The whole piece was worth it just to read this line: "Doubting if the positive health impact of AG1 is as substantial as every paid podcaster says it is and just eating vegetables instead." For sure will go down as one of the greatest marketing ploys of all time. Not saying it's bad, but I'd wager almost all I own that eating an organic cucumber and some wild strawberries does 10x more for the body and soul than a pack of that powder.
Yeah me and you are completely aligned on that one, pal. Any positive benefit it does have is likely trivial. Especially when you examine the other ways you could allocate the capital you put into AG1: gym equipment or membership, healthy food, a nice dinner out with loved ones for quality time and connection. But it's a damn good marketing company, as you point out.
Thanks for reading and jumping in the comments buddy. Appreciate your take, as always.
Totally -- supplements like that are always INSANELY overpriced, which creates this giant opportunity cost (who thought we'd be getting into capital allocation language)
I've written two pieces about the corrupt practices of CPG companies to try to shed a little light on their devious and sketchy practices. It really gets me fired up... orange juice cartons that have a "heart healthy" label, froot loops broadcasting "no artificial colours" on the box. We, as individuals, are responsible for educating ourselves on these malpractices and voting with our feet.
Glad this little tidbit of information was of some use to you, Rick.
Thanks so much for reading, John. It's scary that companies are allowed to deploy such sneaky and morally corrupt strategies... but the regulations don't cover everything and we really have to watch our own backs.
Another great example of a practice many people engage in without question that was, if I had to guess, designed by the soap companies that profit from... selling more soap.
Really appreciate the kind words. Understanding the source of ideas/practices we follow without question is a great first step to revealing their intention and validity.
The challenging part, I have found, is realizing which thoughts you aren't even questioning. I surely have so many blind spots I am not even aware of. Hanging out with different people and getting exposure to new ideas/perspectives certainly helps. But ignorance will always be bliss until it hits us in the face.
Hi Jack, I loved this piece and the questions you evoked for yourself and for others. 👏. I also commend you for calling out your investments in S&P 500 companies.
Having worked for three S&P 500 companies it was my experience that all of them, and the employees working for them, cared deeply about their customers and spent inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out ways to delight them and bring value to their lives. All within the dual-mandate of creating profit for the bottom line of the company.
Too much profit for the company combined with too little value to the customer and your days are numbered - as new firms will enter and supply the value at a lower price. Too much value for the customer and too little profit for the company, and the company’s days are numbered as they will struggle to stay in business. So goes the competitive landscape.
But I will say that having worked in senior leadership positions at all three companies, 99% of the people I worked with would opt, when forced to make the customer/company trade off, to give one more unit of value to the customer vs one more unit of value to the bottom line and see if they can get away with it.
My two cents.
I appreciate you drawing attention to the challenge these companies have. 🙏
James, thank you very much for this. I appreciate your courage in leaving a comment that disagrees with my thesis and the kind, thoughtful, and insightful manner in which you responded. We cannot learn or expand our minds if we do not interact with new ideas and perspectives, so thank you.
Like most things in life, I think this issue is one that exists on a spectrum. You are right. I too am probably right. But how right either one of is in any given scenario depends on the company, product, and people behind it.
Companies have a duty to maximize shareholder value. Have lines been crossed in trying to achieve this aim? Absolutely. But often, those line crossers are caught and dealt with accordingly, such as in the Enron accounting scandal (though I suppose this does not pertain to CPG).
However, I don't think you have to look far to find morally questionable practices. The equivalent of advertising cigarettes (which is now illegal), if you will. Is it moral to advertise Coca Cola? Is it ethical to plaster "No artificial flavors or coloring!" on a box of Froot Loops in an effort, presumably, to make it look healthier? Is it okay to use colorful packaging and anthropomorphized animals as mascots to encourage kids to beg their parents for sugary cereals?
We live in a free market. So if a free company wants to do those things (so long as they are within their legal bounds) and a free adult wants to purchase them, they are allowed to do so. But I don't think that makes it any more right.
Alas, it is up to us to vote with our feet when it comes to what we deem as acceptable. If we keep buying, companies will keep making. If they sub out olive oil for palm oil while raising the price and we buy it anyway, they will produce and market more.
My hope is that by bringing more awareness to this, we make enlightened decisions around what we are consuming and are not fooled or blissfully ignorant.
But to your point, most people are good and do work they perceive to be good while toeing the line of profit and customer value. And it would be unrealistically pessimistic to think otherwise.
Thank you reading, James, and for your comment which has forced me to think and expand on my original essay.
Jack - such a great reply. And thank you for catalyzing my thinking too. I think back to the mortgage crisis in 2008/2009. It all started in the early 2000's when one or two companies started using adjustable rate mortgages with initial "teaser rates" that started unrealistically low and adjusted upward over time. And then the combined those low rates with lax underwriting standards. Why? Not to provide value (my premise) but to line the pockets of the company (Countrywide Mortgage, Washington Mutual) - with questionable practices (your premise). Because these time bombs wouldn't detonate until 5+ years later, other mortgage underwriters were being left behind so they all started to follow suit. (The only one who didn't was JP Morgan Chase - Jamie Dimon). A few small players at a few of the smaller companies, with an irresistible value proposition to borrowers forced others to play the same game, and those bad seeds about brought down the whole system.
So your point is well taken; it is about awareness so that we can consciously choose with our feet and with our dollars by sending micro signals to the system with our choices. Hopefully, through that process, more of us will not buy Fruit Loops and Coca-Cola, or products with the wrong type of oil, and buy the right type of products instead.
Again, Jack, thank you for helping me see the flip side of things - admittedly, my awareness is not up to where it should be.
100% agree, Jeremy. But they have done such a good job marketing it with "reputable" people (Joe Rogan, Attia, Huberman, Tim Ferriss, and the list goes on) who put it on a pedestal. It's just a damn multivitamin at the end of the day, as Rhonda Patrick recently called out.
Go for a lift and run, eat some vegetables. I don't think any supplement, though they have their place, are the real "dial movers" in comparison to exercise, sleep, and diet (the last of which is much more about what you DON'T eat than what you DO eat).
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, John. I completely agree with you.
Asking questions where I have never asked them before has led to a series of revelations for me. If I only knew all of the blind spots my ignorance continues to shield me from...
The whole piece was worth it just to read this line: "Doubting if the positive health impact of AG1 is as substantial as every paid podcaster says it is and just eating vegetables instead." For sure will go down as one of the greatest marketing ploys of all time. Not saying it's bad, but I'd wager almost all I own that eating an organic cucumber and some wild strawberries does 10x more for the body and soul than a pack of that powder.
Yeah me and you are completely aligned on that one, pal. Any positive benefit it does have is likely trivial. Especially when you examine the other ways you could allocate the capital you put into AG1: gym equipment or membership, healthy food, a nice dinner out with loved ones for quality time and connection. But it's a damn good marketing company, as you point out.
Thanks for reading and jumping in the comments buddy. Appreciate your take, as always.
Totally -- supplements like that are always INSANELY overpriced, which creates this giant opportunity cost (who thought we'd be getting into capital allocation language)
The point on palm oil and the ways it is hidden is especially good.
I agree. This really got my attention. I had no idea there were so many code names for it. I made a copy of the list so I can start checking. Gheesh.
I've written two pieces about the corrupt practices of CPG companies to try to shed a little light on their devious and sketchy practices. It really gets me fired up... orange juice cartons that have a "heart healthy" label, froot loops broadcasting "no artificial colours" on the box. We, as individuals, are responsible for educating ourselves on these malpractices and voting with our feet.
Glad this little tidbit of information was of some use to you, Rick.
Thanks so much for reading, John. It's scary that companies are allowed to deploy such sneaky and morally corrupt strategies... but the regulations don't cover everything and we really have to watch our own backs.
And don’t forget to wash your hair twice before using a conditioner to replace the natural oils you stripped away.
BTW… a much needed reminder to question everything, especially your own thoughts.
“Who nudged that idea in there?”
“And why?”
Another great example of a practice many people engage in without question that was, if I had to guess, designed by the soap companies that profit from... selling more soap.
Really appreciate the kind words. Understanding the source of ideas/practices we follow without question is a great first step to revealing their intention and validity.
Thank you for reading.
Love this idea of questioning your own thoughts as well.
The challenging part, I have found, is realizing which thoughts you aren't even questioning. I surely have so many blind spots I am not even aware of. Hanging out with different people and getting exposure to new ideas/perspectives certainly helps. But ignorance will always be bliss until it hits us in the face.
ha ha, so well said.
I find that writing about things on my mind often leads me into unknown country that is contrary to where I started.
Hi Jack, I loved this piece and the questions you evoked for yourself and for others. 👏. I also commend you for calling out your investments in S&P 500 companies.
Having worked for three S&P 500 companies it was my experience that all of them, and the employees working for them, cared deeply about their customers and spent inordinate amounts of time trying to figure out ways to delight them and bring value to their lives. All within the dual-mandate of creating profit for the bottom line of the company.
Too much profit for the company combined with too little value to the customer and your days are numbered - as new firms will enter and supply the value at a lower price. Too much value for the customer and too little profit for the company, and the company’s days are numbered as they will struggle to stay in business. So goes the competitive landscape.
But I will say that having worked in senior leadership positions at all three companies, 99% of the people I worked with would opt, when forced to make the customer/company trade off, to give one more unit of value to the customer vs one more unit of value to the bottom line and see if they can get away with it.
My two cents.
I appreciate you drawing attention to the challenge these companies have. 🙏
James, thank you very much for this. I appreciate your courage in leaving a comment that disagrees with my thesis and the kind, thoughtful, and insightful manner in which you responded. We cannot learn or expand our minds if we do not interact with new ideas and perspectives, so thank you.
Like most things in life, I think this issue is one that exists on a spectrum. You are right. I too am probably right. But how right either one of is in any given scenario depends on the company, product, and people behind it.
Companies have a duty to maximize shareholder value. Have lines been crossed in trying to achieve this aim? Absolutely. But often, those line crossers are caught and dealt with accordingly, such as in the Enron accounting scandal (though I suppose this does not pertain to CPG).
However, I don't think you have to look far to find morally questionable practices. The equivalent of advertising cigarettes (which is now illegal), if you will. Is it moral to advertise Coca Cola? Is it ethical to plaster "No artificial flavors or coloring!" on a box of Froot Loops in an effort, presumably, to make it look healthier? Is it okay to use colorful packaging and anthropomorphized animals as mascots to encourage kids to beg their parents for sugary cereals?
We live in a free market. So if a free company wants to do those things (so long as they are within their legal bounds) and a free adult wants to purchase them, they are allowed to do so. But I don't think that makes it any more right.
Alas, it is up to us to vote with our feet when it comes to what we deem as acceptable. If we keep buying, companies will keep making. If they sub out olive oil for palm oil while raising the price and we buy it anyway, they will produce and market more.
My hope is that by bringing more awareness to this, we make enlightened decisions around what we are consuming and are not fooled or blissfully ignorant.
But to your point, most people are good and do work they perceive to be good while toeing the line of profit and customer value. And it would be unrealistically pessimistic to think otherwise.
Thank you reading, James, and for your comment which has forced me to think and expand on my original essay.
Jack - such a great reply. And thank you for catalyzing my thinking too. I think back to the mortgage crisis in 2008/2009. It all started in the early 2000's when one or two companies started using adjustable rate mortgages with initial "teaser rates" that started unrealistically low and adjusted upward over time. And then the combined those low rates with lax underwriting standards. Why? Not to provide value (my premise) but to line the pockets of the company (Countrywide Mortgage, Washington Mutual) - with questionable practices (your premise). Because these time bombs wouldn't detonate until 5+ years later, other mortgage underwriters were being left behind so they all started to follow suit. (The only one who didn't was JP Morgan Chase - Jamie Dimon). A few small players at a few of the smaller companies, with an irresistible value proposition to borrowers forced others to play the same game, and those bad seeds about brought down the whole system.
So your point is well taken; it is about awareness so that we can consciously choose with our feet and with our dollars by sending micro signals to the system with our choices. Hopefully, through that process, more of us will not buy Fruit Loops and Coca-Cola, or products with the wrong type of oil, and buy the right type of products instead.
Again, Jack, thank you for helping me see the flip side of things - admittedly, my awareness is not up to where it should be.
I look forward to your next post!
AG1 has to be one of the biggest crocks there is. Loved that you find yourself doubting it.
100% agree, Jeremy. But they have done such a good job marketing it with "reputable" people (Joe Rogan, Attia, Huberman, Tim Ferriss, and the list goes on) who put it on a pedestal. It's just a damn multivitamin at the end of the day, as Rhonda Patrick recently called out.
Go for a lift and run, eat some vegetables. I don't think any supplement, though they have their place, are the real "dial movers" in comparison to exercise, sleep, and diet (the last of which is much more about what you DON'T eat than what you DO eat).
Appreciate you reading and commenting pal.
I appreciate your use of quotes around “reputable”. :)
You might want to check out laundry detergent sheets. Less plastic I’m an advocate for that.
Joan, thank you for reading and for this suggestion. I will absolutely look into those! They sound like a great, more sustainable alternative.
This is good. Blindly following directions can certainly lead to excessive consumption.
Thanks so much for reading and commenting, John. I completely agree with you.
Asking questions where I have never asked them before has led to a series of revelations for me. If I only knew all of the blind spots my ignorance continues to shield me from...