The Best One Yet - 😎 “Ray-Gram” — Meta’s smart-glasses acquisition idea. Auntie Anne’s perfume. The Disruption Decline.

Episode Date: August 9, 2024

Our final pod before vacation, but look to this feed for 2 bonus episodes while we’re off. We return Monday, August 26 for our regular programming.Ray-Bans may get acquired by Zuck’s Meta… that���s how Zuck wins the hardware wars.Auntie Anne’s, Kahlua, & Dolce & Gabbana all launched perfumes… we’ll tell ya why.The Millennial App lifestyle is over… we’ll explain the decline of the disrupters.Plus, the top seat on an airplane is 7F… because the window is the aisle.This episode is presented by Autotrader. #Autotrader #seeitfindit$META $DASH $UBERSubscribe to our Saturday Newsletter: tboypod.com/newsletter  Watch us on YouTube Submit Facts & Shoutouts Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (Nick) & LinkedIn (Jack)About 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.

Find your next car on ototrater.com. This is Nick. This is Jack. It's Friday the real Friday. August 9th and today's pod. Out of all the pods is the best one yet. This is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today.

But Jack, perfect timing, my friend, because did stocks just have their best day in two years? The S&P 500 had their best day yesterday since 2022. Perfect way to go into a vacation. More on our vacation in a minute. F-T boy slather it on. But Jack, three stories for today's show. What have we got on the pie?

For our first story, it's meta's biggest surprise success right now. The meta-ray-band sunglasses. Because to beat the iPhone, we think Zuck will acquire raybans. For our second story, Ode-Pretel. Auntie Anne's Pretzels now sells a pretzel-scented perfume. Is it Ant-Ans or Auntie Anns? Antian. Antionns.

And it's all part of a new trend. Fast-food fragrances. Fast food. Food fragrances. And our third and final story, we've noticed that the apps millennials grew up loving are no longer a good deal. So millennials are living life the old-fashioned way.

It's the decline of disruption. But Yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix for our last pod before vacation. A fantastic mix of stories. Love the pod today, Jack. I'm going to France. Nick's going to... Right across the sea and lovely Italy, Jack.

I'll be waving at you, man. Your ancestral homeland. We're going to Porto. away a little roam, and we're going to get those sauces we love, Jack. I'm excited for it. You feel so happy there. Arrabiata. That's what I was thinking. Oh, that's the sauce? That's the sauce we love. Which is basically just mariner sauce with crushed red

pepper on top. Now you're just giving away our secret recipes, Jack. I'll wave at you from across the Mediterranean Sea. Hey, Jack, a little more. Here you go. But since Nick and I are both flying, this weekend, actually, we wanted to share a juicy study we found about flying. A study on the most popular

seats on an airplane. You ready for this? I got this. Two-thirds of fly prefer the window seat. A majority of flyers actually want the window. This is Jack? I get so pumped looking for cities down below. I'm like, what is that? Denver?

Jack's in the window seat. It's his happy place. Oh, we should put out the window seat does limit the bathroom flexibility, Jack. That's true. Yeah, it's a lot. Excuse me. One more time.

I have no shame asking the people to get up. And stepping on top of them. Sometimes I do try to creep over them if they're sleeping, which I'm really worried they're going to wake up and see me. You got a butt in the face. Not a good to have the butt in the face. We have another wild statistic. Yes, we do.

1.7% of flyers prefer the middle seat. Who are these 1.7% check? Do they just, like, love elbows? It's like your buddy from childhood who called dibs on the middle seat in their Jeep. The middle seat lovers are definitely talkers. They're definitely talkers. But the number one top requested seat on an airplane, if you could pick any seat? Yeah.

It's seat 1A. That much kind of makes sense. You know, you're first off the plane. 1A is number one. Yeah, and there's no, like, recycled air you have to breathe, like in the back of the plane. But the surprise number two. top demanded seat is 7F. We repeat, 7F sounds random, but it's the number two most demanded seat. Well, 7F is the first window seat in coach. Yeah, so what you're saying, Jack, is you get the same

benefits as 1A, but without the first class price of 1A. So seat 1A is like the throne of the airplane. But then seat 7A is like the throne replica of the airplane. Seat 1A is champagne. Seat 7A is Perseca. C1A is Lulu Lemon leggings. 7A is Lulu Lemon dupes. So yeah, it is if you are enjoying the window view from seats 7F right now, send us a pick. Apparently, everyone's jealous except the guy in 1A. Odds are, 7F is your happy place. That's my happy place. Until you have to go to the bathroom.

Jack, three stories for today's show. Let's hit him, baby. 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. Our first story, Meta's Rayband sunglasses are a low-key, huge success. So Meta is considering buying Raybans.

And that would be wild. It would be. Because Raybans' parent company has a shocking master plan. to take over your eyes and your ears. Yetis, earlier last week, Zuck announced earnings for META. We covered it on this podcast. Meta's performance was simply best in tech. They're the only tech company already benefiting from their investments in AI.

But there was one little herd detail that was huge for META. Remember those smart glasses that META is making with RayBAN? Yes, I do. Those sunglasses are living their best lives. Because get this, Yeties. Rayband meta, Instagram sunglasses are constantly sold out. Apparently, you can't even get your hands on a pair right now. Zuck said on the earnings call, demand is outpacing how fast we can build more. And Jack, can you describe and sprinkle on some context of these sunglasses, please?

They came out like two years ago. They're wayfarer sunglasses with built-in cameras, but also built-in speakers on the arms. So you can listen to podcasts or take phone calls with just your sunglasses on. You basically look like a techified James Dean. You could also FaceTime, like, point of view FaceTime, so, like, you can be walking through the Grand Canyon. Yes. And the person you're talking to will see what you're seeing. These meta-rayband sunglasses look a thousand times cooler than Apple Vision Pro goggles, which look like a fanny pack on your face. If I had these sunglasses, when I'm in Paris, I could say, hey, meta, what's the sign say in English?

It would say, not possible, Jack. Well, their AI would use the camera to read the sign and translate to English for me. But yet that's not even the wildest part about these race. Rayban sunglasses, the newest news is the wildest part. The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times are all reporting that Meta is considering acquiring a minority stake in Raybans' parent company, Luxottica. What Jack and I are saying is that Zuck may buy an eyeglasses company. Zuckerberg, he got a gold chain, and now he thinks he's an optometrist.

But let's talk about that eyeglasses company. Please, Jack. It's called Ellesore Legzotica. It's a French, Italian eyewear icon that sells pretty much all the same. sunglasses in the world. It's based in Milan. It merged with Ellesore, based in Paris, back in 2018, and it's now worth $96 billion. Lixotica owns 20 major eyewear brands. Yes, they do. Raybans, Oakley's, Persol, Oliver Peoples, and 16 more brands. A Ben Franklin's bifocals, they probably own them now, too. Exotica also owns Lenscrafters. Yes. The chain of 1,000

stores where you get your prescription glasses and contact lenses. But it's not just lens crafters, is it, Jack? In July, Luxottica became a med tech company by acquiring a German business specializing an at-home prescriptions. Oh, and in 2022, Luxottica acquired an Israeli company involved in laser eye surgery. So, Luxottica is the biggest glasses company in the world. Yes. That's side hustling as an eye doctor and an eye surgeon. Oh, and plus, Luxottica happens to own one of the most valuable assets that every tech company lacks. Lixotica owns 17,000 brick and mortar stores. They got real estate in addition to the glasses. All of that sounds really nice to Mark Zuckerberg because of our takeaway.

So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over at Meta? If meta acquires Lxotica, they can finally win the tech hardware wars. Now, Yen-Zach wants to badly become a hardware company. He wants to sell a tech device of the future, and he thinks that AI, is going to replace the iPhone. He's got two hardware plays right now. His VR goggles are kind of failing, but his AR meta sunglasses are flourishing. And the company behind those sunglasses is shockingly techy. You know, honestly, Luxottica, they could do pretty well in Silicon Valley. They got the chops. And they got the 17,000 physical stores across the world. And Jack, did you see how many Apple

stores Apple has? How many? It's only like 500. This is like 30 times as many stores that Facebook meta, Instagram could own. Meta could take all the sunglasses huts and all the lens crafter stores and turn them into meta stores. Yes, they could. To sell those smart sunglasses. And that is why Jackson, my final prediction before vacation is that meta is going to acquire Loxatica. To fulfill his dream of cutting out the iPhone, Zuck may buy the world's biggest eyeglasses company. For our second story, the new trend in food is fragrance. We'll tell you why every food brand is suddenly getting into cosmetics, makeups and perfumes.

Now, Jack, if you were going to get your dog a gift for Gotcha Day, which River's Gotcha Day, I believe is coming up. Her gotcha day is March 27, so it's next year. I think I know what I'm going to get her. Here we go. Dolce and Gabana, the luxury fashion brand, just launched a $100 perfume, a puppy perfume. Oda Dog. Oda Dog.

Oh to dog. It is Oda Dog. Apparently, inspired by the Dolcein Gabana CEO's Poodle. The fashion brand decided to come up with a perfume for puppies. It smells like sandalwood, musk, and wet dog. But, Eddie, this is the strange thing. Sounds like a perfume for Pepe Lepeu, by the way. In the meantime, Jack and I noticed something shocking.

Also, this week, Auntie Ans, the pretzel company, launched a perfume, too. Yeah, it's called Need. Clever name. It's basically Ode-Pretel. It smells like butter, salt, and butter. Yeah, basically, the problem is you put it on and then you want to lick your yourself, Jack. I told you, don't say lick on the pot. I almost forgot. In the meantime, this Ant the Ann's pretzel perfume goes for 45 bucks a pop, and that's a three and a half ounce

bottle. And it's inspired by their plain pretzel, which is also their profit puppy. But here's the twist. Nick and I have kept track. This is a new trend. Food brands are extending into cosmetics. That's right. Besties three years ago, Chipotle and Elf launched a makeup line. Barbacloa blush sold out in like eight minutes. Oh yeah, it's a barbecue smokey. That's right. And so far this year, we've seen a dozen food companies expand out into cosmetics. First, Hidden Valley Ranch launched a lip bump. Then Poppy, the soda brand, launched a cranberry lipstick. And then fruit by the foot? Check, they're doing a nail polish at Sephora. If it's toenail polish, then it's really fruit by the flanks. Maybe it's her. Maybe it's McDonald's.

Even Kalua created an espresso martini perfume. Perfume Martini. Nick actually spotted this brand called Costa Rina. This is wild. It's an extra virgin olive oil company that launched two skin care products. Yeah. That are olive oil-based. Olive oil-based skincare. In fact, Jack and I jumped in T-Boy style, and we got the numbers on their olive oil cosmetic stands.

At first, it might have been a joke, but now 20% of their sales are these olive oil-based body oils and olive-oil-based moisturizing cream. So what Jack and I are saying here, Yetis, is that companies that make foods for inside your body are now making products for... outside your body. I actually do think you're supposed to lick that olive oil body oil. Sorry for breaking my own goal. Next up, you're probably going to snap into a slim gym face mask before bed. As long as they can supersize my eyelashes, Jack, I'm totally here for it. So Jack, what's the takeaway for all our buddies over in fast food fragrances? Cosmetics have become a brand escalator.

Now, yes, Yeties, Ant the Anne's Pretzel perfume is a marketing stunt. They were thirsty for a moment of media buzz and they got it. That's great. But not all of these food cosmetics are stunts. Several have surprisingly become permanent products. For example, Plato, the toy company, they sold the perfume in 2006 and they're still making it 18 years later, Plato perfume. Plato has such a peculiar smell. Peculiar, nice, respectable. And the reason this trend is happening is because it's hard for a low-end brand to move up market. Right. But brands are finding success through these cosmetic collabs. saying is that ant-the-ants feels a little bit less greasy when it's ironically bottled like a French

perfume. And Chipotle, wow, they must be trendy if they got into Elf Beauty's makeup line. Oh, and I'm sorry, Jack, before we continue the pot, can you ground me a little bit of, oh, the Olive Garden? Because I would love to smell like a never-ending breadstick, man. I was actually thinking Mountain Dew should have a facial mist so that you're dewy. Your skin is dewy. Oh my God, it's the new Axe Body Spray, Jack. Yeah, it is perfume, lipstick, and nail polish. Makeup has become an escalator to lift up food brands. Now a quick word from our sponsor. For our third and final story,

a new trend is emerging among millennials. We're returning to our pre-app ways. We call it the decline of disruption. Yes, we do. And we'll tell you why we're doing it. Now, Jack, to tell this story, how about we whip up a little recent history? In the 2010s, the San Francisco Bay Area,

disrupted everything. Everything. Gig app, sharing economy, streaming, all getting disrupted. Every industry was getting disrupted by an app developed in San Francisco and financed by a venture capital firm

in Silicon Valley. Use my promo code and we'll both get $100 off a free meal kit. It was amazing. Download this scooter app and you'll get to ride this scooter forever. Yeah, for free. Download the scooter right now.

We'll give you the scooter. Just take it. It was a wild time. Remember the Casper Mattress intern hack? I forget the Casper mattress. They had that 90-night return policy. So you could buy Casper at the start of your summer internship. Sleep on it all summer and then return it and get your full money back. They're like, mattress, mattress, mattress, please buy our mattress. I already returned it. It was a wild time. Well, it was wild until 2021. And that is when interest rates rose and that era

ended. Venture capital firms stopped funding loss-making startups and stopped financing their ridiculous giveaways. Jack and I actually covered that story a couple years ago, didn't we? What do we call it? We called it the end of the millennial lifestyle subsidy. The millennial lifestyle subsidy was over. But this story is part two of that story. Yes, it is. And we're calling it the decline of disruption. The decline of disruption, because you're now going back to your pre-app ways. That's right. The apps we fell in love with in the 2010s, they simply aren't as good a deal anymore. Yeah, according to Bloomberg, between 2019 and 209. 2022, the average Uber price rose by 45%. Over the same period, Instacart service fees increased by 61%.

Yeah, you want to order DoorDash right now? You're facing a delivery fee, a service fee, a meal fee, and a fee fee? What happened to the free sign-up promos we used to love in the 2010? All you do is copy, paste, and boom, 100% off. Everything with the apps feels very expensive these days. It does. And the result is a new trend. Us millennials are returning to the products from the pre-disruption era. For example, Instead of meal kits, you're now just getting groceries. Instead of DoorDash, you're snagging a frozen pizza. Instead of Netflix without ads, you now have a Netflix with ads. Instead of Airbnb, you're staying at the old, reliable Hampton Inn.

You don't rent the runway anymore. You're buying at Target. Instead of a Lyft ride, you're taking a bus ride. Jack, 2014, I took a Lyft ride from our apartment in the East Village, and I think Lyft paid for my dinner at the end. I vaguely remember this. Input promo code, Lyft Party. And we'll pay for your bar.

Mitzvah, Bobby. They're not doing that anymore. They are not. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are every millennial out there? Convenience comes with a cost. Yetis, we had it so good, didn't we, Jack? Disrupting startups offered a way better convenient option at a way lower price. The best of both world. It was amazing for consumers, but it was terrible for those companies' profits. If something is going to be delivered to your door, that convenience comes with a cost. If you want awesome on-demand original content on your phone, tablet, or TV, the streamer's going to charge you for it now. So some of the disruptors from that era, they saw their businesses fall apart. Like, WeWork, Casper mattresses, and Blue Apron. While the ones that remain are now way more expensive,

like Uber, Airbnb, and Netflix. Those disrupting apps, they're still very convenient. Yes. But now they're also costly. So, Jack, how exactly should we put the lesson here in, I don't know, Four words. Convenience comes with a cost. Shoot, that's five. I thought I said something. Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us for the real Friday? Meta is reportedly interested in acquiring Luxottica, the company behind Rayban sunglasses.

With Luxottica, Meta could win the battle for the next tech hardware. For our second story, Auntie Ann's pretzel perfume is part of the food fragrance trend. Some of these are marketing stunts. But for other brands, a cosmetics collab is a. brand escalator. It's a pump for prestige. And our third and final story is the decline of disruption. Turned off by high prices, millennials are returning to our pre-app ways. Because the convenience of these apps comes with a cost. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, stock in Bumble, the dating app plummeted 29% after a disappointing

earnings report. Bumble expects just one to two percent revenue growth this year, which is pretty slow. What's that takeaway? We've whipped up on dating apps. Dating apps need a long-term relationship to a new business model. It's not you. It's my business model. And second, Costco's cracked out on membership moochers continues. Yeah, Costco is introducing membership scanners nationwide at Costco locations. There's basically going to be a bouncer at every Costco door. Yeah. You can't get in without showing a membership card and a face that matches the picture. on the membership card. If you violate Club Costco, they will kick you out and send

you to a prison probably somewhere on aisle 6. A bulk-sized prison. Yeah, actually, it's probably a nice prison. And finally, this Sunday, the closing ceremonies are happening in the Paris Olympics. The star of the show is Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise, from the country of Tom Cruise, is going to bring the torch from Paris to Los Angeles. Because the

Summer Olympics are moving from Paris this year to Los Angeles in 28. Jack, apparently he's hang gliding from Paris to Los Angeles. Angeles. He does his own stunts. He does his own stunts, but I don't believe that one. That's what Tom told me. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by Jack, me, and the entire T-Boy team.

According to a Pew survey, 46% of Americans don't take all of their paid vacation days. Apparently, nearly half of us are working when we could be whale watching. Now, you might be thinking that vacations are a luxury that not everyone can afford, and that is true. It's true, because the U.S. gets about half as many paid days. off as our peer countries. But here's the wildest part. The higher the income, the more the unused vacation days we have. So it's not a finance thing. It's actually a pressure to work more that causes us to take less vacation. Nick and I love our jobs. We love whipping up this podcast every day. Recording the show is a true joy. But every year, we take two weeks off in the summer and we take

two weeks off in the winter. We choose the weeks where the news is the quietest. We pause the pod to recharge and give you a break from us. So we are grateful that you, let us do this every year. So thank you so much. It means so much that you get to be with us and we get to be with you. And we also think that time off makes the show better when we come back. Because when we're off, Jack and I are reading new things. We're experiencing new things. We're traveling. And we'll bring all of that to whip up fresh takeaways on the pot. New inspirations. Yeah. Newly recharged steboi. Like the Carbonara sauce. So Yetis. Arbiotta. Was that a test? You passed.

Yeddies, if you forgot to take a vacation, this is our takeaway. Take it. That's the takeaway. My first couple years out of college, I didn't take all my vacation days. I never done. Hugely regret it. Now we take them all. Yeties, you look fantastic. And Jack and I will be back in action with you for our regular programming on Monday, August 26. But we're not leaving you hanging for these two weeks. Jack and I have been busy whipping up two bonus episodes while we're gone. The first publishes this Monday, T-Boy Hotline with a guest focused on travel. Jack and I interviewed the ultimate travel influencer on how to do the perfect trip in your life.

Then the Monday after that is our interview with the founder and CEO of Athletic Brewing. Bill Schufeld, he founded the biggest non-alcoholic beer brand in America, and we sat down with him last year, and he told us how. It's one of our best interviews ever, so we're going to replay this thing. So yet, even though Jack and I are gone for two weeks on vacation, we whipped up those bonus pods for you. We also linked in the episode description for you to subscribe to our newsletter. We're going to throw in some photos there, too. I'm going to be in Rome and just outside of Rome. And Jack is going to be ordering a crave.

The little Nutella, butter on the side, and they're going to say, Not Possible. Actually, they love that order. It is possible. We're going to miss, Yadis. I can't wait to be back in two weeks with it. I'll miss you too, Jack. I can't wait to see you then, man.

Bye, guys. Before we go, a happy birthday. And a congratulations to Daniel Okunai, who was stationed in Germany for the Army, just got promoted to sergeant and got his CPA. Congratulations to Noah Bulgrat from Grafton, who just got a new job at General Mills. And Dylan Schweitzer is going off to the University of Alabama after listening to T-Boy every morning with his dad. Congratulations to Thomas Moreno from Jacksonville, Florida, who just had his first day of kindergarten. Yeah, baby, and Laura Queen, Nate Winters and San Francisco are celebrating a beautiful one-year anniversary with some Pino.

Happy anniversary to Bonnie and Stephen in San Diego. And Praveen and An Alicia Hazelby have got an anniversary in Hazel Park, Michigan. Happy anniversary to Billy Plummer and Joe Canis in London, England. and Amgod are running a half marathon in San Diego, California together. Happy anniversary to Wally and Larissa Sornica in Rhode Island. And Matt Moore, the ultimate legal Yeti from China Live, is still the legend. Happy birthday to Bobby Malesra in Palm Coast, Florida, who is serving in the U.S. Air Force. And Nietzsche J. Poyar in Portland, Maine, has got a birthday, happy birthday need.

Happy birthday to Monica Dua in San Jose, California. And Brenda Munoz Lido and Maple Valley, Washington is celebrating a birthday. Happy 61 to Mark Niles right down the road in Middlebury, Vermont. And the Nirod has got a big 31 year birthday down the street in San Francisco. Happy birthday to Connie Lee in New York City. And Derek Nettos turning 31 as well, celebrating on a boat in a baza. Happy birthday to John Smithson in Louisville, Kentucky. And Alexis Aronson in Greenwich Village is celebrating with probably a wonderful dinner out.

Happy birthday to Noah Polonski in Columbia, Maryland. And Jane Polineck in the Woodlands of Texas is celebrating a legendary birthday. birthday Adama Fall in Harlem, New York City. And Chow is celebrating a big birthday in Cannon, Michigan. Happy birthday to Andrew Maringer in Chicago, Illinois. And Joey Javion is celebrating a fantastic birthday over in Sin City, Cincinnati. Huge shout out to Orlando de Hoyas Jr. in Austin, Texas, who's one year older. And McKenna Carroll's got a big ninth birthday in Quantico, Virginia. Happy 21 to Matt Robertson in Riverside, California. And Kate Hague, happy birthday over in the Big B of Brooklyn.

And finally, Happy birthday to the Tampa Kid. Yeah, happy birthday. And finally, our legendary creative director, Rachel, is crushing a half Iron Man as we record. I'm a 10th Iron Man at best.

We're like aluminum Ironman. We're aluminum men. I'm a tin man. But Rachel is going for gold, and you got this, Rachel. And to anyone else, celebrating something today, make it a T-boy.

Celebrate the wins. Enjoy the bonus pods. And Jack and I will see you soon. This is Jack. I own stock of Instacard, Netflix. And Nick and I both on stock of Airbnb and Chipotle, as well as ETFs of the S&P 500. Insert promo code, lift pizza, and we'll give you pizza for that.