The Best One Yet - 🇨🇭 “Swiss Army Knifeless” — Victorinox’s blade pivot. Disney & HBO’s Stream Team. The $400 red pineapple.

Episode Date: May 10, 2024

Victorinox’s legendary Swiss Army Knife faces an existential challenge: knife bans — So it’s offering a knife-less swiss army knife that’s actually more like a steak knife.Disney and Warner Brothers Discovery are launching a streaming bundle this summer that includes Disney+, Hulu, and Max — People say this is like a cable TV all over again, we show how it’s not. And Del Monte Foods has created a ruby red pineapple through cross-breeding that sells for $400 apiece — It’s a “halo product” designed to sell regular products.Plus, you voted for us to win the webby awards, so we recorded this podcast in pink rompers… and did our first TikTok dance video. Watch on Instagram here or on TikTok here @tboypod$FDP $DISSubscribe to the best newsletter yet: tboypod.com/newsletterWant 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 drag. It's Friday the real Friday, May 10th. And today's pod, it is the best one yet. It's a T-Bow. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. But first, Yetis, this is your 48-hour reminder. Mother's Day is this Sunday.

Your mother. Yeah. She gave you life. Yes, she did. Don't delay. Call your mom today. Pause the pod. Uh-huh.

Hall out your mama. Order some flowers right now. M&Ms. Flowers, lint chocolate. Can't go wrong with that stuff. I don't know about. The Eminem. That was for me, Jack.

We've been good sons, too. Jack, three stories for today's show. What do we got, man? For our first story. This summer, you can buy Disney Plus, HBO Max, and Hulu in one big streaming bundle. Yeties, everyone is asking the question. Is streaming turning into cable? Everyone says yes.

Yeah. We say no. Niche, niche. For our second story, Del Monte Foods has invented a ruby red pineapple that they're selling for $400 each. 400 bucks for a pineapple. Jack and I got to talk to you about brand halos. And our third and final story. After 140 years, Swiss Army Knife just unveiled their first knife without a knife.

Swiss Army knife. They're using the steak knife strategy. But yet,ies, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. Now, that is how you going to a weekend after a business trip to New York City, baby. If you can't see us right now, we urge you to go to our YouTube page. Basties, if you cannot see us right now, we ask you to go to our Instagram page. Hit us up at T-Boy Pod on Instagram because you got to see this. Well, pause the pod, let you get there at Instagram, at a T-boy Pod.

Because right now, Nick is decked out from top to bottom, from head to toe, from shoulder to shoe. In a slamming salmon pink romper. That's right. And I am too. I'm wearing a pink romper right now. How are you feeling in that thing, by the way? Itches.

What do we go with you? I feel this is more slim fit than I expected, man. It's definitely a slim fit. Now, why are Nick and I wearing pink robbers that look kind of ridiculous? Honestly, it kind of itches my cat. I can't believe how much thigh. I am showing off right now. It's a good look.

We're doing it because we promised we would. We're doing it because we promised you. Yet he's last month, Nick and I told you that if we win the Webby Award for Best Business podcast, we would wear Pink Rompers for an entire podcast. Well, we won the Webby Award for Best Business Podcast, so we're wearing pink rompers for the whole podcast. I'm loving this right now. I'm feeling airy.

The Webby Award. It's the Oscars of the Internet. The Webby Award is the Grammys of Podcasting. Going into the final day of voting, sorry, I just want to reminisce. It was stressful. We were behind by 1% in the polls. It was scary. We were freaking out.

We were double-checking the votes in Kentucky. We were losing by one percentage point to Kara Swisher and Scott Allowways Pivot podcast. It was so close. But then we asked you to vote. And you voted. And you all voted. Legendary Yeti Michael Poll and texted his entire extended family to vote. Laura in Miami slacked her entire office to go out and vote.

And Kevin Wong and San Francisco hosted a get-out-the-vote party at a brewery. And so we won. It was our first major podcast award ever. And we won it with you because of you. It kind of feels like you're wearing this romper with us, too. That's why it's so tight in this thing. So it's really slim fit. It's really slim fit.

Yides, we're a podcast of our world. We promised pink rompers, so pink rompers we shall wear. Slamming salmon from our calves to our hair. Thank you again for voting for us to win our first Webby Award. This is the best award yet. Now let's squeeze into our three stories. Yeah, let's in our three stories. How do I pee in this thing?

By the way, check out our Instagram, because we might have posted a dance video. If you know, you know. 15 years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dorm. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is a norm. 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, Disney, Hulu, and HBO Macs are forming a mega streaming bundle. Everyone is saying that this is the return of the cable bundle. Everyone's saying it. We'll explain how it's not. But first, let's kick things off, Jack, with a little summon, Suman, Sommon, Darth Vader, Chef Karmie, and Larry David walk into a bar. Darth Vader and Larry David. Yeah, yeah.

I'm laughing. And Carmi and Chef Carmi. That's actually not a joke, no, it's not a joke. That is the new content partnership that is the biggest yet in streaming. This summer, Disney and Warner Brothers will offer their best streamers

in one single bundle unprecedented. Yes. Yes. Okay. Jack, this isn't the dream team. This is the stream team, baby. That is the new content partnership

that is the biggest yet in the streaming wars. Besties this summer, Disney and Warner, Brothers will offer their best streamers in one single complete bundle unprecedented. We're guessing it's going to be $22 a month with ads and $30 bucks a month if you upgrade to no ads. And again, this would include Disney Plus and Hulu and Max and cost less as a bundle than if you bought all three separately. That's what we assume. We assume it'll cost less as a bundle. Really what we're saying is you can have Star Wars, the Bear and Curb Your Enthusiasm all awkwardly in the same app. You can have bluey?

Yeah. Handmaid's Tale Okay And Game of Thrones Pretty, pretty good, Jack Now, the reason these two companies are creating this mega bundle What is it, Jack?

It's to make it harder for you to unsubscribe And they want to make it harder for you to unsubscribe Because you are guilty Of the binge and bounce In the age of the internet You can stop paying immediately

For like everything By simply tapping cancel You binge and then you bounce It's frictionless cancellation It's been great for us consumers But it's been a huge challenge for streamers. Binge and bounce.

Even if the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm was incredible. Great. Loved it. You can binge the whole thing in one month. Okay. And then unsubscribe. You mean bounce. I mean bounce.

I mean bounce. Yeah, and get this yet. Here are some shocking numbers. You're going to sit down, stand up, and just hang on the couch again. We've been doing a lot of binging and bouncing. Oh, yeah. In 2023, the streamers gained 165 million new subscribers. But they lost 140 million subscribers.

So there was almost as many. cancellations as there were subscribes, which means we binged, then we bounced. But here's the thing. Yeties, if your Mac's subscription is bundled with Disney and Hulu 2, then you are less likely to unsubscribe. It's the same reason that T-Mobile offers a bunch of streaming subscriptions as a free perk. Yeah, more of those free perks, more sticky you get. The bundles bundle you in.

Yeah, they do. You keep paying for all the services because the alternative is paying for none of the services. Yeah, the bundle, isn't it just a hug? It's like a bear hug, Jack. Wait, is that a reference? to the bear, the show we were talking about it? It wasn't, but I'm impressed you brought this full circle. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the streaming war?

Streaming is still way better for consumers than cable. Yeah, it is ever since this bundle news, we've been seeing these headlines. Streaming is the new cable. Streaming is reinventing cable. You look just like cable. But we think those hot takes are wrong. Yeah. Dead wrong.

Because streaming is still much better for consumers than cable in many different ways. And we whipped them up for you. First, streaming is stuff. better than cable because there are no fees. A typical cable TV bill still includes $25 a month of bogus fees. Streaming does. With streaming, there's still no physical box. You don't need to drop $10 a month for some lease, for some cable box that stinks and you don't even want it.

And streaming bundles are also optional. If you want just Disney Plus, you can still do just Disney Plus. And finally, most importantly, most bigly of all, with streaming, there are still way fewer ads. A 30-minute TV episode on cable TV includes 8 to 9 minutes of ads. But streaming has half the number of ads. And you can opt out of ads if you want to upgrade for like $5 more a month. So Besties, yes, this stream team bundle is a literal bundle of channels, so it does look a lot like cable.

But this streaming bundle is still way better for consumers than cable TV is. For our second story, Del Monte, the Big Fruit Company, is selling a crossbred, ruby red pineapple for $400. They're selling scientific ruby red pineapples to sell regular pineapples. And we'll tell you all about the strategy. But Jack, if we're going to talk about pineapples, let's start with bananas. If you peel a banana right now. Okay.

There's a one in five chance. It's made and grown and harvested and sold by Del Monte. Del Monte. They got 20% of the banana market and they're the 135-year-old company based in the San Francisco Lovely Bay Area. They call themselves the original plant-based food company. Literally. They sell plants.

Yeah, they sell plants. Which are plant-based. They go back to 1907 when they were the biggest cannery in the world opened on fishermen's wharf in downtown San Francisco. The huge brick building that's still there. They just don't can't canned fruits anymore. And now they're a $1 billion publicly traded company. But here's the news.

Now Del Monte is talking about a fruit that is too nice to can. A ruby red pineapple. It's called the Ruby Glow, and it's now. on sale nationwide. This is the trophy of the tropics. It's a fruit that they're selling for $400 per pineapple. We repeat, you can get a really nice handbag or you can make a pineapple upside down cake with this ruby glow red pineapple. For 400 bucks, you can buy this pineapple. It's a pineapple, but it's got a red exterior. It looks really beautiful. Are you just going to put this out at a party? I think that's what you do, Jack. Eventually, you slice it and you hand out the slices and people are like,

what is the deal with the shell? It looks wonderful. This is what you bring to a wedding. Actually, register for this for a wedding and then you slice this thing at the wedding. And this is the point. Del Monte knows how gorgeous this is. On their website, they literally advise you how to post pictures of this fruit on Instagram. And they created a separate website just to sell this single $400 fruit. It's exotic. But yet here's what Jack and I found fascinating about this story. As we jumped in T-boy style, we noticed in the numbers that Del Monte isn't a fruit company. What is it, Jack? It's a science company. It's a science company. Because last year, Del Monte dropped $8 million on research and development.

This is a farm we're talking about. That's a pretty large number for a fruit farm and company, man. And they sell a $400 rolls of pineapples. That's not their only scientific creation, though. Get this. Four years ago, Del Monte cross-bred its way into another original new recipe premium pineapple called... I don't think recipe is the right word.

It's like an invention. It's a Frankenstein pink glow pineapple. Four years ago, Del Monte Foods created a pineapple that looks normal on the outside, but it has pink fruit meat on the inside. It cut it up and it looks like a ham. It's the jewel of the jungle and you can't get it in stores. They will only ship it to you in a special box. It comes in a beautiful box and it includes a recipe book so that you can make not a pinia colada, a pinkacolata.

It kind of looks like it was designed by Glacier. But, Jack, to get back to our research and development science observation, how long did it take to invent this fruit? I didn't even know it's possible to invent a fruit. But apparently it took them 16 years of crossbreeding to invent this fruit. And here's the wildest part, the price. The pink pineapple is $30 each. And the red ruby pineapple again?

They're only making a thousand of them. So they're $400 each. It's like the Manhattan Project of pineapples, Jack. You need Offenheimer to slice this fruit is what we're saying. You can't split the Adam. He can split the fruit. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies selling $400,000? over at the science company, Del Monte.

These insta pineapples are the ultimate brand halo. The idea is the purpose of a brand halo product isn't to make money or be a profit puppy on its own. The purpose of a brand halo product is to angelically elevate all the other products under the brand because Del Monte is not in the business of selling a thousand of these insta fruits. They're in the business of selling millions and billions of regular fruits. But now you're going to associate Del Monte's.

brand with pink pineapples that you saw at your buddy's probably destination wedding. Or you'll associate Del Monte's brand with the ruby red sliced pineapple at that fancy Mother's Day brunch. What was that thing? Call your mother right now. Due to those fancy brand associations, Del Monte is now up higher in your mind. Yeah. So, Jack, maybe the next time you're at aisle six in the grocery store, you'll grab Del Monte's bananas instead of Shakitas. Maybe you'll even pay 50 cents more per pound for Del Monte because you associate it with that jewel of the jungle. You Besties, that is why Del Monte is so invested in research to crossbreed pink and red into your pineapples. Because they're not fruits. They're brand halos. Now a quick word from our sponsor.

For our third and final story, the Swiss Army knife. It's facing an existential crisis. Blade bans. Because governments are banning knives, the Swiss Army knife is pulling an epic pivot. All right, Jack, let's whip out the map over here. The country of Switzerland? It's got quite a brand, man. Yeah. They got the Swiss watch, the Swiss bank account, Swiss miss, Credit Swiss.

There's no way Swiss miss is actually a Swiss product. I think it's like made in Detroit. But there's also the Swiss Army knife, probably handed down from your great, great, great, great. It's legendary. The pocket-sized red gadget with that little neutral cross on there. Absolutely. You could fix a bike.

You could open a wine bottle. You could slice an apple with that thing. Jack, do you know how? big the biggest Swiss Army knife is? I don't know. It's got 73 different features. Really? You could fix a car tire with that thing.

The Swiss Army knife, the gadget full of features. It was invented in 1884 by a Swiss company that sold the knives to the nation's army. The company is four generations deep. They're privately held, so we don't have their financials. But we do know the company is called Victorianox. Yeah. We have their name. And where does the name come from, Jack?

Two words. Victoria. Which was the inventor's mother. and Enochs, which is a term for stainless steel. Victoria Knox. The inventor's mother, stainless steel. But on their 140th birthday, the Swiss Army knife has a surprise for us. Get this, Victorinox is going to sell their first ever Swiss Army knife without the knife.

For the first time ever, they're making a Swiss Army knife with just like the corkscrew, the toothpick, the scissors. Maybe some nail clippers if you're lucky to. Those other little random metal parts that aren't sharp. What we're saying yet is is that the Swiss Army knife, the icon, knife is about to become the Swiss Army thing. It's like an R-rated version with the knife, PG-13 without the knife. So we know what you're thinking, because we were asking it to, why is the Swiss Army knife eliminating their most key essential feature, the knife?

Because the world is tightening regulations around knives. Last year, a man in Japan was fined for carrying a Swiss army knife. It was just dangling on his keychain. Because there's rules around carrying knives in public. In England and in the United. certain Asian countries, it's actually illegal to carry a knife unless it's a part of your job. And it's not just England and certain Asian countries. Since 9-11 in the United States, knife laws have been increasingly prevalent across the country. And it's not just the rest of the

world. Even in Switzerland, they're adding new public knife laws. Knives. They're dangerous, obviously. And Jack, what did one Swiss Army knife executive say just the other day on all these developments? The increasing number of knife regulations worldwide is a major challenge to the Swiss Army Knife Company. This is like if peanut butter got banned and you're running the Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Corporation, Jack. Now, we should point out, Victoria Knox sells other things, like watches, bags, and other apparel under the Swiss Army brand. But their Swiss Army knife is the majority of their revenues. So these knife bands are kind of existential. The market for metal toothpicks isn't that big. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at the Swiss Army

knife. To save the Swiss Army knife, they're using a steak knife strategy. This is existential for the company because Swiss Army knives aren't just knives. They're also a metaphor. The term Swiss Army knife is a universal term for something that can do everything. So how is Swiss Army Knife responding to this existential threat by marketing their product as the opposite of the Swiss Army knife? The CEO just told reporters that they're going to start advertising specific use cases, like the use case of golfing or Or cycling. So they'll market the bladeless knives specifically to golfers and cyclists who need a tool specifically for golfing and biking. Which is the opposite of like the general use case of the Swiss Army knife.

Exactly. They're repositioning the brand from its features for everything to its purpose for one thing. It doesn't sound like a Swiss Army knife anymore. No. It sounds like a steak knife. A product with one single specific use case. Cutting stakes. And that is how Swiss Army knives wants to save the company long term. Market the product. More like a steak knife.

Jack, could you whip up the takeaways for us before the weekend? Disney, HBO, and Hulu are bundling up this summer for a price TBD. It's not the dream team, it's the stream team. But streaming is still a way better deal for consumers than cable. For our second story, it's Del Monte Foods. They're selling a ruby red beautiful pineapple for $400 a piece. This is perfect for Jack's fantastic pineapple smoothies that he won't stop talking about. But those Instagram pineapples are brand.

and Halo products. Intended to sell regular products. Third and final takeaway, what do we got? In response to new knife laws, the Swiss Army knife has a version now that has no knife. To stay relevant, the Swiss Army knife is borrowing the steak knife strategy. But yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today.

First, Peter Jackson, the director of the highly acclaimed Lord of the Rings films, is making another probably really long Lord of the Rings films. It's called The Hunt for Gallum. And it's set to premiere in 2026. Yes. It will be produced by Warner Brothers. My priest is precious.

And it focuses on Gallum, the twisted creature, played again by Andy Circus. I didn't know you had such a good column impression. Me too? And second, Apple is getting backlash over its newest TV ad that's called The Crush. In the ad, a giant machine presses into... to violins, paintbrushes, paints, pencils, other musical and creative instruments. And at the end, it's just an iPad that remains. It's supposed to symbolize how creative the iPad is, but it kind of also symbolizes the

threat of AI and technology on everyone's creative jobs. Yeah, he was trying to say that the iPad has all the creativity in the world, but the world interpreted it to mean the iPad is destroying creativity. And finally, we've got a great update for the planet. We just set a renewable energy record. A record 30% of the world's energy produced last year was from renewables. We're talking wind, solar, hydro. Out of every three times that you flick on a light switch, one of those flicks was renewable.

That's a progress, baby. Now, time for the best fact yet. This one whipped up by your mom. Taking care of children is really a full-time job. In fact, taking care of children is two and a half jobs, according to a study of mothers conducted by Welch's. Yeties, for all the mothers out there, it turns out that the time mothers spend on parent-related tasks equates to a 98-hour work week. It's one of the largest unpaid jobs in the world, parenting. And it's born more by mothers than by fathers.

It's just the reality of the numbers. Don't delay. Call your mom today. Pause the pod. Hala at your mama. Because she works 98 hours a week on you. Yeties, you looked fantastic all week. Jack, you were glowing all week here in New York. I think it's that 43-step skincare routine. I think it's the romp him that you and I are wearing.

Honestly, it is a look. I think Hansel wore this too. Again, Yeties, even if you listen through the full episode, check us out on Instagram or on YouTube so you can see these get-ups we're wearing. Spoiler Jack. I went to the bathroom in the middle of the episode. You have to take the whole thing off? You know?

They actually snuck a fly in there. They did? Yeah, they did. You got a good one. You're not going to see that on YouTube. Sorry, Yeties. If you haven't yet, you can drop down and give us a five-star review because those five-star that helps us grow the pot.

And Nick and I will see a Monday. Celebrate the wins. And have a fantastic weekend. Can't wait. And before we go, a happy birthday to Yeti Laura Zhang in Pennsylvania. Commissioning as an officer in the U.S. Army, thanks for your service, Laura. And happy birthday to DePete Patel in Houston, Texas. And Neil Schiff Patel in your Belinda, California, is celebrating in the Blue Zone.

And happy birthday to Michael Nelson, who is halfway to 70 over in Lebanon, Oregon. And made house to turn 32 years old. enjoying some fantastic spring skiing in Truckee, California. And happy birthday to Parker Reed in Kernersville, North Carolina. He's getting his master's degree in New Zealand right now. That's a Kiwi PhD. And Fahima Syed is turning 30 years old in Newark, California, and is a new mom.

Happy Mother's Day birthday. And congratulations to Diane Vu, who just graduated from the PA program and is rocking her boyfriend's T-boy crew as we speak. And Mason A. Doman is celebrating a graduation at Indiana's Business School. Congratulations to Aaron Albright in Milford, Connecticut, who just graduated from Loyola. And Cassie Marriott in Atlanta, Georgia, yes, you may approach the bench. Because Cassie is now a law school graduate. Guilty as charged.

JD. And yeah, this hour is billable. This is Jack. I own stock of Netflix and Disney, and Nick and I both own stock of Apple.