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Comment by netcan | Hacker News Reader

Soylent is a weird and interesting case.

I feel like 99 out of 100 times an identical product gets produced by a supplements company and no one notices. Somehow, this one seems to have really really interested (or really really pissed off) people.

One possible narrative is "blandness is a virtue". All the pictures are bland beige stuff in a plastic jug. The people drinking it look normal, not athletic or exceptionally pretty. Their expressions are neutral.

The 'water of food' is, I suppose, a compelling idea.

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Soylent's rise in popularity reminds me a bit of Lifelock. The CEO comes out and makes very ambitious claims. In Lifelock's case, that was the whole, "here's my SSN." [0] For Soylent, it's the CEO living off just that for months on end [1]. These types of sales pitches continue for months until the claims prove false and then the product marketing is changed. Maybe Soylent is different, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[0] http://www.wired.com/2010/05/lifelock-identity-theft/ [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/could...

I think there was a hope that an easy to eat mass produced product would finally allow for a simplification of diet without costing the same or more as a normal diet would cost.

That will always have my attention, but these products always seemed to be priced in a way that using them would cost just as much as normal food, I'm sure an economist would be pointing at a graph with two intersecting lines at this point. I get the argument, "well you were going to spend the money anyway, our product is more convenient, therefore it will be worth it to you."

I think most people would agree, I also think most people wouldn't valuate: risk, lock in, change, break of tradition, loss of a common comfort, ect. ect. ect.

They're never worth the value, and Soylent seemed like something that was just going to sell based on the components with margin for profit. I was excited.

bleeehh.

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