Some of more than 8,000lbs of locally grown broccoli from a partnership between Farm to School and Healthy School Meals is served in a salad to students at Marston Middle School in San Diego.
Robert Rhinehart's LA company has bought out version 2.0 of Soylent, which comes in the bottled liquid form and can be stored up to a year. The drink fulfills 20 percent of the daily requirement of essential minerals and vitamins and has 400 calories. Reuters/Mike Blake

When CEO Robert Rhinehart figured out a formula to create the Soylent powder a couple of years ago, he was unsure whether the time and energy being spent was worth it. Now, however, he has come up with Soylent 2.0, a bottle meal replacement with a year of shelf life.

The announcement about the launch of Soylent 2.0 was made collaboratively by Soylent's CEO and the manufacturer of the product based in Los Angeles, Rosa Labs. The original powdered Soylent had all the vitamins and minerals required in a day by a healthy individual, including calcium, iodine, biotin, potassium and vitamins A, B, C, D and E. The powder was mixed in water to create a liquid meal before consumption.

Version 2.0 of Soylent contains the same vitamins and minerals, in addition to soy protein, isomaltulose and algal oil. Isomaltulose, a mixture of glucose and fructose, is a natural ingredient found in honey and sugar cane extract. The website of the drink states Soylent 2.0 does not need refrigeration and has "a smooth texture with a subtle, delicious flavor."

Soylent 2.0 is expected to be commercially available in October. However, the product can be preordered on the company's website for $29 for a dozen bottles.

The drink fulfills 20 percent of the daily requirement of essential minerals and vitamins and has 400 calories. That means, a person would need to consume five drinks a day to meet the daily nutritional requirement, about $9 per day.