Soylent 2.0, Soylent's "meal replacement" drink, will now be distributed in stores starting October 2015. With juicing becoming quite popular nowadays, eating meals in shake-form is sounding appealing to more people.
While the brand's name has been effective since its conception, with the product first offered in powdered form and now in liquid, the name Soylent has been described as somewhat ironic for the meal replacement.
"Soylent" was initially coined in the science fiction novel "Make Room! Make Room!" in 1966. However, while the term is also a combination of the words soy and lentil, "soylent" has been associated with cannibalism following the 1973 film "Soylent Green," reported The Inquisitr.
Many observers have reportedly been surprised that Rob Rhinehart, Soylen's founder, was able to catch the attention of $20 million in Series A venture capital financing. In an Entrepeneur report, majority of the investment was said to have come from Adreessen Horowitz.
The new and improved version of Soylent powder, Soylent 2.0, is a liquid which reports say does not need refrigeration. It also reportedly has a year-long shelf life.
What sets Soylent 2.0 apart from other meal replacement products?
According to the company, their product is different since Soylent 2.0 intends to replace meals indefinitely. The company claims that their product will be able to become their customers' sole source of nutrition
As quoted by The Verge, Rhinehart said:
"They're really not sustainable. I mean, they're loaded with sugar, they're just way too sweet, and they don't really have the macronutrient balance or the glycemic index that I would feel comfortable sustaining myself on or a user on."
Liquid Soylent 2.0 costs an estimate of $12 a day. In powdered form, Soylent 1.5 costs nearly $9. Soylent also claimed that Soylent 2.0 is the first product to use algae, which provides for the liquid meal's fat content.
Rhinehart's promotions also claimed that the most important aspect of Soylent 2.0 is its potential to feed more people in a more efficient manner. It remains to be seen whether Soylent really is capable of "feeding the world," as Reinhart said.
However, Gizmodo has described Soylent 2.0 as "a dubious product from science fiction," as Rhinehart claims in today's manifesto that Soylent has helped him discover the road to enlightenment.
Soylent reportedly contains 27 grams of fiber per 2,000 calories, which is above the 14 grams consumed by an archetypal American daily.
