TBOY Newsletter · Wednesday, July 29, 2026

Best-kept secret in business history? KFC’s fried chicken recipe: 11 herbs & spices, yes. But which herbs & spices, and what amount, and what order? Well, the original KFC HQ in Kentucky is up for auction — including the Colonel’s journal… with the OG recipe. Other top trade secret in biz:

• Coca-Cola's soda recipe, secret since 1886 (which had cocaine until 1903)

• WD-40’s formula is only known to 1 living employee

• Chanel No. 5’s 80 fragrant ingredients are locked in a vault in France

• TikTok’s algorithm (Zuck would pay anything for)

Reply with others we missed. Now let’s hit those 3 fantastic stories…

Alix Earle and Kai Cenat can still move product, but the smartest ad dollars in America are chasing accounts with hundreds or thousands of followers, not millions. SoulCycle, Abercrombie, and Target are shifting marketing budget toward “Min-fluencers” — people with under 20k.

• Hero stat: 45% of US influencer marketing will go toward people with <20k followers in 2026, up from 19% in 2021 (Emarketer).

The math explains the Minfluencers… Their posts get a 3.2% engagement rate on average, compared to 1.1% for the mega accounts. And since algorithms show you content from creators you don’t follow, follower count matters less these days. Karen’s post is just as likely to be seen as Kim K’s. Here’s the rev stream of a typical minfluencer:

• 20% = Direct brand deals: your classic “check-out-this-chapstick” promo vid

• 10% = TikTok / Meta creator program: So you don’t ditch ‘em for YouTube, which gives creators a share of ad revenue

• The Vast Majority = Amazon’s Influencer Program: Post about an Air Fryer, make $ if people click your unique link to buy it

Straight outta the Lexus playbook… Apple just launched its “Apple Upgrade,” The 1st-ever iPhone lease. Starting at $18/mo and no money down, you can get an iPhone after a soft credit check. Same price as Netflix… or a Sweetgreen salad.

This is an Android-killer. 70% of the world owns Android-powered smartphones because they’re cheaper. But an $18/mo iPhone 17e? Competitive with the cheapest Samsung, Motorrola, or Pixel. Apple's financing partner, Klarna, tells you who they're targeting: the same BNPL crowd that made Klarna Gen Z's Amex.

Spider-Man: 9 premieres Thursday, but its trailer already made history: 719M views in the 1st 24 hours. But the record isn't really about Spider-Man. Gen X had Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie (Brangelina). Millennials have Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce (Swelce). Gen Z has Tom Holland & Zendaya (TomDaya):

• The Odyssey & Spider-Man: Brand New Day — both co-starring Tom & Zendaya — both on pace for $1B at the box office.

• In December, Dune Part 3 hits theaters starring Zendaya, while Tom will likely cameo in Avengers: Doomsday.

Buuuut, most fascinating to us is how Tom & Zendaya have pursued different biz models:

• Tom is New School Hollywood: Entrepreneurial — His non-alc beer brand Bero is doing $30M in rev & $100M valuation (Bero sponsored our TBOY Live Show in LA last month. It’s delish.)

• Zendaya is Old School Hollywood: We counted 15 brand deals across 11 industries. On Running’s sneaker sales surge was credited to “The Zendaya Effect”.