The Best One Yet - BONUS: “Best of 2021” 💝 Our 3 favorite stories of the Year

Episode Date: December 20, 2021

Boom — Bonus pod coming at ya faster than you can say “journey.” We whipped up yours and our 3 favorite stories from 2021:“TikTok is now Tiktoooooooook” (from July 2nd)“Honest’s Profit Puppy is a is a Diaper Cake” (from April 19th)“Bumble’s 1st restaurant is date-friendly and spaghetti-free” (from July 1st)Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. And this is your snacks bonus podcast of the holidays. Our first one. Here we go. Our first of two. Yeah, it is. Hey, Santa, you can sit this one out.

Jack and I got it covered this year. We're whipping out a bonus pod in today's pod. It feels like the best one yet. It actually is a TBOY. Jack, what's going on today? What are we whipping up? Our first favorite story of the year is from our July 2nd episode. TikTok is now TikTok.

Our second favorite story, we're going back to April 19th. The Honest Company. It's got a profit puppy and it's a diaper cake. For our third and final story, we're going back to July 1st. Bumble's first restaurant is date friendly and spaghetti-free. You don't want spaghetti on a first day. Bring your own bib. You got to bring your own bib to this thing.

But Snackers, before we hit that wonderful next. A wonderful bonus pod, by the way, it's like finding a third Reese's in a twin pack of Rees. Well, we should clarify, this is the second annual Best of Snacks album for 2021. It's like there's an M&M in your Oreo. We're dropping our greatest hits like we're Elton John and Elton John's Wardrobe assistant. Snackers, this year, we covered so many fast-moving headlines. Yeah, that Peloton stock, it tore a tendon trying to keep up. We covered so many zuckings this year. That Facebook had to change its name. We whipped up so many takeaways. Jack, I'm checking the inventory here. We're at a takeaways. There is a shortage of takeaways now.

Add takeaways to the hoarder's almanac week 92. So snackers, Jack and I asked you for your favorite snacks pod stories of 2021. You hit us up on social, so we did something with your answers. Yeah, we created basically desat, like decentralized snacks. We threw the snacks on the blockchain. You helped us pick these three stories from 2021 for our best of album. Jack, we should get more specific here. We should point out that we actually got a pin dude in Jack's turtleneck to check the chassis of a bassinet.

Dahlina Duncan called up slamming. Sam and ordered some thytastrosol for that thing under thigh. Epsifso facto, darling. She used a super delivery app out of Chicago because, you know, Chicago does logistics. We jumped in snack style. PFWTMs are reporting that this pod is worth seven full lifts. Adjusted seven full lifts. In Russia, pod adjust you.

Snackers, these are your favorite snack stories and our favorite snack stories too from 2021. It's been a year. Our best of album, Snacks 2021. I think what we're trying to say here, Jack, is that these are the best ones yet of the best ones yet? I couldn't have whipped that out better. Let's hit our three favorite jokes. You're tuned into snacks daily. We spoke to the lawyers and we got to get something legal out the way. The snacks about to hear ain't food. It's air candy. They don't reflect the views of the robberhood family. It's all informational just so. You know, we're not recommending any securities.

It's not a research report or investment advice. Not an offer or sale of a security. Right. Snacks is digestible. Business. news for you. Rob her financial LLC member Fenra slash SIPC. For our first story from last summer, TikTok

is now TikTok. We picked this story because it was actually the most downloaded episode of the year. It's like Regina George. It's the most popular and there's nothing you can do with it about it. I think it was the title. TikTok.

It's all about it. It's all about the intonation. Big news, TikTok is going from small videos to medium-sized videos. TikTok's parent company bike dance. The most important thing is that they play in two hemispheres while the rest of big tech just plays one. Can we talk about maybe the most fundamental, important, valuable, lovely quote that drives this podcast check? I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn't have enough time. Let it sink in.

Let it sink in. Maybe that's a Mark Twain quote. Maybe. But Nick and I usually have like a lot more content. for this pod. Yes. But we want to keep it brief for you. And it takes us more time to make it briefer. It's always hard. Your essay, your teacher's always like make it shorter. It's going to take you four days to write that essay. That's why TikTok has always been such a creative challenge for posting because you got to squeeze it in 59 seconds. I want to make the video about how to order the culotta

from Darlene. How do I do that in 30 seconds? It took me a week to prepare. You now have three minutes to talk about all Adaline's hazelnut pumps. Yeah, you do. Because TikTok is officially expanding it to three minutes. That's the new limit for video. Small change, huge implications. It's now TikTok. Exactly. Because three minutes snackers, that's kind of a big deal. That is three times as long as TikTok has always been. It's got to mess with the algorithm. It's going to show you different videos now. Totally different content. And maybe make it feel more YouTubey. I mean, does this mean, Jack, we can put the intro of this podcast now on TikTok? Do we fit? Are we TikTok? I think we're TikTokable. We're TikTok influencers. This is great. Let's just run with this. Let's just tell our mom's that.

But the real story here isn't TikTok. It's bite dance. The private tech giant that owns TikTok. If you're thinking TikTok Snackers, start to think about bite dance as well. Last month, PFWTMs leaked that TikTok's owner, BiteDance, doubled their revenues last year to $34 billion. Okay, so TikTok doing $34 billion. Jack, can you sprinkle a little context on that number for us? Snapchat did $2.5 billion in revenue last year.

Okay, so Snapchat's doing a whole lot less than our buddy's over at TikTok. Facebook did a little bit. 86 billion last year. A lot more than our buddies at TikTok. TikTok, it's kind of in the meaty part of the curve of social media revenues. Also, ByteDance has 1.9 billion users. Yes, they do. That's something we need to talk about.

It is something we need to talk about, which feels like a takeaway moment. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies at TikTok owner, BiteDance? TikTok's greatest competitive advantage is that they straddle two worlds. Funny thing, Snackers. That 1.9 billion users number about TikTok, it isn't. just TikTok. That's actually about TikTok and doyin. Du Yin. Do yin is TikTok's sister ad. It's a Chinese version only in China, but it's also owned by bite dance. You may not have heard about do yin, even though you may be TikTok and all the time.

It's the same short form videos. It's the same dance routines, the same makeup tutorials, the same tips for how to keep your baby cool during a heat wave, which my wife's been TikTok in all week. You got to be TikTok and that. Also a slight difference here between TikTok and do yin. Yeah. You in is filtered through the Chinese sensor machine. TikTok not as much. Otherwise, these two sister apps had the same algorithm, but different servers, same owner, but different countries. So ByteDance has managed to straddle two worlds.

Wild. All of the West, including North America and Europe, big markets. Big markets. As well as China. But Jack, what about Facebook? How about them? It's been banned in China since the start. Jack, how about Snapchat?

Also blocked in China. Jack, how about Google? Google's not in China because open, Internet. internet search is illegal in China. So Snackers, TikTok's owner, ByteDance, could become the first tech company to hit a whopping 4 billion users because it straddles to worlds with two apps. The rest of big tech is just in the West. I'll tell you, that takeaway feels even bigger now.

TikTok is the only social media company doing business in both China and the U.S. Yeah, LinkedIn looked in the mirror. It was like, what am I doing here? TikTok is like the Berlin. Lynn Wall. It straddles like the east and the west. But Snackers, for our second story, this one's from last spring. The honest company, it has a profit puppy and it's a diaper cake. We picked this story for this best of album because it was the most memorable story to us personally. Yeah, it was our first pod back after you'd taken paternity leave and it felt like

it was the right kind of topic. I was qualified to do this story because I knew how to do it You were halfway through the bass in it. Spoken like a true podfather. Jessica Alba's startup, the honest company just filed to IPO. It's going to be a stock soon, but everything honest starts with diapers. I mean, Jack, to kick this off, you know what we got to do. Can you IMD be me on Jessica Alba right now? Jessica Alba, Fantastic Four.

You almost forgot Sin City, Nick, but she was the star in Sin City. Yeah, because that movie scares me. And she was also in that movie with that comedian, What's his name? You sound like my mom describing a movie. A penguin movie with a comedian. Some snack will tweet it on us. Fun fact, she was in Nickelodeon's secret world of Alex Mac.

Really? Yes, she was. But then in 2011, she started the honest company, direct-to-consumer, personal household goods. Baby, beauty, home. Those are the three tabs at the top of the website. Picture like Gwyneth Paltrow's goop, but more window cleaner, less CBD serum designed by an astronomer. And they're all about cleaning greens. They're like, we're not.

using the harsh chemicals you remember from science class on the fourth row of the periodic table. Funny thing you should mention that, Jack. 2016, Wall Street Journal hired some scientists, and they confirmed that they did contain some sodium life roll sulfate. Yeah, that's not how you pronounce it, but that's the scary thing that they pledged not to have in their products. Yeah, and that lawsuit, it actually delayed the IPO like five years. Five years ago, honest company.

What does it be it so honest? Jessica, you laid that up for us. Now, 2020, revenues jumped 28% to $300 million. They're looking at like a $2 billion valuation at this IPO. We jumped in the Espawn paperwork. They mentioned the word passion 20 times. Okay. Community 43 times.

But they only mentioned profit nine times, Jack. Because they don't have profit yet. They don't have a profit. But Snackers, this company, they're selling everything at the honest company, from laundry detergent to wrinkle cream. But there's one statistic that Jack and I were totally shocked by. 46% of first-time customers at honest company, they include diapers in their shopping cart true story so nearly half of the honest company's customers

begin their journey with honest company by buying a diaper i wish this was a paid ad from the honest company it's not no it's not but i do have honest company diapers full disclosure on my baby wilder right now we're going through like eight of them a dad then jack and i were like okay so they're really into the diapers probably at this company we dove in further snack style get this they got something called the ninety nine dollar diaper cake this looks like a wedding cake Yeah, it does. With like three layers. But instead of frosting and like cake batter, it's just diapers.

And it's like wrapped in the plastic wrap like a bouquet of flowers would be. I mean, honestly, huge regret here, Jack. I mean, this is how you become the queen of the baby shower. You bring the diaper cake. Nick sent me a four pack of sip of sunshine to congratulate me for having a baby. You should have sent the diaper cake. I probably should have sent the diaper cake. But the reason we think diapers are so important here is because the second purchase is what's key.

90% of second purchases include non-dipers. products. And remember, half included diaper products. So you're starting with the diaper, but then you buy something else. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the honest company? First, the anchor product, then the cross-sell. Snackers, page 22 of that IPO paperwork. Diapers aren't just a product. They say they're a strategic business acquisition tool. Snackers, new moms and dads, they're obsessed with their baby's health, and they want the same diapers that Jessica Alba used on her babies. The diapers are the anchor product. Maybe it leads to a diaper subscription. but the diaper also fuel sales of all the other products.

Suddenly, these new moms and dads, they're thinking, anything that can touch my baby skin, it better be an honest product. Jack, you may not be enjoying that soup of sunshine beer, but I have a feeling you're going for the wipes, the diaper cream, the shampoo, and of course, the bubble bath. Let's just say we spent like $400 on our first honest order. It's aggressive. So just to reiterate here, Snackers, nearly 50% of their customers bought diapers

and then nearly 100% bought something else. It doesn't even matter if your anchor product is profitable. No, what matters is if your anchor product leads to the cross-sell. Full disclosure, we have since congratulated new parents by gifting them a diaper cake or two. You didn't do like the diaper cupcake. Assuming you went like three-tier on this thing, Jack, three-tier diaper cake. Full, full disclosure. Wilders moved on from honest diapers because they didn't come in slamming salmon.

As part father to this child, I approve of this. For our third and final story of the bonus pod, this one is from July 1st. Bumble's first restaurant is date friendly and spaghetti-free. We picked this one just because it's universally relevant. Because standing your shirt on the first date in real life in two years, that's a universal feeling. Love is eternal. Yes.

So is a dating app bistro that's built an online community. The dating app Bumble is opening its first ever restaurant. Unlike Bumble's app. Bumble's restaurant has nothing to do with an algorithm. So I'm just going to turn things over to full disclosure here. Bumble shareholder, Jack Kramer, Jack, can you give us an update on the stock from where you're sitting? Backer! The stock's not doing well.

No, it's not. It's hard. It's down 25% since it's February IP. It's down 19% for me. So technically I'm outperforming here. Not too shabby over there, Jack. Snackers, get ready to meet something called Bumble brew, Bumble's first ever cafe in Soho in New York on July 20. We should call this a straight-up restaurant because they're partnering with the restaurant

group behind the restaurant Pascal A Jones. Oh, yes. No relation to Pascal's Triangle. No, but fantastic pizza, especially the clam one, right, Jack? Now, hilariously, when Bumble announced this two years ago, it got a little delayed, but they've really Bumbleified the food menu. Yeah, the focus of the menu was actually on date-friendly food. No two-napkin situation dishes.

Right. They figured there'd be a lot of Bumble couples on their first date. So they didn't want like baby back ribs when they get sauce all over your face. You don't want to be sticking that whole face into the volcanic bean burritos dip situation. But like we said, the pandemic delayed the launch by a year. So post-pandemic, they're not joking around with their menu. It's okay. I brought another sweater with me.

If he brings a tied to go stick, he's a keeper. New menu, it's mostly Mediterranean. Going to be some more of the finger food on there. I think they might even have a whole lobster with like a bowl of melted butter, which is the messiest dish. I mean, that's the sixth date food you get. You crack open the claw. Ah, my eye! By the way, no spaghetti.

Are you kidding? You want to create the lady in the tramp situation. I feel like that should be mandatory to serve that. Big missed opportunity. But snackers, 90% of Bumble users, according to Bumble's data, want to date in real life again after the pandemic. So it makes sense they're opening the restaurant now, so you can literally Bumble at Bumble.

Now, Bumble brew isn't just a safe space for your first date with Rohan, who you've been chatting with on Bumble for a while. No, this is what Jack and I find fascinating about Bumble Brew. It's really also a location for BumbleBiz to go down. BumbleBiz is Bumble's LinkedIn-ish feature on the app, which is networking, interviews, looking for a mentor. So you're not just like going to the restaurant for the first date for the lobster. Bumble brew could also be applicable to Bumble fund, which is the venture fund of Bumble, focused on women-led startups. They actually are considering having pitch competitions in the back of the Bumble Brew Cafe.

So to add it all up, you can meet a co-founder. Okay. Fund a direct-to-consumer startup led by women. All righty. All over a $9 honey latte all at Bumble Brew. It's a delicious concoction. Only one location is planned so far in New York City. They're just testing it out.

They haven't committed to a second one. We'll see how it goes. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies doing physical things over at Bumble? The app gave Bumble scale, but community gives Bumble relevant. Snackers, remember this key part of the dating app industry. When a dating app is successful, you delete the app. That's why we told you last week that Tinder is adopting more social media, not necessarily dating features. Yeah, because they want to stay in your life just a little bit longer.

But Bumble's physical restaurant offline makes it even more relevant. Yes. Even if you're in a happy relationship. I mean, married with three kids, Jack, no problem. Now your mom can Bumble with you. Over some baby back ribs at Bumble Bureau. So Bumbles transformed from a digital commodity for 26-year-old female. to a potentially lifelong value brand.

Snackers, Bumble's algorithm in their app got them to the IPO. But the Bumble community is what could stop investors from deleting the stock. If there's anything you take away from these takeaways, don't order the baby back ribs. I'll be honest. I don't know if you order the baby back ribs on any date. I don't think this is happening on the second, the third of the eighth. Unless there's a bathtub nearly accessible, stick to something else. Menu strategy depends on bathroom proximity. B.I.O. Moist towel.

That's the takeaway. Snackers, time for our snack fact of the year. Not just any snack fact, our favorite snack fact of the year. This one brought to us by Neda Harara from lovely San Francisco. You ready? Yes, please, Jack. Here we go. All you. The brain is the only body part that named itself. We repeat, the brain is the only body part that named itself. We repeat, the brain named itself. I think we can just leave it right there. That one just kind of takes care of itself. Snackers, you look not just fantastic today, but fantastic all year. And this, this was our first of two bonus pods this holiday. Next week, we got another one coming for you. Should we share it? Should we unwrap the gift?

Let's do it. Yeah, Monday next week. Here we go. Get ready. Stay tuned. Ribbons off. We're going to get the snacks daily. Yank of the paper.

Here in review. Boom. The three big themes of 2021. And Jack and I, we sprinkled a little more onto these three themes. Consider this an I-o-e-o-e-you. you. You're going to want to hang on to this one. It's not a gift card. Have a fantastic Christmas. Yes. Have a happy holidays. Right back at you, Jack. And we'll see you on the 27th. If you know, you know. This is Jack. I own stock of Bumble and Nick and I both own stock of Pelotan.

Robin Hood Snacks, newsletters, and podcasts reflect the opinions of only the authors who are associated persons of Robin Hood Financial LLC and do not reflect the views of Robin Hood Markets, Inc, or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. They are meant for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation to buy or sell any security, cryptocurrency, or investment strategy in any account. This is not an offer or sale of a security, not a research report, and is not intended to serve on the basis for any investment decision. Any third-party information provided therein does not reflect the views of Robin Hood Markets, Inc., Robin Hood Financial LLC, or any of their subsidiaries or affiliates. All investments involve risk, including loss of principal and past performance,

does not guarantee future results. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member FINRA, SIPC.