Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV • Hacker News Board

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#21

Post by milquetoastaf » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:13 PM UTC

johnfn wrote: post #5

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 so…

What advantage does Soylent have over say, other meal replacements e.g. Slimfast, weight watcher shakes, juices etc that have existed for years before it and will continue to do so for years after? All I see is SV hype and marketing. In fact you just showed that Soylent is easily outplayed because you switched to a different drink already.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#22

Post by doughj3 » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:13 PM UTC

CPLX wrote: post #4

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.

Shame 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 .

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#23

Post by JackMorgan » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:13 PM UTC

tommynicholas wrote: post #2

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.

Love that one. Def don't like the coffee though :(

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#24

Post by milquetoastaf » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:15 PM UTC

arzt wrote: post #20

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?

In 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.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#25

Post by Danihan » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:16 PM UTC

johnfn wrote: post #5

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 so…

How does it blow away a clif bar?

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#26

Post by DanBC » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:16 PM UTC

joering2 wrote: post #8

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.

It'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.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#27

Post by Karunamon » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:16 PM UTC

CPLX wrote: post #4

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.

You 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.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#28

Post by rhino369 » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:16 PM UTC

CPLX wrote: post #4

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.

I don't even understand the impulse behind consuming the product if it isn't for weight loss, like slimfast is.

Is the market for people who don't enjoy eating all that big?

It'd like selling those prostate simulators that cause ejaculation and calling it a masturbation toy. Need to ejaculate, but don't have to time to waste on boring orgasms? Well now there Pris_Stratton!

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#29

Post by johnfn » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:16 PM UTC

scott_s wrote: post #12

johnfn wrote: post #5

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 so…

> Ample which is similar to Soylent but a bit more health conscious with ingredient choice What does that mean? How did you make this judgement?

If you go to what they've written up on their website, https://www.amplemeal.com/products/ample, you can see they've taken and written about a lot of care in selecting ingredients.

Off the top of my head, probiotics are a big thing that you don't see in Soylent. Spirulina is included. Omega 3 fatty acids. The emphasis on whole foods rather than nutrients is another thing important to me.

From what they've written it is clear they are taking a significant focus on nutrition, as the expense of, er, expense. This is a trade off I am willing to make.

I don't want to spend my days pouring over the latest nutrition research to see what I should be eating. Before Ample I would spend a lot of time chasing the latest research, yet continually feeling like there were huge things I was missing. It gives me great peace of mind to see that apparently smart people are doing this work in my stead. This is a huge advantage I cannnot overstate.

Re: Soylent Closes $50M Series B Round Led by GV

#30

Post by jamestanderson » Thu, May 04, 2017, 3:17 PM UTC

arzt wrote: post #20

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?

Well, a large part of what makes up Soylent is soy protein isolate. So there's that.