The Best One Yet - 🛍️ “Fake-flation & Dumb Deals” — Prime Day’s shopping tricks. Dishoom’s dice restaurant. H-E-B’s Texas rescue team.

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

London’s most popular restaurant, Dishoom, has a wild growth hack… Roll the dice, get a free meal.Amazon Prime Day is now Prime Week… but it’s really a fake deal mind game.One biz is saving flood victims in Texas: H-E-B… the $47B grocery chain bigger than Uber.Plus, Ozzy Osborne is selling his DNA in Liquid Death water cans… and it’s a new celeb trend.$AMZN $WMT $SPYWant more business storytelling from us? Check out the latest episode of our new weekly deepdive show: The untold origin story of… 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 Wednesday, Saturday, July 9th, and today's pod. Out of all the pods, is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. All right, Jack, let me see if I got this straight. The stock market was down and your eczema flared up. Right. And then yesterday, Selena Gomez got a zit and stocks fell again. Yeah, celebrity facial complexions are correlated with stock market performance. Absolutely. The data is there. Yeah, I just called myself a celebrity. Call that me. Jack, three stories for today's, T-boy, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, the hottest restaurant in London right now

is Dishoum, and they've got a wild take on the early bird special. Disholm's hype is driven by a viral growth hack. Roll the dice, land on six, your meals free. For our second story, Amazon Prime Day began yesterday, but Amazon Prime Day has three days left. All of e-commerce is preying on your

psychology right now. But Jack and I will preach the pricing truth. For our third and final story, the Texas flooding tragedy has one surprise hero that you probably haven't heard of yet. H.E.B. The H.E.B. Grocery chain is only in Texas, but they're bigger than Netflix, and they've basically replaced FEMA. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories, fantastic mix of stories for Sveche Wednesday, Jack. Ozzy Osborne has played his final concert. That's right, the mumbling British bat-eating rocker retired just this week. But plot twist. Yes.

The rock star Ozzy Osbourne is actually going to live forever. Because Ozzy Osbourne just sold, he's D&A. You know the viral water company, Liquid Death? Liquid death. They're worth $1.4 billion thanks to their insane marketing stunts. Well, get this. They're now selling $450 empty cans of water that Ozzy Osbourne drank from. You could buy traces of the Prince of Darkness's DNA on the can.

It probably got his lipstick on there because I'm pretty sure, you know, he's a British rocker. He probably has lipstick. Absolutely. That is definitely some Cartier lipstick on there. And they've already sold out of the Ozzy Osbourne saliva cans. We just checked. Now some lucky fan is probably going to clone Ozzy. They might accidentally clone that bat too.

But there's a bigger story here, Yeties. Ozzy Osbourne isn't the first celebrity to sell their DNA to a CPG. Sydney Sweeney sold her back. bathwater with Dr. Squatch soap. Tony Hawk sold a line of skateboards with his blood on them. Gwyneth Paltrow made a candle that smells like her. Yeti's celebrities are sick of signing autographs. And social media killed the paparazzi picture.

Said the new celebrity influencer flex, what is it, Nick? It's DNA. Celebrity DNA. Who wants a signature when you can get their chromosomes? Jack, it don't get any deeper than that. It makes you wonder, what's the next bodily fluid? that's going to be productized by some celebrity. One sec, Jack, I'm just bidding on Gosslings' Tears over here.

I would buy a bottle of Gosslings' jeans. Well, it comes into shampoo. We may have to split it. Jack, let's in our three stores. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. 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 most popular restaurant in London right now has the wildest game we've ever seen. The restaurant is De Shume. It's a cult-followed Indian restaurant, and it's turned a roll of dice into a growth hack. Yeties, the Wimbledon tennis tournament is going, on right now. So all eyes are on London. But after the match, you got to find something to eat. Absolutely. And the hottest restaurant reservation these days in London? What is it, Jack?

It's an upscale family-style Indian restaurant called De Shume. De Shume, founded in 2010 by a couple cousins. It evokes the vibes of a 1960s cafe in then called Bombay, now known as Mumbai. Side note, my first Indian food ever was in London. I was 23, and let's just say my palate has not recovered from the spicyness. Jack, double side note, eight at DeSchum 12 years ago with Molly. You did? Yeah. I wish you had taken us there when we went to London for that business trip. I was

so embarrassed. I actually haven't brought it up since then, Jack. Jack, Pippa Middleton eats their pannear. Benedict Cumberbatch gets their curry. And Andy Murray, the tennis star, you know what he gets? But none. No, the chicken ruby dish, which the restaurant trademarked it was so good. Wow.

Like Momofuku, DeSum has created a chain out of luxury International Cuisine. 14 locations all in the UK. And the last numbers we have on this private company, what are they, Jack? Their revenues jumped 23% in 2023 to $135 million. Besties, this company is so profitable. This restaurant is such a profit puppy. They just opened a hotel in London. After all that non, Andy Murray is going to need to stay overnight. Side note, Jack, Molly tried going on her last business trip to London. Couldn't even get it. Doesn't make me feel any better that you would take a certain thing. Drop the ball, I dropped the ball.

But besties, this is what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. DeShoom also happens to have the most exciting early bird special we've ever heard of. And it involves a game of dice. It is highly strategic and hear how it goes down. If you are eating at DeSum before 6 p.m. on a weekday, you can play the game. The game is only available to those in the know. True. So you ask your server before the meal for a mitka dice.

And at the end of your meal, you are handed the check. But before you pay, you roll the dice. The rules are simple. If you roll a six, your entire meal is free, including the drinks. Okay, we repeat here. You have one shot and a 16.666666-6-6-6-7% chance of rolling six, and that feast is free. This game was inspired by India's illegal underground lotteries that sprung up in Bombay back in the 1960s. And today, part of the fun is the brand attention that we see in the comments.

concept, right, Jack? You're at an upscale restaurant, but you're hoping your meal's free and you're playing a criminal activity. The Shum, they're doing around 10 million bucks per location on a roll of the die. Where is it dice? Nobody really knows. So, Jaggle, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at De Shum? The thrill of the hunt outweighs the power of the prize. Yeties, the De Shume Dice game is totally unique, but the underlying concept here is completely common. It's the same idea as Happy Out. Right. Or early bird special. They're attracting diners during the slow times by offering them a discount. Since the odds of rolling a six are 17%, it's the same financial cost as a 17% discount on all 6pm or earlier meals. So financially, DeSchum could have just

said 17% off. That's our early bird special and it would have had the same financial outcome. But instead, by turning a discount into a game, it is novel, it is exciting, and it has driven publicity. No one's that excited about a 17% off meal coupon. Yeah, you can get that at Applebee's. But everyone is excited about the chance to roll a dice to get a free meal. And a one out of six chance, that's pretty good. Like every restaurant, DeSchum wanted to fill tables during off hours. So they took what already existed and flipped it into something awesome. A total growth hack. Because the hype of the hunt beats the heft of the hall. For our second story, we just entered the biggest shopping week of the year.

Amazon Prime Day. I mean week. But what's really going on this week is a theme park of price manipulation on your mind. All right, I'm hooked Jack. Yet is, if William Shakespeare were alive and shopping right now, he would call this the midsummer nights deal. Yes, he would. Because first, Amazon announced their longest ever Prime Day.

Yep. From July 8th to July 11th. 11th, that's four days long. Oh, but pause the pod jack, because two weeks after Amazon's announcement, Walmart up the ante by announcing six days of Walmart deals July 8th to July 13th. But right now, you also have targets Circle Week, and you have Best Buy's Black Friday in July. Our podcast, it's free.

Prime Day. It used to be Amazon on offense, but now that Amazon stock's been flat lately, it's kind of on defense. Still, Amazon is expected to sell $21 billion worth of stuff over these four days, which is 60% more than last year's Prime Day. Jay, could you sprinkle on a little bit of census context for us, please? $21 billion in sold stuff on Amazon calculates to $70 per American. So if you bought more than 70 bucks of stuff on Prime Day, you're lifting the average.

Now, what's driving this surge this year is not just more days, it's the urgency, the tariff urgency. You're splurging today on that made-in-China espresso machine before. the China tariffs hit it. In the meantime, while we've been recording the show, Jack, I just dropped 39 bucks on a T-W-W. What's a T-I-W-U? A thing I won't use. That's about half the stuff I buy on Amazon. Besties, what Prime Day really has become, in our opinion, is the world's largest pricing magic trick. Because like a magician with a rabbit and a hat, the price you see on Amazon right now could be manipulated like magic. That's right. Amazon's gone full David Blaine

on the prices. Here we go. They're using a variety of tactics to give an inflated sense of value, urgency, and satisfaction. For example, the ninja air friar. Ah, the ninja. It's the ultimate millennial oven. And right now on Amazon, it's listed at $119, which is 33% off that full price of 179. But Bessies, before you drop it in your cart, according to popular information, this product has been sold at that price every month so far this year. $119. is not a special price. In fact, last year, during November and December, the holiday season, it was selling for $89. So, Jack, where did the $179 original price actually come from for this air fryer?

Ninja only listed it for $179 for the six weeks leading up to Prime Day when nobody is buying an air friar anyway because they're all waiting for Prime Day sales. Boom, then they mark it down 33%. But from a price that was artificially high. That's the magic trick. The New York Times and Fast Company notice this too. Prices rise leading up until Prime Day so that they can drop for a deal. In the months leading up to Prime Day, they inflate the prices on Amazon to optimize the sense of savings.

Call it fakeflation. Fakeflation is a good way to describe it. Yeah, because Amazon Flation just, it didn't roll off the tongue jack. And after fake flation, it's a dumb discount. Because consumers aren't focused on the sale price. No, no, no, no, no, you are focused on the sale discount. You care that it's 33% off. You don't care that it's 33% off a fake price in the first place.

But besties, this fakeflation to dumb discount practice is actually just one piece of this psychological puzzle we know as Prime Week. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies, shopping? Shop and Prime. There's a rule of online shopping, Nick and I want to tell you about. Nothing is urgent. There will always be another sale. Trust us on this. Yeah, it is the overall strategy here is to create a sense of urgency.

because impulse buying makes you irrational. Just look at the name. Prime Day is almost a week now, but calling it a day implies that this is urgent. And it's ending today. And then you get the lightning deals, the invite-only deals, the AI-generated personal deals during Prime Week,

each one ratchets up the urgency. So the discount gets your attention and the urgency gets you to buy now. But best is the reality. As we just showed you by that Ninja Airfire example is that there's another deal right around the corner.

It's a rule of online shopping, no online shopping site wants you to believe. Nothing is urgent. There always will be another sale. I'm buying it, Jack. I'm sorry, I can't stop. You might be right, Jack, but I'm buying this anyway. Can't help myself.

I got a problem. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story. In the middle of the flood disaster, one grocery chain is known as Texas's FEMA. It's leading the entire disaster. disaster response. That grocery chain is H-E-B, and it's proof that there is an R-O-I on generosity. Yeties, Jack and I got a little challenge for you here. Can you find us a bigger company that only

does business in one state? Because we have never seen a business as big as this one that is so single-state-centric as H-E-B is to Texas. All right, yeties, we're talking a hundred and twenty-year-old operation. It is the fifth largest private company. in America by revenue. And again, they only operate within one state's borders. We're talking $47 billion in annual grocery sales. Jack, could you sprinkle on? Can you bag some context over there for us?

H.E.B. has revenue just around the same as Uber, Nike, and Coca-Cola. And yet, besties, you have probably never heard of nor shopped at an H-E-B. Because H-E-B is only in one American state, the state of Texas. That's right. They've got 380 locations in Texas, well as 70 in Mexico. Remember the Alamoan? Yeah, how can I forget? Those cowboys were probably supplied by H.E.B.

More beef jerky? Yeah, it just came in from H.E.B. H.B. calls their employees partners because since 2016, they've paid each employee a stock bonus at the end of the year, around 3% of their salary. As they put it on their website, we are a people company. We just happen to sell groceries. It's called H.E.B. for Howard E. But the founder's son, who opened their first grocery store in Kerrville, Texas. And side note, the family's doing pretty well because they still own 90% of that

$47 billion business. But Yetis, we just mentioned Curville, Texas. Yes. And that got our attention because this single state grocery chain has become a rescue operation that's basically replaced FEMA. Now, the Texas floods have killed at least 100 people in this company's hometown of Curville, Texas. But they didn't just do a condolence statement. They've led the disaster response. HEB trucks were early to arrive to this disaster era. They've already set up three sites giving out free snacks, waters, and first aid kits, as well as a bunch of other supplies. HEB partnered with the Red Cross and FEMA, giving out free gift cards to HEB grocery stores. And it turns out HEB does this often.

They have a track record in the state of Texas of getting there before emergency aid agencies do. In fact, this is wild. They've got a full-time staff at this grocery store dedicated just to disaster. relief. H.E.B. has a 15-vehicle convoy that bring supplies wherever Texans need them. Pretty sure Whole Foods doesn't have two mobile kitchens that can each cook 2,500 meals an hour ready to be deployed to disasters in Texas, but H.E.B. does. And that explains why we all saw these viral videos over the weekend of H.E.B. Tractor trailers going into the damaged hill country of flooding areas, while every other car was going in the opposite direction. Again, we are a

people company, we just happened to sell groceries. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at H.E.B.? How do you win the love of a community? Not just with kindness, but consistent kindness. Yet he's looking at H.E.B.'s generosity as an investment? It is an extremely high ROI. Because that has made HEB the most beloved brand in Texas, according to all the service. We're talking about a grocery store that has achieved Costco-level love through consistent presence of its disaster team. During the devastating cold freeze of 2021, power went out at HEB stores, but instead of closing the stores because of lack of power, HEB urged their fellow Texans to take what they need free of charge. Uvaldi's shooting 2022, Hurricane Harvey 2017, HEB had a dozen trucks in

each disaster area. When Texas institutions are running short on money, HEB often steps in as the financier of last resort. H.E.B. is the most beloved brand in Texas, a state so large it could be its own country. That's why it's become the fifth biggest private company in America. They're consistent acts of kindness. Jack, could y'all whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? DeShoom is the hottest restaurant in England,

partly because of its dice game for early bird specials. The thrill of the hunt outweighs the power of the prize. For our second story, Amazon Prime Day, I mean, has all the big box stores offering huge discounts. But our rule of online shopping, nothing is urgent. There will always be another sale. And our third and final story is H-E-B. This grocery chain is contributing majorly to flood relief in Texas.

And they are huge. So how do you win the love of a community? It's not just kindness. It's consistent kindness. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, congratulations to the great city of. Philadelphia, you are getting Waymo Robo taxis.

Waymo announced they won't just be testing robo cabs in New York City. They're also testing in Philadelphia. That's part of a strategy we call the Oprah plan. Basically, you get a Waymo, and you get a Waymo. And you, Minneapolis, you're probably getting a Waymo. They also announced teen accounts so that minors can get a self-driving robo ride while their parents supervisor. I mean, Jack, in San Francisco, I see kids in those robotaxis all the time.

And second, Scarja. is now America's highest-grossing lead actor of all time. Movies that Scarlett Johansson has been in have brought in $14.5 billion at the box office. It does help that she was in eight Marvel movies and now Jurassic Park. She beats out Robert Downey Jr., also of Marvel fame, and Samuel L. Jackson, who was the only actor in both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Star Wars movies. And finally, TSA is reportedly making their biggest update to the airline industry in decades. Keep your shoes on.

It's already happening at select airports. You don't have to remove your sneakers, your loafers, your snowfers, whatever's on your feet. Come on through. It's been 24 years since the failed shoe bomber incident that led to the rule in the first place. And shoe removal is the top complaint of the TSA and the top reason that people get TSA pre-check. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one's sent in by Abe Frommon, the sausage king of Chicago, because it's T-minus 10 business days until our live show. Let's talk about the L train.

Yeah. The L train in Chicago, the L stands for elevated. That's right. But if you know that this L train is actually older than New York City subway. That's right. The New York Underground Subway began in 1904. Chicago's L train beat it in 1892. That's according to the Chicago Transit Authority.

But London's tube beats them both. That goes back to 1863. So to everyone ride in the L right now, grab your tickets to our live show. We got a link in this. episode description. We'll see you there. Yeties, you'll look fantastic over there. Jack, you are glowing over there, but if you roll that dice that is in your pocket right now and get a five, we will not charge you for today's podcast. I think it's if I roll the die. Nobody knows, Jack. Like I told you, nobody knows.

Yeti's drop down to give us five stars to help grow the show. Leave a review. Jack and I will read it, and we'll both see you tomorrow. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti, Isabella, over in Chicago doing logistics and managing literally a million things. Happy birthday to Asher and Leah Dale in Bluntville, Tennessee. Two sisters born on the same day, three years apart. And Sam Cortez has turned 18 years old and Lake Stevens, Washington. Hope you're celebrating with a Benton Boone crumble cookie there. And a big shout out to Michael and Pugia.

From the Upper West Side of New York City, one's an insurance tech, one does car washes, the coolest couple on Riverside Drive. Jack ran into them on Nantucket. They were both looking fantastic. And to anyone else who celebrated something today, making a T-boy. Celebrate the wins. This is Jack.

I own stock of Amazon and Netflix, and Nick once lived in Philadelphia for like a full year. Gino's not pets.