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

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

#61

Post by criley2 » Fri, Nov 01, 2013, 4:44 PM UTC

ekianjo wrote: post #47

criley2 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Fair enough. To me, ZeroCater is boring and Soylent is very interesting, so I guess to each their own.

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

#62

Post by IanCal » Mon, Nov 04, 2013, 11:51 AM UTC

jkscm wrote: post #44

MrDosu wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Either pick up a few things while you're out and about or get things delivered.

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

#63

Post by IanCal » Mon, Nov 04, 2013, 11:56 AM UTC

Cthulhu_ wrote: post #55

DanBC wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…

I don't know Boost / Ensure, but given how they seem to be (based on the parent) sold as a medical food replacement, I can imagine they're rather expensive. I wouldn't call Soylent cheap, though - $65 a week for one person is quite a lot if you're on a tight budget, and it doesn't scale to family-size who can be cheaper off by buying and cooking food in bulk. Wouldn't feed my kids slop like this either tbh (and I'm p…

Tight budget? That's more than my grocery budget, and that includes everything like toothbrushes and binbags too. And I'm not being stingy with it, that includes wine and beer and fresh coffee delivered every week.

One person will pay almost $3400 per year for this. That to me is just insane, unless you really need this.