Granola business model

Feedback
1

I just registered on this forum specifically for this.

I’ve heard that Huel Granola is being discontinued. I just returned to Huel specifically because of Huel Granola. I don’t know if this is permanent or not but as a food normie who won’t switch to shakes I just wanted to share my thoughts on this in case it’s not too late to bring it back.

First, let me say I completely understand Huel’s business must be profitable. I can’t see the numbers on Huel Granola and whether it’s completely unprofitable or not. But I am seeing the start of a complete foods movement and I think if the granola is being permanently discontinued it’s possible Huel has not seen the bigger picture for the long term here.

There’s a company in Japan (Base Foods) making nutritionally complete pasta and bread, it looks to be pretty affordable too. If it was available here I’d be all over that. I get bored of shakes and can’t prepare Huel-based recipes from scratch for every meal. There are 3 things I find are key to stick to any diet: liking the food, making it easy and having as much variety as possible. The granola helped me do all 3.

Imagine how easy it would be to eat healthier, if there was a nutritionally complete version of all your favourite foods, maybe even ready made for you to eat, and it was at a price you could afford. Even if it tastes less good, if you care about health at all, then it would be hard to resist the value proposition of saving all that time researching, planning, buying ingredients, storing and preparing a perfectly balanced meal, then doing the washing up.

Also, just wanted to say I prefer Huel Granola instead of Huel, it has some major advantages for me personally, I’m sure some other people may have similar opinions.

Here is a comparison, it’s completely my opinion but I’m just trying to demonstrate some of the advantages of the granola for some people:

Huel Granola vs Huel

Preparation:
Huel Granola is ready to eat with milk, plus can be eaten dry as a snack

Huel powder needs to be carefully mixed to taste with one of my other protein powders and then I like it refrigerated for some time, it has to be prepared ahead (and the ready made shakes are expensive)

Preference As A Food:
Huel Granola is real food (not a shake)

Huel is a shake, can be less satisfying to eat (there’s no crunch), and the bars are expensive

Cost:
Huel Granola is expensive for cereal, but cheaper per serving than Huel.

Huel is more expensive per serving - and also per bag

I have both, but the powder barely gets used.

I hope I’ve just been trigger-happy and it’s temporary or that you’re already planning a range of other Huel-based normie-friendly food products that will blow the granola out of the milk. Anyway, food for thought!

Cheers

Tom

EDIT: Adding a link about the complete pasta:

5 Likes
2

I think its a shame that the granola has been discontinued as other products like RTD and the bars are becoming easier to find in local shops. However I do see the price of the granola on a shelf next to other products being a problem.

If there is no way of keeping granola, which they have been gunning to get rid of for a while as it was removed from all there promotional materials and website banners, maybe they could make more types of Huel bars that are more like granola bars as a compromise.

Huel bars are fine texture wise but for a more satisfying crunchy experience they should experiment with it.

1 Like
3

I think if you compare Huel Granola to other granola, then yes you are right on cost.

But Huel Granola is nothing like other granola (that I could find) it’s a whole new type of food unlike anything else available, it’s nutritionally complete, but still a real food.

I think this is probably a marketing problem above all else, perhaps calling it “granola” is doing a disservice to the product, because people think it is like other granola, but it is nothing like anything I can find.

I did look for an alternative granola but they are nothing like Huel’s offering, all have such high sugar and low protein.

Obviously supermarket offerings are cheap and will vary with what’s available to you, but all supermarket granola I’ve seen is LOADED with sugar.

These are the best I could find for delivery, similar price but much worse nutritional content:

FUEL Protein Granola


Roughly twice the sugar, half the fibre / protein, similar price

Quaker Super Goodness


Not terrible, but again half the protein, twice the carbs and where’s the micronutrients?

If there is any granola comparable to Huel’s I’d love to hear about it.

4 Likes
4

I haven’t tried Huel bars, they seem expensive as a snack. I like Nature Valley’s protein bars, much much cheaper, and I only eat them as a snack so nutrition does not need to be perfect for me.

Bars would not substitute for the cereal, because if I’m having a bar for breakfast, I’m going to want a different snack.

By the way, I hope mentioning other brands is OK, I’m just trying to give context of the market.

1 Like
5

Yet your asking Huel to develop nutritionally perfect food shaped like items you’re familiar with. They made a nutritionally complete snack bar and you’re rejecting it because nutrition doesn’t matter in a snack for you.

A large attraction to Huel is no preparation and ease. No way I’m going to boil pasta and make/reheat sauce, have dishes to clean, defeats the purpose and I might as well make from scratch because it couldn’t compare to a homemade meal and take 15 minutes more time.

I’m going to miss the granola, the few boxes I’ve had.

1 Like
6

Hi, thanks for your reply.

I’m not asking Huel to do anything, they’ll do what they like, just voicing my opinion. Yes, I’d love to see nutritionally complete food that I’m familiar with, that I’ll enjoy and that I was brought up with.

I do care about nutrition in a snack, but to me the nutrition of a snack is slightly less crucial as it’s a convenience food, consumed less often and in smaller quantities. I’d prefer to spend more money on meals than on snacks, and like I said, it doesn’t solve the problem of variety.

I agree RE less preparation etc being a big advantage of Huel, I’m saying two things: firstly, the cereal is even easier, no preparation required, whereas Huel requires just a little preparation. Secondly, variety is very important to me, and I enjoy cooking a few times a week (just not every day) this is why cereal and other nutritionally complete foods (such as the pasta mentioned) appeal to people like me.

7

RE comparing to a home cooked meal. Ideally we’d all be chefs, grocers and nutritionists, but otherwise it takes a lot longer than 15 minutes to source, prepare and cook all the ingredients needed for a nutritionally complete meal, let alone the time spent to plan / calculate the recipe and adjust to taste. Plus all those ingredients have to be stored / preserved and replenished regularly.

That’s the appeal of a concept like this pasta that’s nutritionally complete in and of itself, it simplifies that process a lot.

8

Omg… huel nutritionally complete sauce like for pasta etc. (We make ‘rainbow sauce’ with all the veggies plus tomatoes, onions and garlic to hide the ‘green veg’ taste for the kids)… but a powdered nutritionally complete sauce that can be a pasta sauce or a base for curries and chillies and spag bol etc would be AWESOME! You could have one creamy base and one tomato base! Would have all the time stressed parents in the world on board! :rofl:

9

Yes, I’d definitely be on board with that! I was brought up on pasta so it’s not something I know how to live without.