Hello all. Just wanted to brainstorm a little bit, play a little game and see what people think / wish for Huel’s big 4.0 refresh in the future.
The amazing team continuously update the formula based on their latest findings and market demand already and I am sure we’ll see those with 3.2, 3.3 etc… But I want to think a little bit ahead. What would you wish for Huel 4.0? Think about everything, pricing, branding, ingredients, everything really. Whatever comes to your mind.
My “dream” Huel would be:
Nice to have but not as important:
If it hit my “dream” criteria I’d honestly consume Huel 100% of the time. The main reason I don’t is due to the amount of overall fat/saturated fat which would be nearly 40g for 1200kcals worth and more than I like to consume on a low fat/high carb diet.
I will like to see a form of Huel that is either fermented or rich in fermented ingredients. Live Huel.
This is a nice idea @jackinberlin!
It’s interesting that you follow a low-fat diet @Huelio_Iglesias2. Do you prefer the Huel Essential formula over our core range?
They’d be great for health, but what about the taste? Are you a fan of foods like saurkraut and kefir?
This is probably not going to be my only comment in this post as I will comment as the ideas come in.
For me, Huel 4.0 should include a much, MUCH more focus on the product’s impact on the gut microbiome and the overall digestive system. Our digestive system has immense impact on the overall physical AND mental well-being. It’s like our second brain. Many researches show that people who suffer from a mental instability also have a bad diet and/or digestive system and as our gut microbiome improves, so does our mood and overall happiness.
Now, converting this knowledge into not having a Huel powder tasting like sauerkraut or kefir IS the challenge 
I think the drive to include fermented food in the diet is health-driven rather than pleasure-driven, and is coming to the fore in the UK/US with initiatives like Zoe, so the Huel brand is well-placed to adopt the emerging trend of regarding bacteria as nutrition. My own experience is based on time in Korea where fermentation can be seen in almost every ingredient e.g. soy, beer, miso and of course the famous Kimchi which is a family of vegetable dishes not just cabbage. We have some fermented foods in our domestic diet - e.g. some cheeses, chocolate, coffee and I’m sure more gut-friendly nutrition will become increasingly valued in years to come. I have no real strong idea about how it might be included in Huel but I think the concept is worth exploring.
For sure, I totally agree with both of you. We also need to consider variety though: variety in terms of food and probiotics/prebiotics. It’s one of the reasons why you hear Nutritionists bang on about a varied and balanced diet.
So maybe a future idea is to have different gut beneficial ingredients in different flavours/products. That brings its own positives and negatives, but it’s something to think about.
Which means a fermented Huel product would do really well here, how could we go about getting a population that, for the most part, doesn’t like these foods?
I am absolutely not a nutritionist, but, are the fermented foods the only way to achieve an excellent gut microbiome? If the answer is yes, well, I better stock up on sauerkraut 
Great question, no they’re not.
I like the rule of thumb of 30 different plant foods a week. This might sound like a lot of fruit and veg but we’re also talking about wholegrains, legumes, nuts and seeds and herbs and spices. It’s the variety of different prebiotic (gut-friendly) fibres and phytonutrients that’s the key.
Wow! A lot of ‘technical’ preferences! I’d just want the flavours to be stronger. Chocolate to be chocolaty-er, Vanilla to be stronger vanilla etc.
I would love to have one bag with more caffeine - approx. 100mg. I do lots of sports and Coffee Huel was my go to meal before going out (or on the way).
I’d like it if Huel 4.0 could be more calorie-dense. This would:
Reduce shipping costs because the same number of ‘meals’ would be lighter in weight.
Allow me to consume a full ‘meal’ in one bottle-full of Huel (current serving of 400 calories is quite small and requires between-meal snacks (more Huel!) to get through the day).
This is very interesting!
I like the idea of lowering the bar to entry by making shipping less of an issue.
I’m all for a more calorie dense formula, and maybe even a bigger shaker (750?). This will make it easier to pack bigger meals without having to make more huel “in the field”.
I agree on the lower iron content, and maybe a lower-fat option for people with a highly sensitive GI system. Currently I have a severe erosive gastritis, and I often suffer from bloating, abdominal cramps and nausea, which often leads to regurgitation or vomiting. Even after cutting out gluten. Complete food drinks have helped, but especially in Black Edition the fat content is something that means stress for a sensitive digestive system. A Huel version that is tailored to highly sensitive people, also maybe for those who are new to Huel, as some kind of easier starting products, would be something many people could be interested in. Of course prebiotics should be added, generally everything that improves the microbiome.
Regarding antioxidants: It depends on which ones you would want to see exactly. Could you maybe name the substances you would like to see in Huel?
About the flavours: I think there are already many, maybe even too many. Some customers may even have the problem of choice paralysis. If there is a flavour you would like to have you can add for example flavour drops to unflavoured/unsweetened.
The prices for the clothing should be lowered perhaps, or at least new products offered. Fair trade and toxin-free textiles are also important for a good healts - maybe even for the microbiome.
Or what do you think?
This would be tricky as I think the only way to achieve this would be to increase the fat content. You might have noticed that 400kcal of Black Edition is 90g whereas v3.1 is 100g for this exact reason.
I know of some Hueligans who use a different shaker to the Huel one (shock I know) but that would solve your bigger shaker problem.
This sucks, I’m sorry. I guess if you have found that gluten is an issue then you can’t try Essential which has a lower fat content? We do have a gluten-free version of our core powder which could work better for you and has a lower fat content than Black Edition.
Continue to NOT cater just to fitness goals / specialised diets. I love that it’s a meal replacement / food supplement for ‘normal, everyday’ people without particular extreme goals like intensive protein etc.
Parity with flavours on RTD? Or to be more like RTD in flavour. RTD banana is beautiful but the powder, I’m genuinely not enjoying getting through the bag but I will so it doesn’t go to waste.
Other than that I’m not sure what else I could add
Another idea for Huel 4.0 (or sooner really), is that we should have an option to purchase 3.5kg bags too (approx. twice the size of the regular bag today). The reason is less packaging waste, unless team Huel has a reason for not providing such option?
As I write this, I am now not 100% sure if this would be a significant reduction on the packaging waste though. 3.5kg bag would mean larger bag, but would that equal to 2x 1.7kg bag waste? Hmm, not sure. Just thinking out loud.
I support the focus on gut microbiome friendliness.
Raw sauerkraut wouldn’t be it for the sweet product lines, but small amounts may work for some future H&S-products, as a spice. Not much is needed. E.g. the sweet and sour would be the perfect candidate for it, replacing the vinegar.
Fermented milk is something I eat almost every day at least in my breakfast, not just for health reasons, but mainly for taste and practicability. I’ve also made experiments with fermenting pasteurized milk myself with probiotics (omnibiotic, to be more specific) at room temperature. Even though there are bacteria in them that I feared might spoil the taste like L. casei (and worse), it has worked out fine.
Rumour has it that fermentation of various vegan not-milks works to a degree, too, but I have no personal experience with it.
Anyway, many people like yoghurt with something sweet in it, so I don’t think it is so far-out to think about fermented food in a shake.
You’re right that larger packs require less packaging. A simple way to imagine it: you have a large cube wrapped in plastic. Cut that big cube in half, you have a big surface with no plastic on it. You need more plastic.
If you were to cut the big cube in half on each side, you get eight small cubes, but each one only has plastic on half of its sides. You need twice as much plastic to cover all the surfaces.
Cut it into 32 cubes and you need a billion times more plastic (can’t be arsed to do the maths at this point).
Larger packs are harder to move and harder to store. I’ve switched to Essential which has 2.25kg bags. My wee mum tried to lift one and her old bones shattered and pinged around the kitchen like a sad frag grenade.
But yeah Huel could let their more robust customers order big bags. I expect they don’t just because it makes things more complicated to have multiple sizes for each product.
multiple bag sizes = very wasteful for sure also, a 3.5kg bag would be vast - because of the product settling space needed. so very wasteful and impractical. unless you needed a plastic duvet cover once you’d done with it 