But you could also say that if Huel arenât responsible for setting the price they equally shouldnât be advertising what price Sainsburyâs will sell them at.
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100%. Especially if they know this going in, why mention itâs at a cheeky discounted price? You set yourself up for an own goal!
Youâre right. If Sainsbury wasnât contracted to sell at a discount, it was unwise of Huel to promise one.
I donât like the idea of supermarkets getting priority over subscribers. Committed customers should always get the choice of the complete range of products, and excluding subscribers from a new flavour is surprising.
Huel doesnât care about the subscribers it just cares about the dollars which involves selling out to the supermarketsâŚ
In my local Sainsburyâs all the bars are same price. Huel is the master of false advertising tho.
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Supermarket pricing is a weird one as national chains set pricing and promotions but individual store managers have the right to not apply discounts (or add additional ones) depending on supply and demand. That being said, there is no discount on their online store (or indication itâs an exclusive to them) either so the brand buyer should have notified Huel that they were not going to offer it leading to this confusion. I wouldnât say that doing an exclusive deal with a supermarket is selling out as margins at supermarkets are super tight (1-2%) so more likely a way of getting greater brand exposure to drive more subscribers mid to long term. Many brands do retailer specific exclusives â it isnât anything new or sinister â as it offers mutual benefits to the retailer and brand.
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Sainsburyâs customers would be disappointed if they became subscribers on the strength of the appeal of a product which isnât available to them.
I donât really think it generally works like that with subscribers though. People who bought/ buy Huel online may pick up Huel products from supermarkets (as I do) but I donât think many who pick up stuff from supermarkets then subscribe. But that could just be me. Iâve not gone to a supermarket, bought something and then set up a third party subscription, as generally there isnât much of a saving.
Having said that there are currently some Huel products powders and single pots that arenât available in retailers (yet), so that may convert a few.
My comment in my post above was however a flippant one. Huel doesnât care about Any of its customers. 
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So then I wonder what the thinking was behind giving Sainsbury the exclusive? It allows the supermarket to gouge out an additional profit (if the product was supplied at a discount); embarrasses Huelâs âcheeky discountâ pledge to customers; doesnât benefit loyal âHueliganâ subscribers at all; and risks alienating those of us with sentimental ideas about client/company loyalty working both ways. Seems like a strange thing to do, but maybe Iâm just old-fashioned.
Itâs not unusual for suppliers to negotiate deals with the buyers of supermarkets though. Quite often there are launches that have exclusivity to a particular chain.
For example a few years ago a local cheese making company launched their vegan cheese line with a six month exclusivity to Asda. There must have been a behind the scenes deal for that to happen as there was no other benefit to the supplier. After the 6 months had passed it became available in other nationals.
Sainsburyâs was also the first supermarket to sell Huel products so they do have a historic relationship.
Financial incentive? Yes thatâd definitely be a benefit, but I still think there might be a hidden cost too. I mean if enough people feel let down and left out.
I really enjoy the normal Ready To Drink Chocolate Flavour. Decided to try the Black Edition as itâs higher in protein.
It isnât as nice as the normal one. Will not be ordering again. I wish I could nail down the difference. Itâs not sour but less sweet maybe.
I agree. I tried both the vanilla and the chocolate and both have a nasty aftertaste not present in the regular RTD.
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Glad itâs not just me. The regular RTD is incredible in my opinion. And of course taste is subjective. But RTD Black is just not my thing for sure.
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no itâs not just you - I honestly couldnât put my finger on what the aftertaste was but this is an issue with higher protein drinks, its hard to mask the flavours of some of the ingredients without throwing loads of sugar in it.
(particularly true of plant based protein drinks â Iâve had non-vegan ones like Rokebyâs that taste much better but lack a lot of the other benefits of Huel RTD)
Coming soon⌠Huel Black RTD âultra-editionâ, even more protein and even worse taste. Coming to a Cybertruck near you.
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possibly preferable to those flavoured bottles of tap water Logan Paul tried to sell everyoneâŚ
I tried a sip once from a bottle a friend had, couldnât believe how bad it was. Just flavoured water with insane levels of sweetness.
I was quite happy to see them in a discount bin at Morrisons for something daft like 30p or 60p each. Is that whatâs happened to them now?
yeah - it basically went into free fall and being sued left right and centre by anyone and everyone.
Paul is doing his usual Trump playbook âit wasnât meâ line of smoke and mirrors defense.
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Update: I purchased some regular chocolate RTD and have submitted a return for 2 of the 3 boxes. So hope thatâs smooth. I believe I have to pay delivery and thatâs fine.
I really like the black RTD. Itâs not quite chocolate, I heard somebody describe it as black forest gateau which is close to it