How grocery shopping has changed.
Just three year ago you had two options:
Option 1: Book in a clunky supermarket delivery.
Option 2 (God forbid): Walk to the shop.
But those dark days are behind us.
Now?
They’re “At your door in minutes!”
What a time to be alive.
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Mania
15 minute groceries.
That’s what constitutes progress these days.
I get the appeal:
It’s convenient.
You could either walk all the way to shop, or to the front door.
An easy choice for many.
In 2021 alone VCs invested over $4bn in 15 minute delivery startups.
The whole of the mental health space came in at $3.1bn.
Wild.
Faster, easier, less friction. That’s what we’re after.
But is it really progress? Are we better off for Gorillas & Getir? I’m not so sure.
Theory and Practice
Let’s take a look at what progress actually means:
“…movement towards a destination.”
There in lies the question: What destination are we steering for?
We think convenience makes us happy. It gives us more time to live.
In theory, sure.
But in practice? Absolutely not.
Convenience leads to a mindless existence. We no longer need to think. Our days are spent switching between screens.
15 minutes groceries is an easy target but this problem isn’t new.
We can go right back to farming to see the damage of “progress”.
Author Yuval Noah Harari argues the dawning of farming is the worst thing that’s ever happened to us. The end of human happiness. He makes a compelling case.
Pre-farming we lived a life of hunting and gathering. We spent the days active, ate a huge variety of good food, and had plenty of time to play.
With farming we become slaves to tending the field. Our health and happiness deteriorated.
Fast forward to the iPhone, internet, and even the written word. Cases can be made against each.
But some break the rule.
Some make progress towards a happier, healthier society.
Genius
A wonderful example is Oddbox.
On the surface a surprise contender. You may think I’ve lost the plot. But bare with.
Oddbox is simple: Boxes of wonky fruit & veg.
But the positive implications are remarkable:
Reduces waste - they take produce that would be thrown out. Good for the planet.
Gets you eating more fruit & veg - the food we’re designed to eat. Good for us.
Simplifies the supply chain - from the farm, to be boxed, to your door. More good for the planet.
Oddbox doesn’t represent a technological breakthrough. But in my eyes it’s real progress. Progress towards a happier, healthier society. There’s genius in the simplicity.
The key then is the destination.
Only once we’re clear on that can we measure progress.
As Lewis Carroll once said:
If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
As to where that destination is? That’s up to us each to decide.
Over to you.
My Week in Books📚
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Such a wonderful book. Gripping to the very end. The last page or so is quite something. Beautifully written.
The Dealmaker by Guy Hands
A remarkably frank autobiography. I can imagine Hands is a controversial character to many. But it’s very enjoyable read. And I learnt a lot about the thrilling world of private equity.
I’ll be updating the books I’ve read this year here. Any recommendations? Let me know! See 2021’s books here.
A Final Thought 💡
“Progress means getting nearer to the place you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer.”
- C.S. Lewis