🐦 The big business of bird food

PLUS: Uber is back. March 8, 2022 [The Hustle] A Georgia man was sentenced Monday to 3 years in prison after using covid relief money to buy a rare Charizard Pokémon card for $57,789. The lesson: don’t throw out your Pokémon cards. In today’s email: - Bird food: It’s a $6B biz, but is it good for birds? - Chart: Uber returned from the dead. What’s next? - Fail: People spent $70m on some very underwhelming NFTs. - Around the web: Time on Mars, top inventions, perpetual soup, and more cool internet finds. 🎧 On the go? [Listen to today’s 10-minute podcast]( to hear about McDonald’s awkward Russia problem, The Batman, a 10-year-old who sold $200m in merch, and more. The big idea [chicken gif]( Zachary Crockett Bird food is a billion dollar industry — but is it good for birds? If you happened to pick up bird-watching as a hobby in the last couple years, you’re not alone. The National Audubon Society reported record app sign-ins in 2020, with numbers continuing to rise in 2021. Per [Scientific American](, growing interest in birds has sparked a bird food boom — which may not be a good thing. Bird food is big business In 2018, bird food was already a $5B-$6B industry globally ($4B in the US). As bird-watching [exploded]( in 2020, sales for bird food followed: - Audubon reported increased demand for its bird feeder and food licensing programs - Some store owners reported YoY sales increases up to 50% So what’s the problem? Putting out bird seed (AKA supplemental feeding) is often pitched to consumers as a way to get closer to nature and engage with our flying friends. The ironic part? Birds don’t need it. A recent study suggests putting out bird food can actually have negative consequences, including: - Disease transmission: Bird feeders have been linked to salmonella and trichomoniasis outbreaks. - Reshaped ecosystems: Species that don’t like feeder food have been crowded out by species that do. - New predators: Bird seed attracts rodents and other critters, which can result in those same animals stalking out bird nests. So what’s the answer? Since no 2 environments are the same, there may not be a perfect one. Compounding the uncertainty, conservation organizations like Audubon sell bird feeders and partner closely with retailers, which has led to limited inquiry into the issue from the birding community. That said, some experts claim gardening or introducing natural resources like a well-maintained bird bath are better for the local avian population than adding unnatural food to the ecosystem. (P.S. Check out this insane [ninja obstacle course](… built to keep squirrels away from bird feeders.) [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Bird+food+is+a+billion+dollar+industry+%E2%80%94+but+is+it+good+for+birds%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03082022-bird-food%3Futm_campaign%3DBird%2Bfood%26utm_content%3D03082022-bird-food%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS Super-opening: The Batman [brought in]( $134m at the domestic box office, the 2nd-largest pandemic-era opening weekend after Spider-Man: No Way Home. Big furloughs: Buyk, a Russian-backed instant delivery startup, [furloughed]( 98% of its employees due to sanctions against Russia. The company plans to rehire employees once it can secure funding from US sources. McDonald’s silence: While many companies have distanced themselves from Russia, McDonald’s has been [notably quiet](. The fast-food chain has 847 locations in Russia, and the region makes up 9% of its revenue. Fixing the global supply chain: The solution could be micro-factories and vertical farms. [View]( the data, insights, and related business ideas. --------------------------------------------------------------- Hey — enjoy getting quick updates on what you care about? Take [20 seconds]( to personalize your Snippets. Pick your preferences👇 and we’ll send you more of what you love. Boom. [Personalize my Email →]( Chart [Uber chart]( Singdhi Sokpo Uber returned from the dead. What’s next? It wasn’t long ago that the end appeared nigh for Uber. At points in 2020, rides were down [80%]( and the company let go of a ~¼ of its staff. Nearly 2 years later, Uber said February’s trips reached [90%]( of pre-pandemic levels and the company raised the roof on earnings expectations. So what’s next? Continue becoming a super app, of course. Last week, Uber [debuted]( its Explore tab, which helps users discover places to eat and things to do, and book ’em directly in the app. Expect more and more discovery, booking, and logistics to happen under Uber’s hood in the future. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Uber+returned+from+the+dead.+What%E2%80%99s+next%3F%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03082022-Uber%3Futm_campaign%3DBird%2Bfood%26utm_content%3D03082022-Uber%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Oh no [Pixelmon NFT]( Expectation vs. whatever the heck Kevin is (Source: Pixelmon) Buyer’s remorse: Unexpectedly ugly $9k+ NFTs Remember when people hated on [Sonic with teeth](? Well, wait till you get a load of Pixelmon. [Pixelmon]( is supposedly an open-world game in which players train and battle Pixelmon — essentially NFT Pokémon that players can buy, sell, and trade in the metaverse. (We’ve covered similar games [here](.) Gameplay [demos]( showed scenic landscapes with swells of cinematic music, leading to a project so hyped that a collection of 10k Pixelmon was auctioned off in an hour, raising $70m, [per]( CNET. Some people paid $9k+ for a single Pixelmon, all of which looked like cartoon eggs upon purchase. Eggs “hatched” on Feb. 26, and… … Big oof The [actual art]( looked nothing like the art that had been [advertised](, so much so that some [claimed]( they’d been [rug-pulled]( — a crypto scam where someone hypes a fake token, then disappears with the money. The game’s developer, using the pseudonym Syber, [admitted]( they had goofed by revealing unready art and vowed to spend $2m to fix it. Meanwhile, the collection’s value tanked on OpenSea. As of Monday morning, the cheapest Pixelmon was ~$2.5k. “Kevin” — a Frankenstein’s monster-esque turtle that’s being widely [memed]( — is an exception. That NFT’s value hit [$2m+]( on Monday. But who is Syber? [Per]( 1News, he’s Martin van Blerk, a 20-year-old New Zealander who previously raised a $50.5k Kickstarter for a game several backers have yet to receive. But he [swears]( Pixelmon is a real game that will be just as amazing as promised upon launch. Also, no refunds. For now, please enjoy this [hilarious tweet](. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Buyer%E2%80%99s+remorse%3A+Unexpectedly+ugly+%249k%2B+NFTs%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F03082022-Syber-Pixelmon%3Futm_campaign%3DBird%2Bfood%26utm_content%3D03082022-Syber-Pixelmon%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( TRENDS $211k/mo. selling… hair rollers We signaled the booming natural hair movement back in March 2020... … Since then, the subreddit r/naturalhair has ballooned from 30k to 215k+ members. A ton of crazy things we cover follow a similar trajectory. Here are 3 niche market flares from a recent Trends newsletter: - r/naturalhair: 70% of the world rocks waves, curls, or coils. That’s why some Amazon hair rollers are [raking in $211k per month](. - Gems and bling: You may not love to bedazzle, but don’t knock it. [Stick-on gems, DIY bling kits, and rhinestones]( are truly crushing. - Cocktail pods: Think [Keurig K-Cups, but alcoholic](. Ya love it or ya hate it. We’ll just note that the caffeine counterpart hit $25B in 2020. Get access to new market gaps and niche product opportunities every week. Plus, a 17k-member network of global professionals every day. [Try the Trends trial for $1 →]( AROUND THE WEB 📈 On this day: In 1817, the New York Stock and Exchange Board was [formed](. They shortened the name in 1863. ⌛ That’s interesting: On Mars, a day lasts ~39.5 minutes longer than on Earth. So how exactly [would time work]( for us Earthlings on Mars? 💡 That’s cool: Check out Time’s picks for the [top inventions]( of 2021, including robots, toys, apps, home goods, and medical breakthroughs. 🥣 How to: Olive Garden has unlimited soup and so can you. It’s called [perpetual stew](, and the recipe dates back centuries. 🎵 Cure boredom: [Heardle]( (yes, another Wordle spinoff) challenges you to guess a song in as few seconds as possible. Meme of the day [bird feeder meme] Might as well call ‘em squirrel feeders. (Source: [Birding Outdoors]() SHARE THE HUSTLE Hey. Stop keeping us a secret. Refer just 3 people and we’ll start to send some goodies as a thank you. [My First Million ebook]( Spread the news. Help us grow 🌱 [Share The Hustle 🤠→]( Or copy this custom referral link: [ Your referral count: 0 How did you like today’s email? Today's email was brought to you by [Jacob Cohen](, [Juliet Bennett Rylah](, [Rob Litterst](. Editing by: Jennifer “Fresh pair of binoculars” Wang. [PODCAST]( [JOBS]( [CONTACT US](mailto:news@thehustle.co) [Facebook]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( [Trends]( 25 FIRST ST. 2ND FLOOR, CAMBRIDGE, MA 02141, UNITED STATES  +1 888 482 7768 Never want to hear from us again? Break our hearts and [unsubscribe](list=thehustle). [The Hustle](