Rob Rhinehart feeds on diluted Soylent powder, which he invented himself. The startup is valued at $ 100 million.
For a person who wants to replace all the variety of food with just one liquid, Rob Rhinehart has a great appetite. The creator of a popular Silicon Valley drink for people who prefer to spend as little time as possible on food, met me at Clifton's Cafeteria in downtown Los Angeles, near his company office. Struck by the overwhelming variety of dishes in the display case, Rhinehart immediately grabbed the tray. He is 27 years old, he is wearing a T-shirt and a leather jacket that is fashionable this season from startups.
Just add water and you're full
Three years ago, a young American, Rob Rhinehart, was developing his own startups with friends. They were infuriated by how long it took to go to the store, prepare and consume food, and to order ready-made meals - money. They mostly ate Chinese noodles and corndogs (American hotdogs: on a stick and with cornmeal dough).
In the form of a joke, a proposal appeared: why not eat for breakfast, lunch, and at the same time for dinner the same dish containing all the substances necessary for life? This is how Soylent entered the market. It is a powder that must be diluted with water. You will get a thick, odorless beige liquid, which contains all the necessary proteins, fats, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins and minerals.
The recipe is selected based on the nutritional guidelines of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The food of the future project has since grown from a life hack for techies into a $ 100 million startup, whose mission is to eradicate hunger on planet Earth.
Reinhart develops Soylent as if it were a smartphone app: regularly releasing new versions, patches on discovered bugs. For example, early versions caused consumers to gut gas. The New Yorker journalists even complained that they were ashamed to leave the house.
Promotional video:
By reducing the amount of sulfates, this problem was removed. In May 2014, Soylent began selling version 1.0, and since June this year, Soylent 1.6 is on sale. If at first a significant share was flour, now it is algae.
Since September 2015, Soylent 2.0 has gone on sale along with Soylent 1.6. It is already a ready-to-eat, water-diluted product containing 400 calories, enough to replace a light lunch. One bottle costs $ 2.69, the same amount of calories, if you buy powder, will cost $ 1.54.
Rhinehart rushed to the meat: “I want a turkey! You can have Thanksgiving every day! And he took mashed potatoes with gravy and macaroni and cheese as a side dish.
When I invited Reinhart to lunch, I expected the worst: a short conversation over a bottle of his Soylent, the "food of the future," which he has mostly eaten for the past three years. The invitation to the restaurant was a pleasant surprise. It was even more surprising that Reinhart's press secretary called him "a foodie."
Rhinehart's approach to food choices at Clifton's is simple: he orders a lot. "Can I have another side dish?" He asked the cafeteria worker. It turned out you can. He got a huge portion of the turkey filling. For dessert, he grabbed a chocolate cheesecake, then reached for a large brownie: “Two desserts. Why not?" I also ordered turkey and mashed potatoes, but only one dessert, peanut pie, and we started looking for a free table.
Diet worth $ 50 per month
The name of the innovative food - Soylent - comes from soybeans (soybeans) and lentils (lentils), although, of course, the composition of this chemical mixture, which allows you not to think about cooking, is much more complicated. And also Soylent is an important item in saving your personal budget.
Reinhart published a blog post titled “How I Stopped Eating Food,” in which he described an experiment that had allowed him to cut his food bill from $ 470 to $ 50 a month and transform himself physically. According to him, "the skin is cleaner, the teeth are whiter and the hair is thicker." The idea of food is outdated, Reinhart said. Consuming 1,500 calories per day as a water-diluted powder is a much more efficient way to get the main nutrients (fats, carbohydrates and proteins), as well as vitamins and minerals.
The publication has become extremely popular. When the idea for a wireless startup failed, Rhinehart got serious about his side project. Together with a few friends, he raised $ 3 million through crowdfunding, and then another $ 1.5 million from investors to begin large-scale production of Soylent.
In 2015, the company received from the venture investor Andreessen Horowitz, according to media reports, about $ 20 million and was estimated at $ 100 million. But Reinhart insists that the information is inaccurate and the amount is much higher. Since May 2014, more than 25 million packages of Soylent have been shipped.
A week's supply costs about $ 65, about $ 2.75 per meal. Soylent 2.0, a ready-to-drink beverage, has also been released and is sold in sleek white bottles in the US and Canada. The company intends to enter the markets of other countries, first of all it is interested in Great Britain.
Given how many dishes Reinhart put on for our lunch, the question arises whether a diet of mostly Soylent is satisfying. But I still feel full after first tasting this beige liquid the night before. The taste was unusual, but unobtrusive, like pancake dough. True, I could not overpower the whole bottle.
Algae vegetable garden
Rhinehart is convinced that we will give up three meals a day - instead, whenever you feel like eating, you can just take a sip of healthy liquid. He says: “The habit of breakfast, lunch and dinner came from the days of the agricultural society and the industrial revolution. We do not work on farms or conveyor belts, so I don’t think we should eat the way we eat now. I think people will eat when they feel hungry, not on schedule."
But that doesn't mean people won't eat for pleasure anymore, Reinhart stresses: “When you come home from work, you’re not in the mood to cook, and in the morning you don’t have time for it. But on Friday or Saturday nights you are free and want to hang out with your friends. This is where we will come, in my opinion."
Clifton's emerged as a small chain of cafes in the 1930s, once attracting famous patrons by not kicking customers out when they couldn't pay. Because of this, poor writers like Charles Bukowski and Jack Kerouac used to come here to dine.
Ray Bradbury also came here, says Rhinehart. He's a big fan of science fiction and notes that meal replacements are common in this genre. “In“Stranger in a Strange Land,”by Robert Heinlein, they eat synthetic steak, and in the animated series“The Jetsons,”they eat pills. In Ursula Le Guin's The Disadvantaged, people feed on algae. To Reinhart, this seems "a little prophetic."
One of the Soylent ingredients is seaweed oil. According to Reinhart, these are wonderful plants: "It takes years for a cow to grow, soybeans months, and algae not only grow, but double in size in a few hours." He thinks that someday everyone will have their own kelp gardens.
Soylent has a bit of a bad luck with science fiction, though. In the 1973 film Green Soylent, based on Harry Harrison's novel Move! Move over!”Is the name of the food of the future made from… people.
Genetically modified - "a subject of pride"
Despite the more banal ingredients (based on soy and beet extracts), Reinhart's product has received quite a lot of criticism from nutritionists. They insist that something important is lost by giving up natural food. Reinhart disagrees: “The laws of thermodynamics say that all energy is the same, but exists in different forms. Who can define what is natural and what is not, what is natural and what is synthetic, and what is definitely a whole product?"
It sounds more like physics than food science, but Rhinehart is an electrical engineer by training. He grew up in Atlanta and studied there at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He acquired the knowledge of nutrition on his own. I ask why he writes on the packaging about "genetically modified" ingredients in Soylent. Is this a legal requirement? Rhinehart replies that this is a source of pride. “Maybe one day it will be necessary for legal reasons, but I think it’s just silly,” he says, sipping a Coke.
“It’s naive to think that the food we eat is“natural”or“sacred,”says Rhinehart. - Can you imagine corn growing in a wild forest? The food did not come by itself to feed us. We got it by evolutionary means by selective crossing for many generations. Look at the corn genome now - it's extremely complex. It has only recently been deciphered, because it is like a Frankenstein among different plants."
He also talks lively about organic food. “It's a little annoying for all these organic lobbyists who, instead of synthetic fertilizers, order to use only completely natural cow dung. Why, when you can use one of the greatest inventions that will bring grace to humanity, do you turn your nose up? I do not understand this.
I suggested that as people are constantly discovering new and new properties of products, in the brainchild of Rheinhart may not be some useful substances. For example, certain plant elements are believed to reduce the risk of prostate cancer or diabetes. In response, he promised that the results of clinical trials will appear this year.
Cozy container
I mentioned the challenges faced by another innovative startup, Theranos. He was unable to confirm that he had invented a revolutionary blood test device with just a few drops and no needles. Now American regulators suspect him of misleading investors. (The American biotech company Theranos, a startup founded by Elizabeth Holmes, raised $ 400 million and was valued at $ 9 billion.) Rhinehart, who previously praised Theranos, does not back down: “It's easy to criticize in hindsight. But it was a very promising idea."
The Theranos investigation began following an article in The Wall Street Journal. But Rhinehart says he doesn't follow the news. At least going to vote in the November presidential elections?
"Most likely no. I cannot act in all areas. I don't have TV. I prefer to study. I study textbooks instead of letting myself be involved in all these performances."
“People have a preconceived notion that the newer the information, the more important it is. But most of the information that comes up every day is just noise. What matters are the ideas that are passed down from generation to generation. I have a feeling of choice - I can read a philosophical treatise that carries the truth through the centuries, or I can be nervous about what is being broadcast in the news today."
One foot in the future, the other in the past - this is how Reinhart can be described. His latest project is the construction of a house in Los Angeles, not connected to communications. Even in one of the most urbanized areas, it turned out to be possible. He tracked down an abandoned site in an unpopular area of the city and brought there a shipping container in which he now lives.
It may sound eccentric, but it's not a millionaire fad. The land costs him cheap, because there is no electricity or water supply to it. The price of a container is about $ 1500. Reinhart proudly proclaims that he is by no means rich. No matter what his fortune is on paper, he receives a very modest salary. “Want to see a photo? - he hands me the phone. "The only difficulty is that the area is so-so, so the container was immediately painted with graffiti."
The container is supplied with electricity by a solar battery. In the kitchen, as you might guess, there is no need. Reinhart still relies on Porta Potty dry closets and relies heavily on new models that vaporize waste. Once he tried to conserve water by taking an antibiotic so that he didn't want to go to the toilet as often as possible. “I destroyed all gut bacteria,” he wrote in a blog post.
I wonder if we all need to take such drastic steps to save water. “I don't think it's necessary. I played the role of a guinea pig to make sure it was possible. Think about all this infrastructure needed to get rid of waste. I think this makes cities much more expensive."
Surprisingly, the ecology guru from drought-stricken California is not very concerned about the water standards of its citizens. “Agriculture takes all the water,” he explains. "I see no point in calling for a quick shower."
At dessert, I realize we forgot to take the cake spoons. I take the pie with my hands and look at Rhinehart, who bravely pokes a fork over the top of the cheesecake.
Rhinehart, who is used to Soylent for lunch, admits: “I ate a lot. I feel pretty tired. But that's okay. We work from home on Fridays. I love the four day work week. I think over time it will become fashionable."
A very rebellious idea, I say. In this country, people work seven days a week. “Do they need it? It is clear that you need to communicate, meet, cooperate. But truly creative work is the fruit of inspiration and concentration. It's really hard to get into this state and it's easy to get distracted. I think flexible hours will give people more opportunities to get into a creative state, which is good for them and for the business."
His lifestyle is mesmerizing. Does he share his shelter with someone in a container? “I love it when someone shares it with me,” he says so ingenuously that I cannot understand whether this is sexual bravado or not. Whether he has a soul mate, I hasten to clarify. Reinhart says that for several years he mainly concentrated on work, but now the business is quite stable, so he went in search of: "She is great!"
And shares his lifestyle? “She…” Rhinehart chokes up. "I can't say that I warmly welcomes, but definitely supports." Does she drink Soylent? “I don’t think so,” he replies.
On my part, these inquiries are not mere curiosity. Last night, while my whole family was enjoying the boiled meat, I opened a bottle of Soylent. I was amazed at how much he was tailored for young singles, not much different from Rheinhart. The picture of a family gathering around a common table for everyone to drink their own bottle is very dark.
“This is not exactly the future I want,” Reinhart assures me. But parents who are busy in business are very important clients for him, and, by the way, according to him, children definitely like the drink.
Into the future with optimism
“I've heard a lot of people are trying to change the flavor of Soylent, so we might be releasing a flavored version,” promises Reinhart.
But the question of how far the change in the drink's formula that keeps his company afloat can go seems to confuse him.
“I really like the idea of simplicity in a single product. It is likely that we will expand our portfolio over time. Maybe people will be more willing to cook if they can do it in different ways, more creatively. Maybe a new ingredient (in the form of Soylent) will give them this opportunity. People still use eggs, milk and bread. When were they invented? People upgrade their iPhones every couple of years and eat the same food as their ancestors."
But will he be able to develop all new types of "food of the future"? In the last year, the mood of startups has turned sour. Pessimists are convinced that startups are overvalued and recall the dot-com bubble. It will become more and more difficult to attract money, they clamor. “That's why I can't read the news,” Reinhart admits. - I want to focus on building a great company. I don't want to think about other people's complaints about prices. I don't want to get bogged down in all this. Someone will die if banks have less money? I see no point in all this hysteria."
Another bursting bubble can affect all startups, I warn. Rhinehart cannot ignore its consequences. “Of course I can,” he says. - I'll fill my Soylent container to the top. And everything will be all right with me."
