I’ve seen that Ecosia (the search engine that uses profits to plant trees) reported that recently their userbase grew massively, due to the amazon rainforest burning so much.
So then I was thinking about global warming/climate change/animal cruelty/etc, for which Huel is good, right? Because it’s vegan (vegan - that word has gone to shit), it uses massively less resources and is therefore better for the planet. It sure is one of my reasons to use Huel.
So following that, is Huel advertising this benefit as well?
Using Huel (or tbh other brands that do it similarly) is very actionable advice that anyone can do and therefore help the planet.
Absolutely love to hear that you’re using Huel for the environmental impact (or lack of). It’s a massive driver for us and we are regularly sending out content around this conversation - whether it’s sharing great articles in the press or doing our own pieces, like Dan’s linked to.
In terms of adverts, that’s a bit different (if you mean for paid adverts like Facebook ads, google ads etc). We do a survey each year asking our Hueligans various questions, one of which is ‘Why do you use Huel’ and people select a few options. It’s interesting because, although it’s such a massive driver for us, for the wider Hueligans actually it ranks quite low in reasons for using Huel (nutritionally complete and convenience usually the top ones). What this means is that if we put out adverts around this topic it’s going to not work as well as if we talk about nutrition, convenience, cost effectiveness (although a call out to being better for the environment is often included too).
My take on this is that, in general, the low environmental impact of Huel is something that might convince someone on the fence, but isn’t the main reason.
In addition to the 50,000,000 meal article we’re working hard to assess our carbon footprint. It’s a long project, we have many products and lots of ingredients. So bear with us.
What else do you want to see us doing in this space?
So I guess my thinking was that often people want to do something good for the planet, but they don’t know how. Having Huel is actionable, easy and has a great impact. So then when tragedies occur like the amazon rainforest burning, it seems to create a big rush for people to actually do something (ie using Ecosia). But if they don’t know what to do this energy is lost. So my thought train ends with using such opportunities to specifically send ads related to that at the time when it happens.
Something like “Saving the planet one Bottle at a time - Huel”. “Good for the planet, good for you - Huel” etc
Maybe it’s just my impression, but it feels like people are becoming finally aware that the planet is going to shit, with for example pupils demonstrating and this fridays for future stuff and so on. So obviously I just came here with an idea that popped into my head, and I am not aware of all the things you’re already doing in that regard. But I think this is a useful train of thought, but it’s up to you guys to weigh your ads effectiveness. Personally I agree with the strategy in general, normal scenarios, as my main reasons too are laziness, complete nutrition and environmental impact, in that order, but I think it’s worth considering doing these kind of ads timed to events that cause people looking for actions to take to help the planet.
No no, of course - we wouldn’t expect you too. Just opening up the conversation further by telling you what we are doing so you can tell us what we’re missing!
This is awesome though. Question for everyone, do you think specific ads in response to a tragedy like this could be interpreted as a bit below the belt. I.e. using a terrible tragedy to capitalise on sales (I can already see the Facebook comments!).
It sounds like Ecosia did it well? Anyone else you think does this tastefully and respectfully?
Good point with the below the belt. Unsure. It’s for a good cause though, I mean facebook etc hire addiction experts to keep people hooked, but obviously that’s not common knowledge. Maybe if the “good for the planet” message were simply more core it would catch on at those times? But that would mean less use of your more effective ad practises.
I don’t think Ecosia did it specifically tailored to the disaster, they always advertise with the message of saving the planets forests.
I agree, such ads in the wake of a tragedy could be seen as cashing in. Which in fact they are, intentionally or not. Cynical? Yes, but with good reason. So many money munching monsters out there operating under the guise of doing good.
I’d love to see some sort of partnership with Offset Earth, ideally encouraging users to plant a tree for every meal (about 10p per tree) but perhaps direct integration or even just Huel being a Carbon Positive business per employee would be nice. I’m not associated with Offset Earth, just a big fan as it has made carbon offsetting so easy
