The Best One Yet - 🐟 “CodBar” — David’s fish protein bar. Labubu: Beanie Baby or Barbie? Pittsburgh’s Austin-of-the-East.

Episode Date: July 17, 2025

David, the $725M protein bar brand, dropped its most controversial product yet… Cod fish.Pittsburgh just snagged $90B in AI investments… If all goes to plan, Pitt becomes the Austin of the East.Labubu dolls are now bigger than all of Mattel… but will these viral dolls become Beanie Babies or Barbies?Plus, France has a wild new plan to boost the economy… Cancel 2 holidays.$META $GIS $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… The Michelin Restaurant ⭐Subscribe to The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinks to listen.TBOY Live Show Tickets to Chicago on sale NOW: https://www.axs.com/events/949346/the-best-one-yet-podcast-ticketsAbout Us: The daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. Formerly known as Robinhood Snacks, TBOY Lite is hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell.GET ON THE POD: Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts NEWSLETTER:https://tboypod.com/newsletter SOCIALS:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypodYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tboypod Anything else: https://tboypod.com/ Our 2nd show… The Best Idea Yet: Wondery.fm/TheBestIdeaYetLinksEpisodes drop weekly. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Thursday, the new Friday, July 17th. And today's pod. It's the best one yet. And this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Well, there you go.

Yeti's stocks rose yesterday. As President Trump denied, he's firing the chairman of the Fed. Investors are happy that the head of our nation's central bank isn't going anywhere, at least for now. Stocks are happy. And we prepared three fantastic stories for today's show. Jack, what do we got on the T-boy? For our first story, it's David.

The $725 million protein bar just launched its most controversial product yet. Cod. Cod. Like the fish. Protein bar, cod, fish. We'll explain why. For our second story, Popmark is the Chinese company behind the viral Laboo Boo Boo Dolls. And now it's way bigger than Mattel.

But here's our question for Labou. Will they be the next Beanie Baby or will they be the next Barbie? And our third and final story. The city of Pittsburgh just snagged $90 billion of AI investment pledges from 20 different companies. So if all goes according to plan, then Pittsburgh will become the Austin of the East. But yet, he's, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Oh, fantastic mix of stories for the new Friday. It feels like a Friday.

It's basically the weekend and summer is in full swing. Besties, you're still feeling the vibes of your Fourth of July vacation. But over in France, you're not relaxed right now. And why is that, Jack? France could soon lose two public holidays. Not possible! Get this, the French government wants to eliminate two national holidays to save money. World War II Victory Day and Easter Monday.

Boom, those could be the last time you celebrate both of them in France. This would be the biggest change to the calendar since Leap Year. What's next? Cancel Tartin Tuesdays, Jack? Croke Monsieur Mondays? Are Croke Monsieur Mondays next? I don't know. Nick, you could imagine the French are not loving this idea.

No, they are not. But there is some surprising context we should sprinkle on. Get this, the French have the same number of national holidays that we do. That's right. 11 holidays in France, 11 holidays in America. That's surprising because French has a reputation for always being on vacation. But they also have an explanation for that reputation, Jack. And the explanation is fair le pont.

Ah, fair le pont. A French term with a uniquely French meaning. It means make the bridge. Basically, if the holiday is in the middle of the week, the French turn it into a four or five-day weekend. They make a bridge for the holiday to the weekend. So if Ascension Day, I don't know what that is, by the way, but if Ascension Day falls on a Thursday this year, then you take Friday off too. And if New Year's Day is on a Wednesday, then you take Thursday and Friday off too. Or do you take Monday and Tuesday off too?

Well, you do both, Jack, and then the whole country ends up taking the whole week off and boom, productivity dropped in France. It's not a holiday. It's a holiday. week in France. Oh yeah, you still get paid for taking those days off. So technically, the French have the same number of holidays as we do. But then they make a bridge and basically round up. They fare le Pond. And that's hurting the economy. Jack, feels like someone's going on strike next week. Let's hit on three stories. I hope you don't need to take a train in France because the train's not running. Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea

that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. 50% that's a fat tip. Tea boy city on your at list. If you know, you know, because we're ready to go. We can't wait no more. So just start the show.

Start the show. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, David, the most protein-y protein bar that we covered a few months ago has gone more viral by going more protein. David just launched a cod-bod. Cod bar. Yes, a protein bar that's just a fillet of fish. And Yetis, Jack and I take the stories we whip up for you on the pod and we post them on social media.

And our story about the David Bar went viral on Instagram in June. If you followed us because of that post, hi, this is the podcast. Thanks for checking us out. That's Jack. I'm Nick. Great to me. Thanks for being with us. You're now besties and yeties.

But as a reminder, David is a protein brand known for a super high protein protein bar and it's got bicep busting numbers right now. The guy behind the David Bar previously found it and sold the RX Bar. So David Bar is his second bar. They've raised $75 million. There were $725 million, and they're doing $100 million in revenue right now. And the name was inspired by the Statue of David in Florence, Italy. Some subliminal messaging here, Jack, if I brush up on my art history a little bit.

Eat this protein bar, and you'll have perfect abs like those tastefully nude Renaissance sculptures. Yeah, Leonardo da Vinci, he was munching on these when he was making a flying machine. Fig leaf, not included. Now, after Jack and I covered David, there was a little bit of drama that hit the food industry. David Barr got sued by the competition for buying the supplier of the key protein ingredient, basically for becoming a monopoly. Because it was only with that special ingredient that David could jam 28 grams of protein into a single bar. But here's the new news.

And it's wild. David's newest protein bar is fish. Yep. It's codfish. Fish. Literally a tiny rectangular-shaped filet fish. He's the biggest plot twist in food, Jack, since that domino's Oreo pizza.

It's the biggest plot fist in food since the merit, the meat-based carrot. Or most soda when my parents mixed soda and milk. So Nick and I are asking the same question you are. Why is a protein bar startup acting like the seafood section of your local Kroger's? Well, Jack, why don't we sprinkle on a little context over here? David's differentiator is its high protein ratio. Their flavors aren't unique at all.

Exactly. You buy the David bar for its 75% protein to calorie ratio. You don't buy it for the mocha peanut butter flavor. But now it sells fillet of Pacific codfish, individually wrapped in the shape of a protein bar. We are not exaggerating. We dove in T-boy style. You can buy a box of four, six-ounce flash-frozen wild-caught Pacific fillets of codfish.

You keep it frozen until you're ready to eat it. And the one ingredient is caught. That's it. It's like straight up no boo in your fridge but a protein bar. So what's David doing? Are they trying to push pure fish as an alternative to a protein bar or protein smoothie? Like Jack, if you get home from berries, are you supposed to boil a haddock for your post-workout protein? Maybe. Customers thought, though, that this was an accidental leak of an April Fool's prank. We almost did too. If you're leaving SoulCycle, you really want to stick your face into some sushi immediately? But then we thought about it and we realized this is actually brilliant.

There's a strategy here. Jack, what's the takeaway for our? buddies over at David. Sometimes you got to sell a virtue signal. Yeties, David Barr doesn't want to be seen as a protein bar company. They want to be seen as a protein company. And cod happens to be one of the most protein rich foods in existence. Get this, zero sugar, 100 calories, 23 grams of protein per a filet. Bessies, if you heard those numbers in a protein bar, you would buy it. This cod bar has an even better protein to calorie ratio than the OG David protein bar does. What Jack and I think David is proving here, in an almost comical way, just how committed they are to the protein focus. There's no way Chloe Kardashian's protein popcorn startup,

whatever sell fish, regardless of the protein stats. It's kind of a vendetta here too, Jack. Like if you said they had only processed protein bars, this is the most natural protein there is. As long as fish is the most efficient way to deliver protein, David will do it. So we think this codfish is about the message, not the money. David Barr is selling a virtue signal, and the virtue is protein. That is flexing some marketing muscle. For our second story, big money, big tech, and big energy, just through a birthday party for the city of Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh is getting $90 billion from 20 companies to transform into Steel City 2.0. The Austin of the East. Now, yeties, the new Republican senator from Pennsylvania

is a man named David McCormick, and he is a former hedge fund manager. But on Tuesday, he organized and emceed the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit hosted at Carnegie Mellon University. As Jack and I saw it, this was basically a business wedding, wasn't it, Jack? Government tech and energy

are getting married in a thruple situation in the city of Pittsburgh. Now, the guest list, ooh, some pretty exciting guest list appearances. He invited not just President Trump and what appeared to be his entire administration. He also invited Democratic Governor of Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro. But the majority of this RSVP invite list was executives from America's top three industries,

tech, energy, and finance. That's the most financing way to say finance. That's what they want me to say, Jack. In the tech industry, this event had the CEOs of Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, AWS, and the president of Alphabet. From the energy industry, you'd execs from the biggest oil, nuclear, and natural gas companies in America. And then from finance, you had Black Rock, Blackstone, and Brookfield. We thought Santa Claus and Mario Lemieux were going to show up at this thing.

Wait, why Santa Claus? Why not Santa Claus, Jack? Okay, either way, this is the biggest thing to happen to Pittsburgh since the terrible towel. And together, 20 companies pledged to invest $90 billion in the city of Pittsburgh. With $90 billion, you could have bought 14 lifts. $90 billion? That is one of the biggest dollar investments we've ever heard of for a single city. And it's apropos that it's happening in Pittsburgh, because Pittsburgh has been known for steel for over a century. And it takes enormous amounts of energy to produce steel.

But so does computing AI today. That's right. So the master plan for Pittsburgh is to build AI computing data servers in and near the city. And power those servers with natural gas that lies underneath Pennsylvania soil. Also, they're probably going to build a couple nuclear plants. Because you can't get AI without huge amounts of energy. Jack, you can't get either of those. without huge amounts of money.

Which is why tech, energy, and finance got together in Pittsburgh. Besties, Pittsburgh is famous for the Immaculate Reception. The most famous football play ever. Well, Jack and I are calling this event the Immaculate Connection. Because bringing tech, money, and energy together to do AI, that sounds pretty immaculate. Now, we should point out, in classic President Trump style, there were huge numbers here, but it was a little light on the details.

So there's no guarantee all of this or any of this ends up happening. But if it does, it could try. turn Pittsburgh into the Austin of the East. Except, instead of barbecue and fried chicken, you get a Rothschilder. Do you know what's in a Rothest burger? Protein? I don't. I've never had it.

Actually, if someone could comment what's in a Rothest Burger, I'd really love to know. Black and yellow, black and yellow, black and yellow. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in Pittsburgh? Why do cities become great? The answer is always energy. Energy. Yeties, Jack and I were curious, what results in cities becoming great? while other cities struggle.

The latest great American city is Austin. The list of companies with headquarters in Austin is truly impressive. And the next great city? It could be Pittsburgh. And the reason is energy. Texas is number one in America for both oil and gas. Pennsylvania is top three for both oil and gas. New York City's energy is its diversity and talent.

San Francisco's energy is its tech and innovation. Austin and Pittsburgh possess those same ingredients but are bolstered by natural resources. So besties, why do cities, become great, the answer is always energy. At Pittsburgh has all sorts of energy right now. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Laboubu the doll craze, just hit an all-time high. But what about the company behind Labubu? It's called Pop Mart, and it just announced earnings, and it's already way bigger than Mattel. Now, Yeti's back on April 30th, We covered the viral craze, that is, the Labibu doll.

Not the Gugu dolls, Labibu dolls. And since then, their owner, Pop Mart, their stock is up 30%. Because Popmart just told investors that this crazy little toy you're seeing everywhere will power their profits up 350% this year. We're talking about a creepy, cute doll the size of a La Croy. It's like a Furby and a Telatuby had a baby. It's giving where the wild things are. But raised by the trolls of our childhood, Jack.

And people attach it to their bags like it's a freaky little keychain. Nothing pairs with a Gucci like a Laboubu. Now, they don't talk, but if they did talk, we think they'd sound like the jack-in-the-box from the movie Elf. That terrifies Will Ferrell. And the hype hack for Labibu dolls is celebrities. Exactly, because Kim Kardashian, Hillary Duff, Simone Biles, they're all enthusiastic boo-boo-bo-heads.

They are collectors of the boo-boo. Megan Thee Stallion? She just posted like a seven-minute video, unboxing her latest hall. And the result? the parent company Pop Mart will sell $1 billion of Labubu Dolls just this year. To sprinkle on some context, please Jack.

Hot Wheels does $1.5 billion and Barbie does $1.4 billion. So LabuBood Dolls is right up there with some of the most famous toys in America. And all that momentum is powering Pop Mart. A Chinese toy company actually has 37 stores in America already and is building out 20 more by the end of the year. Congratulations, San Francisco. You're getting one in Union Square. Now, Besties, this is what you're going to be. Jack and I found fascinating about this story.

We've covered a lot of viral products on our second show, our weekly show, the best idea yet. And the Laboubu doll reminds us of two products in particular. And what two products, Jack? Beanie Babies and the Bored Ape Yacht Club. And here's why. Both the 1990s plush animal dolls and the pandemic era NFT had wide variety. And both Beanie Babies and the Bore Apes fueled demand with scarcity. Owning one of these became a status symbol.

Now, last time we covered Labu, we told you their growth. hack was the mystery box. You don't know what Labubu doll you're getting until you open the box up and find out. Well, that's a growth hack because it's how Labubu has created a sense of scarcity as well. And as a result, just like with Beanie Babies, collectors have been buying up Labubu dolls with hopes of selling them someday for a profit. Like how about that human-sized Labou from last month, Jack? A Labou doll that's the size of a human sold for $165,000 last month in Beijing.

We repeat, one Labubu doll for the price of a Lamborghini. And that Labibu Frenzy has scaled globally. Pop Mart's stock has swore 13x since the start of 2024. So besties add it all up, and Jack and I are going to ask this question. Will the Labibu doll become a longtime franchise like Barbie? Or will it just be a short-term fad like the Beanie Baby? Well, from what we're seeing, so far, Labo is giving off bubble vibes, which leads to our takeaway.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies selling the Labubo doll? Popmart may win the battle, but Mattel will probably win the war. Yeti's Popmart, the owner of Labibu, they're now worth more than America's two biggest toy companies, Mattel and Hasbro. Combined! It's wild but true. Popmart is now worth $40 billion on the stock market, which is about six times more valuable than Mattel. But here's what we're thinking. While Labou-Dolls may win this year's holiday season sales battle, Mattel will win the war. Because Mattel's brands are timeless. Barbies and Hot Wheels touch deeper and having more emotional impact than a Laboooo doll. Barbie isn't about a doll.

It's really about an intergenerational connection between women and careers. It represents more than the dopamine hit you get from open a mystery Labubu box and then posting that on Instagram. Barbie's brand is timeless. It is tied to aspiration. While Labu, it's more like a fashion item. It's still a strong brand, but it's vulnerable to fats. So Pop Mart may win the battle. This year, but Mattel will probably win the war.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday? David, the protein bar brand, launched codfish, individually wrapped and sold like protein bars. But what David's really selling is a virtue signal, and that virtue is protein. For our second story, Pittsburgh is getting $90 billion of investments from tech, energy, and finance to build out AI. So why do cities become great? The answer is always energy. And our third and final story, Labibu dolls are peak frenzy right now, and its parent is now six times more valuable than Mattel. Pop Mart may win the battle, but Mattel will probably win the war.

But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, the United States collected a record $27 billion in tariff fees in just the month of June. Pretty nice for our Treasury Department and for our debt situation. Is there retaliation? Not really. Only. China and Canada have retaliated against Trump's tariffs so far. You could argue that the other countries are chickening out, actually, by not retaliating to Trump's 10% tariffs on the entire world. But while the government has collected $27 billion in tariff revenue, it's paid for by U.S. companies.

Second, happy big bank earning season to all who celebrate. All the largest banks in America shared financials to kick off the second quarter earning season, and so far, pretty pretty good. Goldman Sachs' profits surged to nearly $4 billion in the second quarter, and JP Morgan, Citibank, Wells Fargo, they outperform too. And the reason? Trading. Stock market volatility means more active traders who made more money. And finally, Firefest has officially been sold for $245,300.

Because last week, we told you Billy McFarland had put Firefest up for sale on eBay. The most controversial non-event event in history could have been yours for $200,000. But bidders only raise the price up by $45 grand, so someone is walking away with Firefest for just a quarter million bucks. Which is just the legal right to sell things under the name Firefest. I feel like we could sell half a million Firefest hats in like 30 minutes jack. Now time for the best fact yet, this one sent in by a smiling emoji because it is World Emoji Day today. Emoji were invented in Japan in 1999, but today there are 3,000. 790 different emoji options if you include all the colors and the skin colors to choose from.

Now, Jack, the most popular emoji on earth, what is it? Shocker, the heart emoji. Yeah, the red heart. But more interestingly, what's the least popular emoji on earth? This is a really fun one. The least used emoji in the world is hilariously the snail. But even better, the least used emoji in the United States is different. It's the middle finger.

How dare you send a middle finger, anybody? I mean, I hope it stays that way. If the middle finger starts climbing in the ranks, then the world's probably in even more trouble than we think. I think what we're saying, Jack, is that no one in history has ever sent a text message with a snail and a middle finger. That's exactly what we're saying.

Lucky for the snail. Lucky for the snail. Yeties, you look fantastic today. Jack, you are glowing right now, and we've got some big news to share. You ready for this? Yeah, go ahead. The T-Boy podcast is now made with protein.

It is now includes extra protein. We have extra protein on the show. Oh, now we're going to double in sales, apparently. Listening to our show, you get an extra serving of protein. There you go, Yetis. So if you haven't yet, drop down and leave us a five-star review. We love reading your ratings and then tell a buddy, H-Y-H-T-B-O-Y. Have you had the best one yet?

Nick and I, we'll see it tomorrow. If you know, you know. And before we go, a happy birthday to legendary Yeti, Shane Mandis, He's all the way over on the Upper East Side in New York. This Enneagram 3 is ambitious. Well, he's ambitious to help people. I wonder what his wing is. And Namita Shaw, happy 39th birthday down in lovely Los Angeles.

Congratulations to Ruiz, and Daniela Ruiz, who got engaged in Chihuahua, Mexico. They've been listening to the show together for five years. Guys, can't wait to see the ring picks. Congratulations. And Alina, shout out for passing your CFP in San Francisco. Congratulations. A big shout-out to Valerie and Kimmy from the Framer team. Valerie, have a blast in San Francisco this weekend. Great to meet you. And Glacier Grid, the legendary team that is making restaurants and buildings more energy sustainable, keep looking fantastic.