57 ms·
Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV
- catenthusiast 9y agoNerds will buy anything if trendy Silicon Valley ‘thought leaders’ endorse it.
- tommynicholas 9y agoThe 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.
- akcreek 9y agoThe cacao is pretty good, but the other new flavor, nectar, is terrible IMO. Tastes like liquid pez. I still prefer the original flavor for meals. Cacao tastes more like a treat than a meal.
- Nannooskeeska 9y agoI'm with you on the Nectar. I nearly threw up when I finished my first bottle.
- robbiemitchell 9y agoIt's my favorite. Tastes like the milk leftover from a bowl of Fruit Loops.
- tedmiston 9y agoNectar seems to be super polarizing. I think it's the best one personally and drink it about every day, roughly 3x more than original + coffiest combined. I ordered one case of cacao but don't really care for the way their chocolate flavor tastes.
- tommynicholas 9y agoGot a case of Nectar - I sort of expected it to be bad but we'll see. May go to 50/50 regular and cacao.
- Blaaguuu 9y agoI don't like any of the flavored versions... Cacao was way too sweet, Nectar tasted like drinking a bottle of Windex, and while I actually kinda liked the Coffeist version, it tasted more like chocolate than coffee to me, and my understanding is that there isn't any actual coffee in it, just artificial flavors... so I would rather have a cup of coffee with my normal Soylent in the morning.
- JackMorgan 9y agoLove that one. Def don't like the coffee though :(
- johnfn 9y agoIt's funny how different taste is. I love the flavor of coffiest. If not for the high amount of caffeine (and reasons of general food sanity) I could have it all day every day.
- dmerrick 9y agoI love the cacao, its sweetness is tremendously useful to me as a replacement for desserts and unhealthy snacks.
- moat 9y agoI 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.
- throwaway91111 9y agoOut of curiosity, what did you see that disturbed you?
- skciva 9y agoCan you elaborate a bit? What exactly is garbage about the ingredients?
- parthdesai 9y agoI'm wondering the same. The only thing that jumps out to me is 9g of sugar but even that is not bad. 20g of protein in a 400 calorie meal is pretty good.
- skciva 9y agoYeah I'm hoping the parent responds, I don't consider myself an expert on nutrition so I'm curious if theres something we're not seeing! I tried Soylent for a bit and had mixed results, but that was I think mostly due to misjudging how many calories I actually needed.
- moat 9y agoFirst off ingredients on labels are listed in order of most prevalent to least. So what stands out specifically is the unhealthy oils. Sunflower and canola. I'm mobile or I would paste links, but read up on them. Horrible omega ratios, and sketchy by-products are usually found in them (hopefully Soylent at least has quality versions of this). Also maltodextrin is always one of the main ingredients. Super high gi, and no nutritional value.
- ajmurmann 9y ago
- CPLX 9y agoThat'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.
- doughj3 9y agoShame you're being downvoted. You can find powdered meals or ready-to-go shakes with similar or better nutrient profiles than Soylent in most grocery stores .
- cbr 9y ago"similar or better nutrient profiles than Soylent in most grocery stores" Really? Slimfast and Ensure have much higher amounts of sugar; what are you thinking of?
- Karunamon 9y agoYou don't quite understand what the deal with Soylent is. You couldn't live on SlimFast if you had to. It's an appetite suppressant/meal replacement for short term use, given that it's not nutritionally balanced. Neither is it similar to Ensure or most other meal replacement drinks for the same reasons. They're usually absolutely loaded with fast, low-index sugars that'll spike your blood sugar. Basically, it's the food equivalent of water. Neutral, nutritious, has what your body needs and nothing more. The carb source they're using is high-GI, meaning it won't cause that spike. The idea being that when you CBA'd to cook, when you'd normally run to the local burger joint's drivethru, you shake up a glass of this stuff, and you're back to doing whatever you're doing for cheaper (about $3 a meal) and in less time. Basically, it hits all of the right notes that most of the on-the-shelf competitors do not. It's relatively cheap, it keeps a long time, it's actually good for you, it's convenient as food could ever possibly be. I personally love the stuff.
- MiddleEndian 9y agoIt was hard to find the right nutrition data, but: Slim Fast: http://www.livestrong.com/article/125563-slim-fast/ http://www.livestrong.com/article/125563-slim-fast/ http://www.fathead-movie.com/images/slimfast.png http://www.fathead-movie.com/images/slimfast.png https://tamafitness.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/shakeology_vs_slimfast.jpg https://tamafitness.files.wordpress.com/2011/08/shakeology_v... Sounds like you could probably survive entirely on Slim Fast. It's got Iron (which the original Soylent didn't have), Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin B, Vitamin D, and Iodine, and a bunch of other micronutrients. You probably wouldn't have a great time but I doubt you would on a Soylent-only diet either. Solyent doesn't seem to differ much: http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-drink-nutrition-facts-en.pdf http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-drink-nutrition-facts-e...
- johnfn 9y agoSoylent 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.
- endorphone 9y agoSoylent gets a lot of hype, and invariably the hype follows a predictable pattern- "Geez, you don't eat only Soylent! It's just an occasional meal replacement!" "Okay, then how is it interesting when there are dozens of competing products in the meal replacement category?" "Because those aren't a full dietary replacement. You can't live on only Ensure (insert many other products here)." "Okay....but you just said..." I don't get Soylent. Not only is food one of the greatest luxuries in life -- one of the greatest rewards -- it's laughably easy to have a nutritionally complete lifestyle with minimal effort or time. But if I were enfeebled they all sound pretty terrible.
- johnfn 9y agoI would gladly pay twice the amount I pay for Soylent for a "nutritionally complete lifestyle" that I could get in the same amount of time. I honestly don't think it exists, though. Cooking and preparing food takes time and creativity. > Not only is good one of the greatest luxuries in life See, I promised myself I would leave this thread before people started toting out the arguments isomorphic to "you only eat Soylent 100% of the time! You monster!" - and yet here we are :). I thought I made it clear in my OP, but I don't eat Soylent for every meal- just the meals where, in the absence of Soylent, I would have had something worse. Does that clear things up?
- endorphone 9y ago
- joering2 9y agoSerious 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.
- protomyth 9y agoCan you point to that story? I know some got caught putting "cures cancer" on the label and that is a big no-no.
- joering2 9y agoYes that was the one. He had a client cliaming she got cancer free. http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-02-23-amish-farmer-facing-68-years-in-federal-prison-for-making-homemade-products.html http://www.naturalnews.com/2017-02-23-amish-farmer-facing-68...
- protomyth 9y agoYeah, that's a whole different thing. The FDA is a bit nasty to anyone claiming any health benefit without a study. Ask the cereal companies, they got sued quite a lot. Soylent and others just have to put labels on the food and that can be done without some prior approval. The killer FDA rule that is going to impact a lot of people goes effective for enforcement on May 5.
- saalweachter 9y agoYeah, that's not selling honey, that's selling a beeswax balm and claiming it cures cancer. I'm willing to believe he was a well-intentioned idiot and not a deliberate scammer like Trudeau, but well intentioned idiots kill a lot of people. Honey itself is basically unregulated - you can more-or-less dump unfiltered honey into bottles in your garage and sell it.
- DanBC 9y agoIt's just food, and food doesn't need FDA approval. They've stopped making medical claims for the product. > Recently learnt about some Amish selling home made honey without FDA approval; now awaiting trial on a 20 years jail charge. I'd be inteested to read that case. Most of the cases I've seen people were making clear medical claims ("cures cancer") or selling raw milk.
- grandalf 9y agoI'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.
- andrewmunsell 9y agoSoylent offers 50% off if you "refer a friend", so you can get it for ~$16. http://soy.lt/r/bbyysMpsFN http://soy.lt/r/bbyysMpsFN Note, though this is a "referral link", I do not get anything out of it, but they do donate to World Food Program USA: https://www.soylent.com/refer/ https://www.soylent.com/refer/
- grandalf 9y agoThanks :) Just ordered some.
- zorbadgreek 9y agoI'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.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- Gracana 9y agoIIRC Soylent is not patented and the creator has said that if someone can create the same thing, then that's fine because the goal is to help people. So... it doesn't matter.
- blueatlas 9y agoI can't imagine that the creator of Soylent really feels that way, at least from a business perspective. I doubt investors would put their money into a business that was fine with getting beat in the marketplace as long as it helps people.
- enraged_camel 9y ago>>I can't imagine that the creator of Soylent really feels that way, at least from a business perspective. Why not? Elon Musk did the same thing by basically saying Tesla's patents are "open-source" and free to use: https://www.tesla.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you https://www.tesla.com/blog/all-our-patent-are-belong-you
- dsacco 9y agoCynically, I think Musk did that because 1) it buys good will and 2) the patents aren't Tesla's moat.
- 9y ago
- arzt 9y agoI'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?
- milquetoastaf 9y agoIn the movie "Soylent Green" (the book its based on is different, in fact I don't even think there's cannibalism in it) there are a variety of meal-replacement foodstuffs known as Soylent, including red and yellow, that are made from soy and algae. Green is the only one made from humans.
- jamestanderson 9y agoWell, a large part of what makes up Soylent is soy protein isolate. So there's that.
- luhn 9y agoNo, the name is directly referencing the movie. It's a tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, much in the spirit of programming culture.
- jcheng 9y agoIt's not, it's referencing the book that the (apparently very different) movie is loosely inspired by. https://faq.soylent.com/hc/en-us/articles/201541809-Why-is-it-named-Soylent- https://faq.soylent.com/hc/en-us/articles/201541809-Why-is-i...
- dragonwriter 9y agoGiven that Soylent in the book is an apparently commercially successful product that rides the wave of a Malthusian catastrophe, it's still an odd choice (or a revealing Freudian slip) given their early hype about solving world hunger.
- rdiddly 9y agoI wonder how many of its customers are too young to appreciate the reference or the irony. To them Soylent means one thing - this product. It'd be tricky to find out though, without spilling the beans. Kind of a quantum question in that way.
- mks40 9y agoA 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.
- robbiemitchell 9y agoOccasional meal replacement. I keep a couple in the fridge at home and work and will grab one if I'm looking to save time and/or money. Bought one case each of Coffiest and Nectar on Amazon.
- mulletbum 9y agoI have done both in my time with Soylent. When I first started I went 100%, then was one of the first people to get horribly sick of the bars, eventually quitting. Now I eat Soylent as a replacement for meals in which I usually eat crap foods. If I was going to get a sausage mcmuffin from McDonalds, instead I eat a Cookies and Cream Soylent "shake." I think that Soylent's big play is in a healthy meal replacement that is scientifically formulated to be healthy. They have fought with that and being environmentally friendly, but I think it all comes back to being a healthy food in the end. The 3 people I know who eat it, do exactly the same as me. Most tried 50% for a bit, but eventually it is used as a convenient mildly healthy meal replacement when needed.
- 9y ago
- costcopizza 9y agoEnsure wrapped up in a nice minimalist package.
- Kattywumpus 9y agoI 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.
- domenicd 9y agoSerious question: how many people in that demographic group do you think have ever seen the movie/read the book that it's based on? I'm approaching 30 myself and never heard of the source material before all the news articles/comment threads on this new powder I was buying. Which is to say, I don't think the name is as problematic for the real-world target audience as some people make it out to be.
- accountyaccount 9y agoAside from brand, how does soylent differ from ensure?
- idlewords 9y agoSoylent gets millions of dollars from tech investors.
- pyrophane 9y agoThere isn't an Ensure product that is formulated similarly to Soylent at the moment. Ensure has two products with a similar calorie count compared to Soylent (Ensure 350g vs Soylent 400g). Here's how they break down: Soylent Drink: 400cal, 21g fat, 20g protein, 36g total carb. 9g sugar. Ensure Plus: 350cal, 11g fat, 13g protein, 57g carb. 22g sugar. Ensure Enlive: 250cal, 11g fat, 20g protein, 45g carb. 22g sugar. As you can see, Soylent has more fat, which provides 9 cal/gram compared to 4cal/gram from carb/protein. This allows it to hit its calorie goal without adding nearly as many carbs and sugars.
- accountyaccount 9y agoInteresting. Thank you for the detailed breakdown.
- tonydiv 9y agoIt 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.
- wil421 9y agoWhat meals are you cooking for $3-4 on the Joule? Looking at getting a Joule soon.
- rockostrich 9y agoAny meal you can cook without the Joule using other cooking methods. 8 oz of chicken breast (~$1.50), 6 oz of brussel sprouts (~$0.75), 8 oz of potatoes (~$0.25). That's a $2.50 meal. Add half an onion, some bell pepper, some spices, and oil for cooking and it probably comes out to less than $3. Of course, those are average food prices in the US so YMMV. If you're in NYC or LA/SF, it's going to cost more than that no matter where you shop.
- wil421 9y agoSounds reasonable and delicious. I'm in Atlanta and those prices are similar. Thanks!
- mighty_atomic_c 9y agoSous vide burssels sprouts? I mean, sous vide is amazing, but have you ever had your sprouts crispy? I used to be pretty indifferent to them until my fiancee cooked them up crispy. Hmm... Now I'm thinking about food, oh look, its lunchtime.
- 9y ago
- VikingCoder 9y agoSoylent 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/ 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.
- ceejayoz 9y ago> Again, this is a dangerous diet, but it's medically supervised. I'm glad it's working well for you, but I'd just caution that plenty of quackery is "medically supervised", as were fen-phen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenfluramine/phentermine) and the Tuskegee trials.
- VikingCoder 9y agoThere's a ton of research on reduced calorie diets, and my physician referred me to this program, and it's run by my hospital system. I meet with dietitians, physical trainers, social workers, and physicians monthly. /shrug I don't really know how to evaluate it much better than that.
- Greenisus 9y agoThere is a massive amount of info supporting ketogenic diets and fasting. I'd recommend you look into the Keto Talk and Fasting Talk podcasts and read Jimmy Moore's books: Keto Clarity and the Complete Guide to Fasting. Also, congrats on your progress and keep it up! I dropped over 60 pounds (started at 215 lbs, now at 152 and very lean) doing what you're doing. But ceejayoz's advice is good advice... always do your own research!
- md2be 9y agoThis 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.
- joshjkim 9y agoWhat 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!
- sachinag 9y agoIf 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.
- kingkawn 9y agoThe 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.
- dualogy 9y agoThey just bundle the known "essentials" for actual survival (plus carbs), based on the current status quo medical majority opinion. However, thrival (the next strival after survival ;) is more subjective and much less well-studied in terms of: micro-nutrients, co-enzymes, certain protein-chain configurations, preformed vs substitute-for-own-conversion fat-soluble vitamins (DAKE) or ascorbate, etc. Another "complete food that you can drink" would be raw eggs, but in this age and place, that idea freaks folks out a lot more whereas such soy concoctions don't in the least. So, go for it ;)
- Karunamon 9y agoTo 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.
- Afforess 9y agoThe 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.
- atomical 9y agoThey are wrong because of the marketing aspect at least. An expensive shoe can be the same as a cheap shoe in quality.
- callmeed 9y agoOk, so what are those reasons exactly? I actually don't believe your analogy holds. My mom uses Dropbox but she would never use rsync. But my mom can drive to Target or open her Amazon app and buy Ensure just as easily as she can order Soylent. I do think Soylent is just rebranded Ensure/Slimfast and there's nothing wrong with that. For the most part, Ensure targets baby boomers, Slimfast targets gen-xers or people who want to lose weight, and Soylent targets millenials/professionals. Again, nothing wrong with it (so long as you don't act like Soylent is some revolutionary/brave-new-world product).
- post_break 9y agoYeah because in this world Ensure/Slimfast are Dropbox, and Soylent is rsync. The way they make this stuff scares me. The photos of the plant, the mold, the suppliers they use. It's like the paypal of meal replacements, we deal with money, but we're not a bank, they make "food" but they don't really have much quality control.
- KingMob 9y agoBut Dropbox wasn't just rebranded rsync; it made remote backup easy-to-use for the average person. Rsync requires other servers and command-line expertise. Soylent's difference is in marketing and positioning, not nutrition.
- metaphorm 9y agoI 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 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/315425.In_Defense_of_Food
- stevenwu 9y agoOn 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.
- jeffshin 9y agoIf you order through the website, they have a subscription product with a decent set of features, like different pricing and pausing subscriptions.
- rubatuga 9y agoAlthough 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.
- johnfn 9y agoVery interesting comment. Definitely food for thought. One thing to keep in mind is it's not only depresssion that could cause the poor time management that Soylent benefits from. The whole "gotta be working every minute of every day" ethos of SV can feed into this very easily as well. Which isn't also to say that the two can't be intertwined...
- BugsJustFindMe 9y agoYou were depressed so everyone is depressed? I don't think that follows.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- deedubaya 9y ago> Drinking Soylent was ruining my health. Was Soylent ruining your health, or enabling you to let your health decline by isolating yourself? If the later, I don't think that's any reflection of the product itself.
- maverick_iceman 9y agoDon'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.
- matthewrudy 9y agoI'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)
- tdees40 9y agoIt'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 $50M financing round?
- camillomiller 9y agoIf you call it Ktchp.io, you pretend you're using a better recipe generated through machine learning, you create an AR solution to serve it better and more effectively, [insert easy quip about startup culture here], then maybe yes.
- pinaceae 9y agoNo, it should have a 400$ wifi-enabled ketchup squeezer with the force of a hundred 747s.
- camillomiller 9y agoOr the company doesn't really sell ketchup but it offers a platform that lets you share ketchup with your neighbors for a small fee (initially subsidized by investors).
- robbiemitchell 9y agoEven if -- some would say especially if -- you are profitable, you might take outside money to speed up the process. Not that unusual. Speeding up is useful for many reasons. Just to name a few: you have a lead and want to maintain it; you suspect the window for product adoption is limited; you want to grow the business and sell it so you can move on. They could grow slowly for the next 10 years, or throw lighter fluid on it and grow more aggressively, giving investors a cut along the way.
- tedmiston 9y agoRob says in the post that they will be using the funding for faster expansion: > "This funding will enable us to expand our current product offerings, support our expansion efforts into traditional retail and international territories, and further our goal of bringing Soylent products to people around the world.”
- venture_lol 9y agoLive 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 :)
- skdotdan 9y agoThe 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...
- ckastner 9y agoI 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).
- hvmonk 9y agoIs 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.
- scarlac 9y agoThat would be extremely interesting, indeed. Soylent has said they were looking into having studies done, but I don't recall what the details were or when it was planned for. While anecdotal evidence isn't enough, it's fairly common to see people posting results of their blood work after a few months of Soylent. But I'd personally love to see some more details and unbiased tests in an "official" study.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- zzzzzzzza 9y agopersonally I love soylent. Curious what the hard numbers are on sales growth/units shipped per month.
- Questron 9y agoWeird. You need food during an eight hour shift?
- malnourish 9y agoLots of people prefer eating smaller servings more frequently, some people need a snack to get through the day. Yet others have varying schedules that cause may fall between meals in a way that makes them hungry.
- Questron 9y agoYes, but three times in 8 hours? I think it's more of an unhealthy habit to constantly eat. That's how you get diabetes.
- vorpalhex 9y agoRegular small meals have been frequently recommended for a variety of diet reasons and is in no way tied to diabetes or other health issues, and is often times better then a glut of food in a single meal. In addition, people prone to hypoglycemia can benefit from gentle gnoshing through the day. http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/6_meals_a_day#1 http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/6_meals_a_day#1 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-53111/Why-eating-little-best.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-53111/Why-eating-l...
- Questron 9y agoThe "more and smaller meals" applies only to people with diseases (diabetes, obesity, etc.). People prone to hypoglycaemia are called diabetics with insulin overdose. Moreover, soylent contains 18% of energy as added sugars which is about twice the recommended amount. That's how you get diabetes. EDIT: nice touch linking to an article about obesity and the always-so-reliable daily mail. Kind of proves my point.
- protomyth 9y agoKnew a weight lifter that was doing 5 to 8 small meals per day. She was pretty darn fit. I wonder if anyone has done an actual study on the subject?
- vthallam 9y agoOff topic, but have anyone tried 'Soylent Coffiest'? How do you like it for breakfast + coffee replacement for few days a week?
- dmerrick 9y agoI couldn't stand it. It tasted bitter and fake to me. I have colleagues who swear by it though.
- pinaceae 9y agoSoylent - We've put SlimFast on the Internet. And this after JuiceBro. Amazing.
- JohnnyConatus 9y agoDid 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.
- ThrowawayR2 9y agoI never was particularly a fan of the taste myself and what helped me was drinking it ice-cold. The colder it is, the less pronounced the flavor is.
- mikro 9y agoI 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.
- Balgair 9y agoOh 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)
- ceejay 9y agoI 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.
- Animats 9y agoDoes 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.
- nether 9y agoThey don't outsource their formula development or testing, which is the difficult part. You could say they outsource the manufacturing, but that's common in every industry these days.
- dreammakr 9y agoLong-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.
- jimmar 9y agoSoylent does look similar to EAS Mypolex (comparing the nutrition from here: https://www.amazon.com/EAS-Myoplex-Original-Protein-Chocolate/dp/B00148RKFU https://www.amazon.com/EAS-Myoplex-Original-Protein-Chocolat...). One issue is that to get 2,000 calories of EAS Myoplex you'd have to drink about 7 bottles. If you drink 7 bottles you'd be getting way too much of some vitamins and not enough of others.
- dreammakr 9y agoThe purpose is not completely replace all of your meals with it. I realize some use Soylent as such but in general having one item be your sole food source is probably not the best idea. If I'm not mistaken even the packaging of Soylent state that it's not intended to replace every meal.
- dualogy 9y agoDoesn't seem to matter to investors nor consumers, so why care =) Baby formula has been around for long (I don't think it's as good as mother's milk, but seems geared towards "complete nutrition as far as survival goes, as best as we know today" --- same as Soylent then), ready-to-drink raw eggs have been around for our entire pre-history (but who likes to make a mess, that'd be too primal), etc..
- mtw 9y agoDoes anyone know of any clinical trials showing health benefits of Soylent? or adverse health consequences?
- awl130 9y agoI'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/ https://mycrobes.berkeley.edu/the-study/
- aanet 9y agoSoylent 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/people-think-juice-is-good-for-them-theyre-wrong/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2017/04/26/...) [2] [Books | Michael Pollan](http://michaelpollan.com/books/ http://michaelpollan.com/books/) [3] [Marion Nestle - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Nestle https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_Nestle) [4] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/juicero/investors https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/juicero/investors [5] https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/soylent-corporation#/entity https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/soylent-corporation#...
- wakkaflokka 9y agoI'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.
- eddieone 9y agoAs 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.
- Rudism 9y agoI'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.
- theprop 9y agoThe 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.
- gavanwoolery 9y agoAs 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.
- sebringj 9y ago"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)
- shas3 9y agoI 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.
- ebbv 9y agoIf 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.
- datashovel 9y agoBecause 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.
- NathanCH 9y agoSoylent 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.
- jessriedel 9y ago> the recent price increase for Canadian customers is highway robbery Could you explain? I just checked the prices for 12-packs of original soylent is CAD$3.56/bottle in Canada and USD$2.69/bottle in the US. That's an effective exchange rate of 1.36 CAD/USD, and the current exchange (as I type this) is 1.37 CAD/USD. Or are you just complaining about an overall recent price increase? I have been paying CAD$29 per 12-pack since April 2016.
- throwaway8800 9y agoThe $3.56/bottle you see on their website when switched to Canada as your location is not CAD, It's USD. I just ordered a 12 pack at $3.75 a bottle ($45/case - the price shown when you're not subscribing) and was charged $45USD which turned out to be $61.64 on my credit card, or $5.14CAD a bottle.
- jessriedel 9y agoWow, jeez, the ratio was so close I just assumed. You select a Canadian flag on the website, pay with a Canadian credit card, deliver to a Canadian address, and they charge you in US dollars without mentioning it anywhere (and all prices unmarked USD vs CAD). Unreal.
- akvadrako 9y agoI 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.
- shiftoutbox 9y agoJust close up shop .
- aomix 9y agoI 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.
- b1gtuna 9y agoCongratulations. I have been drinking Soylent 12 bottles a month. This alone has freed me up from thinking about what to eat for lunch.
- mastarubio 9y agoI 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.
- funwithjustin 9y agoHow is Soylent different from meal replacement or protein powders that have existed for years?
- epmaybe 9y agoI too have used soylent for breakfast, for maybe the last 4 or 5 months. And funnily enough, I've gained more weight! Which was the goal for me, as I'm a little underweight and needed to stop skipping breakfast. I've been using their coffiest drink, and kill two birds with one stone. I do sometimes miss the experience of making my own coffee though, so I may try the powder instead. I will say though, at the beginning I was not a fan. Bowel movements changed, felt weird and bloated, and so on. But it stabilized after a few weeks.
- vernie 9y agoMaybe... you're not as busy as you believe you are?
- epmaybe 9y agoOne 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?
- rubyfan 9y agoHave they figured out the vile angry flatulence problem?
- rexreed 9y agoThere'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.
- muratmutlu 9y agoAnyone 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/ https://www.reflexnutrition.com/instant-mass-pro/ Soylent http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-nutrition-facts-1-8-en.pdf http://files.soylent.com/pdf/soylent-nutrition-facts-1-8-en....
- intrasight 9y agoHow 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?
- zenkat 9y agoDoes 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.
- victorhooi 9y agoI 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 =).
- lioeters 9y agoThat was a great review of the product, demonstrating real-world use case and benefits. It was fascinating to read, even though I have no personal interest in Soylent at all as a meal replacement (happily married to a wonderful cook), I will remember your story next time we go hiking and I'm complaining of the weight of all the food I'm carrying.
- bcaulfield 9y agoCoffiest 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.