Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously • Hacker News Board

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#41

Post by mjn » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 2:52 PM UTC

jpau wrote: post #11

confluence wrote: post #3

The key thing that Soylent is going after is Ensure/Fortsip/Sustagen's margins. Full meal replacements are cost competitive with normal food at $5 a day. Medical suppliers currently charge a steep markup of $14 a day for their full meal replacements. At this price it is uneconomical for most people to adopt full meal replacements as a large part of their diets. These margins must be destroyed. Soylent, and its compet…

Speaking as an Australian, I'm surprised that the average American spends as little as $7 per day on food. Do you know who compiled this statistic, and what a 'typical' $7 day's diet might look like?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (which tracks household expenditures), the average "consumer unit" in 2012 spent $6,599/year on food for 2.5 people, of which $3,921 on groceries, and $2,678 on eating out. That works out to to about $7.25/person/day, of which $4.30 groceries and $2.95 eating out.

Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cesan.nr0.htm

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#42

Post by RunningDroid » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 2:54 PM UTC

hmsimha wrote: post #6

Given the abundance of links about Soylent that get posted to HN, I can't believe this point hasn't been brought up yet: Calcium. Studies have shown it blocks the absorption of Iron and Zinc. At least one even indicates that the combination of all three taken together can be quite detrimental[1] I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not even arguing against the possibility that a Soylent diet may be much healthier than the…

They are aware that Calcium blocks the absorption of Iron[1], and that it blocks absorption of manganese, magnesium, zinc, fluoride, and phosphorus.[2] The people making Soylent are testing the mix on themselves first, and having blood tests done regularly to make sure they aren't harming themselves in the long run.

[1] http://discourse.soylent.me/t/interaction-of-for-instance-ir...

[2] http://discourse.soylent.me/t/micronutrients-blocking-each-o...

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#43

Post by Mikeb85 » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 2:55 PM UTC

ihsw wrote: post #17

netcan wrote: post #9

I'm not sure if there's something I'm missing about soylent, but it seems to me like the most remarkable thing in the soylent story is that the company is a product of the tech startup culture. The product itself fits (in my mind) in the nutritional supplements / meal replacements category and wouldn't have ordinarily gotten the attention of HN and startup investors.* I wonder if this is an anomaly or first blood. Ma…

I think this could successfully be marketed to developing countries as a food ration/field ration -- the cost per KG is quite high but it's far superior to other rations. Imagine if naval explorers of yore had Soylent instead of cured/canned meats. Canadian military field ration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Individual_Meal_Pack American military field ration: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Ready-to-Eat

While I haven't been in the military, I do alot of backpacking. IMPs are quite tasty, and a welcome meal. Can't say I'd rather have a meal replacement shake after being in the wild for a week...

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#44

Post by jkscm » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 2:58 PM UTC

MrDosu wrote: post #27

nightshowerer wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mostly agree, but "within a few minutes"? I think you're underestimating a bit. It does take time and effort (which is, for sure, not wasted).

I totally agree that cooking can take significantly longer then "a few minutes", but there is plenty to be had in terms of a quick meal. For me the most worrying part is when the creator of the supplement is stated to have no time for meal preparation due to his work. It is ok to just eat a quick sandwich or a joghurt/fruit combo every once in a while, but if you cant spend some time on proper meals your life is goin…

What about shopping for groceries? Salad and some vegetables lose taste and vitamin after a few days. Even if keep it in the fridge. If you want to eat fresh and healthy food you will have to go shopping more often.

Food spoilage can be an issue too. I can't imagine how how much food has been thrown into the garbage because it looked untasty.

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#45

Post by chroem » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 2:59 PM UTC

netcan wrote: post #9

I'm not sure if there's something I'm missing about soylent, but it seems to me like the most remarkable thing in the soylent story is that the company is a product of the tech startup culture. The product itself fits (in my mind) in the nutritional supplements / meal replacements category and wouldn't have ordinarily gotten the attention of HN and startup investors.* I wonder if this is an anomaly or first blood. Ma…

I think you may be confusing the term "tech startup" with "web development startup."

This isn't inspired by tech startups, it is a tech startup. It bothers me how people equate technology with the web. I guess the Saturn V was a useless piece of crap because it didn't use the latest web stack.

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#46

Post by Qom » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 3:04 PM UTC

hmsimha wrote: post #6

Given the abundance of links about Soylent that get posted to HN, I can't believe this point hasn't been brought up yet: Calcium. Studies have shown it blocks the absorption of Iron and Zinc. At least one even indicates that the combination of all three taken together can be quite detrimental[1] I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not even arguing against the possibility that a Soylent diet may be much healthier than the…

Silence, traitor!

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#47

Post by ekianjo » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 3:05 PM UTC

criley2 wrote: post #39

ekianjo wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a product of the tech startup culture, I prefer talking about ZeroCater. At least, they provide real food.

How is a personal convenience meal replacement system comparable to a B2B catering service? ZeroCater doesn't cater individual meals to individuals with the goal of improving meals of convenience, which we have a habit of relying on processed and fast foods for. It's a tool for businesses to cater popular food to their employees.

I'm not comparing the products/services they offer, I am merely saying that from the two companies coming from the tech startup culture and focusing on food, I find one more interesting than the other.

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#48

Post by scrabble » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 3:23 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #4

scrabble wrote: post #2

I think this idea will appeal to people who can't eat -- such as those with cancer -- as an alternative to products like Boost and Ensure. I can't see myself or any of the people I know replacing food with a drink, but I definitely see room in the meal replacement market. Best of luck to Soylent.

> as an alternative to products like Boost and Ensure. You specifically mention people with medical needs: What does Soylent do that isn't done by existing meal replacements? What extras does Soylent bring? Or is it just nice to see more products in that segment? I guess with the investment Soylent could employ qualified dietitians or nutritionists to write information for medical professionals, and to answer questio…

In recent history I've had multiple family members suffer from long, drawn out illnesses ending in death. In these cases they generally get tired of what they're drinking and don't want to drink it anymore.

It's nice to see more products in that segment for people in that state, so there's the possibility of more variety because I feel like people with medical needs have additional desires from their food/drink other than just being sustained.

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#49

Post by hmsimha » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 3:25 PM UTC

RunningDroid wrote: post #42

hmsimha wrote: post #6

Given the abundance of links about Soylent that get posted to HN, I can't believe this point hasn't been brought up yet: Calcium. Studies have shown it blocks the absorption of Iron and Zinc. At least one even indicates that the combination of all three taken together can be quite detrimental[1] I'm not a nutritionist, and I'm not even arguing against the possibility that a Soylent diet may be much healthier than the…

They are aware that Calcium blocks the absorption of Iron[1], and that it blocks absorption of manganese, magnesium, zinc, fluoride, and phosphorus.[2] The people making Soylent are testing the mix on themselves first, and having blood tests done regularly to make sure they aren't harming themselves in the long run. [1] http://discourse.soylent.me/t/interaction-of-for-instance-ir... [2] http://discourse.soylent.me/t/…

I'm glad to see I'm not the first person to consider the interaction, but (correct me if I'm wrong) none of the people addressing this are actually involved with the development of Soylent, right?

And yes, I realize there are people getting blood tests. The human body can be surprisingly resilient, and whether or not the deficiency is in iron or something else, it may take a long time to present. My main objection is to them marketing this essentially as a beta release of an end-user product already.

If the purpose behind all the testing were to explore whether a meal replacement like Soylent might be a viable method of maintaining peak human nutrition, with years of planned research before jumping to conclusions, I would be all for it. But it seems as if they've already presumed that an all-in-one formula CAN be engineered to provide for a healthy diet, and are focusing exclusively on arriving at the optimal balance of nutrients to deliver.

Re: Soylent: An Offbeat Food Idea Investors Are Taking Seriously

#50

Post by scrabble » Thu, Oct 31, 2013, 3:27 PM UTC

6d0debc071 wrote: post #35

MrDosu wrote: post #22

People that cannot produce a nutritous tasty meal for under 3 dollars within a few minutes need to take a cooking class, not get fed brown powder.

> People that cannot produce a nutritous tasty meal for under 3 dollars within a few minutes -shrug- Assuming the brown powder thing works out, why would I want to? It's not like I've ever got much pleasure from eating.

If this is the case, why haven't you replaced the food you eat with currently available meal replacement shakes?