Frustrated by lack of new flavours/products for UK

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I’ve been on and off the Huel train since (almost) the beginning (well, around 2015/16-ish). I’ve enjoyed various different products over the years and particularly enjoy the RTDs (but sorely miss the granola).

Why am I writing this post?

I guess I’m a bit impatient with the lack of new offerings from Huel here in the UK and have to admit I’m starting to look at other similar companies.

When are we getting v3.0 of the RTDs with some new flavours? It seems like the v2.0 flavours have been around forever, and frankly I want to try something new.

When are getting new flavours in general for the standard powders? Again, these flavours have been around for a while. Can we get something new and exciting?

When are we getting anything new or innovate from Huel here in the UK? Disappointing that Huel launch a whole new product line in the US (Huel Greens) that we don’t get here in the UK, the birthplace of Huel.

Where are the limited editions flavours? I seem to remember limited runs of certain flavours/flavour boosts - Mince Pie etc. It would be nice to get things like that happening again at certain times of year. There is so much potential with this - you could have a limited edition desert flavour range (Black Forest Gateau, Pumpkin Spice etc).

When is the formula going to be updated? I’m aware that 3.1 was announced recently, but I’m talking significant updates to the formula. Version 4.0? It feels like a long time since any major improvements were made - a better sweetener, significant lowering of saturated fat (especially in the RTDs), more up to date ratios/amounts of certain vitamins/minerals more in-line with NHS recommendations etc.

I don’t want this to come across as an attack at all, it’s been great to see this company grow and it seemed like new products were being launched every other month a few years back.

Team Huel, please give me hope that there are lots of exciting new products/flavours on the horizon for the UK (and by horizon, let’s say by the end of 2023?!).

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there are many other posts that could answer many of your points

version numbers are nothing to do with flavours - it’s the formulation of the product. other flavours could be added to the existing ranges but, if they are selling well as they are, thats less of an imperative.

these seem to be done progressively depending on demand or feasibility.

many threads already discussing the reasons for this.

there were flavour boosts - a line that was since dropped. again many threads on this.

tomorrow

its doubtful that any company would disclose upcoming product developments as they take time and subject to competition considerations but they seem to be fairly consistent in pace doing that.

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@Phil_C

With the RTDs, the last new batch of flavours coincided with the new versions numbers, so it makes sense to assume v3.0 of the RTDs will coincide with new flavours.

When you say new flavours are added progressively - it’s been ages!

Regardless of there being “many threads” (I don’t think there are as many as you think on certain topics), I wanted to create my own to address my concerns/frustrations as a whole, especially as someone who has been using Huel for 7/8 years on and off.

As for your last point, I don’t expect them to say “yes we’re launching <insert new product/flavour> in September”, just a general assurance that there are exciting things happening in terms of new products/flavours in the near future. I don’t think that’s asking too much.

As for consistent, I disagree - it feels as though especially on the flavour front the last couple of years has been slow.

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not really - and that contradicts your point on the powder flavours - new formulations are an opportunity to introduce new flavours to differentiate it from the previous one that remains on sale - but new flavour can be added without changing the formulation - again, depending on demand. V3.1 of the powders will see some changes to the flavours and so you could expect the same with the impending reformulation of BE.

its important for a brand to not overstretch itself and again, a lot of work goes into these decisions not just the time lapse between launches. If I remember correctly - v3 in its 3 year lifespan had 3 or 4 new flavours added so to me - thats not a bad ratio given the work and risk mitigation (such as peanut butter) that goes into it.

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Fair to say you’re quite defensive of the company so I won’t be able to persuade you otherwise Phil.

Regardless of whether new RTD flavours coincide with new RTD formulas, I feel it’s time for new flavours - even if that means getting rid of the less popular flavours to accommodate. That applies to all forms of Huel really, especially now that the flavour boosts are no longer offered.

I’m just offering my view as a customer - I feel things are a little slow on the new product/flavour front especially when looking at one or two rival companies.

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its not defensive - I’m just stating objective commercial facts rather than feelings.

thats quite literally what they do.

of course! and brands love that kind of feedback - as I said - im not defending what they do - just trying to explain a rationale behind it. it is true that RTD flavours rarely change but if they are selling strong and popular with the customer base then the time and expense to change it seems less important than diverting those resources away from the NPD teams.

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I think as a good example of how things can wrong with over stretching - we can look at Soylent. A few years back they got in DEEP trouble. They had to get bail outs from the US government to keep going, slashed their product line choice to almost nothing – just focusing on higher margin RTD’s, laid off the majority of their staff etc. They are recovering now, but it will be interesting to see what path they take with regrowth going forward.

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I personally don’t see the point in a company having a gazillion different flavours in something so you can sample it once and then either like it and keep purchasing it (in which case you won’t need new flavours) or hate it and never buy it again. Who wants to pay £50-£100 to potentially be stuck with 1.5kilos u don’t like. To be honest I hate companies having to much variation on flavours it’s a waste of money, as long it’s nice & palatable & I have no issue drinking it everyday, I’ll keep buying it over and over again regardless of what else they release

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But not everyone likes the same thing. When Huel started they just produced unflavoured and a vanilla style. For most people unflavoured is quite unpalatable and vanilla gets boring after a while - which is why you have the phrase “it’s a bit vanilla” which means a bit ordinary, tame or boring.

Now of course if Huel had stuck to those two and I didn’t know any better I’d have carried on regardless, but again many people do get bored of same stuff day in day out. I’ve always been someone who does batch cooking - I can make soup enough for a week, but my wife will only eat t once and want something different the next day. For that reason she’s never stuck to Huel as a large part of her diet; just occasionally will she have it.

Variety is the spice of life is another phrase we hear.

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I agree with Tracy about a gazillion different flavours or options being off-putting, whether it’s powdered food, utility supply contracts, TV channels or anything else.

But I’ve been on nothing but chocolate Essential for the past two months and while it’s lovely (and not having any choice is refreshing in a spartan kind of way) as the resupply date approaches I’m really looking forward to having something else for variety.

No complaints about Essential only coming in 2 flavours as cost is everything, and anyway the chocolate is way better than it need be; but 8-10 flavour choices seems about right, varied enough for interest, but not too challenging for procrastinators). :slight_smile:

Can’t wait to taste Salted Caramel again!

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hellooooo!

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Which is why the flavour boosts were a good option as they were cheap, but they got rid of those.

Also, the same flavours get boring after a while. You might be fine consuming the same ones over and over but that doesn’t mean everyone feels that way.

I really don’t see a down side from a customer point of view with a company offering lots of flavours.

Not asking for 10000000 new products every year, it just feels like things have slowed down and I’d really like to try something new from Huel - new flavour RTDs, new flavour powders, completely new products etc.

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Thing is I bet you would all loose your marbles if adding say 3 new flavours across the entire range of everything they sell meant another price increase…or would you be ok with that for the sakes of a “change”. It’s not free to create and stock new flavours

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Actually a lot of businesses misstep by not innovating and launching new products.

I wonder wher Huel would be if they’d just stuck to original and uu powder instead of trying bars, flavour packs (discontinued), granola (discontinued) RTD, hot & savoury,
professional, black, and essential. And the clothing range which appears to have not worked and possibly lost them money.
I concur that some of these new products have coincided with unfavourable price increases but we’re at a point where everything is f’king expensive and rising in price.

I’m always interested in what’s coming next

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True but there is not just vanilla and uu, there is 10 different flavours, 9 in black 8 different RTD, my point is are you expecting them to come up with a new flavour each month, each year, what time period is acceptable & if huel didn’t release another flavour for the next year or 2 would that really be the end of the world for some people when there are that many different flavours and versions to choose from at the moment.

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I think maybe some holiday-exclusive flavours around Christmastime might be interesting, and a midyear new flavour to potentially add to a permanent line up. if they don’t sell well enough, drop them, if they do, why not add them? how much of huel is the flavour vs the nutrients, anyways? surely they’d be making everything else then adding the flavouring and mixing it so it’s properly mixed?

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It is not even close to being as simple as you imagine - so much time, money and resources go into developing and introducing new flavours to any product line - it becomes a risk and would normally need to be throughly justified with a sound ROI assessemnt before any steps are taken

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Depends on the price increase and the flavours, but potentially yes I’d pay more.

It’s not necessarily about cost though, usually companies will get rid of older/less popular flavours and replace them with new ones which reduces costs. I wouldn’t expect Huel to increase in price just because of new flavours, it’s usually because of the cost of raw materials increasing.

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From a customer point of view, having lots of choice is never a bad thing.

As for frequency, I’d love a new limited edition flavour each month (which would be replaced the next month). Maybe at the end of the year customers could vote for their favourite of the 12 and that could become a permanent addition the next year.

I expect that isn’t doable though, so instead I think two new flavours a year is more than reasonable (in addition to at least one new product line).

For me personally I hope we see Daily Greens in the next few months in the UK, and maybe a new line of RTD flavours and two new powder flavours by the end of the year. It’ll be some time then since new flavours were introduced.

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Thanks for being so honest.
We have been working on loads of flavours and new products, it just might not be in the products that you have your eye on.

RTD is a little tricker than our other product lines because of how it’s produced, but we do have some really exciting plans in the works!

What flavours would you like to see?

Do you know what? US Hueligans have been saying the same thing too! We saw a greater demand for Daily Greens in the US and also due to regulations, logistics and other factors we got it to work in the US first and we didn’t want to hold back on those guys. So basically what I’m saying is, that doesn’t rule out mean Daily Greens coming to the UK at some point.

Unfortunately, like the flavour boosts not many people bought them. It’s a key piece of data that has to be taken into account. If something isn’t liked or viable then that’s often a reason that you don’t see it anymore.

We hear you on the sweetener, but there aren’t many that are permitted for use in the UK, match the flavour profile that we want and has the right nutrition to match with the product. What would you like to see used?

What would you say is up-to-date in terms of vitamin and mineral amounts? It’s funny that you mention NHS recommendations because they are mostly based on guidelines that came out in 1991, the amounts we use are based on more recent data and we back this up with several referenced articles on our website.

We’re planning on giving you more than hope in 2023, don’t worry!

Thanks for sharing Tracy, this is definitely the other side of the coin. What are your go to flavours?

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