Ben Gilbert: evaluation

Transcript context

…I think they’re adjusting it constantly. Interesting. I believe that. Okay. Next one I’ve got is be a recession-proof business. I thought candy was the one I was talking about, and the deeper I got into the research, I realized, nope. Pet food is one too. People don’t stop buying candy when times are bad, and they certainly don’t stop feeding their pets, especially now in this era where we consider pets part of our families. I think the data shows it. If you look back at 2008, neither of their businesses took a hit from being in that recession, and that’s an awesome business to be in if you can get it. A corollary to being recession-proof is being universal. A survey done by the Food Institute says that 98% of households buy candy every year. Of those, 97% are recurring purchases at an average of 35 times a year. Again, good, good business if you can get it. It’s just like our Starbucks episode too. Sugar is an addictive habit, so all the research, it seems like sugar is way worse for our bodies than coffee. I’m not at all worried that I’m addicted to coffee. I’m pretty worried that I am addicted to sugar. In fact, I feel pretty crappy after eating all these M&M's and Snickers. I probably ate more than a recommended amount because we’ve been sitting here for 5½ hours doing this. But that’s probably the most concerning thing about the whole business is they’re extremely participatory in the increase of sugar consumption among Americans and around the world, and that it’s very good for their business, at least their original core business, if we eat more sugar. I can see why they’re diversifying away from those core franchises. Into Kind and Kellanova, et cetera.…

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