Summer water cooler gossip
Banza's big glyphosate problem, Hamptons culture as a spectator sport, summer bevs to sip, start-up closures (and resources for yours)...
Alas, there is so much to talk about. I’ve been busy at work and busy enjoying my life, and now it’s all piled up without discussion. Shoot!! Today, we unload. Today, we unload!!! Before we start, here’s the anonymous Q&A submission form for a future letter— the questions so far are hyper niche and likely not interesting to this full group, let’s go broader and get spicier. Anything you want about business, gossip or life. PLEASE :)
This is a lengthy letter so click here to view it in your browser where it won’t get clipped. Don’t worry, I am not going to write about Charli XCX’s brat here— I have seen PLENTY of that and I’m good on it.
- absolutely ate with this piece about the shift to photographing objects, plates, meals, accessories and not candid photos of friends and family.
I can’t believe it’s not bigger news that Banza was found to have the highest levels of Glyphosate tested in food in a lab… this piece kind of shocked me about something I thought I was pretty aware of and made me want to be even more hyper-vigilant about glyphosate. I get a lot of shit from my boyfriend for being pretty concerned about the provenance of the food I bring into our home, which annoys me, and I think this proves he’s wrong and I should get even more focused on that— I just do not want to be eating RoundUp, clearly most of us are. And then we’re surprised that there’s a wellness industrial complex and a medical industrial complex profiting off of that? Why are we surprised?
Banza, for what it’s worth, hasn’t even commented. Palate cleanser below because the vibes are bad after this breaking chickpea pasta news.
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Phew, back to scheduled programming. The
Hamptons letter this week did a little lobster roll price recon. Even if you don’t live in NYC or binge watch Summer House, the Hamptons have become almost a spectator sport to observe— Emily’s round up hits if you have that curious twinkle in your eye. Disclaimer: I am, at present, living in a beach house on Long Island but I have never in my life been to the Hamptons!! I certainly am curious, but I also love having access to, say, a $27 lobster roll instead of the requisite $48 one…
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Quince is having a rare flash sale and the most important thing to know is that you can get Bombas quality socks for cheaper.
I’m sorry to tell you but I love watching Summer House and it’s all I care about. We are so close to getting caught up with everyone else! I can’t wait to be in the discourse after I make it to the reunion.
If you run a startup, here’s a really good round up of financing resources (non-dilutive) to explore. You can do this!
- ’s Seaside Escape moodboard is pinned. It’s so me! It’s so us! It’s so summer!
DTC vitamin brand Care/of went under. I am a little surprised, I don’t know why. If you know more embattled brands having to consider options like this, always open to intros— I am in the business of acquiring, helping find a sale, turning these around, etc.
Via
— I feel almost awkward about how Rhode is launching peptide lip treatments and phone cases and blushes that everyone can’t stop talking about and meanwhile Kylie Cosmetics is launching the exact same lip treatment and cream blush with an identical moodboard and it’s like crickets… maybe a reminder to founders/operators that it’s so hard out here in the streets, even Kylie Jenner is not always crushing. Don’t beat yourself up if your shit doesn’t always go viral!
Just as an exercise: can you tell whose marketing/product is whose? From left to right, 11, 22, 33, 44, 55, 66. I even surprised myself with some of these…Nothing is new here. We’ve seen brands do poppy and electric pink creamy blush sticks for… since as long as cream blush has existed. Selena Gomez used to hold the crown here for Rare Beauty’s cream blush— I own this still (and used to own Gucci Westman’s) and it would be insane to just go out and buy another identical one that is pretty much exactly the same but with marginally better marketing. This is exactly what many American girls will go out and do though.
All of these products look great! The creative direction is identical. I’d say Rhode’s packaging and execution (the roll out on social), and potentially their reputation for the formula of the lip peptide, is why they stuck the landing over Kylie, but honestly, the difference is so tiny here. Again, another reminder that sometimes this stuff just isn’t “fair” and doesn’t make sense— so don’t beat yourself up over every single flop if you run a business.
Now: am I on the waitlist for the lip treatment in Guava and Shortcake? Yes, yes, I am. Do I still want the Tinx x U Beauty collab I can’t ever allow myself to spend money on? Yes, yes, I do. If you’ve bought it, call me, I want to hear about it.I am working on my summer playlist.
LOVE Nicola Coughlan for Skims. (I ride for Bridgerton & Derry Girls.) I don’t even love or shop Skims, I have ethical & sustainability issues with them, but you’re living in denial if you don’t appreciate that their marketing campaigns (and Rhode’s) are to youth today what Vogue covers used to be…
A massive congratulations to my bestie Kim for selling her baby, Omsom!!!! I am so proud of her and so thrilled she stuck the landing and most of all, so excited she gets some time to unplug and lean into her next chapter.
Kim is special to me for a lot of reasons, but one of them I will share with you now is that she always had a much clout-ier business than I did and still wanted to be friends with me. (You’d be shocked by how rare this is, founders can be the snootiest assholes.) Then, when I had no business at all, and sooooo many founder “friends” stopped texting me back or checking in (many of the same ones who suddenly reappeared when my Substack popped off a year later!), Kim was still a ride or die. I don’t mean like occasional texting, I mean like she took an hour long train ride to Queens to sleep on my futon.
Needless to say, Kim is special for many, many, many reasons— but one of them is that she is boundlessly loyal and kind and sees so far beyond the things that tend to blind most people, the trappings of popularity & success. IMO, it makes her success and popularity feel even more deserved. 🤍
This horchata iced coffee (personal favorite!!) recipe from
looks awesome.I gleefully gulped down
’s latest YouTube vlog and plan to make these tomato, zucchini and lobster quesadillas on the grill as soon as I’m back from my upcoming trip to the Cape. (!!! flex!!!) I love her. She’s the Ina of our time.I had this Madre Mezcal canned cocktail in my fridge because my friends Layla & Derek kindly brought them over for a BBQ I hosted. We pulled them out for a pool party this weekend and it was my first time drinking them— mamma mia!!
So good, 5% ABV, and no sugar, which is what keeps me from drinking most of the time. I ordered a case for the summer so I can have fun too while everyone else is drinking Twisted Tea or whatever the heck boys are drinking these days.
I don’t know why but these jumbled letters perform so much better than personal essay, which is what I even built this platform writing. I think it’s because everyone’s attention span is completely eroded by social media. I don’t like that.
If you enjoyed this letter and you’re new here, here are some of the recent longer form things I’ve written that may expand your horizon beyond just a bunch of links aggregated, which, IMO, is lazy writing that adds nothing to the world:
The essential quality that makes someone successful... and, well, what if I don't have it??
The hope & possibility of summer, shell mania, summer reading, GOODBYE TIL SEPT... 🐚🦐🦪🍋🌀
The urge to create, at all costs.
And if you like me and/or my work, you can always support me by…
subscribing! duh!
sharing with a friend! duh!
working with me offline! I manage consumer brands (you may have heard me talk about Prima) for a management company and do fractional consulting (solo or with my team) to help founders operate, survive, sell, and everything in between. I’m also trying to do more business therapy, aka “executive coaching”7, because I love it. 🤍 All of the above is sliding scale. (Except for if you want us to buy your company, which is, obviously, its own process, but we do that too.)
Love you! Mean it!
Kylie.
Rhode.
Kylie.
Kylie.
Rhode.
Rhode.
damn this is so chock full of goodness my head is spinning, it was cool to see me mentioned too :) i cant believe the banza news - i also have a bf who deals with my hypervigilance around food. i did once have a doc tell me im prob not allergic to gluten but am overexposed to roundup so i buy banza to avoid that and alas...
Oh wow, I totally missed this Banza news. I generally buy a lot of their stuff and now will be… stopping immediately.