But if you do want to avoid the risk of alcohol poisoning, Ocado are offering the new black bottles at Ā£3.20 each up to a maximum of 18 until the 16th of April.
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If we find out they are spiked with alcohol I may buy some. Buckfast is getting too expensive up here now with the new minimum unit pricing for alcohol thatās just come in for Scotland.
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if all else fails, thereās always Kestrel Super (if itās still a thing)
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Always a good choice. Vegan friendly too. Not so many 9%ers around these days
for many, many reasons 
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Thanks for the explanation. I suspect that legislation and cutting down production costs are the reasons. It is just a bit disturbing if a company first praises the benefits of something and then explains that it was not beneficial some time later. Especially if it hasnāt been replaced by anything, so you canāt describe it as redundant.
they didnāt say it wasnāt beneficial - just that it wasnāt necessarily needed. Formulas are developed and refined all the time in food production - itās just that Huel are one of the few brands who version them.
you donāt have to be replaced by something to be redundant - in fact it usually mean the opposite - that something doesnāt need replacing,
Iām sorry to hear this! Can you drop us an email at team@huel.com so we can look into this for you?
Define ānecessarily neededā - enough to survive? Is that the purpose of Huel, to provide just enough energy to survive without developing hypovitaminosis? I thought their goals were higherā¦but maybe that has changed.
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Only for those on extremely restricted budgets, but thatās not their fault.
Redundant
(adjective) not or no longer needed or useful; superfluous.
(Similar) Unnecessary, not required, inessential, unessential, dispensable, surplus to requirements, too much/many, excessive
(Of words or data) able to be omitted without loss of meaning or function.
pick a lane
The very definition of a redundant ingredient. Coenzyme Q10 occurs naturally in humans and gene sequencing studies have shown that people with genetic deficiency of Q10 is as low as 0.0015% of the global population. At the same time, it has several negative drug interactions such as people who are taking blood thinning medication for example. There are >800% more people prescribed with Warfarin annually alone, than people who are Q10 deficient globally - so adding such an element would introduce a significant and unnecessary risk.
Has anyone actually tried it yet tho?
Surprised to see so few reviews/thoughts on it other than a couple on Reddit!
Doesnāt appear to have had a great reception so farā¦as you say. A whimper rather than a bang.
Well, if this thread is anything to go by. It has 696 views and 32 replies, only 3 of which you would class as being excited for the new product. Not exactly a strong reception.
I think itās the same problem as with Essential. Unattractive flavours, and some ingredients have been taken out, it is not similar enough to the BE powder.
IDF get a better reception in Gaza.
I usually try most new Huel products just so I have an objective opinion on them but with these, itās just not practical. With Fedex increasing their rates AND charging you handling fees again when you receive it (bizarre) + duty + sales tax ā buying a box ends up costing me more than double the original sales price of the item itself. I guess I will wait till my next powders or greens order and add a couple of singles to try.
I got singles of the 2 new Black RTD bottles today and have no idea what Stuart is talking about. Seems like straight up hyperbole and more indicative of Stuart being spiked with alcohol. No doubt this is trolling, because you must be mad to throw away 11 bottles of this.
Tastes delicious. Iād say itās about 80% similar to the normal vanilla RTD, with the same texture, just a little less strong flavour. The normal vanilla RTD is a bit more exciting on the tastebuds with stronger flavour and more aroma, but there is not a significant difference IMO.
Still tastes really good while amping up the protein. Would be perfect to see in gyms, supermarkets, etc. Only negative Iād say is the packaging I feel could have better explained what the difference is between the normal one and black one. If people are going to see these bottles in stores, they could get flustered with choice and not being able to quickly and clearly understand the difference, besides the 35g protein image at the bottom.
Will try the choc one tomorrow 
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To reiterate the design point ā I put Black RTD next to normal RTD and asked a family member to tell me the difference.
- They couldnāt. Instead asked if it was a winter-themed one or something
- They didnāt understand that the front part that says ā100% nutritionally complete high-protein mealā means itās higher in protein than the normal RTD and thatās what Black Edition means. This is because theyāre both high in protein anyway and it doesnāt say anywhere what the purpose of this edition is.
- Initially didnāt clock the numerical difference in protein on the front bottle middle part because the tiles are in a different order than the normal RTD. (The different order makes sense, as it focuses on the protein now, but adds to confusion when currently unsure what the editionās purpose is.)
@Mark_Huel Think it would have made sense to briefly note what separates Black Edition from regular on the bottle, as it seems likely to cause customer confusion/inability to choose and therefore go with a different brand instore for simplicity (Hickās Law). On the Black Edition powder product page, it immediately says āHuel Black Edition is our highest protein powder meal with 40g of protein per 400kcals and 50% less carbs than Huel Powder.ā Thatās crystal clear right away, while the RTD essentially requires spot-the-difference and guesswork from consumers.
Example: On the back at the top, instead of āNutritionally complete drink with natural flavourings and natural sweetenerā, we could say "Black Edition: Nutritionally complete drink with more protein and less carbs" or similar. Instant clarification, more resonant and relatable, separates the core selling point further from regular, plus sounds cooler.
Already says āNaturally flavouredā and āNaturally sweetenedā on the back right side, and the Black RTD target audience doesnāt typically strongly care about these elements, so instead of repeating them in the most visible place at the top, seems more logical to advertise/clarify what the purpose of this edition is there with terms that are more engaging for the target audience.
Unrelated to above:
- Weirdly, the chocolate flavourās bottle seems to show the āChocolateā label text in italic
I got 1 from Ocado and 1 from Huel directly today and both look italic, so may be a potential issue in the design file or early printing batches. - Personal opinion but would have been nice to see an update to the abstract cartoony design around the top rim. Always found it to feel low quality and clipart-like, particularly ones like vanilla where parts are broken/patchy and faded ā just looks glitchy and cheapy IMO. Black Edition especially looks so sleek ( Ķ”Ā° ĶŹ Ķ”Ā°) but the top part detracts from it. Some luscious-looking, modern 3D render of melted chocolate or luxury real shots of liquid chocolate (e.g. imagine the wrapper and marketing of the new chocolate bar designs having a baby with the minimal elegance of Daily Greens) I bet would look proper premium -chefs kiss-
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Yes update on the choc pleaseā¦choc is always a controversial taste!
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