbox.
by stevenwu on 5/4/17, 3:53 PM
On the topic of raising/burning $:
I remember seeing that they had a position open for a software engineering role. If I remember the job description correctly, they've built out their own online store?
I recently saw that you can buy their products through Amazon - I wonder if it was money well spent to roll out their own web store versus using Amazon/Shopify. As a past customer I don't remember seeing any particularly unique feature that made hiring in-house staff for this aspect necessary.
by tonydiv on 5/4/17, 3:22 PM
It amazes me that VCs find this type of business interesting because it's not defensible in many of the ways a software company is. I am also not sure why the company wants to raise this much money -- they need to continue growing like crazy (outside of tech regions where engineers who are unwilling to cook live) or go bust.
Nonetheless, the drink is ok. I tried it for a few months. Instead of avoiding cooking, I have embraced it, and now cook incredible meals for $3-$4 using my Joule sous vide. Eating real food has changed my mood significantly.
If anyone in SF wants to buy a whole box of Soylent Original (white bottles), I will sell an extra I have for 40% off. Must pick up, located at Chavez/Bryant.
by Karunamon on 5/4/17, 3:51 PM
To hopefully short-circuit a lot of pointless debate, the product you're about to mention is not equivalent to Soylent unless all of the following conditions are true:
1. It contains enough calories for an average healthy adult to live on (2000/cal/day, give or take)
2. The sugars used are high glycemic index
3. You will incur no major nutritional deficiencies/toxicities by long term use
4. It costs no more than $14/day (or $8/day for the powder) while satisfying all above conditions
Most diet drinks fail on condition 1, most meal replacements you're aware of like Ensure fail on conditions 2 and 3, and the leftovers usually fail on condition 4.
by zorbadgreek on 5/4/17, 3:10 PM
I'm trying to understand what Soylent's business moat is. My inclination is economies of scale to drive cost of goods down, like many food companies.
To that end, I don't see their product as all that unique or difficult to replicate, and I also foresee headwinds for them if/when they try to market to a broader base of consumers who already have powders, shakes, bars, and hundreds of other meal substitutes to choose from.
by NathanCH on 5/4/17, 8:13 PM
Soylent as a company has been run terribly. They've had numerous recalls and the recent price increase for Canadian customers is highway robbery.
That said, Soylent has improved my diet significantly. My entire life I have struggled to consume enough calories. Adding one serving of Soylent per day has allowed me to do two things:
1. Increase the number of calories I consume so I am in a daily surplus (I've gained a healthy 13 pounds since 2015 thanks to Soylent).
2. More importantly Soylent has accustomed me to eating larger meals. I can actually go to a restaurant and eat a full meal. I'm sure you can understand how much that has improved my social life.
Prior to Soylent I was consuming Ensure daily for more than five years but it's not enough calories to make a difference plus it's way more expensive.
by mks40 on 5/4/17, 3:17 PM
A question to Soylent customers:
Do you use it as the occasional convenient meal replacement or how far do you go into replacing all real food?
I suspect there is both, but what I am getting at is how much Soylent's long-term success depends on people seeing eating as a nuisance that should be optimized away versus something that should be savoured and enjoyed.
To me this is in the context of the larger question of personal utility maximisation. In the grand scheme of things, we have just started being able to really monitor and improve all aspects of our lives (in terms of time spent, convenience), and there is the question of how far we (most people/potential customers) ultimately want to go. It has become clear that there is the potential to optimise away friction/time spent in almost all human habits, but it is not yet clear if we really want to keep going down that route.
Will we keep optimizing things like meals just because we can until there are (conceivably) nutrient implants that make eating unnecessary, or will we sort of revert and see that maximising utility of every interaction does not lead to overall greater satisfaction?
In one world, Soylent could eventually dominate, in the other, it will remain a niche product because eating and food is too important too most, also culturally speaking.
by tdees40 on 5/4/17, 4:14 PM
It's a food company, and its product is fully baked. Why aren't they bootstrapping? Are they not profitable? If so, how do they have a business? If I sold ketchup at a loss, would I be able to close a $50M financing round?
by ckastner on 5/4/17, 4:25 PM
I find it odd how popular Soylent has become. I always considered it to be the product that it was in the movie: the absolute minimum of nourishment given a lack resources. A dystopian nightmare.
A popular argument seems to be "I don't have time eat something proper". To me, that just replaces the lack of one resource (the ones in the movie) with another (time).
by victorhooi on 5/5/17, 7:50 AM
I just completed the Everest Base Camp trek with my wife - I used Soylent (version 1.4) for the hike. So I basically subsisted on Soylent for 2 weeks of hiking/climbing up to 5,500 metres above sea level.
I did 1 packet per day (2000 calories), supplemented with some snack food on the trail (dried nuts and fruit, Stinger-brand honey waffles, muesli bars etc.).
Motivation was firstly as an experiment (to see how I would cope), secondly because I wanted to accurately control/measure my caloric intake, and thirdly, because I was somewhat paranoid about getting food poisoning on the trek. (I used a MSR Guardian to provide clean filtered water for mixing up Soylent).
I didn't really notice any odd effects - and it went better than expected well. Didn't get food poisoning (wife got diarrhoea, but she ate local food) - was a bit hungry on some days (in hindsight, 2,000 calories was a bit low - I upped it to 2,500 calories on the day I climbed Kala Pattar).
All I can say was, Soylent was great for this use-case, and I'm a firm believer now. At home, I only use Soylent for when I have no time to cook, and need a reasonably healthy/complete meal - if your alternative is going out for a late-night kebab, or 24-hour fast-food, it's not a hard choice for me =).
by matthewrudy on 5/4/17, 4:06 PM
I've never tried Soylent, but I do have to drink Ensure many times a day.
Ensure has a massive market, $billions in annual sales, and medically proven results.
The medical market is not where Soylent is going right now, But it is massive and proven.
If they could market to younger, hipper folks who've been prescribed Ensure, but would spend their own money for something nicer... That'd be me.
(BTW: I finally ordered some huel just now... Really sick of Ensure, will give that a try)
by mastarubio on 5/4/17, 10:03 PM
I have been using Soylent for breakfast for roughly 1.5 years and it has been great. I've lost weight and I feel healthier. I haven't got sick during this time either from a flu or serious cold. It's a great time saver when used as a breakfast food and will help save you precious time in the morning before you go to work. Time that you could spend sleeping rather than stuck in a drive-through or making something. Works for my busy lifestyle. And I like the fact that I am getting all those nutrients. While I realize it's not perfect now, it's nice to know that they are continually trying to improve it with the different versions. If it's at least half as nutritious as Soylent claims it is, that's a win in my book. And to think it might actually get to that holy grail where it's genuinely great for you then that will be something special. Realistically, this is probably a slow march, but one that I am proud to be a part of. Mixes great with fruit, peanut butter, honey and other food items too which I know is healthy for me.
by VikingCoder on 5/4/17, 3:24 PM
Soylent was fine. I maintained weight, and was eating better, and the food was easy.
But I'm in a medical weight loss program now, and I'm loving it. It's doctor supervised, I started out at 400 pounds, and I'm down to 360 after five weeks. It's medically supervised because I'm in ketosis, which can be very dangerous. So best to have blood drawn regularly, etc.
But the food is great. You can also get them as your own supplements / replacements.
http://www.robard.com/products/
Right now I'm eating 1,000 calories a day. I'll be going down to 800 calories per day. And I'm burning about 2,000 calories of my own fat every day (that's a pound). Again, this is a dangerous diet, but it's medically supervised.
I feel great, I don't feel "hungry" all the time. It's awesome.
by md2be on 5/4/17, 3:26 PM
This is a play on the large soft drink beverage companies who are literally thirsty for companies to replace their soda portfolios. Bai was recentesly aquifed by Dr Pepper for almost 2 billion. So a 10x return for this round is certainly possible.
by shas3 on 5/4/17, 7:40 PM
I am one of those people who got horrible nausea eating a couple of batches of the Soylent bar. I really liked the taste and the nutrition profile. But I simply cannot tolerate any Soylent products after the episodes of nausea. There is only one other food (an obscure Indian snack) that ever created a similar aversion in me. I don't know when, if ever I'll get over the association of Soylent with nausea in my head. I wish it had never happened so that I could have continued using their products.
by joshjkim on 5/4/17, 3:31 PM
What people gloss over about soylent on their way to the oft-repeated "it's just like slimfast wtf" point is that it's not the specific product that's interesting/innovative/valuable (it is kinda like slimfast...), it's taking that product to an entirely new and arguably larger market - I have no idea many 20 to 30 somethings working in tech were out there buying slimfast 10 years ago, but I'm guessing (and I could be wrong!) it's fewer than the number of folks who buy soylent today. assuming it can maintain appeal to "hard-working tech folks", then it's arguable that they can also successfully appeal to other professionals in other markets who, again, I would guess were not buying slimfast or other meal/diet drinks. it's all about marketing and "telling a new story", and i don't mean that in a bad way at all - sure, any company can quickly copy the ingredients, but they will also have to sell the same story, which is totally possible but arguably harder to do as well. that all being said, marketing IMO is only so good of a moat and there's only a few co's who really dominate relying mostly on it (coke, hermes, nike to name a few), so i'm not sure the new market and their story is worth this large of an investment, but who knows it very well could be!
by Rudism on 5/4/17, 6:41 PM
I've been trying out alternate-day fasting (alternating between 500-600 calorie "fasting" days and normal eating days). Primarily to help me lose a few pounds, but also in response to all of the recent publicized studies about how fasting and calorie restriction may have other overall health benefits.
Usually on my 500 calorie days I'll just drink a couple Boosts. I'd like to consider Soylent as an option for the fasting days as well, but from a cost perspective it can't really compete with the other alternatives out there (Boost, Ensure, and various no-name store brands available from places like Sam's Club and Costco). Liquid Soylent runs between $2.69-$3.09/400kcal, whereas high protein Boost (which is not even the cheapest option if you're willing to go with no-name brands) runs at $1.93/400kcal. Going with Soylent Powder can bring your costs down more in line at $1.54/400kcal, but the added hassle of having to mix it yourself doesn't make this a very attractive option in comparison.
I guess what I'm ultimately getting at is, assuming you are just using Soylent to supplement an otherwise normal diet, I don't understand its appeal over other less expensive nutritional meal supplements like Boost and Ensure.
by wakkaflokka on 5/4/17, 6:30 PM
I've been drinking Soylent every day for breakfast for the past year (the bottles). I find it really convenient, and unlike SlimFast and other shakes, it doesn't seem overly sweet to me. It gets rid of my hunger with no fuss, no mess, and no fanfare. Ideally, I could eat a healthy breakfast, but in reality I know that I'd just be pounding down some cereal bars or something, which would arguably be worse nutrition-wise than Soylent.
by datashovel on 5/4/17, 8:12 PM
Because of all the negativity in Soylent threads I always feel obliged to add my opinion. Soylent has been an extremely positive addition to my life.
by kingkawn on 5/4/17, 3:47 PM
The idea that nutrition can be boiled down in this way feels that it will inevitably be missing something severely important that the modeling doesn't account for. The modelers afterwards will excuse the oversight by saying look this thing was so small, who would've thought to measure in such and such a way? Nature.
by Animats on 5/4/17, 5:46 PM
Does this mean they're going to make their own product? Currently, Soylent, the company, is just a marketing operation. Everything else is outsourced.
That's not an unusual strategy for hype-based products. Skyy Vodka and WD-40 were completely outsourced. Skyy Vodka was originally made by Frank-Lin Distillers Products in San Jose, the company that makes most of the low-end booze on the West Coast. Frank-Lin buys bulk ethanol by the tank car load (they have their own railroad sidings), does a little post-processing on the ethanol, takes in tap water and runs it through a deionzing plant, mixes them, adds flavoring, and bottles. They have a really fancy automated bottling line which can handle about a thousand different bottles and can change bottle types automatically. This is called product differentiation.
by JohnnyConatus on 5/4/17, 5:01 PM
Did anyone else have this problem: you enjoyed the product at first but after X number of bottles (like case 2 for me) your body started to react poorly to it and the taste became repulsive?
Not trying to badmouth soylent, I had a similar experience with a brand of granola bars.
by Balgair on 5/4/17, 5:08 PM
Oh boy, another Soylent thread.... Here is how the comments are going to go: Half the commenters are going to say Soylent is not supposed to be for every meal, it's just for when you are too busy to eat. The other half cannot fathom ever using Soylent because if they are too busy to eat they will quit their job first, no exceptions. Neither side can bridge the gap, as food culture is very unique to each person. Let the market sort it all, props to Soylent for letting that happen and not wringingtheir hands over all of it.
(For the record, I would quit my job before skipping meals; they are actually that important to me staying sane)
by hvmonk on 5/4/17, 4:29 PM
Is there any long term effect medical study about this product?
I think our body has organs which releases various gastric juices to digest the food we eat. It is not only about how much calorie/protein one is consuming, there are also some useful by-products which helps in overall functioning of the body as well. A very simple analogy is only drinking fruit juice instead of eating them raw. We are not taking in fibers which helps in digestion, slow decomposition and good bowl movement.
I am very skeptical about approaches like this where we measure our food just in terms of calories, vitamins, protiens and then consume them directly in that format.
by costcopizza on 5/4/17, 3:17 PM
Ensure wrapped up in a nice minimalist package.
by rexreed on 5/4/17, 10:46 PM
There's no saying more true than you are what you eat (or drink). Soylent drinkers are definitely Soylent people. I prefer a world of flavor, spice, and variety. I also wonder if it's a coincidence that the funders of the Juicero (solving a problem no one knew they had for people who clearly have too much disposable income) are the same as the funders of Soylent. I know there's a high overlap of HN readers and Soylent drinkers, but I think there's a big disconnect with the rest of the non-Silicon Valley populace.
by gavanwoolery on 5/4/17, 7:32 PM
As an anecdotal/tiny success story, I drank Soylent exclusively for a month and lost 10 pounds - of course, this was by dramatically reducing my calories and exercising, not by virtue of Soylent alone. That said, I did find Soylent to be great on two accounts - it is not something you will consume for fun/pleasure/killing boredom, and it is easy to measure your calorie intake if you are consuming it solely. Side note: I am not a doctor or nutritionist, do not take my story as scientifically-grounded advice.
by muratmutlu on 5/4/17, 10:53 PM
Anyone know the difference between Soylent and a good quality weight gainer like Reflex Instant Mass Pro?
Nutrition Facts
Reflex Instant Mass Pro https://www.reflexnutrition.com/instant-mass-pro/
Soylent http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-nutrition-facts-1-8-en....
by Kattywumpus on 5/4/17, 3:21 PM
I wonder how long it will be until some VC forces the inevitable rebranding of the Soylent name.
"We need to reach out to a larger demographic with a name that communicates the value proposition of the product. Liquid Lunch focus-groups well in the demographic of females 18-30, which is where we see our growth trending in future..."
I've always liked the cheekiness of the Soylent name and it's really the only thing that's made me pay the slightest bit of attention to the product.
by bcaulfield on 5/5/17, 9:16 AM
Coffiest easily exceeded my modest expectations. Quick, easy to digest when I'm nervous, and the combination of caffeine and theanine is... nice. My diet is trash, and it's vastly better than not eating or stopping for an Egg McMuffin at the drive through.
Soylent has gotten me off fast food entirely. I keep a few bottles at home and at work, so that I can get a meal during my commute that doesn't come from a drive through.
by akvadrako on 5/4/17, 9:04 PM
I can't stand reading these posts about Soylent. There is so much irrational hate backed up by nothing more than incomplete and irrelevant arguments. People recommend virtually any other product even if it misses half the qualities of Soylent; things like nuts + fruits, whey protein, ensure, clif bars or even cooking.
I'm fairly certain it's due to an astroturfing campaign, but I don't know who would pay for such a thing.
by mikro on 5/4/17, 5:04 PM
I drink a lot of coffee, and for me the Coffiest product is cheaper and healthier than your average Starbucks drink. I also really like the taste of the Cacao drink, which satisfies my sweet tooth whenever I feel like reaching for a bar of chocolate. I don't necessarily view it as a meal replacement, but rather an upgrade to unhealthy things I already eat regularly.
by aomix on 5/4/17, 9:37 PM
I still don't understand the strong reactions Soylent gets on either side. There's plenty to criticize and to like but reactions to it cluster around it being the end of the world or solution to all your problems.
I'm a fan of the breakfast Soylent (Coffiest). To me it's the best form of the Soylent idea.
by ebbv on 5/4/17, 7:49 PM
If Soylent were a good idea it wouldn't need a $50M funding round at this point. People know about it. Most people I know who've tried it after a while didn't like it any more and abandoned it.
And now they've brought out flavors, basically turning it into an expensive meal replacement. It's ridiculous.
by venture_lol on 5/4/17, 4:19 PM
Live a restrictive life, careful, watching, planning and get life expectancy of 85yrs ? A bad turn of luck could be the end is right around the corner
Live a wild debauched, taste everything, free for all, no care whatsoever and get a life expectancy of: 80yrs? A somewhat lucky draw could see you beyond 90
Hard choices :)
by awl130 on 5/4/17, 6:26 PM
I'm reserving judgement until I know exactly how Soylent affects our microbiome. This study seems to just have gotten started: https://mycrobes.berkeley.edu/the-study/
by eddieone on 5/4/17, 6:38 PM
As a person who has researched Soylent, I would not describe it as cheap or healthy. Most of the people with opposing opinions seem to think it's a magic weight loss supplement. In reality, the properties that cause weight loss seem to be the low quality ingredients.
by epmaybe on 5/4/17, 10:16 PM
One thing I'm curious about: do liquid diet like Soylent change the brush border in our intestines in an appreciable way? If I went completely soylent for a few months, and then tried to eat something more...raw, would there be any changes in digestion?
by sebringj on 5/4/17, 7:32 PM
"Everything the body needs..." - the Matrix next we get implantable nutrient packs that last for a year. Hey, YCombinator idea? Go fund that. (this might classify as a troll post as its not particularly relevant but just had to, sorry)
by sachinag on 5/4/17, 3:34 PM
If Forerunner didn't participate in this, then Soylent doesn't have a chance. I'd trust Forerunner over GV (or anyone) on a new consumer brand - and that's what Soylent is, going up against everything from Hint water to Ensure.
by arzt on 5/4/17, 3:13 PM
I'm curious about the naming choice as the end of the movie with Heston reveals that eating "Soylent Green" is a form of cannibalism. Does the term "Soylent" signify something outside of the movie?
by zenkat on 5/5/17, 5:57 AM
Does anyone know the valuation of the company? And more importantly, what justifies that valuation? I have trouble believing that the meal replacement market is all that lucrative.
by ceejay on 5/4/17, 5:31 PM
I used to get annoyed by all the negativity Soylent received from people. Now I just get amused by it. Soylent has been nothing but a positive addition to my life.
by skdotdan on 5/4/17, 4:22 PM
The future is food that tastes and feels like real food but with the nutrients that your genetics and physical conditions tell that you should eat. One day...
by grandalf on 5/4/17, 3:10 PM
I've been wanting to try Soylent but have not done so b/c of the price. Is there an HN promo code or something? I'd try it for a full month.
by intrasight on 5/5/17, 1:09 AM
How is Soylent better than buying a quality blender and fresh veggies and protein powder and coconut oil? Or is for folks who live in a food desert?
by theprop on 5/4/17, 7:10 PM
The best food advice I've read: don't eat or drink anything that humans haven't been eating or drinking for at least 500 years.
by vthallam on 5/4/17, 4:49 PM
Off topic, but have anyone tried 'Soylent Coffiest'? How do you like it for breakfast + coffee replacement for few days a week?
by b1gtuna on 5/4/17, 9:53 PM
Congratulations.
I have been drinking Soylent 12 bottles a month. This alone has freed me up from thinking about what to eat for lunch.
by mtw on 5/4/17, 6:11 PM
Does anyone know of any clinical trials showing health benefits of Soylent? or adverse health consequences?
by rubyfan on 5/4/17, 10:26 PM
Have they figured out the vile angry flatulence problem?
by vernie on 5/4/17, 10:05 PM
Maybe... you're not as busy as you believe you are?
by zzzzzzzza on 5/4/17, 4:41 PM
personally I love soylent. Curious what the hard numbers are on sales growth/units shipped per month.
by aanet on 5/4/17, 6:27 PM
Soylent and Juicero
Rather surprised that nobody, as yet, has made a connection between Soylent and Juicero.
* 1st: Juicing & Nutrition - There’s very little evidence that liquid food / juicing has any benefits for most adults. Most nutritionists worth their salt will advise against juicing. Juicero (and other juice makers) take perfectly good,healthy, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables and make them less healthy. Ditto for Soylent. Crushing natural foods (vegetables, fruits, any other in their natural form) together to seek out their nutrients, and reconstituting them in powder/liquid form is, by any other fancy name, a juice. “The skin on an apple, the seeds in raspberries and the membranes that hold orange segments together — they are all good for you. That is where most of the fiber, as well as many of the antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals are hiding. Fiber is good for your gut; it fills you up and slows the absorption of the sugars you eat, resulting in smaller spikes in insulin. When your body can no longer keep up with your need for insulin, Type 2 diabetes can develop.” [1]
- I wonder if people who see the benefits of Soylent/juicing have read Michael Pollan or Marion Nestle. See [1], [2], [3]
* 2nd: Silicon Valley and investments Both Soylent and Juicero are funded by marquee investors. Here’s a brief list for Juicero (Total $118M raised) [4] GV (nee Google Ventures) KPCB Abstract Campbell Soup Thrive Capital
Here’s for Soylent (Total $70M raised):[5] GV (nee Google Ventures) A16Z Tao Capital Index Ventures YC Lerner Hippeau Initialized Capital
What do these have in common? Apart from being in the food business? It is the Food-as-a-Service business model. That is the essential ingredient (no pun) of the business, not the nutrients per se.
In effect, both Soylent and Juicero are products targeted towards high disposable income, busy professionals who want convenience, and perhaps the glow of “save the world from hunger”. (whatever that means). Any health benefits are inconsequential at best in the grand scheme of things.
If you value your nutrition and health, you are far better off relying on the tried-and-tested advice from Michael Pollan: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants.
All other rationalization of time/effort/nutritional benefit of Soylent/Juicero in “save what world from hunger” is, well, just plain old rationalization by any other name.
[1] [People think juice is good for them. They’re wrong. - The Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/04/26/...) [2] [Books | Michael Pollan](http://michaelpollan.com/books/) [3] [Marion Nestle - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Nestle) [4] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/juicero/investors [5] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/soylent-corporation#...
by catenthusiast on 5/4/17, 3:44 PM
Nerds will buy anything if trendy Silicon Valley ‘thought leaders’ endorse it.
by accountyaccount on 5/4/17, 3:22 PM
Aside from brand, how does soylent differ from ensure?
by maverick_iceman on 5/4/17, 3:59 PM
Don't know why GV would invest in Soylent after so much fiasco. Seems like they earn money so easily that they are content to throw it away.
by Questron on 5/4/17, 4:47 PM
Weird. You need food during an eight hour shift?
by CPLX on 5/4/17, 3:06 PM
That's quite a chunk of change for rebranding SlimFast for the urban millennial set. I wonder how many other eight figure venture-fundable concepts could be exploited by lurking in the grocery store aisles with a label maker.
by moat on 5/4/17, 3:05 PM
I feel like I'm the only who has ever read the nutrition facts. It's a garbage product full of ingredients I wouldn't aim to put in my body. Love the idea of it all, just not the science behind it.
by pinaceae on 5/4/17, 4:53 PM
Soylent - We've put SlimFast on the Internet.
And this after JuiceBro. Amazing.
by metaphorm on 5/4/17, 3:52 PM
I feel like more people should read this book
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/315425.In_Defense_of_Food
by joering2 on 5/4/17, 3:08 PM
Serious question -- do they have an FDA approval?? Can they produce and sell it without it?
Recently learnt about some Amish selling home made honey without FDA approval; now awaiting trial on a 20 years jail charge.