Meal-replacement startup Soylent, which raised about $20 million at a $100 million valuation in January, wants you to never worry about food again.
Its latest product, Soylent 2.0, makes the challenge easier than ever.
On Monday, the company starts accepting pre-orders for a ready-to-drink, bottled version of its meal-replacement powder. No mixing or stirring required.
A 12-pack of Soylent 2.0 costs just $29, or about $2.50 per meal. That's cheaper than most cups of coffee.
"And it does a lot more," Soylent CEO and cofounder Rob Rhinehart told Tech Insider in a phone call late last week.
Far from being a high-end smoothie, Soylent 2.0 acts as a nutritionally complete supplement for any meal. Each bottle fulfills 20% of your daily needs for all essential vitamins and minerals.
The newest iteration of the formula reduces the glycemic index, providing a sustained release of energy so you can avoid spikes and crashes. Drawing on customer feedback, Soylent also increased its soy protein content, which aims to smooth digestion. It's good news for the early adopters who reported severe gas and bloating as side-effects.
The 20-something CEO sidestepped when asked if Soylent 2.0 tastes better than the original, powdered version.
"We’re designing for function," Rhinehart said. "A lot of meals seem to have this trade-off. You can have something healthy, but it’s going to be costly or inconvenient. You can have something quick and easy, but it’s not going to be very healthy.
"We can use science and engineering to make something efficient, so that you don’t have to choose," Rhinehart said.
Soylent 2.0 is available for pre-order on Soylent's website starting August 3. Shipments begin October 15.