WEBVTT - Bloomberg Businessweek Weekend - May 9th, 2020 0:00:02.560 --> 0:00:06.520 This is Bloomberg Business Week from Bloomberg Radio. Hi, I'm 0:00:06.600 --> 0:00:08.920 Jason Kelly and I'm Carol Masser. Welcome to the weekend 0:00:09.000 --> 0:00:11.480 edition of Bloomberg Business Week. Over the next couple of hours, 0:00:11.480 --> 0:00:13.119 we're going to bring you some of the most important 0:00:13.160 --> 0:00:16.800 and informative coronavirus conversations we've had throughout the week on 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.680 our daily radio show. And Jason, we finished the prior 0:00:19.720 --> 0:00:22.360 week talking a lot about mixed messages and that seemed 0:00:22.360 --> 0:00:25.119 to permeate again this week in what was week eight 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:28.160 for many of us still working at home, even as 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:30.800 around the U S some states were easing restrictions and 0:00:30.800 --> 0:00:33.120 there was more talk of reopening the economy, and throughout 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:35.360 the week, Jason, I felt like it was two steps forward, 0:00:35.400 --> 0:00:38.440 one step back when it came to developing a vaccine 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:41.640 and how best to safely reopen and also protect what 0:00:41.720 --> 0:00:44.600 was left of our economy. And this as economic data 0:00:44.680 --> 0:00:48.159 continued to shatter previous readings and as more companies as 0:00:48.200 --> 0:00:51.880 we know, dropped their guidance for the year. The visibility 0:00:51.960 --> 0:00:55.560 it's just not there. Well, it was a series of 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.160 conversations I feel like as I think back across the week, 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.640 where we were sort of a two minds, this notion 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:03.640 of like what are you doing to protect? What are 0:01:03.680 --> 0:01:07.559 you doing to shelter? Remaining that conversation remaining, but also 0:01:07.600 --> 0:01:10.800 looking ahead, looking short term, looking mid term, and looking 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:13.480 long term. And that has to do with the medical side, 0:01:13.640 --> 0:01:16.400 but it certainly has to do with companies. Companies who 0:01:16.440 --> 0:01:20.080 know that they as institutions and maybe more importantly, the 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:22.440 people who work for them and the leaders that we're 0:01:22.440 --> 0:01:25.720 talking to are going to be forever changed. And the 0:01:25.760 --> 0:01:29.639 implications of that are not easy to get your head around. 0:01:29.680 --> 0:01:32.160 But we did our best over the course of the week. Absolutely, 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.680 and we know some companies and industries have been hurt disproportionately. 0:01:36.040 --> 0:01:38.880 Some have actually seen a surgeon demand, and that included 0:01:38.920 --> 0:01:42.160 Blue Apron president and CEO Linda Kozlowski. I mean, they 0:01:42.200 --> 0:01:45.479 talked about how demand they couldn't even meet it all initially, 0:01:45.520 --> 0:01:48.160 and they had to think about protecting workers, which they 0:01:48.200 --> 0:01:51.280 already do because they're in the food industry, but also 0:01:51.320 --> 0:01:55.000 how to get their kids out to consumers. First up, 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.200 though we go inside the magazine, we get a firsthand 0:01:57.200 --> 0:02:00.320 look at testing for the virus. This has been a 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:03.200 massive question. It's on all of our minds. You can 0:02:03.240 --> 0:02:06.040 write about it in the abstract. But Bloomberg News writer 0:02:06.080 --> 0:02:11.120 Stephanie Baker she had for antibody tests herself, and unfortunately 0:02:11.320 --> 0:02:14.120 she's still not sure if she had COVID nineteen. You know, 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.440 I did this because I realized that I, like many 0:02:17.520 --> 0:02:20.960 other people, had, was wondering whether or not I might 0:02:21.000 --> 0:02:23.639 have had it UM. And I think I realized a 0:02:23.720 --> 0:02:27.160 lot of other people were in a similar situation. And 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.960 I had written about antibody testing, as you know, being 0:02:31.000 --> 0:02:34.680 trumpeted by politicians as a way out of lockdown, but 0:02:35.120 --> 0:02:38.320 had talked to scientists who had criticized these antibody tests 0:02:38.320 --> 0:02:40.359 as being unreliable. So I thought, well, if I throw 0:02:40.440 --> 0:02:43.760 myself into this world, UM and really do some research 0:02:43.840 --> 0:02:46.000 and test it on myself, I'll get to the bottom 0:02:46.080 --> 0:02:51.399 of of you know, how reliably reliable these tests are. UM. 0:02:51.440 --> 0:02:53.359 And you know, I thought, well, maybe it will be 0:02:53.400 --> 0:02:55.760 really boring and I'll just get you know, a bunch 0:02:55.760 --> 0:03:01.280 of negative results that the earlier story and then UM. 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.400 And then so when when I started out, I got 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:07.080 a negative test, and I thought, just what's going to happen. 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:08.520 I'm just going to get a bunch of negatives and 0:03:08.520 --> 0:03:11.359 I won't have a story or much to say. Um, 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.120 And then the next test was positive, and I was 0:03:14.160 --> 0:03:18.200 really confounded. The third test was also positive, so I figured, well, 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.480 two out of three, you know, the first test must 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:24.680 be an outlier. By the time I took the fourth test, 0:03:24.800 --> 0:03:28.320 which was negative, I thought, well, two positives too, negatives, 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:30.960 I have no clue whether or not I've had it. 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.359 And then I started and you have a story, definitely 0:03:34.400 --> 0:03:36.960 have a story. That have a story. I started to 0:03:37.000 --> 0:03:39.200 take a closer look at these tests. Why would I 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:42.440 be getting, you know, differing results. You know, there's obviously 0:03:42.480 --> 0:03:46.560 a lot of these companies are claiming incredibly high almost 0:03:46.560 --> 0:03:51.160 perfect specificity, very high sensitivity rates. But what I realized 0:03:51.200 --> 0:03:54.280 is that some of them are testing different antibodies to 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.440 different parts of the virus. Some tests just for antibodies 0:03:57.440 --> 0:03:59.640 against the so called spike protein, which is a sort 0:03:59.680 --> 0:04:03.160 of call in card of this novel coronavirus. Others test 0:04:03.280 --> 0:04:08.000 for antibodies against something called the nucleo capsid protein, which 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:11.160 are far more abundant and easier to detect. Some tests 0:04:11.240 --> 0:04:13.360 for both, and I think that's one of the reasons 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:16.080 why they're I got so many varying results. Oh my god, 0:04:16.200 --> 0:04:19.200 so many questions. Because what's key about this, right Stephanie, 0:04:19.279 --> 0:04:21.719 is that so many world leaders, and you write this 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.880 in your story, have said that we need these antibody 0:04:24.920 --> 0:04:28.160 tests to determine who has had the virus, who has immunity, 0:04:28.240 --> 0:04:30.440 so we can reopen up the economies and so everybody 0:04:30.480 --> 0:04:32.320 can feel safe. But what I got from your story 0:04:32.440 --> 0:04:34.679 is that there are tons of different types of tests 0:04:34.800 --> 0:04:37.920 out there, and there are some differences between what's done 0:04:37.920 --> 0:04:39.760 in a lab versus what you can do kind of 0:04:39.800 --> 0:04:42.320 a rapid test. And the problem is there's a lot 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:44.920 of variation, right, So I feel like there's not a 0:04:44.960 --> 0:04:48.960 lot of certainty that comes out of these antibody tests. Yeah. Absolutely, 0:04:49.080 --> 0:04:50.840 And and look, you know, one of the things I 0:04:50.839 --> 0:04:52.920 should say at this, at the start here is that 0:04:53.000 --> 0:04:56.480 scientists don't know if you have antibodies how much protection 0:04:56.520 --> 0:05:00.279 they actually provide. You know, many people, many scientists that 0:05:00.440 --> 0:05:03.400 it will give you at least a few months of protection, 0:05:03.560 --> 0:05:07.679 perhaps several years. But the virus has only been around, um, 0:05:07.720 --> 0:05:11.520 you know that we're aware of since January. Still still 0:05:11.560 --> 0:05:14.080 so much to learn, UM, And it's hard to see 0:05:14.160 --> 0:05:17.680 to study how long immunity laughs, and and and what 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:22.240 level of antibodies really provides you any protection. But my 0:05:22.560 --> 0:05:26.680 takeaway from this very unscientific little experiment I did was 0:05:26.720 --> 0:05:29.279 that these tests, by and large are not ready for 0:05:29.360 --> 0:05:34.320 prime time. And UM, I'm surprised at the overwhelming number 0:05:34.320 --> 0:05:38.360 of messages I got from friends and contacts and Bloomberg 0:05:38.440 --> 0:05:43.279 users saying, UM, I got a test, is it correct 0:05:43.960 --> 0:05:46.359 or I'm going to get a test and what do 0:05:46.400 --> 0:05:49.320 you think? Um? And you know other people who like 0:05:49.400 --> 0:05:51.120 who said, well, I took two tests and I had 0:05:51.120 --> 0:05:55.680 a similar experience to you. I got conflicting results. So UM, 0:05:55.720 --> 0:05:57.720 I've surprised at how much this story is kind of 0:05:57.800 --> 0:06:01.839 captured what is on so many people minds right now. Um, 0:06:01.839 --> 0:06:03.240 and I think there needs to be a lot more 0:06:03.400 --> 0:06:08.800 research into antibodies and how to detect them before we 0:06:08.839 --> 0:06:11.440 can think about rolling this out on a wider scale. 0:06:11.640 --> 0:06:14.520 And that's Bloomberg News is Stephanie Baker normally on the 0:06:14.560 --> 0:06:18.400 financial investigations Beach. She's done some amazing work around Paul 0:06:18.480 --> 0:06:23.320 mana Fort, the Ukraine and Russia angle to everything going 0:06:23.320 --> 0:06:25.640 on here in the United States. But this was a 0:06:25.720 --> 0:06:28.640 very personal story. Carol. Yeah, and you know, it's interesting, Jason. 0:06:28.720 --> 0:06:30.720 I mean, she really hits something with all of us. 0:06:30.720 --> 0:06:35.240 We've all had those conversations with friends, neighbors, ourselves about 0:06:35.279 --> 0:06:37.800 I think we had the virus. And you know, what 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:39.640 we're finding out is that there are so many questions 0:06:39.640 --> 0:06:43.279 about the accuracy of these rapid antibody tests on the market. 0:06:43.279 --> 0:06:46.640 But you know, we need these to reopen the economy, 0:06:46.720 --> 0:06:48.360 and yet which she found out, there's a lot of 0:06:48.680 --> 0:06:52.040 false results and it really raises a lot of questions 0:06:52.080 --> 0:06:55.479 about how do we reopen safely? Well, it is the 0:06:55.600 --> 0:06:57.839 big question, and it's one of the questions that we 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:01.120 posted the President and CEO of Providence Health. He had 0:07:01.200 --> 0:07:04.080 a stark reality check for sure. That's coming up here 0:07:04.080 --> 0:07:12.240 on Bloomberg Business Week. This is Bloomberg Pas is Bloomberg 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:16.480 Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. 0:07:17.320 --> 0:07:18.920 Today we're bringing you some of the most important and 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:21.800 informative conversations we had on our daily Bloomberg Business Week 0:07:21.920 --> 0:07:25.160 radio show, all about the coronavirus, all about the state 0:07:25.200 --> 0:07:27.440 of the world, the state of our lives. Carol, and 0:07:28.400 --> 0:07:30.800 this is a medical crisis at its core. Yeah, and 0:07:30.840 --> 0:07:32.520 I've got to say, one of our go to voices 0:07:32.560 --> 0:07:34.800 certainly has been this next guest. They were home to 0:07:34.840 --> 0:07:36.840 the first known case of the virus in the United States. 0:07:36.960 --> 0:07:39.680 Dr Rod Hochman. He's the president CEO of Providence Health 0:07:40.200 --> 0:07:43.360 and you know, they really have been dealing with this 0:07:43.440 --> 0:07:45.680 from day one, and it was great to get his 0:07:45.760 --> 0:07:49.200 thoughts about again the path forward and again we're finding 0:07:49.440 --> 0:07:52.160 it's difficult. I think it starts out with, you know, 0:07:52.200 --> 0:07:55.360 we're going to get better at treating this virus. So 0:07:55.480 --> 0:07:58.800 you saw with from Visivier now being approved and you 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:00.680 know we are first page it that we had in 0:08:00.720 --> 0:08:04.000 the United States. We actually treated with m jusiver three 0:08:04.240 --> 0:08:06.800 months ago. And what we're going to see are some 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:09.320 other medications that are going to be added to that 0:08:09.640 --> 0:08:12.520 in kind of a cocktail to see if we can 0:08:12.600 --> 0:08:16.600 really improve patients that get sick and hopefully prevent death. 0:08:16.720 --> 0:08:19.600 So that's one thing that I think the public can 0:08:19.760 --> 0:08:22.720 start to say, well, that's a good tranche of research 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:25.360 and work that's going on. On the other side of 0:08:25.360 --> 0:08:28.360 it is the race for the vaccine, where you know, 0:08:28.400 --> 0:08:32.600 there's probably more than fifteen trials that are ongoing, which 0:08:32.640 --> 0:08:35.720 is fantastic, and we have a lot of cooperation going 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:38.440 on between the scientists with the different trials out there, 0:08:38.520 --> 0:08:41.439 and to kind of explain it to listeners, it's it's 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:45.080 picking different parts of the virus and seeing which one 0:08:45.320 --> 0:08:49.079 of those parts is gonna give you immunity. And so 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:51.480 that's in simple terms, you know, why would there be 0:08:51.559 --> 0:08:55.120 fifteen different trials because they're also all looking at different 0:08:55.160 --> 0:08:58.520 aspects of the virus to see which one seemed to 0:08:58.559 --> 0:09:01.480 be as I would say, the most immunogenic and the 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:05.480 ones that can confer immunity. So and then there's an 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:08.480 issue of whether you use DNA or RNA, which from 0:09:08.520 --> 0:09:14.200 your biology from high school has all different consequences. There 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:18.040 are some companies that are looking for a faster turnaround 0:09:18.040 --> 0:09:23.120 on their vaccine. Uh, we're still we're cautiously hopeful about that, 0:09:23.679 --> 0:09:26.480 but you know that remains to be seen, you know, 0:09:26.600 --> 0:09:30.960 so that the most optimistic estimates are sometime in the 0:09:31.080 --> 0:09:34.320 late hall towards the end of the year, and the 0:09:34.400 --> 0:09:37.880 most realistic are probably in the first quarter of next year. 0:09:38.640 --> 0:09:43.080 UM for a vaccine, that's what that's what most of 0:09:43.160 --> 0:09:45.520 us are looking at in the in the clinical and 0:09:45.520 --> 0:09:49.880 scientific community. And so Dr Hakman, as you look across 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:52.760 the country and and you drawing the experience that you've 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:56.520 had there in Washington State. You see this sort of 0:09:56.640 --> 0:10:00.319 checkerboard that we keep describing different states, sort of coming 0:10:00.400 --> 0:10:02.960 back at different times. But part of that is a 0:10:03.000 --> 0:10:07.000 response to how the virus has played out in different geographies, 0:10:07.160 --> 0:10:11.560 different urban areas versus suburban versus rural. What makes the 0:10:11.640 --> 0:10:15.400 most sense in terms of the medical side and in 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:18.760 terms of what we should be doing before we have 0:10:19.320 --> 0:10:23.080 a vaccine? What what makes the most sense? Yeah, I 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:26.880 just talked to the Business Roundtable on Friday. We're trying 0:10:26.920 --> 0:10:29.160 to make some sense for the cdeos around the country 0:10:29.160 --> 0:10:32.199 about what they should do. And it's all very very 0:10:32.240 --> 0:10:37.200 dependent upon your geography and your density. So when I 0:10:37.280 --> 0:10:41.280 think about, you know, giving advice to different organizations companies, 0:10:41.280 --> 0:10:43.440 the first question I asked, are where are you in 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.400 the country, because it will make a different depending on 0:10:46.480 --> 0:10:49.240 where those states and localities are on the curve of 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.440 number of cases. And then the second thing that's really 0:10:52.440 --> 0:10:56.360 important is the density of the work environment. So are 0:10:56.400 --> 0:10:59.840 you able to spread people out? Can you spread customers out? 0:11:00.000 --> 0:11:02.640 And you do some of that which will help really 0:11:02.679 --> 0:11:06.360 really decrease risk and exposure. So it's almost you almost 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:08.560 have to go through a checklist of the things that 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:11.520 you do in your business or where you are to 0:11:11.679 --> 0:11:14.120 kind of understand what the best practices are, and some 0:11:14.240 --> 0:11:17.000 of us are. We're actually putting together kind of some 0:11:17.080 --> 0:11:19.720 of those guidelines so that these are the things that 0:11:19.800 --> 0:11:21.880 you look for and these are the things that will 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.600 decrease your risk significantly. And then a little bit of 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.800 this is gonna be we gotta see what happens in 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:31.920 the country. We're gonna learn a lot. Certain places will 0:11:31.920 --> 0:11:35.000 teach us a lot in our in our environment. Alaska's 0:11:35.040 --> 0:11:38.640 wide open and open for business. Um, you know, again 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:40.800 not a lot of density, but we're also going to 0:11:40.920 --> 0:11:43.520 learn a lot by doing that. What are the things 0:11:43.559 --> 0:11:46.000 that we have to look out for? What about something 0:11:46.040 --> 0:11:48.800 like mass transportation in a city like New York, how 0:11:48.800 --> 0:11:52.600 do you see that moving forward? Wow, that is a 0:11:52.760 --> 0:11:56.320 tough one. That is a really really hard one to 0:11:56.440 --> 0:12:00.600 think about, because those are the situations where you know, 0:12:00.640 --> 0:12:03.280 if you ask me as a physician, that worry us 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.880 the most. When you've got a crowded subway car that 0:12:05.920 --> 0:12:10.400 has few hundred people in it in close proximity, how 0:12:10.400 --> 0:12:12.600 do you do that? And I don't know whether it's 0:12:12.640 --> 0:12:17.000 going to take limiting some of that transportation. Obviously everyone 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.640 wearing a mask, because there's no question that if everyone 0:12:20.720 --> 0:12:25.400 wore a mask, it will decrease significantly the transmission rate 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:28.959 of this virus, even if they're not masks that people 0:12:29.040 --> 0:12:31.920 have on. So some of that, and then you know, 0:12:32.360 --> 0:12:35.760 you know, not touching anything. If I got on a subway, 0:12:35.760 --> 0:12:37.520 as soon as I got off, I'd be you know, 0:12:37.600 --> 0:12:40.440 washing my hands, doing all those kinds of things. So 0:12:40.520 --> 0:12:42.600 I think we're going to have to make some accommodation 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:46.880 and probably limiting you know, we can't have a packed 0:12:46.880 --> 0:12:49.640 subway car. So are there ways that we kind of 0:12:49.640 --> 0:12:51.920 limit the number of people. But those are going to 0:12:52.000 --> 0:12:53.319 be some of the tough ones that we're going to 0:12:53.400 --> 0:12:56.040 have to solve. That's Dr Rod Hawkman. He's the President 0:12:56.120 --> 0:12:59.000 CEO of Providence Health. As we've been reminding everybody home 0:12:59.040 --> 0:13:01.240 to the first known case of the virus in the US, 0:13:01.640 --> 0:13:04.640 you know, getting a vaccine, that's what the conversations are 0:13:04.679 --> 0:13:07.040 all about. But as he reminds us, this virus, we 0:13:07.080 --> 0:13:09.719 are still learning so much about it, and so that 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:12.880 complicates getting a vaccine. Well, the other thing that I 0:13:12.920 --> 0:13:15.120 really took away from his conversation. I felt like it 0:13:15.360 --> 0:13:19.480 for many conversations we had subsequently, was this notion that 0:13:19.880 --> 0:13:24.160 how you come back depends on density and geography. Density 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:26.120 and geography. I feel like I want to like write 0:13:26.120 --> 0:13:28.800 it down on everything that I talked about when it 0:13:28.840 --> 0:13:31.560 relates to the comeback. Remember, we asked him about how 0:13:31.559 --> 0:13:33.680 do you open up mass transportation in New York City 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:35.800 and he goes, well, that's a tough one. Yeah. I 0:13:35.880 --> 0:13:39.880 felt like that out. I felt like he actually said, 0:13:40.760 --> 0:13:42.760 brought that up, and uh, for those of us who 0:13:42.800 --> 0:13:44.640 live in the Tri state area and commute to New 0:13:44.720 --> 0:13:47.679 York City, that's a tough answer. Yeah, exactly. All Right, 0:13:47.679 --> 0:13:50.400 you're listening to Bloomberg Business Week coming up conversation with 0:13:50.440 --> 0:13:53.959 Blue Apron President and CEO Linda Kozlowski. I'm keeping workers 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:56.880 safe and keeping up with the surge in demand. This 0:13:56.920 --> 0:14:07.080 is Whoomer. This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser 0:14:07.200 --> 0:14:10.560 and Jason Kelly from Bloomberg Radio. We're bringing you some 0:14:10.600 --> 0:14:13.360 of the most important and informative conversations we had throughout 0:14:13.440 --> 0:14:15.439 the week on our daily radio show, and of course, Jason, 0:14:15.480 --> 0:14:17.760 all of it had to do about the coronavirus, and 0:14:17.800 --> 0:14:20.520 it also tapped into those companies who have had to 0:14:20.720 --> 0:14:23.480 ramp up their businesses to meet increased demand for all 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.760 of us sheltering at home. Well, we know life has changed, 0:14:26.760 --> 0:14:30.800 our daily routines have changed, how we eat certainly has changed, 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:33.520 and what we eat. We spoke with Linda Kauzlowski. She's 0:14:33.520 --> 0:14:36.320 got a fascinating background. She was a high level executive 0:14:36.360 --> 0:14:39.440 at Etsy, she worked at ever Note, she's the relatively 0:14:39.440 --> 0:14:42.920 new president and CEO over at Blue Apron. That's been 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:47.480 a challenging company. But this virus has put things in 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:50.000 a slightly different perspective. Well, I think there are sort 0:14:50.000 --> 0:14:51.960 of two main ways that we had to think about 0:14:52.000 --> 0:14:56.080 operating slightly differently. One is when it comes to how 0:14:56.120 --> 0:14:59.520 we actually handled the demand. Obviously, there was a very 0:14:59.560 --> 0:15:03.760 sharp increase in demand when um when coronavirus orders started 0:15:03.800 --> 0:15:05.360 to go into play, as far as people going to 0:15:05.400 --> 0:15:09.000 shelter in place, et cetera, and restaurant closures, and so 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:10.640 we had to make a few decisions on how to 0:15:10.680 --> 0:15:13.160 streamline operations in order to try to make sure that 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:15.640 we could get as many boxes out to people as possible. 0:15:16.120 --> 0:15:18.960 And we did that through consolidating some of UM, the 0:15:19.040 --> 0:15:22.120 recipes and UM and looking at ways that we could 0:15:22.120 --> 0:15:25.000 just simplify the pack lines and and UM and and 0:15:25.040 --> 0:15:28.560 reduce complexity. Then the other aspect of it was really 0:15:28.560 --> 0:15:32.560 about the safety peace. UM. We're already very, very obsessed 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.280 with safety and sanitation. We're an FDA regulated center. We 0:15:36.320 --> 0:15:38.800 have an SQF certification, which is considered to be one 0:15:38.800 --> 0:15:41.000 of the highest standards in the world, and so we 0:15:41.040 --> 0:15:43.040 already take a lot of precautions on a day to 0:15:43.080 --> 0:15:46.560 day basis, but we layered on top of that in UM, 0:15:46.640 --> 0:15:48.640 even in early March before we were starting to see 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:51.480 any kind of change in demand, to say, let's let's 0:15:51.520 --> 0:15:55.160 get some other things in place around additional handwashing, additional 0:15:55.200 --> 0:15:59.440 safety precautions, social distancing, and eventually you know, face masks 0:15:59.440 --> 0:16:02.600 and all of our facility. So we we wanted to 0:16:02.640 --> 0:16:04.800 make sure that that our employees were safe, but also 0:16:04.840 --> 0:16:06.880 that they had the tools and the understanding of how 0:16:06.920 --> 0:16:10.280 to continue to be safe throughout this time. Yeah, it's 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:11.800 kind of interesting because I think we all went through 0:16:11.800 --> 0:16:14.320 a period of like, wait, can I get outside food? 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:16.480 Is that safe for me? And I think we came 0:16:16.520 --> 0:16:19.640 to the conclusion for the most part that it was okay, 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:21.560 and I think in many ways that it was about 0:16:21.640 --> 0:16:24.800 keeping workers safe so that they didn't get the virus 0:16:25.200 --> 0:16:27.360 from kind of working next to each other. What was 0:16:27.400 --> 0:16:29.880 physically the setup? Did you have to spread everybody out 0:16:29.880 --> 0:16:32.840 in a warehouse? So it's it's thinking about the production 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:36.000 floor itself and how do you add social distancing UM 0:16:36.160 --> 0:16:39.040 in the production floor. But it's actually way beyond that, 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.440 because you have break rooms, you have the parking lot, 0:16:41.560 --> 0:16:44.680 you have UM. You know, people taking breaks from from 0:16:44.720 --> 0:16:46.840 their shifts, and you want to make sure that they 0:16:46.920 --> 0:16:50.320 understand the impact of social distancing across the board. And 0:16:50.360 --> 0:16:53.320 so we we now require masks at all times in 0:16:53.360 --> 0:16:56.280 our facilities, not just on the production floor, to make 0:16:56.280 --> 0:16:59.480 sure that people have that additional layer of protection. So 0:16:59.640 --> 0:17:02.160 we at a part of microwaves where people might heat 0:17:02.200 --> 0:17:04.240 their lunches up and and that sort of thing to 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:06.840 make sure that people did not need to to to 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:10.360 you know, come in contact with each other even off 0:17:10.400 --> 0:17:13.840 the production floor as well. And in terms of the 0:17:13.880 --> 0:17:15.879 supply chain. You know, we heard as recently as this 0:17:15.960 --> 0:17:18.359 afternoon from the President meeting there with the Governor of 0:17:18.400 --> 0:17:20.919 Iowa about you know, what's going on with meat. What 0:17:20.960 --> 0:17:24.000 are you saying, Well, we actually have very very high 0:17:24.080 --> 0:17:28.080 animal welfare standards and for our proteins, and very high 0:17:28.160 --> 0:17:31.600 quality standards for our produce, so we have a very 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:34.000 tight supply chain in order to manage that, and we 0:17:34.080 --> 0:17:36.439 do not want to compromise on those standards because one 0:17:36.480 --> 0:17:38.199 of the things we're known for is the quality of 0:17:38.200 --> 0:17:42.400 our ingredients, and our supply chain UM when it comes 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:45.200 to those types of proteins has not actually been impacted 0:17:45.480 --> 0:17:49.400 um from from those concerns that have been coming out 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:51.320 in the media. We don't We don't source from those 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:55.040 particular suppliers, and we have pretty tight control over our 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:57.800 chain to make sure that we're not only adhering to 0:17:57.800 --> 0:18:00.400 our own safety standards, but that our suppliers are adhering 0:18:00.440 --> 0:18:03.320 to those safety standards as well. So we've had fairly 0:18:03.359 --> 0:18:06.560 minimal impact on our supply chain. At the same time, 0:18:06.680 --> 0:18:09.480 we also have such a variety of recipes and flavors 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:12.879 on a weekly basis that we're constantly sourcing from different 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:15.600 people anyway, so we can move between suppliers as well 0:18:15.680 --> 0:18:18.000 as needed to ensure that the supply is safe. You know, 0:18:18.080 --> 0:18:20.879 you mentioned that you had seen a sharp increase in 0:18:21.280 --> 0:18:24.960 demand sort of that growth in demand help us understand 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:27.680 can you quantify that and is that sort of are 0:18:27.680 --> 0:18:29.760 you seeing that sort of hold as we get deeper 0:18:30.480 --> 0:18:33.399 into this stay at home world? Yeah, I think that 0:18:33.840 --> 0:18:36.280 what we said that we saw was when you compare 0:18:36.320 --> 0:18:38.400 the first three weeks of March to the first three 0:18:38.400 --> 0:18:41.119 weeks of April, we saw about a twenty seven percent 0:18:41.320 --> 0:18:44.720 lift in demand UM in those sort of early weeks, 0:18:45.080 --> 0:18:47.560 and of course that demand, we think there's more out there, 0:18:47.600 --> 0:18:49.920 and we continue to UM to try to make sure 0:18:49.920 --> 0:18:53.359 that we're serving people as best as possible. We had 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:56.399 to UM. We couldn't meet all of that demand at 0:18:56.400 --> 0:18:59.000 the beginning of the cycle, but we felt that it 0:18:59.040 --> 0:19:00.880 was important to compare or at the beginning of March 0:19:00.960 --> 0:19:03.800 to the beginning of April as opposed to looking year 0:19:03.840 --> 0:19:06.480 over year because so much other dynamics change throughout the 0:19:06.560 --> 0:19:11.320 year that are unrelated to COVID and UM And that's 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.040 really where we saw the sharp increase, and it came 0:19:13.040 --> 0:19:15.880 from a combination of our existing customers ordering a lot more, 0:19:16.280 --> 0:19:18.800 as well as customers coming back into the service that 0:19:18.840 --> 0:19:22.000 had previously canceled and brand new customers coming into the service. 0:19:22.040 --> 0:19:24.120 At the same time, and that's flue aprin CEO Linda 0:19:24.160 --> 0:19:27.879 Kazlowski really enjoyed that conversation in part because they know 0:19:27.960 --> 0:19:30.959 a lot about their consumer. This is a business that 0:19:31.040 --> 0:19:34.600 was already trying to rate itself in some ways, and 0:19:34.600 --> 0:19:36.879 they're facing something as all of us are that no 0:19:36.920 --> 0:19:39.199 one anticipated. And you talked about how you do it, 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:41.240 how do you come back? And they already are doing 0:19:41.280 --> 0:19:44.080 social distancing on the production line, on the production floor, 0:19:44.119 --> 0:19:46.479 but they also talked about even in their break rooms, right, 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:48.880 they've got to make sure all their workers are kept 0:19:48.920 --> 0:19:51.760 apart to make sure that they are staying safe. So 0:19:51.880 --> 0:19:53.480 it gives us an idea of what our life is 0:19:53.520 --> 0:19:55.960 like when we get back. You're listening to Bloomberg this week. 0:19:56.000 --> 0:19:57.760 Coming up, we hear from one of the founders of 0:19:57.840 --> 0:20:01.520 Mullis and Company, Todd Wadler. We're not talking banking, We're 0:20:01.520 --> 0:20:09.840 talking boxing. We are indeed, this is Bloomberg. This is 0:20:09.840 --> 0:20:13.720 Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Jason Kelly from 0:20:13.800 --> 0:20:16.480 Bloomberg Radio. Today we're bringing you some of the most important, 0:20:16.480 --> 0:20:19.200 we hope informative conversations Carol and I had on our 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:23.240 daily Bloomberg Business Week radio show all about the coronavirus, 0:20:23.440 --> 0:20:25.679 Where we are and where we go from here? And 0:20:25.720 --> 0:20:28.679 this was one guest that you know really well, and 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:32.000 that's Todd Wadler. Yes, he helped co found Molis and 0:20:32.040 --> 0:20:34.200 Company the investment pick. But what's interesting is what he's 0:20:34.240 --> 0:20:36.440 doing right now. He's the co founder and CEO Box 0:20:36.560 --> 0:20:39.919 Union Studio and that fitness world Jason, We've talked to 0:20:39.960 --> 0:20:41.919 a lot of folks who play into that industry. They 0:20:41.920 --> 0:20:45.080 had to pivot pretty quickly, uh, and increasingly it meant 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:47.600 going digital. First of all, let's take a step back 0:20:47.800 --> 0:20:51.560