Hot & Savoury update - real talk

I hear that, was just curious to who this was :grin:

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There is a clue in my last post. If you still aren’t sure I can drop you a PM

I have found it.

You are very clever :sweat_smile:

Hey!

So just on your point you wanted to know a little more on.

The figures shared here are from our product carbon footprints. This type of assessment focuses on how much a particular product contributes to climate change. This is calculated by looking at how many greenhouse gases are emitted in CO2 equivalents from each stage of the product’s life. It looks at all aspects including the ingredients, packaging, logistics and manufacturing.

This means that the figures here are not specifically looking at environmental impacts such as plastic waste persistence and potential ecological toxicity, however, these are things we consider when deciding what packaging materials to use, among other considerations.

I hope this makes sense :open_hands:

Hey, yeah, that does make sense—and this is exactly why I pointed out that framing plastic waste in terms of carbon footprint is misleading.

The more generalized claim that “packaging generally contributes less than 3% of the overall impact” is even more misleading (and factually incorrect) because it only considers carbon footprint—not plastic waste persistence or ecological toxicity, which were always the main concerns here.

So now that we’ve established that the 3% figure does not account for plastic pollution, I hope Huel will stop using this framing when discussing non-recyclable packaging, in the spirit of transparency.

Again, our concerns with this packaging change were never about carbon footprint. The issue is the significant increase in long-term plastic waste and its potential harm to ecosystems, wildlife, and humans—which still hasn’t been directly addressed.

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I share the concerns about the environmental impact of plastic. The most important question about the new packaging is surely what percentage increase in plastic does the new packaging entail? It’d be really helpful if we could be told that.

If the increase is actually quite small it might not seem like such a problem, given that it might possibly increase consumption of an otherwise relatively sustainable vegan food product.

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I hear you!

I don’t want you to feel like I’m ignoring you. I’m going to take this away and get some answers for you to make sure I get all the points answered!

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Hello from Poland,
im here for a bit of ours national sport which mean to complain :slight_smile:
Unfortunately changes are going in terrible way for me personal.
Most of my top-tier rated flavours are going to be cancelled (and im user who orders only H&S because i do not tolerate sweet milky flavour).
In addition you are introducing new flavours in pots which in my opinion are too similiar to each other (for BBQ vs DUCK), are less flexible in composition (I used to fit it to myself when preparing in area of texture, quantity and seasoning - which i cant do or its harder with pots) and finally they are less comfortable in transport (I used to take 1-2 pouches and my cup and have meals for couple days in travel - now I cant do this beacuse of space which pots take).
Case about additional plastic was mentioned so I dont need to but I totally agree with complains.
I know you have all statistics data but for real…removing korma, mac&cheese, carbonara, tomato & herb and leaving bolognese and madras its terrible.
Im going to empty your stock from my best pouched flavours and hope for some new flavours in this packaging. I belive that there are some users who like customization and transport easiness as I liked it.
TL:DR:
Justice for “pouchers”! More flavours for “pouchers”! :slight_smile:
Peace!

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Appreciate what you are saying :heart:

To be honest we are always looking to bring new things to the table so new options could be something we see in the future. In terms of options, what would you like to see from us?

I have been working away in the back ground going from desk to desk and I have some answers for you! And you @aly :blush:

Of course I won’t bore you with our mission as you’ve both been around long enough to know we’re doing the best we can for the environment with minimal impact etc. With this we have to consider everything that goes into our products from supply chain to ingredients to how we package and transport the final products to you. Globally emissions from food accounts for up to around 26% of greenhouse gases with emissions from plastic being responsible for around 3%.

This is reflected in our own Carbon footprint assessments where ingredients typically make up the majority share of emissions (between 50-85%) and plastic a much smaller share.

As some of you know we have set ourselves targets for all products to keep them in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees and are always reviewing changes we make in light of these targets. Now with that in mind, even with the new switch to our new sachets, the plastic still contributes less than 10% of the overall products footprint meaning that it is still within our target we set of minimising global warming to 1.5 degrees. It also comes in way under the typical lunch you see in the UK!

Again I already hear you saying “but what are you doing to improve this?”. This isn’t us saying that we are not trying to improve this. We are trying to minimise the use of single plastics, however we do want to make sure that we are focusing on the most material impact we can have. You having a good experience with our Hot & Savoury pouches and replacing your typical meal with this will help contribute to the shift in global emissions than the increase in plastic packaging. It’s the right choice for now but like previously mentioned we are always working hard on improving this where we can so we can get a happy balance of packaging that protects our product, provides you with the best experience and has minimal impact on the environment!

Hope this answers your questions!

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Thanks Mark, but the issue aly raised is environmental plastic contamination, not the impact the packaging has on carbon emissions: ie the actual increase in quantity of plastic. Info on this would be very welcome, and maybe dispel concerns about the change. :slight_smile: :

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Yup thanks for clarifying @epicure. Our, and the world’s, main concerns with plastic are not about global warming, as I’ve tried to make extremely clear in every single message of mine so far. This discussion has honestly drastically increased my concerns about Huel’s understanding of sustainability.

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Don’t worry aly, I’m sure we’ll get an answer.

If I had a box of the new H&S sachets and also an old pouch I’d do some measuring and weighing. It shouldn’t be difficult to find out how much more plastic is now being produced. I assume it’s the same material.

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Registered to comment on this issue. I am surprised that tomato and herb was delisted since that was an absolute favourite of mine from Huel. Other flavours are not bad, but not very interesting IMO. Is tomato and herb not universal enough as a flavour?

Regarding the pot flavours - I am an East Asian living in the UK and honestly, I will not touch these flavours as they are too…local, too British (if you ask any East Asians who live in the UK, they will tell you that they won’t touch any Asian-inspired takeaway/instant food made in this country), and as Vaelloth has said, the Asian-inspired flavours are all too similar. I think you need something that has a more worldwide appeal and doesn’t only cater to only local British people. I think a lot of people will prefer something umami - something like tomato, or soy sauce, or miso, and not creamy.

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Yup, it messed up my pots few times, looking forward to this

Or maybe we won’t? :face_with_raised_eyebrow:

Perhaps the amount of plastic used in packaging is confidential commercial information. Pity there hasn’t been anyone with access to the old and new packaging who could do the measurements - was hoping it might assuage concern.

Tho’ I’m thinking @aly makes a very good general point about Huel and sustainability, as it relates to plastics. Replacing CP tubs with bags was a step in the right direction; but ideally we’d be getting more bulk product in large single bags (recyclable, if that’s ever possible) and fewer products in single-serve packaging (ie H&S pots, now H&S sachets… and all of the RTD range). The increase in variety of Huel products seems to have been at the expense of more plastic, and that’s difficult to reconcile with an absolute commitment to increased sustainability.

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It seems the experiment with mono material bags didn’t pan out - maybe the tech just wasn’t there yet for a pack like that to maintain all of the characteristics it needed for durability, barrier efficacy etc. Honestly, I’m still of the opinion that, for the dry goods subscription part of the business at least, plain/laser marked foil packs is the best option - allowing customers to decant them to their own containers - drastically improving the sustainability and costs of packaging.

If you’re on a sub, you have already bought into the brand so really do not need the branded packaging. Many brands do this already for subscription repeat purchases and it really helps to keep product prices more stable.

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Even if we do (and I would’ve been curious to see the answer too; FWIW my guess is at least 2x), Huel has repeatedly red-herring’d the core issue by framing plastic only in terms of carbon footprint, despite multiple comments here explaining why that’s misleading. Best case, the Huel team’s understanding of plastic waste is deeply lacking; worst case, they’re intentionally deflecting to trivialize the change (at first I assumed good faith, but at this point I’m not confident in that anymore).

Sorry if that sounds harsh. But honestly, I put a lot of effort into being very charitable and clear in my previous comments, and the responses have been deeply concerning, even in the best case that there’s a genuine lack of understanding.

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Hey! Sorry this has fallen of the track a little. I’m finalising some last numbers to make sure that we’ve nipped this in the bud.

The person I need to talk to isn’t back until tomorrow so I wanted to come and set the expectation that I hear you and I’ll get back to you as soon as I have further information for you.

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I’ve been thinking on this and considering that to expand the business it’s presumably been necessary to cater to more people than can be tempted to invest in online subscription purchases, and that’s unavoidably meant more plastic in the packaging of new products.

But Huel might still come down on the positive side of the sustainability balance sheet if these single-serve products are replacing even less sustainable alternatives. An RTD serving in a plastic bottle is more sustainable, more ethical and humane, and less environmentally damaging than a Big Mac served in a cardboard box, all things considered.

So the other side of the coin is that I’m guessing Huel wouldn’t be supplying as many vegan meals as it does without using as much plastic as it does.

I guess it’s swings and roundabouts.

But I do like Phil’s idea of plain foil packs for regular subscribers. :+1:

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