Well actual food value was only a secondary feature of Soylent's product anyways, as witnessed by customers still happily supporting a food company that makes tasteless gunk that makes people ill.
The primary selling point was that it allowed the customers to pretend (at least to themselves, if not to anyone else) that they were too busy even to eat food. If you're THAT busy, you must be an important, happening guy, or gal, right?
It's one fun facet of the bizarre, upside-down culture in certain parts of the developed world, where work, followed by perhaps housing, are people's primary status symbols. The 21st century really needs an update of 'Theory of the Leisure Class'.
I don't use soylent, but I eat something similar (whey + powdered oats + flavoring + milk).
I don't know how to cook well, preparing food and cleaning afterwards is a pure waste of time. Buying this stuff in bulk (for like 2-3 months in one order) lets me mix up a batch that lasts me whole week in one day, lets me accurately track my macros and helps me with having eating discipline (I tend to get overweight if I just eat when I feel like it).
It's not that I'm too busy to eat real food - it's that this lets me eat better (I'm quite lean on this diet, feel excellent) and I spend 15 minutes a day on food in total including prep/cleaning and consumption.
So I can understand how some people would like Soylent for similar properties.
Joylent and Queal (and others) seem far less weird because they're basically thin instant oatmeal with a multivitamin. It even has real fruit! Fewer weird ingredients, and a fairly nice flavor.
It is extremely strange that Soylent has never attempted flavoring. That's a good way of keeping it a niche product for nerds.
I have tried many of them (except Soylent!), and have settled for Joylent, taste and variety were certainly two factors. I've been on it for a month now (it's literally all I "eat", except on weekends) and rotating through different flavours helps the routine.
>supporting a food company that makes tasteless gunk that makes people ill.
Tasteless by design - and that allows it to be mixed with other things that can provide flavor. I've mixed mine with bananas, peanut butter, cocoa powder, blueberries, and more. Some things mix better than others - I'm particularly fond of including a banana.
If it came in a strong strawberry flavor, it would be tougher for me to make it the flavor I want it to be.
>The primary selling point was that it allowed the customers to pretend (at least to themselves, if not to anyone else) that they were too busy even to eat food. If you're THAT busy, you must be an important, happening guy, or gal, right?
This is why I downvoted your comment, so you're aware.
Most people I know who use Soylent simply can't be bothered to prepare or cook meals. It isn't that they're too busy for it, but rather that they dislike the entire process. Whether it is the cooking itself of the cleanup required [0] after.
I cook a single meal a week: spaghetti. That is literally the only meal I have cooked in four years. I make it four or five times a month, every single Monday, and only on Monday. The other 6 days of the week, I don't cook. Which means 6 days of the week, I either (a) not eat at all or (b) eat unhealthy fast-food or food from a local cafeteria (still mostly unhealthy).
I'm not busy - I'm just lazy. So lazy that I've even stopped preparing my Soylent 1.5 because I can't be bothered to clean the blender every-other-day after preparing two day's worth of meals. My ideal level of food prep is two steps: Open, Eat. Granola bars are great for this - Soylent 2.0 is also ideal. I haven't gotten around to ordering 2.0, although I did try Coffiest.
I figure if there is something healthy for me that I can just grab and eat - it's healthier for me than my current eating habits. Soylent checks both boxes as far as I or the FDA is concerned. I've also never felt or gotten sick from my consumption of Soylent.
ps. The answer most people give me is "Learn to cook and make quick and easy meals!" and those people miss the entire point. I know how to cook, I had to cook for my mother and siblings nearly every night since the age of 9 until I moved out of the house. I have over a decade's worth of experience of preparing and cooking meals. The problem is I hate cooking and don't want to do it and hiring a personal chef is outside of my budget.
[0] I'm assuming they're apathetic towards cooking, not they they are slobs. :)
I've only ever had Soylent 2.0, but I've had 200 bottles by now, I've never been sick, and I still think it tastes fine. Why do so many people here assume their personal experience is everyone's experience?
The primary selling point was that it allowed the customers to pretend (at least to themselves, if not to anyone else) that they were too busy even to eat food. If you're THAT busy, you must be an important, happening guy, or gal, right?
It's one fun facet of the bizarre, upside-down culture in certain parts of the developed world, where work, followed by perhaps housing, are people's primary status symbols. The 21st century really needs an update of 'Theory of the Leisure Class'.