The Best One Yet - 🫘 "Decaf is king" — Coffee's decaf surge. Amazon's river strategy. Fanatics' Comic-Con of Sports.

Episode Date: April 12, 2024

✅ Vote for TBOY to win the “Best Business Podcast” Webby Award: https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/shows/businessMore Americans than ever are ordering their coffee decaf �� Decaffeinated coffee is booming because consumers want drugs without the drugs.Amazon just said in the annual shareholder letter that the number of Prime Video watchers is 200M as the stock hit an all-time high — Because Amazon’s using “The River Strategy” (unironically).Fanatics is launching the comic-con of athletics, a “Fanatics Fest” this August in New York City — Tom Brady, Derek Jeter, and Kevin Durant are blending the sports industry with Hollywood.And office buildings are doing weddings on the weekend.Subscribe to the best newsletter yet: tboypod.com/newsletter$AMZN $SBUX $DKNGWant merch, a shoutout, or got TheBestFactYet? Go to: www.tboypod.comFollow The Best One Yet on Instagram, Twitter, and Tiktok: @tboypodAnd now watch us on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the real Friday. April 12th, and today's pod is the best one yet. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But before we start the show, Yetis, vote, vote, vote for the best one yet out there. We need your votes. We are up for a Webby's award for Best Business Podcast.

This would be a huge honor in our space. Jack and I are really excited about this. We got nominated, top five, baby. We're top five, but only you can make us number one by voting. today for the best one yet. Now Bessies, many of you have already voted. So now Jack and I are in the first place, but we're only up by four percentage points. That's within the margin of error. Jack, what's going to happen if we win? What are you going to do? I'm going to do something epic for the audience. Like, I'm not going to shave my head, but you get the idea. He's going to shave something. I'll

make sure he does something epic. In the meantime, Yetis, we've got the link in today's episode description. So vote for the best one yet for best business podcast. If we don't get your vote, then our name's kind of a lie. So we really hope you vote for you. We got to. We got it. It ought to be the best one yet. In the meantime, Jack and I whipped up a fantastic show. Jack, three stories. What are we got for the T-Boy? For our first story.

Today, the World Coffee Championships begin in Chicago, and the surprise favorite to win is decaf. Decaf, decath, decalph, sales or surgeon? Because Americans crave drugs, without drugs. For our second story, it's Amazon. Amazon stock hit an all-time high yesterday, as the CEO penned his annual shareholder letter. Because Amazon is using the river strategy.

And our third and final story is Fanatics. The sports company just announced the first ever Comic Con, but for sports. It's called Fanatics Fest this summer in New York. Fanatics Fest, they're taking players off the field and putting them on the stage. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories to end the week. I mean, what a mix of stories to end the week. No one else is doing this mix. I love this mix, Jack.

Over this weekend, you may be headed to your first spring wedding of the season. Spring, rejuvenation, rebirth, everything's blooming, all that good stuff. But you know it's the coolest place to get married right now? It's at work. Yet he's get this. The hot new wedding venue these days is office buildings. According to Axios, empty office buildings are now hosting weekend weddings on Saturday. You're throwing the boardroom into the dance floor.

You're turning the water cooler into the open box. You have now officially been promoted from boyfriend to husband. Your new wife is your work wife. We can understand what's going on here, can we, Jack? Because wedding venues... They're getting expensive these days. They're expensive. a down payment or two and you haven't even considered the band.

So down in D.C., developers have realized an opportunity. Their buildings are empty on the weekends. Why not host a wedding on Saturday? I mean, Jack, fewer faxes, more flowers. The reception? It's by the receptionist. It's like it makes sense, actually. The vows?

They're by the vending machine. Just make sure legal looks through this. Legal, could you take a look at the vows, please? And honestly, Nick and I love this trend, because imagine the unholy matrimony that could go down. I mean, Jack, what if you could say I do on the 86th? of the Empire State Building. Where did you have your first dance? By the Gargoyle.

That's where. Like on the gargoyle at the Chrysler building. So clear out the cubicles and put away the Primps. The next big event at your office is going to be Brad and Betty's Big Day. Although watch out. Frank from Finance is demanding a plus one. And Jack, I think Carol from Accounting's in the Congo line. A little bit quiet now.

A little bit quiet now. I now pronounce you VP and senior VP. I mean husband and wife. Husband and wife. Do you take these three? You know what? Jack, let's hit our three stories. 15 years before this song

Two boys from the Northeast Met in the Dorn They had an idea To cause a cultural storm It's the best one yet But the best is an norm Jack Nick That's it

I don't even think they need to practice 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 the fastest growing type of coffee right now? It's decaf. Decaffeinated coffee is surging because of a new trend. Drugs without drugs.

Jack, call your barista buddy, Ben, because this is the biggest week of coffee of the year. For two reasons. First, coffee prices just hit an all-time high. Like everything else. And second, Chicago is hosting the World Coffee Championships today. World Coffee Championships like the Super Bowl of the Bean, Jack. It's the battle for the best double-digit latte.

Oh, this is the Stanley Cup of coffee. Can we go with that? Of coffee cups, yeah. This is an espresso showdown yet. He's pure espresso. Now, here's the shocker. A recent winner of the coffee championships was a cup of decaf for the first time ever. Yet, yeah, he's repeat, decaf coffee just won the U.S. championships the other week.

And that's a shocker because decaf is the most disrespected type of coffee. It is so, so disrespectful. I mean, like half the hipsters in Gowanus have like a death before decaps. tattoo. You know what I'm talking about? You see what I'm talking about. Now, Yetis, to be clear, I'm a double shot. Like, give me all the caffeine you can. Full disclosure, this is Nick, and I'm a no caffeine, Nick. Nick's got plenty of energy already. Trust me. If I went full cup of Joe before this pot, I mean, Jack, this is Nick. I'd break a microphone. And maybe thanks to Nick's decaf sales, decaf sales are crushing in America right now. Get this, Yetes,

decaffeinated coffee sales hit $20 billion with the B dollars in the United States last year, according to Bloomberg. Decaf has outpaced regular coffee sales growth for the past five years, and decaf sales are expected to jump 50% by 2030. Here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. Decaf is actually a tech innovation. In fact, decaf's a good reminder that innovations can happen by accident. In 1906, a German man named Ludwig von Decaf,

just kidding. His name is Ludwig Roselius. He left his coffee beans in saltwater by accident. And here was his discovery. The salt removed the caffeine. Like he drank the saltwater coffee and he was not bouncing off the walls, apparently, Jack. But the coffee still tasted like a regular coffee. The flavor was still there.

So in 1906, he patented this new concept, which was decaffeinated coffee. Now, the process has gotten safer and more sophisticated over the years. You're not depending on, like, the harbor seawater anymore. In fact, the key is to open up the beans pours, which lets the caffeine out and filters the caffeine keeps the taste. Or at least it filters out 97% of the caffeine. caffeine. That's what qualifies as the definition of a decaf coffee cup. Yet is if you're drinking a decaf coffee in the United States, it may be 3% caffeinated. You should know that. But Ludwig phone decaf has no explanation for the surge in decaf coffee sales 100 years later. No, he does

not, Jack. But our takeaway does. So, I said Nick, not Rick. Oh my God, all the time at Starbucks, man. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are drinking decaf divas? Sumers want drugs, but without the drugs. Yeties, this rise of decaf, we think, is actually part of a larger trend. And that trend is drugs without drugs. You want drugs without the drugs. People enjoy certain rituals, but they don't want the repercussions. For example, people want weed without the weed high.

And that has led to the CBD market. People want alcohol, but without the alcohol drunkenness. And that has led to the non-alcoholic spirit industry. And honestly, even plant-based meat is meat without the meat indulgence. It's a drug without a drug. And now decaf. You want your coffee ritual, but you don't want your coffee's buzz. Well, Yeti's, that is all part of a new consumer trend.

People are craving drugs, but without the drugs. For our second story, Amazon's CEO just published his annual shareholder letter. And there were some gems in this thing. But what did we notice that Amazon's resources flow like a river? Yeties, last month, Jack and I jumped in T-boy style. And we read Amazon's first ever shareholder letter from Jeff Bezos back in 1997 when the company was IPL. It was our snooze pod. We read the entire letter verbatim to help put you to sleep because it was daylight savings.

Yeah, yeah, he's got to check out that episode. It was special. It helped you go to sleep. We literally just read every word in that letter. But Nick and I genuinely believe that shareholder letters can be exciting. Oh, we love shareholder letters. And Amazon shareholder letter often is exciting. That is Jeff Bezos's handpick successor.

Andy Jassy wrote his Amazon shareholder yesterday, and honestly, it revealed a lot of things. First, the table stakes. He mentioned artificial intelligence 27 times. Amazon invested $4 billion into Anthropic, the second biggest AI company, so of course they're obsessed with AI. They're also making AI chips, I guess. They called AI the biggest technology since the internet, which like even is a talking point your grandma's saying these days. I'm pretty sure AI wrote that sentence for it. That wasn't revealing, but this is what we thought was shocking and revealing.

The details about Amazon Prime Video that have never been revealed before. Yetis, get this. Amazon just revealed that their viewership for Amazon Prime Video for the first time ever. Is how many people, Jack? 200 million people a month watch something on Amazon Prime Video. Okay, 200 million people a month are watching streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Jack could you sprinkle on some context for it. That is second only to Netflix who has 260 million.

Now, Jack, Amazon Prime Video has always kind of felt like a freebie. Like, it's just they are free. It's included at no extra cost as long as you're a prime member. So yeah. But recently, Amazon made a little switcher-ruin us with Amazon Prime Video. This year, Amazon monetized Prime Video for the first time with a classic strategy we call hook them and book them. Hook them and book them. Yet he's first, Amazon hooked us with 17 years of basically free video content.

And now they're booking us. This year, they started adding ads or you can pay three bucks a month to avoid those ads. Well, that is one reason why Amazon's ad revenue hit a whopping. $47 billion with a B in 2023, not too shabby. That is third only to Google and meta in the ad sales market. So yeah, can you whip out the whiteboard? Actually, no, no, no. Can you whip out the podium and tell us where Amazon is sitting right now, man?

They're number one in e-commerce, obviously. They're number one in cloud computing too. They're number two in video streaming, we just learned. And there are number three in advertising. I'm sorry, maybe this is the early Paris Olympics, but gold, silver, or bronze medals are cross-examination. the Olympics of industries, Jack? E-commerce, cloud computing, video streaming, and advertising.

Yeah, they got metal on all those. That is why Amazon stock just hit an all-time high, and Amazon is about to hit $2 trillion in market cap for the first time ever. And that milestone will arrive Thursday if you prefer that they arrive in fewer boxes at your door. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Amazon? Amazon's core strategy is to be like a river, to flow wherever there's a void. Yeties, back in 1997, Amazon let people buy books online, the first market void that they filled. Then they noticed you wanted to buy more, so they started selling everything online.

And then Amazon notice selling online required computer power, so they started Amazon Web Services, a cloud computing business in 2006. Then one year later, with all that cloud computing, they offered streaming video at no extra cost. And then those giant customer bases flowed to the next logical conclusion, advertising. It's almost too on point a metaphor, but Amazon's strategy the past 20 years has been to be like a river. Amazon the company is doing a lot what Amazon the river does. Its resources flow to wherever there's a void. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story before the weekend. Fanatics, the $31 billion sports apparel unicorn is launching. Get this. Comic-Con for sports. It's another example of sports trading out competition. for entertainment. Now, Eddie's funny thing here, whether you're a Giants fan or a Cowboys fan,

Rangers fan or an Islander's fan, the same company is selling that jersey you're wearing, all those teams. Fanatics is the biggest company in sports today. Seventh-larger startup in America worth $31 billion, that is five lifts. Fanatics also thinks they're basically like the show Hey Otani

of apparel companies. They think they can play every position. Fanatics is like trying to do everything in sports because Fanatics began in apparel. If you bought a job, Jersey, it's probably made by Fanatics. And then Fanatics expanded to collectibles. Topps trading cards?

Yeah, they're owned by Fanatics. And then last year, Fanatics raised $700 million to jump into sports betting. The Fanatic Sportsbook. You can bet on LeBron in a Fanatics LeBron jersey on the Fanatics app. And yes, yeties, in case you were wondering, this is the company that is making those see-through baseball jerseys out right now. Kind of controversial. Drama.

But they're trying to bury that headline with this new headline. Get this. Fanatics is organizing the first ever Fanatics Fest, a convention for sports fans. Fanatics is actually copying a playbook you've seen already, if you're a Marvel fan. This is what we found fascinating about this story. What they're trying to build is the Comic Con of Athletics. Comic Con. I think it's Comic Con, right? It's Comic Con. We drop the extra C. I don't know, we add the extra C.

It's the ultimate nerd event. You could dress up like Princess Leia's cousin and then like Nuzzle up with Chubaca. You're taking pictures with Spider-Man over there. When's the fifth movie coming out? They'll answer your questions. You hang out with all your buddies. There's a whole cosplay scene. Okay, but Yetis, there is nothing nerdy about the numbers from Comic-Con.

Every year, 200,000 fans flock to New York City, generating $100 million in spending at that convention. Well, Fanatics sees those numbers and they got curious. So they're launching Fanatics Fest this August to be the Comic-Con of Athletics. They think they can do the same thing as Comic-Con. but instead of superhero fans, sports fans. It's actually really literally the playbook of Comic-Con because this three-day event is happening at the same location as Comic-Con. The Javid Center in New York City,

and they hired the founder of Comic-Con, so it's following the same playbook. Now, Fanatics was able to finagle all four major sports leagues to sign onto this event. And if fans want to join, they pay $50 general admission, and much more than that, if you want to meet the stars, who will be on the floor. Ben Manning's going to be interviewing the director

of his favorite sports movie at the Fanatics Fest. Kevin Durant's going to be there. So maybe you can play one-on-one or try and fail to block him. Autographs at the end if you happen to touch the rim. And Hulk Hogan's going to be there too. I would go just to get body slammed by Hulk Hogan. Now, Yetis, when you step back and call timeout, you can't you, Jack?

Nice sports reference with the Time Out. Because you're going to walk into this convention and they're going to be selling Fanatic shirts and you're going to buy Fanatics Collectibles. Then you're going to bed on the Fanatics app and you're going to do it all under the roof of the Fanatics event. Payton, can I get an autograph?

Like we said, Fanatics, they're the biggest company in sports today. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Fanatics Fest? The biggest trade in sports is competition for entertainment. Yet he's, Jack and I have been keeping track, and we've noticed a broader shift of sports embracing entertainment over tradition. My dad hates it. But the NBA just launched a mid-season tournament this year. That's just totally random.

But it was popular and fun to watch. Tiger and Rory just launched a new golf concept that's just one-on-one golf, the opposite of typical golf. Floyd Mayweather's not fighting other boxers. He's fighting Logan Paul, the YouTuber. And Jack and I've seen multiple athletes now own their very own media companies, like LeBron, James, and Steph Curry. Athletes are behaving less like competitors and more like creators and entertainers. The leagues, they're acting more like Hollywood Studios than they are sports. Because viewers want the drama, not the dribble. And that's why the biggest trade in sports is competition.

for entertainment. Even if Big Ted hates it. He hates it. He hates it. He hates it. He still hates that the Yankees changed their uniform 100 years ago. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for the Real Friday? Decaf coffee sales are expected to jump 50% by the end of the decade. Decaf divas, we're having a moment because people want drugs without the drugs. For our second story, Amazon is approaching a $2 trillion market cap after announcing that 200 million people watch Prime. Because Amazon's business flows like a river to wherever there's a void.

And our third and final story is Fanatics. They're hosting Comic-Con, but for sports this summer, it's a convention for sports fans. The disruption of sports, another example of how sports is trading out competition for entertainment no matter what your dad says. But yet, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Margo Robbie doesn't want to just play Barbie. anymore. She's got another toy movie in the works right now. She's working on Monopoly,

a movie about the classic board game. Turns out Monopoly is the world's most successful board game with 99% brand awareness. And now the creator of Barbie is doing a movie on Monopoly. And second, Coachella, the two weekend long music festival in Southern California begins this weekend. Yeah, we get LDR, Doja Cat, a reunion by no doubt. Those are the headliners this year, not too shatty. We're actually working on a story about this year's Coachella. More to come. next week. And finally, In-N-Out Burger is the iconic cheeseburger chain of California, and they've got a big update to a story we did last year. Last year, we told you about In-N-Out's plans to expand eastward, beginning with an outpost

in Tennessee. Okay, but unfortunately yesterday, the president of In-N-N-N-Out, whose parents founded the company, said that they're not coming to the East Coast and that she will not go further than Tennessee ever. She said probably never, at least under my watch. Probably never. Feels like a never, Jack. Now time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Savannah Westwood from lovely Orlando, Florida. Trivia. Which came first?

The kiwi? The kiwi were the kiwi. Okay, what Jack Zayor is which came first? Kiwi the bird, Kiwi the fruit, or Kiwi the human being from New Zealand? Because those are terms for all of those things. Yeah, they're all Kiwis. Now the answer is the bird. That's the bird.

The first Kiwi arrived 50 million years ago and was henceforth called the Kiwi. That was the first Kiwi. Kiwi, the fruit came second, and only after that were people from New Zealand nicknamed Kiwis. So Kiwis out there, enjoy your Kiwis and watch out for those Kiwis. That is a good, clean family joke at the end of the show. Yeah, actually came out better than I thought. I'm not going to lie. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week.

Jack, we actually got three big things that got to happen this. weekend. You ready for this? Here we go. Here we go. What's going on? All right, the besties have got to vote for T-Boy to become the best business podcast. We've got a link in this episode description. Just log in through your Google account. It's so easy to vote. And second, sign up for a weekly newsletter. The best newsletter yet. It comes out this Saturday, tomorrow. We dropped the link in the episode description for that too. And finally, celebrate the wins. No link needed for that one.

Just a Kiwi. Just a Kiwi. Celebrate those wins yetis and Jack and I. We'll see you Monday. And before we go, a shout out to legendary Yeti, Carol Journey, who Jack and I met with the whole team at T-Boy Studios in San Francisco. Great to have you, Carol. Congratulations to Chris Jin from Cincinnati, who launched a mobile bar company called Sexy Drink Saturday.

Oh, and Drew Perez in South Haven, Mississippi, is taking the SIE exam. Drew, we know what that's like. You got this, and then you're going to celebrate that win. Congratulations to Angel and Lila Sita for celebrating their first anniversary in Chicago. And a happy birthday. to Yeti Corrice Lopez Lopez, who's from Brooklyn, but is celebrating with her buddies on a boat in lovely Fort Lauderdale right now. She and Elijah are a couple of Yetis, with T-boy together. And Mariana Gonzalez, enjoy that birthday from Miami, but celebrating with a kebab in Istanbul.

And go Quakers to Juan Carlos, who's turning 20 in Guatemala City. Emera Atkinson from Rochester, celebrating a birthday also in Fort Lauderdale, also maybe on a boat. Happy 30th birthday to Ken Mormon in Buffalo, New York. Happy birthday to Paige McAvon celebrating in the marina down the street, hopefully with a lovely Asaiibo. And happy eighth birthday to Shishka Bobby Horowitz in Silver Spring, Maryland. And Elizabeth Dwyer, the legendary EJ, happy birthday celebrating with the family in Charlottesville, Virginia. And to anyone else celebrating something today, make it a T-Bois. Celebrate the wins.

This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Netflix and Nick Unstock of ShakeShack.