The Best One Yet - 🍹 “The Drink of the Summer” — 2025’s beach booze. Warby’s Google glasses vs. OpenAI-phone. Toyota’s Rav4 Revolution.

Episode Date: May 22, 2025

TBOY Live Show Tickets to Chicago on sale NOW: https://www.axs.com/events/949346/the-best-one-yet-podcast-ticketsWe analyzed the DoorDash data and TikTok trends to predict… the drink of the summer.Google & Warby Parker are launching smart glasses… but so are OpenAI & the iPhone designer.The best-selling car in America is now Toyota’s Rav4… and it’s going full hybrid.Plus, tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for one industry… Car Washes spike 49%.Want to hear our interview on how to future-proof your career? Check out the Demoted Podcast with Corporate Natalie & Corporate Bro: https://direct.me/demoted $GOOG $WRBY $TMWant 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.About 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 is Thursday, the new Friday, May 22nd. And today's pod is the best one yet, and this is a T-boy. The top three pop business news stories you need to know today. Yeties, I'm flying a France tonight, and Jack is somehow squeezing one more day of skiing in in New England. How is that possible? It's going to smell this weekend, which is absurd. I'm not planning to ski, but who knows, maybe I'll stand on skis.

As they say in France, Jack, not possible, but three stars. for today's show, Jack, what do we got on the pod? For our first story, just in time from Memorial Day weekend, we're predicting the drink of the summer. We use three trendspotting techniques to forecast the drink everyone's going to be drinking started tomorrow. For our second story, Warby Parker, and Google just hooked up to create AI glasses. Okay, but Jack, Open AI and the guy who designed the iPhone are also hooking up to create AI glasses. It's like love is blind for smart glasses. Yeah, it is, and we'll explain it all.

And our third and final story. There's a new best-selling car in America, and you're definitely going to see it on the roads this weekend. Jack and I will explain the RAV-4 revolution, because the RAV-4 is going full, hybrid, baby. But yeties, before we hit that wonderful mix of stories. What a mix of stories. Love the mix today, Jack.

Memorial Day isn't just a celebration of veterans or a three-day weekend or the artificial start of summer. No, no, no, no. No, Memorial Day is also the biggest economic moment for one industry. The car wash. Get this, the Friday and Memorial Day is the biggest day of the year for washing cars. Tomorrow, more Americans will spend more money washing cars than any other day of the year. That carburetor is getting cleaned up. Your chassis's going to look classy, Nick. Hey, exhibit, don't pimp my ride. Just wash the wheels. It's all I need, man. According to the small business startup, Womply,

car wash sales jump 49% on Friday before Memorial Day. We repeat, car washes are 49% more filled starting this time tomorrow than on any typical day. And the reason is that this is the weekend for road trips. You're hitting the road, baby. And if you're going to sit in the Hampton's traffic for five hours, you better look sharp doing it. This Bronco hasn't moved, but baby, do I look good in it, Jack? So if I know you like I think I do,

you're going to get the signature elite wash tomorrow with undercarriage glaze and the full wax job. You do know me, because this has been the little known secret for years in the car wash industry. Tomorrow is their Super Bowl. So, yet is if you're a Lincoln, is getting lufed. If your beamers getting bedazzled,

if your kia is getting cleansed. Then you're part of the Memorial Day weekend car wash rush. Hey, exhibit, you missed the spot, man. Nick, I love the places that do the hand toweling, the hand drying at the end. That's a tip-worthy service that you're paying for right there. Jack, that's a Michelin Star car wash right now. Let's sit on three stories, baby.

Fifteen years before this song, two boys from the Northeast met in the dawn. They had an idea that caused a cultural storm. It's the best one yet, but the best is an norm. Jack Nick, that's it. 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. First, a quick word from our sponsor. For our first story, it's a tea boy tradition before Memorial Day. What will be? The drink of the summer. So we analyzed the data, we tasted the trends, and we got you the one answer. But Jack, let's start by sprinkling on some context. From Cabo to Lady Bird Lake to Block Island, what were we all drinking a decade ago?

2015 was Peak Rosea. Yeah, it was Peak Roseae. Your mother-in-law and my mother-in-law both caused a shortage of whispering angel. I'm pretty sure, Jack. White girl wasted. Maria, really? That's what you're cracking open? 2018, we had the rise of Spiked Seltzer.

White Claw became a unicorn thanks to the day party at Sig App. Okay, two years later, we entered the ready-to-drink cocktail era. It started with the first ever canned Jack and Cokes, and then high noon came along. And then came low alcohol beers, and then came no alcohol beers. 2023 was the summer of Aparol Spritz. A record 9 million cases of apparel were consumed that summer. And last summer, we predicted that Beatbox would be the drink of the summer. That's right, we predicted Beatbox.

Beatbox, the boxed punch wine. And how'd we do, Jack? Pretty good. The Wall Street Journal covered Beatbox at the end of the year. sales rose 75% hitting $175 million. Beatbox strategically moved from the beach to Bonnarut. They sold out at basically every single music fest, smart distribution move. Now, for 2025, it's prediction time.

And we take prediction seriously. Yeah, we do, we do, we do. We do, we do. Because trend forecasting has some tactics. And the one we prefer is trend spotting. First, what's the most viral trend on social? Well, Jack, the most viral drink trend on TikTok right now is Halapino wine.

Instead of ice cubes, people are pouring soft blanc on sliced peppers. Yeah, the New York Times actually profiled this last week. Bartenders are horrified when influencers come in and order. Totally. Halapeno wine. Apparently the spiciness is a contrast to the tannins, but, you know, we have not jumped into this one, T-Boy style. All right, so that's what's happening on social. We also look at the sales numbers.

And the fastest growing alcohol brand in America right now is Surfside, which does canned cock. That's right. Surfside serves a vodka iced tea, and they actually just signed a deal with Major League Baseball. Sales rose 360% already last year for Surfside, selling drunken Arnold Palmer's. That's another trend variable we got to take into account. But finally, Jack and I want to analyze, well, we actually, we looked at our guts. Let's go with our guts. Literally. We think there's an opportunity in functional soda combining with functional alcohol. That's right. What we're saying is replace your Jack and Coke with a Jack. And poppy.

Basically, instead of a prebiotic soda, why don't you go with a prebiotic cocktail? Get wasted on something that's good for your gut. I'm pretty sure it cancels out, but I'm not a mathematician, nor am I a nutritionist, Jack. So there you go. We looked at what's viral on social media, what the startup sales data says, and also our own analysis on consumer trends. Which leads us to our prediction. Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies looking for the drink of the 2025 summer? Trade War summer will drive a margarita moment.

Yeties, let's take a macro perspective here. In moments of instability, consumers crave comfort. Remember during the pandemic? Yeah. Breakfast cereals boomed like they hadn't in decades because we all wanted comfort food. Well, during this trade war economy uncertainty, we expect a similar return to a familiar beverage. And it'll be the margarita. Why? We already have data proving it's happening. That's right. According to new DoorDash data, tequila is still the fastest growing. spirit in America. And in the past month, Dordash has seen an increase in all the ingredients for margaritos. This is wild. Lime sales up 80%. Halapeno orders up 90%. Agave syrup, up 100%. Jack, the seasoning. The spicy salt you put on the rim? Yeah, the rim stuff, up 125%. And since the beginning of the

trade war, earnings are showing that Americans are stocking up on Jose Cuervo. Now, maybe people are trying to get ahead of Mexico tariffs. Maybe they're just craving a comfort cocktail. But given the trade war economy that we're going to have this summer, we're predicting a margarita moment. For our second story, it's a doozy. First, Google is investing in Warby Parker for Google Glass 2.0. Second, Open AI is acquiring the original designer of the iPhone for $6 billion. Third, this was the biggest week ever for smart glasses. Wow. Yes. But first, Jack, you know when you go to a party and then there's like an after party that's more fun than the first party? Yeah.

Yeah, okay, that was like what happened yesterday. Google stock jumped 4% gained $80 billion in value after hosting the biggest party of the year. The Google I.O. Conference in Mountain View, California, had a wild number of announcements from Alphabet. Okay, first, the big news, Google is finally disrupting itself. Two and a half years after ChatGPT launched, Google is finally replacing Google search with an AI chatbot. So, Bessie, starting like today, here's what you could see when. you go to Google something? They're starting to roll it out right now.

Yeah. When you're Googling, there's always been a tab to do Google Images, Google News, Google videos. But now you'll see a new tab called AI mode, which will answer your query questions like a chatbot. If you search for something in AI mode, instead of a list of links as the result, you'll just get an answer to your question. Okay, another big update going viral. Google announced real-time translation. In Google Meets, if you're speaking in English, but the other person only speaks Spanish,

it will live translate what you're saying with just a couple of seconds of laugh. I mean, Jack, when I'm in France tomorrow, I could literally be saying like, I want the bread and we'll be saying, I don't know where that came from, but let's go with it. It's all done by AI, and apparently it mimics your tone and your voice.

But besties pause the pod. Because the biggest announcement wasn't what Google knows. It's what's on your nose. Really nicely done. Here it is. Google is relaunching Google Google. Glass. Yeah, this is Google's big bet on the future. And what was the surprise about the announcement, Jack? They're not doing it alone. They're doing it with Warby Parker. Warby Parker, the direct-to-consumer

Glasses company is getting a $150 million investment from Google. It was the biggest day ever for Warby Parker stock, which jumped 20% on the news. Yeah, we're talking about a glasses brand that feels like a library. It actually could become the smart device of the future. Now, the context of this story is Meta-Raband Glasses. That's been a stealthy hit for Mark Zuckerberg. Good point, Jack. Zuck said that sales of their smart glasses have tripled in the last year, and we've predicted it's going to be the Christmas gift of 2025. But Google's version of smart glasses appears more advanced than metas because the lens doubles as a screen. Yeah, Jack, why don't you walk us through the demonstration we saw on stage over at Google?

In Google's demo, the user asked Google's AI assistant, which is in the glasses, for directions to like the local Starbucks. Okay, and then what happened, Jack? Google Maps Turn-by-Turn directions was overlaid on the lens of the glasses so that the person could see the streets and see the corners, but also know exactly where they're going. This is a major differentiator that the lens for Google and Warby Parker is also a screen for the smart glasses. It means you don't need your phone. You can just ask your glasses to show you your text messages, show you your emails, and dictate the responses to them. Honestly, Zuck's meta-ray bands can't do that yet. They have an AI. assistant, but it's only audio. It's not visual. Now, what Meta does have is a product that's

actually in the market already. Right, right. Google didn't give us a release date or say how much these Google Glasses with Warby Parker will cost. Yeah, remember, if they don't tell you the price, it means it's going to be expensive. Exactly. But these Warby Google Glasses do solve the key reason why Google Glass originally failed 10 years ago. People hated Google Glass. First, because of the privacy invasion, also because they were ugly. This solves the ugly rule. Like, you're not going to look ugly in a pair of warpes. But one more thing. Breaking news yesterday?

Yeah. Open AI has acquired the design company of Johnny Ive for $6 billion. This is the biggest aqua hire in the history of Silicon Valley baby. Johnny Ive is quite a hire, though, because he was famously one of the guys who designed the iPhone and the MacBook Pro and the iPod. But now he's going to be building hardware gadgets for Open A.I. And Sam Altman. Open AIs.

tech hardware gadget will be unveiled next year. It might be a phone, it might be a watch, it might be smart glasses. Or it could be a bracelet, that's our sleeper pick. But Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies who are everyone watching this insane week for smart glasses? Google, meta, Apple, and OpenAI. It's the great race to replace the iPhone. Yeti's Iron Man has Jarvis.

Someday, you man will have something similar. That's right. After 20 years of Android and iPhone dominating, phones are going to be replaced by smart glasses. And the computing device of the future, to replace the smartphone, it has four key players right now. Meta has partnered with RayBand, Google has partnered with Warby Parker,

and Apple is still doing it solo at this point. Apparently Tim Cook is reportedly obsessed with launching smart classes. It's like the only thing he talks about at Apple. And the fourth player is OpenAI and the original iPhone designer, Johnny Ive. So besties, these glasses, they, They will all have an AI assistant built in to give you full access to the internet, all voice activated. Iron Man has Jarvis. Hugh Man will have something similar.

Add it all up and we just started the great race to replace the iPhone. And the winner gets the future. Now a quick word from our sponsor. Yeties for our third and final story. The top selling car in America is now, shockingly, the Toyota RAV-4. But even though the RAV-4 is officially on top, Toyota is making the biggest change to it ever. It's a RAV-4 revolution. But, Jack, let's talk about our buddies over at Toyota, because we've been keeping track, and Toyota holds a whole bunch of superlatives.

They're the biggest and most profitable carmaker in the world. Related, they're believed to be the most reliable car company in the world. Yeah, your buddy's 2012-Tacoma still has 212,000 miles on it. And your buddy is never going to sell that Tacoma. Jack, my grandma drove a Camry in three different decades. Really? I hope that was safe of her to do, but she did it. Plus, the car brand starts with the word toy,

which got a nice cameo in Toy Story 1. And Jack, let's add one more superlative. Toyota now produces the top-selling car in America. Now, Ford has bragged for years that the F-Series pickup truck is the top-selling car in America. For 45 years, Ford's been saying that. But we dove into the numbers D-Boy style, and the Ford F-Series includes

three different models. Now, Toyota says that their Rav4, which is one model, sold 475,000 cars last year, which is more than the F-150. The Toyota Rav-4, basically the Subaru for your Dink era. It's actually become a pretty big SUV. I know, I know. It's like the MVP of the R-E-I parking lot, Jack. The Rav-4.

If it's a surfboard, it fits a camping backpack, and three boxes of cliff bars that you tossed in the trunk. But besties, here's the news. Just as the RAV-4 got on top, Toyota is giving it its biggest change yet. Toyota just announced the RAV-4 is going hybrid-only starting right now. This is wild, but the 2026 model, which arrives in dealerships like this year, has a hybrid-engine-only standard. That's what you get.

If you want a purely gas-powered RAV-4, you can't buy that. Sorry. The only option to upgrade is the plug-in hybrid. We repeat. America's top-selling car is switching to hybrid only, half-electric, half gas, the biggest change to something in number one place we've ever seen. Now, from our perspective, hybrid is a no-brainer. Unlike a pure electric car, with a hybrid, you don't even need to switch your fueling situation.

Like, you still just charge up at gas stations. A hybrid simply extend your range from 31 miles per gallon to 38 miles per a gallon. And with the Rav 4, the hybrid actually has more horsepower than the regular. The only catch we should point out here is that when it comes to hybrids, you get a higher price. The RAV-4 hybrid is two or three grand more than the regular because that battery is expensive. They got some junk in the trunk and the junk is a battery. Also, most RAV-4s in America are imported from Canada or Japan, so they're going to have a 25% tariff to deal with now, too. But still, the RAV-4 is starting a revolution with itself.

The top-selling car in the U.S. is going full hybrid. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Toyota? Toyota is the tortoise, and it's winning the electric race. Yet is, in 2021, Volvo said all cars would be electric or hybrid by 2025. And that same year, General Motors said it would sell a million electric cars by 2025. But last year, Volvo extended that deadline by 10 years, and GM just said they're not even close to a million electric cars a year. And it's not just GM or Volvo Jack. Like every car company made some really splashy announcements that they just couldn't deliver on.

It created like a full years worth of content on our podcast. It was just wildly bold and ambitious electrification plans from car companies. Except for Toyota. Toyota did not make those announcements. Instead, they just made hybrids. They bet that hybrids were the electric training wheels that Americans wanted, and Toyota was right. Today, eight of Toyota's cars are only available as hybrids, and they've sold a million hybrids in the United States just last year.

Toyota is the tortoise, and it's beating the electric hairs in the car race. Jack, and you'll whip up the takeaways for us for the new Friday. After chronicling previous drinks of the summer, Nick and I looked at different trends. And you heard it from us, the trade war summer will be a margarita moment. For our second story, Google has partnered with Warby Parker to develop smart glasses with screen lenses. It's love is blind for smart glasses right now.

Google, Metal, Apple, and OpenAI, it is the great race to replace the iPhone. And our third and final story is the Toyota Rav4. It's the number one selling car in America, and now it's going hybrid only. Toyota is the tortoise, but it's winning the electric race. But Yeties, this pod's not over yet. Here's what else you need to know today. First, Bitcoin is officially trading at an all-time high. It is hot crypto summer, baby.

Ben the Bitcoin hit $109,000 yesterday for the first time ever. Could be because U.S. debt got downgraded, or it could be because the dollar value dropped. Or it could be, like always, with crypto. No reason at all. No reason at all. No one really knows. And second, Canada Goose just had its best day in years. Stock in the fancy jacket brand soared 25% yesterday.

Because of climate change, they're making fewer snow jackets, pivoting a little bit more to rain jackets. Canada Goose's new goal is to be a year-round relevant brand, not just for the winners. After all, geese fly south in the suburbs. Yes, like, we can be seeing some Canada Goose tank-time. and bikinis in summer 2026, Jack. And finally, NFL owners voted not to ban the tush push. Jack, can you please enlighten us on the push of the tush? What is the tush push?

The tush push is a special play pioneered by the Philadelphia Eagles. It's when the quarterback takes the ball from the center, does a QB sneak. But instead of being on their own, the running back pushes the quarterback from behind, trying to nudge him across the goal line. Many thought it should be illegal, but it will now stay legal. In Philly, they call it the brotherly shove. Now time for the best fact yet. This one set in by Big Ted Kramer from Port Washington, Long Island.

This one's from my dad because when I was a kid, he took me twice to the Indy 500. We drove all the way from Vermont to Indianapolis. And they're fast, right? Like those cars for the Indy 500 go faster than the F1 racers. Indy cars are faster than F1. They have a top speed of 240 miles per hour. No cars go faster than that. And one reason they can go so fast is because the oval they race around.

is so huge. You don't have to make that many turns. But yeah, Nick, the track is two and a half miles. You can fit so much inside of that. Why don't you sprinkle on some context, Jack? You can fit the Vatican City, the Rose Bowl, Yankee Stadium, the White House, and Liberty Island. Yes, including the Statue of Liberty.

All of it can fit inside the racetrack at Indianapolis, and you still have room to spare. I think what you mean to say, Jack, is combined. Combined. Yet he's Yenie's Yenie. You look fantastic today. Jack and I are actually whipping up a couple surprise episodes for you this weekend, aren't we, Jack? Yeah, Nick's going to be in France, but we're going to be right here in your ears because we have a special episode tomorrow and another special episode on Monday.

That's right. While you're stuck in traffic, we will keep you entertained with a couple of fantastic shows. Jack, enjoy the skiing. I don't know how you're going to do it, but I like that you're going to try. I prefer to be swimming, and I probably will swim regardless of how cold it is. Besties wash that car, and Jack and I will see you right? here tomorrow. And before we go, a shout out to the legendary Yeti's corporate Natalie and corporate bro Ross, who hosted us on the Demoted show, and we just had a blast. What an amazing episode

with those guys. A couple of the cleverest, wittiest people in business. You gotta listen to their show Demoted. You're going to love it. We just did an episode with him this week. Congratulations to Nil-Nill, who just had a baby, Maya Rose in Cupertino, California. And a shout out to Yetter Tyler Rice on his first book launch in Minneapolis for Tactical Disconnected. Tyler, congrats on being an author. And a big shout out to Joe Benz from Chicago, newly divorced. But based on the fact that he's requesting a shout out for his divorce, we're guessing this is something to celebrate.

Joe, enjoy the divorce cake. You're single and ready to mingle, baby. Joe, the best days are ahead. And John Hill just set a personal record for a half marathon in Cleveland. Listening to the Google Maps episode of The Best Idea Yet during the race. Great to be with you for it, John. A big shout out to Lieutenant Colonel Hightower. In Alderon, the battalion is so sad to see you go.

Your leadership will be missed. Thank you for your service. And Akansha just got into B-school over in Seattle, Washington. Congrats, Ocounter. You'll have a blast. And finally, happy birthday to Jake Sparkman in Dallas, Texas, who is a goalie in lacrosse, which is one of the most brave positions at all this sports. Yeah.

This guy is going to win it to Warden Award. Enjoy the final four this weekend, Jake. They give you a cup, right? I think they give you two cups if you're going. This is Jack. I own stock in Ford and Nick and I both own stock of Apple, as well as a Bitcoin. A Bitcoin named Ben.