The Breads No. 8
Sweetgreen, Marie Kondo and Where to Eat in 2020
Hello Baby Yoda Enthusiasts,
The first full week of 2020 is upon us and I hope it’s everything you hoped it would be. I went to a mf’n Monarch Butterfly sanctuary in the mountains of Mexico, what did you do? I also finished The Mandalorian which was delightful and I would highly recommend. Anyways I know you don’t care about me and are only here for dem links. So enjoy and as always holler at me with anything you wanna talk about.
In a Burger World, Can Sweetgreen Scale Up?
Gimme Dat Synopsis Quickie:
We've all got that friend who's a sorta-influencer and lives in a parent-subsidized apartment and eats at Sweetgreen 5 times a week because they're embracing a plant based lifestyle and they absolutely love the food there. Well they're not wrong, it is tasty. But the salad chain and restaurant unicorn is trying to be more than just a niche health-food offering to those that can afford its steep prices. To do so it's trying to develop new products and new ways to consume the food. It's sort of working.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
Many of the changes being tested at 3.0 seem crucial to realizing the ambitious plans of Sweetgreen’s co-founder and chief executive, Jonathan Neman. With its prescient mobile technology strategy, the company hopes to become something bigger — much, much bigger — than a boutique urban chain serving arugula to health nuts and yoga moms.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
On the one hand it's good that a large and successful chain is trying to ensure it really does do everything through local sourcing by working with farmers in the area. On the other hand, every big company doesn't have to be a "tech" company. At least one of the founders admits that they're a food company first. The question though is when will the media realize that if you're not a tech savvy company in some way, you're not going to grow. It's part of every company's DNA now, so every company is a tech company plus whatever else they do, whether it's making salads or renting out overpriced office space. Ya ain't special!
Why Your Favorite Celebs Are Ditching Twitter for an App You’ve Never Heard Of
Gimme Dat Synopsis Quickie:
This is the next evolution of celebrity/fan communication and it's called Community. It essentially functions as a giant groupchat via text messaging, but slightly less chaotic and annoying for group members. It can also be geo-segmented allowing artists who are performing in a city, to target just those fans with show announcements and other timely information. No wiener pic texts once I start The Breads Community channel please.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
The appeal, as [Kerry] Washington hinted at, is control. After a decade of being at the mercy of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat—which own the data, the algorithm, and ultimately that direct line of communication to the audience—stars finally aren’t willing to suffer having these apps restrict access to their fans.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
While the product is new, the idea and sentiment behind it is not. Every platform as we know it has started out as something that isn't supposed to be like the other platforms out there and will offer better access and less ads. I think it's ok to be optimistic about this, but it's only a matter of time before brands figure out ways to hack the system to their benefit and this become another cesspool of consumerism. I'm optimistic, but I think this should be approached with a healthy dose of skepticism.
The Empty Promises of Marie Kondo and the Craze For Minimalism
Gimme Dat Synopsis Quickie:
A large chunk of the population has adopted a minimalist lifestyle en masse. But to what end? Does it really make our lives better and more enjoyable? It seems we often give up practicality for the clout that comes with being able to say you're a minimalist.
And A Quote From The Article Please:
It wasn’t that she didn’t believe in minimalism any more. It had just become an integral part of her life, the basis for her entire approach to the stuff around her. She noticed it was sometimes more trendy than practical: there were people who liked talking about minimalism more than actually minimising, she said.
And Tell Me Why I should Care:
I supposed it's always been a symptom of the human condition; do we do things because we actually enjoy them and they make us happy, or do we do them because we think that's how we're told doing these things are supposed to make us feel? An important case study into a) how lifestyle movements can become incredibly capitalistic despite standing for the opposite and b) how quickly and easily people are willing to buy into something they think will make them happier.
Interesting Things That You May Or May Not Care About
The folks over at JetBlue are planning to have all US domestic be Carbon Neutral by this summer. Keep in mind though that is going to be mostly done by buying carbon offsets, which isn’t actually the same as reducing the impact of your operations.
The Prime Minister of Finland is interested in instituting a four-day work week. Hooray! What this is really going to take for widespread acceptance is one of the tech giants doing so, so that then all the other tech giants have to do so to be competitive in recruiting talent. The Breads is really like a two-day-a-week gig, so I’m way ahead of the curve.
We’ve all heard of the wage gap, but there’s also a grooming gap that exists for women, as what it takes for them to look “acceptable” for office activities is significantly more expensive on average than for men.
Other Things I Needed A Place For
A GQ profile of Larry David who seems to be living in a projection of his on-screen characters. Even though really it’s the reverse. He just plays himself in everything he does.
Diets don’t have to be a black and white thing, especially when it comes to eating for environmental purposes. Low carbon diets don’t have to be all or nothing, every little bit and conscious decision you make helps.
These guys are building a car-free micro-community in the Arizona desert, attempting to break the cycle of urban design kowtowing to the automobile lords. Will it work? Who knows. Is it cool? Fa sho.
Lists Are What The Internet Was Made For!
Where To Eat In 2020
This list from Eater is made up of 19 destinations (seems like they really missed an opportunity here based on the year) that are worthwhile travel destinations for their culinary acumen alone.
“I’m a fun guy. I like to read The Breads and play basketball. ” — Kawhi Leonard
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