Wow. Exactly the right response. I would never have paid any attention to Soylent's agreement with a large HACCP-certified manufacturer before, but Vice's story actually made that relevant to me. They might actually <i>pick up</i> customers from this shitstorm.<p>Argh! But, well played.
Many startups put the word "utilize" in their press releases to sound fancier and more official: "This...prompted us to utilize more robust packaging."<p>You can always say "use" instead of "utilize" to avoid buzzwords and sound more conversational. In fact, there are only a few specific cases (mostly in science writing) where "utilize" is necessary:<p><a href="http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/use-versus-utilize" rel="nofollow">http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/use-versu...</a>
The Soylent team continues to impress.<p>I think this is probably one of the best handled rollouts of a product with so high a potential for controversy. Each issue seems to get addressed rapidly, the company is pursuing a quest for quality, and the product itself is coming together rapidly.<p>I'm glad to have contributed.
I don't really understand why Soylent needs a factory anyway. Just white label some generic meal replacement shake like Ensure and they are done. The only thing interesting about the company is they managed to market a product that already exists as something new to a new audience.
There is some evidence that working with one's hands relieves depression and promotes happiness. I would like to see a clinical trial which attempts to measure the opposite effect from Soylent: that removing the food preparation ritual can contribute to depression, or at least ennui. Sometimes removing a piece of the natural environment is not good for an organism. Few suggest replacing all human walking with motorized transport, for example; I wonder if the same will hold for meals.<p>On the other hand, some people use food as a drug, and removing it may be helpful in a Buddhist desire-suppression kind of way.
The fact a rat was spotted in a dusty old warehouse isn't really worth addressing.<p>From what I've learned so far, the only factor letting this product down for me is the price. I'd guess $65/w is around what I'm spending on food now. Do we have any idea of their margin? Is the price expected to decrease once they get a decent production line up?
When I was younger and had my wisdom teeth out, they had to break my lower jaw to get the deeply impacted lower ones out. I spent six weeks eating nothing but Ensure. To this day I can't stand the taste of it.<p>Going back to solid food took a few days of introducing progressively more and more solid food back into my system and was not terribly fun.<p>I think the appeal of this, in terms of time savings during busy work periods, is intriguing. But there's already tons of these kinds of things in a very crowded market, and I don't even have to mix it myself. But as an extended, multi-week replacement? No thanks.
A well-written response. Soylent have handled this extremely well and the fact they've partnered up with a HACCP certified manufacturer with over 20 years experience will prevent any mishaps with future production of Soylent. Really looking forward to giving this a shot, none of the issues highlighted in the beta have deterred me from trying as they won't be present in the main manufacturing process.
I am actually excited by their move to an established manufacturer. A good manufacturing partner will be well placed to help them deal with FDA approval, which will be required.<p>However, they big challenge they will eventually face is the existing nutritional product manufacturers. At the moment, Soylent is not viewed as a serious competitor, but it is worth remembering that if they prove that a market exists, Abbott, Nestlé and the like both have the marketing clout and some rather clever tricks to muscle in on the market.<p>But the saddest thing of all? Despite companies like Soylent, Abbott, Nutriset, Nestlé, etc, clinical malnutrition is still a serious issue. Proper nutrition is essential to successful treatment to many issues (cancer being one), yet it is still commonly neglected by clinical staff and administrators :( And most people don't even know about the risks and that different options exist for different needs!<p>(Disclaimer: family work in the industry)
I would be very, very interested to see the long-term consequences of an exclusively Soylent diet. I suspect the lack of phytochemicals would lead to increased incidences of cancer. That said, I would also guess that millions (billions?) of people have far worse diets.
Soylent will likely become a billion dollar global enterprise, and even "disrupt" the food industry.<p>It will also ultimately be a failure and frowned upon in modern society. Why? Because a Soylent-saturated world would rob families and loved ones of the <i>ritual</i> and <i>benefits</i> of eating together.<p>Eating together civilizes people. It's emotionally and socially edifying. Studies show that families that dine together stay together [1]. Their children are healthier and get better grades. It also lowers the risk of weight problems and alcohol and substance abuse.[2]<p>Eating real food persisted throughout human history because <i>it's more than about eating</i>.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/24/family-dinner-adolescent-benefits/2010731/" rel="nofollow">http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/24/family-...</a>
[2] <a href="http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/family-dinners-are-important" rel="nofollow">http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/features/family-dinners-a...</a><p>EDIT: I'm glad to see so many people disagree with me. It means I'm on the right track.
They definitely need two kinds of soylent. One, soylent red, with a different formula and more nutrients for the first few days while our bodies adapt, and then regular soylent green.<p>I say this because everybody complains the first days are really hard on their bodies and nerves. So a smooth transition would make it easier to stick to the plan and reduce drop rates.