BUSINESS
had all shown marked improvement. Soylent had achieved its objective, according to Rhinehart, of being the food replacement he wanted to create - one that tasted good while saving him time and money. Soon, Rhinehart's post had gone viral on Hacker News, a social media and news platform of the tech-world. The reactions were mixed with some ridiculing Rhinehart's claims and others asking for the formula. In the spirit of the opensource culture within the tech-world, Rhinehart obliged. It spawned a community that was attracted by the ability to experiment with different combinations. Realising that Soylent's potential was greater than any app idea they may have had, Rhinehart and his roommates decided to enter the meal replacement business. To raise funds, they turned to crowdfunding where subscribers would receive a week's worth of Soylent for US $65. The target was US $100,000 in a month. It was achieved in two-hours. An additional US $1 million was invested by a group of Silicon Valley venture capitalists, which included Andreessen Horowitz.
In April of 2014, the first orders of Soylent were shipped to customers, in California at first, then across the whole of the USA. In June 2015, the first Soylent shipments to Canada began. However, it was stopped in October 2017, because Soylent did not “meet the compositional requirements for meal replacement products," according to Canadian authorities. Starting in July 2017, Soylent was offered in 7-Eleven stores, followed by Walmart. Today, Soylent is being offered in the original powder form, as bottled drinks, and packaged eats, all in several flavours. There is also an in-between meal alternative called Bridge. Soylent has a polarising effect on those who come across it. Some in the media have claimed Soylent to be nothing less than the future of food, while others have likened it to medical foods. Words like boring, joyless and bland have been used by some to describe its taste, while others have likened it to various flavoured drinks. Some have complained of gastrointestinal problems after consuming it. How people react to Soylent, it seems, very much depends on the dietary philosophy of the one consuming it. 2019 SPRING / SUMMER
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