The Sunday Digest 026

Erewhon and alone time.

Jul 10, 2022

Welcome to The Sunday Digest — a free Sunday newsletter featuring long (and some short) reads, original columns, things I’ve saved over the last week, relaxing playlists, episodes releases, exclusive product drops, and more. Yes, you can reply to this email. I’d love to hear from you. Or, if podcasts are more your speed on Sundays, we’ve got that too.

Sunday Read: Why You Should Give Your Partner the Gift of Time Apart

by Jancee Dunn for The New York Times

Alone time is more important than people give it credit for. While I did my best to explain my perspective on it during a recent episode of The Sunday Scaries Podcast, there are simply too many benefits to explain in a concise manner.

This week’s Sunday Read dives further into this topic but with a focus on giving the gift of alone time to your partner. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Free time may look different to introverts and extroverts. A person who’s introverted, suggested Susan Cain, author of “Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking,” might need more alone time because it helps them to recharge their batteries. “In general, introverts require a lot less stimulation than extroverts do to be in their ‘sweet spot,’” she said. “The poet Byron apparently said, ‘I only go out to get me a fresh appetite for being alone.’ Many introverts know just what he means.”
Free time for an extrovert, she said, often means time to catch up with friends or go out and about: “Free time for an introvert often looks a lot cozier and involves fewer people — or no people. Of course, these are broad patterns, and especially after the pandemic, plenty of introverts are also craving company.”

Read in full here.

The Sunday Haiku: Liquid Breakfast

Water, Gatorade,

Tall Iced Americano,

Holy Trinity.

New Episode › Retail Therapy 014: The Hamptons & Signature Scents

Tired of having to take bathroom breaks on your way to The Hamptons? Hoping to tighten the budget by making homemade perfume? Are Sambas dead? Answers to those questions and more in today's episode. We also discuss some wishlist moves, Below Deck, Winklevoss twins, and more.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and anywhere else podcasts are found.

New Episode › Non-Alcoholic Hangover Drinks, Dark & Stormys, and How Dillon Cheverere Spends His Sundays

This week's episode features a look at the glory and history of the classic Dark & Stormy cocktail, a ranking of the five best non-alcoholic drinks that your hungover body craves, and how Circling Back's Dillon Cheverere spends his ideal Sundays.

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere else podcasts are found.

Things I Saved This Week

(Yet Another) Sunday Read: How Erewhon’s Head Grocery Buyer Shops for the Future

by Aliza Abarbanel for TASTE

I know too much about Erewhon for someone who does not live in a city where Erewhon exists. It feels like every influencer I follow on Instagram gets a $16 smoothie from there pretty much daily, from Devin Brugman to Kit Keenan to Tinx.

While I can’t complain given my proximity to incredible grocery stores in Austin (Central Market > Whole Foods), Erewhon is a place where I’d love to nurse a hangover. Here’s a brief look into this Q&A:

How do you go about selecting new products?
The vendor submits product info through our website, and we ask them to send samples to go through our tasting process. Every two weeks, we taste through the products, and because each brand will send multiple flavors or products, it definitely numbers in the hundreds. We approve less than 10 percent of them. Then we go through the tasting process: whether we like the ingredients, the taste profile, the labeling. Nice packaging matters a lot at Erewhon, because I think a lot of people are shopping for the cover sometimes.
Are there any big trends in the natural foods space right now that you’d credit to Erewhon?
I think we are really on top with our house-made fresh food and fresh juices, which we sell in a reusable Mason jar and bottles. I see other retailers trying to copycat us. Our chef is constantly inventing new products and trends that attract the customers, and we collaborate with other brands for our tonic bar, for example, so that is for sure on the trendier side.