The Best One Yet - 🍊 “The other juice cleanse” — Delta Variant’s biz impact. Pepsi’s OJ. Gopuff’s dark stores.

Episode Date: August 4, 2021

The Delta Variant - we tell you what it means for stocks, business, and the economy. PepsiCo is selling off its orange juice biz for $3.3B. And GoPuff leads an industry we’re calling “Super Delivery”$PEP $DJIAGot a SnackFact? Tweet it @RobinhoodSnacks @JackKramer @NickOfNewYorkWant a shoutout on the pod? Fill out this form:https://forms.gle/KhUAo31xmkSdeynD9Got a SnackFact for the pod? We got a form for that too:https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe64VKtvMNDPGSncHDRF07W34cPMDO3N8Y4DpmNP_kweC58tw/viewformLearn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is Nick. This is Jack. And this is Snacks Daily. It is Wednesday, midweek, August 4th. I smell a record. Jack Dow. The Dow, it's up 278 points. You got a record.

I smell a number one in the world. Yeah, U.S. metal count, Jack. Bronze 21, silver. We got 28. And gold 24. Nice. And Simone Bile stepped up and got a bronze medal on the balance beam yesterday. We're talking 73 medals.

Snacks Daily gets a platinum for the best one yet. Jack, first story. What do we got? The Delta variant, we tell you what the delta variant means for stocks, businesses, and the economy. TLDR, it's not likely to hammer the economy, but it will likely slow the recovery. For our second story, PepsiCo just sold off their entire juice business for $3 billion. Tropicana has become, oh, Jack, I hate to say it, it's a zombie brand. For our third and final story, Gopph raised another billion dollars to get you goodies in 10 minutes or more.

Super delivery, new thing, isn't what you think it is, though. It's a little different. But Snackers, before we hit those three fantastic stories. It's a Platinum Day. It's a TBOI, Jack. I love this mix. The biggest drama of the Tokyo Olympics. It isn't in the pool water.

It isn't in the Bay water. It isn't in the bottled water. The Sea Forest Waterway of Tokyo Bay is the Olympic venue for rowing, kayaking, and canoeing. Yeah, and the Aqua athletes over there are facing a threat, a deep existential threat. Well, it's not existential. It's just deep underwater. It's oysters. 14 tons of oysters are threatening our athletes.

Jack, there's so many bivalves in the bay right now. You're going to bust an oar on these things. There are more oil. I don't know what a bivalve is, but there's more oysters in Tokyo than a Newport wedding neck. Spoken like a true New Englander, Jack. The whole raceway over in Tokyo got turned into a raw bar. So Snackers, here's what happened over in Tokyo. They put some buoys in the water as part of the race course. And those buoys out of nowhere started sinking. So the Tokyo officials, they jumped in snack style. They noticed there were heavy black barnacles stuck underneath all the buoys. And they were wading the buoys down under the water.

That was the oysters, 14 tons of them. And it wasn't just any oyster borderline ruining those events. Here's the wildest part. These are rare magaki species of oysters, a delicacy in Japan. Oysters are already extra. Magaki oysters are extra extra. So Japan had to splurge. $1.3 million to de-oister the floats from all those oysters.

And the health department didn't clear the oysters, so they didn't get to enjoy the spoils of those labors. And the officials are so busy with the Olympics, they couldn't even spend time shocking these things. Snacker is the most dramatic, expensive, and least satisfying oysters ever. The McGuakis of Tokyo. Let's hit our three stories. You're tuned in the snacks daily.

We spoke to the lawyers. The snacks about to hear rain food is air candy. They don't reflect the views of the robberhood family. It's all informational just so. We're not recommending any securities. Nope. It's not a research report or investment advice. Not an offer or sale of a security.

Right. Snacks is digestible. Business news for you. Robberhood Financial, LLC, member FINRA slash SIPC. For our first story, COVID infections have spiked back to last summer's levels. It's time for the update on the Delta variant and its impact on stocks, business, and the economy. Okay, so COVID, it's basically. making its way through the Greek alphabet. That's what it's doing. This is a mutant,

like Wolverine and X-Men. The Delta variant is three times more contagious than the OG COVID-19. And Jack, you're looking at the data. Nearly all the hospital cases are unvaccinated people. True. But while rare, even vaccinated people can carry and spread the delta variant. And that's why the CDC wants indoor mask wearing so vaccinated people don't harm unvaccinated people by spreading it potentially. So the alpha surge, we remember, remember it unfundly. It was actually scary back in March of last year. It led to a nearly complete shutdown of the economy. That was the biggest drop quarterly in American GDP ever in history for all the numbers. Stock markets panicked. The government responded with insane stimulus, rescue packages,

bailouts. So Jack, the big question this time round is, does the economy shut down again this time with Delta? Doesn't look like it. Anthony Fauci said that shutdowns and lockdowns, they won't happen this time. Yeah, and that's because the elderly and the vulnerable are broadly vaccinated now, unlike last year. The cost-benefit analysis, it just doesn't make sense to shut down right now. Which then leads to the next question. You know, last time, consumer spending plummeted.

So this time, what's happening with all our spending? Consumer spending's not that impacted yet. Not really. The TSA is still seeing record travelers since the start of the pandemic, and concerts haven't been canceled. But that could change because the eviction moratorium. That ends this weekend. Enhanced unemployment benefits end next month.

And the Delta surge is not expected to peak for a few more weeks. So it's going to get worse before it gets better. Right. Some specific industries could go up and some could go down. Yeah, like the Delta variant could make chip shortages even worse for all these things that enjoy chips, which is like everything these days. Right. Because the factories that are producing a lot of chips, they don't have vaccines. So they might shut down their factories.

And it's not just the chip. chips, this could cause a worker shortage too because of the Delta variant. Parents and vulnerable might stay on the sidelines because of this scary new wave. So the only potential winners from the delta variant would probably be like the vaccine companies for all the booster shots. Or maybe the stay-at-home stocks enjoy a little bit longer of a pandemic run. The sultons of stay-at-home. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over in the entire United States economy? Vaccine carrots are going away. Prepare for the sticks. Remember that charming crispy cream free giveaway of donuts for a full year if you're vaccinated

every single day. It's still happening. Someone is snacking right now, listening to the pod and getting a donut. Freebies and financial incentives. That was the theme this spring to get people vaccinated. Those were carrots, though, and now corporations are switching to sticks. Equinox, SoulCycle, and Danny Myers restaurants, they're requiring vaccine cards before you can even enter.

Jack, over in New York City, they just issued a proof of vaccine mandate for, like, indoor activities. You want to have fun indoors? You're going to need to be vaxed. McDonald's is making masks mandatory in places in this country where the Delta variant is raging. Jack, if you work at Google, you want to show up and get a very nice free lunch, you're going to need a vaccine if you step into the Google office. The alpha variant was about vaccine carrots. The Delta variant is all about vaccine sticks. It's August 2021. If you're not vaccinated, you could miss out on parts of the economy.

For our second story, Pepsi just sold off its juice brands for $3 billion. When health and habits change, brands become zombies. Who buys the extra pulp? Who buys the extra pulp, Jack? I've never drank extra pulp orange juice. Jack, if you grew up in the 90s, your mom forced you to drink like a leader of the calcium tropicana on a daily basis. You know what I'm talking about?

I just want to state for the record, peanut butter toast plus orange juice is a wonderful breakfast combo. Everyone was paranoid about calcium in the 90s. Like you'd walk out the door and break your arm if you didn't have this juice. Well, it's good for the bones. Tropicana, juice the stuff up. And calcium needs a host. So it's best like in something. Well, classic press release we just got from the team over at Pepsi. White Plains, New York. They're announcing a portfolio optimization action for their juice business. That doesn't sound good. That sounds like a bad thing, Jack. Tropicana, this is the last two minutes of a reality show. You're going home. you're getting kicked off the island. You're not getting a roast. That's what's happening.

Pepsi's selling 61% of Tropicana, the famous OJ brand, and naked juices to a private equity company for $3.5 billion. And Pepsi's keeping 39% of like a new joint juice venture. Not a good return on Pepsi's investment in Tropicana. This is awkward. Pepsi bought Tropicana back in 1998 for what price, Jack? The same price they're selling it at today. No capital games to report here. Now, Jack and I jumped in snack style, and here's what we found fascinating. There are two reasons for this sale, and one of them is super subtle. Well, the definition of what is healthy, like a beverage, has shifted. Yeah, fruit juice moved from like the good column to the evil column. Sugar's become the enemy, not fat. It's kind of like the plot of the dark night,

like Batman, hero or vigilante. Or you live to see yourself become a juiced beverage. Conversely, avocado shifted from like the evil column to the good column. And so, Subway finally figured that out recently. But it's not just the health trends for why juice is like out right now. Habits have shifted too. Yeah, habits are different now. There's been a surge in breakfast on the go. That's the new thing.

Breakfast bars, McDonald's Egg sandwiches, those are selling big. You're having a kind bar and then you're having an RX bar all for breakfast. At the same time, there's a surge in coffee sales, particularly on the go. Yeah, nationwide, revenue's up 67%. Past 10 years. You're going with like the $8 latte. It may as well around to 10%. So you got one hand holding this breakfast sandwich. You got the other hand holding the $1

McAfee. In your right hand, you literally don't have space on your person for orange juice. Habits changed, healthiness changed. OJ. got kicked off the island. Yeah, no rose. So Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at Pepsi? When health trends shift, the zombies follow. Snackers, last year, Pepsi's rival, Coca-Cola killed off 275 products. That's 275 zombie brands. Crazy how many products Coca-Cola sells worldwide. And why did they do this, Jack? Because over half of Coca-Cola's massive brand portfolio was making up just 2% of total revenues. That's it. Those are the zombie brands. They're lurking along. They're not grown and they're just sucking up all the resources. So Coca-Cola last year killed their Adwala juice brand. Yeah, if you have an adwala right now, it's expired.

You shouldn't drink it. Definitely smell it. Actually, don't even smell it. throw it away. Just throw that out. Pepsi sold its juice. It didn't kill it, but it's basically the same move. It's ditching its zombie brands. When sugar became the enemy, OJ became the zombie. For our third and final story, GoPuff just raised another a billion dollars to get you that cereal ASAP as soon as possible. One single billion dollars. We're calling this new thing, super delivery. Snackers, there has been a shipping race to the bottom. our entire adult lives. At a certain point, it just can't go any lower, Jack, because it started with Amazon doing two-day delivery. And two-day shipping was a huge deal, but new startups are putting

that to shame. Jack, have people even heard of Joker or Getter or Gorillas or GoPuff? These are the new guys, the new ones. These companies deliver grocery staples to your door and get this, as little as 10 minutes. Hey, Instagram, one hour delivery. Cute kid. Now, there's actually a new New York City startup called 15 to 20. Yes, yes, yes. I noticed this on the subway, the other month, Jack, and 15 to 20 delivers in 15 to 20 minutes. GoPuff does as little as 10 minutes. 15 to 20's name is already obsolete.

Very awkward. Now, GoPuff leads the super delivery pack with a $15 billion valuation. And Jack, second time this year that VCs have ponied up a cool billion dollars in funding for this single company, GoPuff. That's because venture capital, they appear upset. with the booming super delivery sector. Snackers, get this. Venture capitalists have poured $3 billion into a bunch of super delivery apps just in the last

eight months. I know what you're thinking. Super delivery isn't just track stars who run faster than DoorDash's DoorDashers. No, no, no. Super delivery, we think is actually a completely different model than grocery delivery. Let's start with Instacart, which is a grocery delivery app. They don't have too many corporate employees. No.

And they don't have any like dashers as employees. And they don't have any of their own stores either. Exactly. You'd call it an asset light jack. That's what this is. Asset light. DoorDash sends a dasher to grab groceries from Costco. Yeah, the dashers, straw and aisle six.

They're grabbing the coconut oil just like the rest of us are. They're an independent contractor. They don't belong to Instacart. Instacart doesn't owe them anything. GoPuff, on the other hand, a super delivery startup has employees and has warehouses and has groceries. The exact opposite. GoPuff is an. asset heavy business. Way higher cost base, but they make money on every item sold, not on fees

like Instacart. Now here's the secret snackers. Super delivery apps like GoPuff, they depend on dark stores. A new thing. A dark store is a tiny warehouse that holds GoPuff's inventory. It's crammed into a part of the city near you. You didn't even know existed. It's like a closet on like, I don't know, 8th Street in the East Village where they got a whole bunch of cheap. tomatoes and tampons and bags of grapes. These dark stores are pantries that pack a big punch. And the dark stores are the secret key to super delivery success. So, Jack, what's the takeaway for our buddies over at GoPuff?

The competition for Super Delivery, it isn't who you think it is. Yeah, Snackers, Instacart and Amazon aren't actually GoPuff's competition. Your local bodega or pharmacy or market, that's GoPuff's competition. Yeah, GoPuff is for snacks and drinks and toilet paper that you just ran out of and you need stat immediately right now. You just finished grandma's meatballs. You need that sprinkle cheese right now. You can't use Instacard and Amazon for that

because you're going to use them for your one huge weekly grocery delivery order. So GoPuff is more like your corner store. But here's the funny thing. They don't have to be on the corner. So GoPuff can enjoy lower rent costs. And GoPuff can serve a wider area than Walgreens because they deliver. So GoPuff can enjoy greater potential revenues. And that big profit potential is why GoPuff just raised another one single billion dollars.

Not to take on the tech icons, but to take on your local corner store. Even though we all love our local corner store. Yes, we do. Jack, can you whip up the calcium enhanced takeaways for us over there? The Delta variant will slow the recovery, but it probably won't lead to shutdown. Vaccine carrots are over. Prepare for the sticks. Pepsi sold off Tropicana.

Because juice isn't growing. Yeah, when health habits change, zombie brands follow. GoPuff started as late night eats delivery on college campuses only. Now it's the leader of super delivery. Time for our snack fact of the day. This one tweeted in by Jacob Cohen from lovely Chicago, Illinois, where they do logistics. This year, they added surfing to the Olympics. No word on whether the oysters are causing issues.

Yeah, full disclosure, it is harder than it looks. The next Olympics, though, are in Paris, which doesn't have a place to surf. It's in the middle. Unlike Los Angeles, where the 28 games are, Paris has no waves. Yeah, so get this, Snackers. Paris is going to host the surfing in the Olympics 10,000 miles away in Tahiti. Yeah. In other words, Paris isn't hosting the surf competition.

It will be two oceans away from Paris. Yeah, basically. You're used to remote work, so this is kind of remote Olympics. Great snack. Jack. Snackers, you look fantastic today. If you haven't yet, go up and click to follow this podcast on Apple, on Spotify, on Google, or wherever you're getting your pots. Nick and I'll bring our A-game if you do tomorrow. If you know, you know. And before we go, happy 231st birthday to the United States Coast Guard. Part of the Armed Forces. Yeah, keep up the awesome work. Happy birthday to Harry

from London, England, and Kiara Brooks in Memphis, Tennessee, and Caitlin Ratcliffe in the Upper East side. And happy birthday to Tarique, a little bit further up down in Harlem. Just sending a sweet message to Dylan and Mo. We're going on a cross-country coast-to-coast road trip from New Jersey. Yes. I assume to California. And they're snacking along the way, Jack. Have fun. Anybody else celebrating something today, make it a T-boy. Celebrate the wins, especially Dylan and Ruh. This is Jack. I own stock of Amazon and Krispy Cream. The Robin Hood Snacks podcast you just heard reflects the opinions of only the hosts who are associated persons of Robin Hood Financial LLC and does not reflect the views of Robinhood Markets, Inc.

or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates. The podcast is for informational purposes only and is not intended to serve as a recommendation to buy or sell any security and is not an offer or sale of a security. The podcast is also not a research report and is not intended to serve as the basis of any investment decision. Robin Hood Financial LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. You said that in a great way. Chris Bucle.

And this is Jack. and I'm eating the crispy queen.