The Best One Yet - 🥤 “Pepper’s the new Pepsi” — Dr Pepper’s Swiss surge. Ford’s $1B train station. Dave Chappelle’s anti-phone startup.

Episode Date: June 5, 2024

Dr Pepper just passed Pepsi to become America’s #2 soda.Ford’s $1 Billion renovated Detroit train station reopens tomorrow.And Dave Chappelle is powering a startup called Yondr… A fanny pack prison for your phone.Plus, new shopping data shows you won’t buy big things on small screens… the bigger the spend, the bigger the screen.$KDP $PEP $KO $FWatch us on YouTubeGet the Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Submit Facts & Shoutouts Social: Follow us: on Instagram, TikTok, And connect with us on Nick’s LinkedIn & Jack’s LinkedInAbout Us: From the creators of Robinhood Snacks Daily, The Best One Yet (TBOY) is the daily pop-biz news show making today’s top stories your business. 20 minutes on the 3 business, economics, and finance stories you need, with fresh takes you can pretend you came up with — Pairs perfectly with your morning oatmeal ritual. Hosted by Jack Crivici-Kramer & Nick Martell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Wednesday, Wednesday, June 5th. And today's pod, it is the best one yet. It's a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories

you need to know today. I'm sorry, Jack. What am I podcasting with the one-quarter birthday boy over there? Except my one-quarter birthday. Yeah, every quarter. It's your quarterly birthday, Jack. You are fiscally one-quarter older

than you were three months ago. I'm 36.25. Thanks for the reminder. Yeah, Jack, you know what's coming out? You after dinner tonight? Quarter birthday. You're not getting a cake, but you're getting a cupcake. In the meantime, three stories for today's tea boy.

What do we got you? Nick are so thoughtful. For our first story, Dr. Pepper just passed Pepsi to become America's number two soda brand. Because Dr. Pepper is the Switzerland of soda. For our second story, Ford Motor Company dropped a billion dollars to renovate a historic grand train station in Detroit. So Jack and I, I'll tell you why this car company built a train station that'll produce zero cars. And our third

and final story, Dave Chappelle is a powered user of a new startup called Yonder. But funny thing about this new startup, Yonder is the first phone case whose purpose is to block your phone. But Yetis, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. I mean, that's how we do

a mix of stories for the one-quarter birthday boy, man. When you're online shopping, size matters. Yes, it does. But funny thing, Yetis, there's something strange going on with your online sleuthing. And we're going to get to the bottom of it. Yes, we will, because last year, for the first time ever, mobile shopping passed desktop shopping in revenue. That's right. In December, there was more holiday shopping done from phones

than from computers for the first time ever. You purchased more presents from your iPhone, you grab more groceries from your Google Android. But that headline data masks the real data. Yeah, because the data, it turns out, it's not that simple, Jack. Because while you're buying more things from your phone, you buy bigger things from your computer. This, it turns out we use our phone for small purchases, but we use a computer for big purchases. We've all felt this. There's a correlation between the size of the spend you're about to make and the size of the screen you need to make it. I mean, Jack will jump in T-boy style. What are you thinking over there, man? New refrigerator? You're buying that on a laptop. New mattress? Buying that on a computer. New vacation? Ooh, definitely. A desktop. Desktop all the way for the vacay. Apparently, Eddie's, we feel more comfortable making significant purchases from a computer screen, not a phone screen. You want to to talk about your trip to Paris. When I booked a trip to Paris, I had my computer, Alex's computer,

and a phone checking out comparison pricing. I had a whole terminal. Like one of these hedge fund guys with 14 monitors up while you're yelling at the analyst. I mean, I executed like 27 transactions to book the whole itinerary, man. Yet he's added up and that's what retailers call a big screen purchase. I love a good big screen purchase. I mean, Jack, if I'm splurgeoning on a nice coffee table, I want like a NASA Space Command kind of thing. I want to feel like Houston. On the other hand, You'll drop 30 bucks on that cute top from Abercrombie with a couple of taps on your phone, Bing, Bing, Bang. Because nothing screams impulse buy quite like an iPhone swipe.

Maybe it's the multiple tabs of a computer screen to compare the prices. Maybe it's the fat finger risk that you worry about from your phone. Either way, we've all felt the urge of a big screen purchase. We know it when we feel it. We want that comfort of the big screen. The bigger the buy, the bigger the screen. So besties, Jack and I want to know from you today. What is the biggest thing that you've ever bought on a small screen?

Probably sunscreen. Yeah, on a small screen. It's the only screen you buy the sunscreen on. I actually once bought like 200 balls for my ball pit that I built for Wilder in the basement. Are you sure it wasn't for your trip to Paris, Jack? Spoiler, Jack's going to Paris. You keep saying to it, not meet me, man.

I know, I know, I know. Happy one-quarter birthday. It's my first French trip. Come on. Jack and I, we're going to hit our three stories. It's my quarter birthday. Fifteen 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 Forget Coke and Pepsi Yetis Because it's now Coke and Dr. Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper just passed Pepsi to become the number two soda in America because Dr. Pepper is the Switzerland of soda. Ock.

Yeah. But Jack, to kick off this story, can you please whip out the list for us of, you know, things we millennials killed? Cereal. Yeah. Soda. Uh-huh. Golf. Uh-huh.

Happy hour. Throwing a few cold cuts. Cold cuts. I knew it. Yeah, it is over the last 20 years. U.S. soda sales have gone south. They are down over 25%. Apparently millennials killed soda too.

But within that declining market is one rising star of Fizz and who is a Jack? Dr. Pepper, can I confess? I've never tasted a Dr. Pepper. I've smelled it and I've been like, I don't know how this is going to taste. If you're going to go to Paris, Jack, you may want to try some Dr. Pepper.

Not possibly. Yet he's Dr. Pepper has risen from the number six soda brand in America 20 years ago to number two today. That's right. Dr. Pepper just officially passed Pepsi to be the number two soda in America. 20 years ago, Dr. Pepper was like slumming it

with Sprite as number six. It was. Now it's knocking on Coca-Cola's door. 20 years ago was basically the fanta of fountain drinks. It wasn't pretty. And now it's number two behind one and only Coke. Besties, what we're saying here is that this $40 billion publicly traded beverage brand is the sea biscuit of soda. The mighty ducks of soft drinks.

This is the biggest underdog story since David chugged Goliath. But for some context. Yes, Jack. Coca-Cola is still by four. far number one. That's a good point. Coca-Cola is still number one by a lot of leaders. Coke has 20% of the U.S. soda market. Dr. Pepper at number two, only 8%. However, Jack and I are still impressed because this is a huge deal to pass Pepsi. I can't believe Dr. Pepper passed Pepsi.

Because Coke and Pepsi are the Coke and Pepsi. Right. They are literally, it is Coke and Pepsi. Now, one reason Dr. Pepper is so popular right now. Yeah. They broke the first rule of marketing that Nick and I learned in business school. Oh, Jack, let's go back to Marketing 101 MBA. Every professor taught you this one main thing. Your product should be clear, understandable, and easily describable by the consumer. On the other hand, Dr. Pepper is not clear, not understandable,

and defies description in any human language. So much so that I'm afraid to drink it. Jack will smell it and then he hides under the covers for 30 minutes. Because that 23 flavor formula, it was designed in 1885 by a pharmacist, to taste like the pharmacy smell. That's not an exaggeration. That was his intent with the original recipe.

He designed it to taste like his pharmacy smell. Like a witch's brew of tonics and corn syrup with a hint of nutmeg, a splash of allspice, and then more corn syrup. Kind of scary. But that flavor is described by Wall Street analysts as the most differentiated trademark in all of beverage.

And Jack, what is the brand value of a hard-to-describe flavor that doesn't work in the rest of marketing? Intrigue. Yes. That Dr. Pepper Mystery, It drives engagement. Right.

For example, earlier this year, the most viral drink of 2024 is the Dr. Pepper with pickles that went viral on TikTok. Yeah, people are slicing pickles and putting it on the edge of the glass like a lemon garnish, but it's a pickle in a Dr. Pepper.

I heard you show up at Sonic. You order the Dr. Pepper with pickles and it slaps, Jack. It slapsed. No one's remixing diet Pepsi and then dropping that on social media. Coca-Cola, you do a spritz a lemon and that's the most remix you're going to do.

Dr. Pepper seems to have mastered the art of mystery. and that's driving its popularity. But funny thing, Yetis, Jack and I think the core reason for Dr. Pepper upseating Pepsi is actually something deeper.

Something bubblier. Something distributionier. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in aisle six at Dr. Pepper? Distribution is destiny. Yeties, what's really driven Dr. Pepper's rise

is a savvy distribution strategy. Because while Coke versus Pepsi have battled in a rivalry against each other, Dr. Pepper has avoided confrontation with those giants altogether. Yeah, Coke and Pepsi, they have split the world into restaurants. They must pick an exclusive side. That's why Burger King and McDonald's are exclusive Coca-Cola restaurants. Classic. While Taco Bell and Wendy's, they exclusively sell Pepsi products. On the other hand, Dr. Pepper doesn't require exclusivity in their distribution deals, do they, Jack?

They're happy dealing with everyone. Like we've said before, Dr. Pepper is the Switzerland. of soda. They're a neutral party that will work with all sides. It's a beautiful thing. And the result, Dr. Pepper is universally available across America. Whether you're Burger King McDonald's or Taco Bell or Wendy's, you can get Dr. Pepper when you couldn't get one of the other big drinks. There's only two things at both of the soda fountains. Dr. Pepper and that little awkward water tab, those are universal. That never seems to have any water. Dr. Pepper, it's there, whether it's a Coke establishment or a Pepsi establishment. You know what, Jack? Dr. Pepper's neutrality? It's kind of an

aspirational story about our political world right now, you know? Oh, you're going there. The world is kind of split. It's polarized red and blue, coke and Pepsi. But Dr. Pepper? It's the independent voter. It's the drink for all. I prefer the Switzerland. Yeah, it is Dr. Pepper's neutrality lets it sell to the whole

market, not half. Dr. Pepper's rising in the U.S. even though the rest of soda is falling, because distribution is destiny. For our second story. After 36 years of destruction and decay, Detroit's grand train station reopens tomorrow, and it's all thanks to Ford. Here's why Ford Motor Company spent six years and a billion dollars on a train station. We repeat billions from a car company on a train station, and it won't even have any trains.

Yeties, a few months ago, we did a story on the city of Detroit saying that it's officially back. Yeah, Detroit, they turned a doom loop into a boom loop. Because 10 years after America's biggest municipal bankruptcy, Detroit just regained an investment-grade credit rating. Not too shabby. Detroit, you can now issue debt like one of the legendary cities out there. And they're celebrated by symbolically spiking a football, kind of. Yeah, to celebrate the big transition, Detroit hosted 750,000 people for the NFL draft. Detroit's back, baby. But you know what's a funny thing, Yetis?

There's actually a bigger symbol for the resurgence of Detroit. the reopening of the Michigan Central Train Station. The Michigan Central Train Station. Jack, can you pull a van go and describe a photo for us over here? Picture New York City's Grand Central Terminal, but with an 18-story office building on top. Yeah, it is. If the Romans built train stations, it would look like this.

It's one of those beautiful architectural city structures that make our cities great. It's the Coliseum of Stations, and it would make Julius Caesar blush. It's got limestone columns, Italian marble facades, An atrium that would make Penn Station look jealous. Jack, I don't want to fact-check to you on the Italian marble.

But I would feel you took an artistic liberty there. Nobody's fact-checking beyond that. Yeties, assume it's Italian marble. But as Detroit declined for decades, so did this train station. Yeties, this legendary train station was shut in 1988 because it was decayed. It fell into graffiti. And Eminem even shot a music video there that did not look that pretty. It's been closed to the public for 30 years.

but people go in there just to look at the ruins of the building crumbling. It's really sad. But here's the news. Tomorrow, the Ford Motor Company reopens this historic building to the entire public. And it's been restored to its original magnificent beauty. We know what you're thinking here. Why did the car company Ford drop one billion with a B dollars to renovate a train station? This isn't just a PR move. No, this is actually an HR move. because Ford desperately needs to be a cool place to work. And having an 18-story magnificent train station as your corporate campus, the Coliseum of Train Stations.

That's a pretty cool place to work. Because besties, for 100 years, cars were desirable because of their metal and their muscle, and Ford thrived on that. But today, cars are like rolling iPhones. Yeah, you focus more on the touchscreen over the engine size. So Ford can't rest on its muscle car laurels. No, no, no, no, no, it can't.

Ford needs tech workers. and product designers, more than it needs gearhead. Because you're asking, is this an 8-inch screen, not is this a V8 engine? Right. Frankly, Ford needs people who want to work at Tesla to work at Ford instead. Perfectly put, Jack. And having an awesome campus in a vibrant city like Detroit, that's a great way to attract top talent. Well, funny thing, Jack, because that's exactly what Bill Ford said this week,

the chairman and great-grandson of Mr. Henry Ford. Tomorrow, this building opens, and the ground floor is going to be a grand tour. attraction with restaurants, live events, and Italian marble. However, interestingly, there won't be any trains going through it, will there, Jack? No, it's not going to really be a train station anymore. Instead, the building is going to be offices for Ford's most innovative teams. They're self-driving teams and their electrification teams. Now, Jack, let's just pause the pod for a second. Speaking of great-grandson, should we get to our takeaway? Grandpapa, yes, Papa. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Ford? Most companies,

legally can't show emotion, but Ford can. Yeties, when a company IPOs, the founders typically lose control. They now have a fiduciary responsibility to serve the shareholders, not themselves. But that wasn't the case for Ford, because the Ford founding family members managed to keep 40% of the voting stock of the company. And that key financial nuance is how Bill Ford was able to almost single-handedly decide to invest a billion dollars in the city of Detroit. Even though Ford is a publicly traded company, it's still kind of a family-run company. And so he spent a billion dollars and hired 3,000 specialists to scrub the graffiti off those Italian marble tiles and pretty up the joint.

Ford's acting less like a CEO of a publicly traded company and more like the mayor of a city that he loves. In fact, they have made it such a nice building over at Ford that they attracted Google to be the very first non-for-tenant in the train station. For Ford, this train station isn't just about the company's priorities. It's about emotion. Besties, most companies legally can't make emotional decisions, but Ford, they can. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story, Jack, what is the new number one rule at Dave Chappelle's comedy shows? No phones allowed. No phones allowed and Dave is using tech to enforce that rule because yonder is the lockable phone case

that will not let you use your phone but jack before we kick off this story have you heard of the term nomophobia like fear of having no mo no moophobia it is actually a diagnosed addiction of the fear of losing your phone no mobile phone phobia oh yeah a lot of people have it because on average, Americans spend seven hours looking at a screen. And yet is that fact is why Jack and I found this story fascinating. Because one of the fastest growing startups right now is doing the opposite of helping you look at a screen. They're helping you hide your screen. They're helping you hide your screen. Ten years ago, in San Francisco, the founding place of technology, a founder launched a company called Yonder. Yonder. They recognized that you were so addicted to your phones that you just

Can't help it. You can't put it down. This founder saw the screen usage trend going up and up and up and up. So he created an anti-screen solution. And that solution was Yonder, the phone locking back. It's a physical answer to a digital addiction. And here is how you actually use this product. Jack, can you sprinkle on the context? You might have encountered Yonder at a concert venue. You enter the concert venue and the ushers demand you hand over your phone. So here's what you do. You put your phone in a Yonder pouch. They lock it up and then they hand you back that pouch. It's like a little fanny pack prison for your iPhone and you bring it with you and you can put it in your pocket. Now here's the key yeties.

Your phone remains in the pouch on your person so you don't get stressed about giving away your phone. Your phone is in this tiny pouch but you can't use it because it's locked. And that pouch only opens up if you step outside the concert hall to a designated phone use area. Yes, there's some kind of a geo fence that deactivates the magnetic lock. And then if you use your phone, you can only go back into the concert hall when you put it back into the pouch. You got to keep your phone in that fanny pack prison for iPhone. If the usher catches you in the hall with your phone out, get him out of here! Get him out of here!

But yet he's here's what Jack and I have found fascinating about this story. The real surprise about Yonder's anti-screen technology is the numbers. Because Yonder's simple phone-locking baggy case is doing $300 million a year in sales. Sit down, stand up, and slide off your phone yeti's 10 million users are paying 30 bucks to use this phone baggy. Again, 300 million in annual sales for a bag? Is this the most revenue generating bag in America? I can tell you 10 million people, that is way more people than using the tote bags from urban outfitters. Now, the number one customer is actually schools who make up 70% of the sales.

It turns out yetis that 1 million students are currently sticking their phones in yonder baggies during class. One school in Connecticut spent $30,000 on yonder's for all the students. $30,000 for a deal so that you won't send beams during geometry class. $30,000. Yeah. So they could actually enforce the known phone rule. And the next use case for these yonder phones, Jack? Courterrooms.

Yes. Because not even a judge is able to enforce a no phone rule these days. Yeah, true. All rise for the honorable judge Johnson. All rise. And please put that darn phone. I can't believe I'm asking this into the phone power. But, Bessies, here's the use case and here's the customer that we find the most interesting.

Live events. Live events. Because concert venues, they can now rent out 1,000 Yonder pouches for the 1,000 paid customers coming to that event. Dave Chappelle is a top user. Yes, he is. If you want to see a Dave Chappelle show, he will only do it at a venue that's using Yonder. Dave Chappelle, we repeat, is only dropping jokes if your phone is locked up. That's why you haven't seen any Dave Chappelle clips on TikTok recently.

you. Good point. Well played, Jack. Because some artists love Yonder, but others hate it. It depends on the art. And that distinction is our takeaway. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Yonder? Phone recordings fuel music, but phone recordings kill comedy. Yadies, the first thing any of us do at a concert, you've been there, we've been there, you pull out your phone, you record the footage, you post it online, you just want to show that you're there. Fan recorded video is free marketing for musicians. They love it because it promotes the concert tour to everyone online. Jack, why is Sabrina Carpenter's espresso song number one on the charts right now? Because somebody filmed it from when she was performing at Coachella and posted it on TikTok. But funny thing, yetis, comedians hate when you record

them because your video breaks the comedian business model. Now, if a joke by a comedian goes viral online, that's good if you're an up-and-coming comic trying to get attention. But, it is bad for a professional comedian who may be on tour and was hoping to use that joke again or may still be developing that joke. Joke's not going to be funny for your show in Boston if you saw the joke on TikTok from her show in Chicago. And that is exactly why Dave Chappelle and Wanda Sykes and other professional comedians require yonder every single one of their stand-up shows.

They don't want their punchline being spoiled by TikTok. Because the phone has destroyed the punchline. Phone recorded fan videos fuel. music, but they kill comedy. Jack, can you whip up the takeaways for us for Saviche Wednesday? Even though soda sales are falling in the U.S., Dr. Pepper is rising past Pepsi to number two. Dr. Pepper, it is the Switzerland of soda, because distribution is destiny. For our second story, Ford reopens the Michigan Central Station tomorrow in Detroit,

after spending nearly a billion dollars to restore it. Besties, most companies can't get emotional. But Ford, thanks to its corporate structure can get emotional. It just did. And our third and final story. Yonder is a fanny pack prison for your phone. It's used in schools, courtrooms, and comedy.

It's being used by 10 million people because phone videos are great for music, but they're bad for comedy. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, we just got the Fortune 500 list of 500 biggest companies by revenue, and who is number one, Jack?

For the 12th year in a row. Cha-ching. Walmart. Walmart, congratulations. Step on up. Walmart, come on down. Wow, we didn't need this list to know that Apple is number one by profits. No, that's a good point.

But this list for the Fortune 500, it is done based on revenues. But who was on the cover of the magazine for the Fortune 500 this year? It was a jack. Microsoft CEO, because they're riding an AI rocket chip of revenue and profit growth right now. And second, the biggest democracy in the world, just held the biggest election in the world. 640 million people just voted in India. They voted to elect India's Prime Minister Neander Modi to his third term as Prime Minister.

Although to sprinkle on more context, his party surprisingly didn't do as well as expected. They lost their outright majority rule. That means Modi will have to compromise for the first time as Prime Minister with the opposition party. Everyone's got to share. And finally, Instagram is testing unskippable ads.

Oh, no. It's common. coming, it's coming just like YouTube. So you're scrolling through picks and videos on Instagram, and one of them is sponsored? Yeah. Now you're going to have to not scroll. You're going to have to watch for five to ten seconds that's sponsored. You're just trying to snoop on the picks of your ex's wedding and you got to watch 30 seconds of a Jeep ad. Yeah. Clorox. 10 seconds I have to watch this Clorox. I get it. The Jeep could go over rocks. Amazing. It's getting tougher and tougher to dodge those ads. Today's pod is brought to you.

Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by our buddies over in Detroit. Detroit was actually the first city to give out individual phone numbers to individual phone owners. Yeah, before that, it turns out, phone numbers were given not to people individually, in fact. No, there was an operator in the middle that just connected one point with another point. But in another testament to Detroit's innovation, they put an end to this phone quandary dilemma by assigning private numbers. It was the first time in 1879, you could confidently

have a private phone call. This is Nick. Is this Jack? Yes. I know it's you, Jack, because I called you Jack. You called my number. Who is this? Yadies, you look fantastic today. Jack, we got to go and get you a Dr. Pepper, apparently. You never had one.

And a boba tea. Yeah. I'm going to have my first one this week in L.A. Surprise not waiting until you go to Paris, Jack. It's my corner. birthday, I can cry if I want to. Yadies, if you are drinking a soda today, then drop down and give us a five-star review because that is how we grow the pod. Leave us a review.

Nick and I read every one of them. Yeah, we do. Sometimes we even read them while drinking Dr. Pepper. Nick and I, we'll see you tomorrow. Can't wait. And before we go, we got a milestone birthday for our buddy, Cass Das, the senior account executive at Google, who's working out of the spruce goose hanger. And happy birthday to Brad Cowock.

in Grand Ledge, Michigan. And Axel Pirani is turning six and a half years old in San Mateo, California. Last day of kindergarten, but a snacker turned Yeti since age two. Wow. Happy half birthday. And Danielle No Doni, in Floripra, Brazil, Mourthor Brigado. She is floating down the lazy river to celebrate that birthday. Happy birthday to Jada Grace in Miami, Florida.

She is rocking some golden goose scuffed up sneakers. They're so dirty, but they're so. So good. And happy birthday to Juliana Agiar in California, who's moving to Deutsche lan next week. And Jack, Samira, the Yeti Hoy met up at Blue Bottle to talk about jobs. She has dominated the job search. She just got a new job in San Francisco, and she is thrilled about it.

Congratulations, Samira. Big win. And a huge congratulations to Kelsey Black of the Book Borough in Austin, Texas. Because the Book Borough was nominated for the best retail establishment in all of Flugerville. If you're in Flugerville, and you like to read, you go to the book borough. And last but not least, a once again happy one-quarter birthday

to my co-host, Jack, who's going to celebrate this fiscal moment with a moderately sized gift. This is Jack. I own stock of Ford, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.