I was surprised by this too until I spoke to one of their managers as my local store also has a ‘foods of the future’ section. Turns out it doesn’t mean what it sounds like. So these are not futuristic foods, but rather products that Sainsbury’s don’t currently stock as part of their range but are trialling for 12 weeks. If enough people buy them they’ll be added to the normal range. If not, then they’ll disappear.
So less ‘foods of the future’ and more ‘stuff we might stock in future’.
Incidentally Feed powders and bars were there a month ago but didn’t make the cut and are now on a discounted, end of line end bay. Less competition I guess @Tim_Huel
But you are right that they don’t understand what Huel is. I popped in to buy another 4 bottles this weekend and the woman on the checkout felt compelled to comment “That must taste really good for it to be £3.50” She thought it was a milkshake like Friji.
Rather rude to be commenting on what people are buying and how much they are willing to pay for things. I wonder what her boss would have thought if you decided not buy anything actually and just walk out
I used to do that. The cancel and reorder. Tho on the Huel site you can edit your subscription to add, remove or change. Which I use all the time now to remove a flavor and add a new one without the cancel/reorder bit.
Two boxes on site close together near ‘subscription’ says ‘edit/cancel’ as I recall.
Is there anyone from huel checking with sainsburys stores that are supposed to be stocking the RTD? On last check the closest sainsburys to me which should stock it had none in sight, although customer services tells me it is in stock.
I saw two flavours in Sainsbury’s in edinburgh today. They were beside the milk products at chest level. It’s great to see the product on prominent display but what an expensive purchase. £3.50 a bottle. It’s just too expensive. You could get a fancy sandwich and a bottle of kefir for that and have change left over. The price has to come down or people are just not going to pay the asking price.
@Tim_Huel
How about getting Huel RTD into M&S Food?
M&S Food seem to have stores in most hospitals, airports, and motorway service stations - three places I would love to be able to purchase a complete healthy meal for £3.50 !
I’m not really sure what to say to this. On site we sell Huel for a max cost of £3.08 a bottle (but that’s for 12 delivered next day to your doorstep). Everyone wants everything cheaper, but let’s say we somehow managed to reduce the cost to £3 in sainsbury’s would I be right in thinking this would still be too expensive?
Yeah I think this would be a good place to test, definitely on the list!
A protein shake is £2-2.50 in the supermarket, and made up of mostly cheap whey powder - basically a fortified processed milkshake.
An extra pound for the superior ingredients of Huel, and the fact it is a complete balanced meal is worth it in my opinion.
I guess the issue is whether people notice it, and realise what it is?
Loads of people don’t use Facebook.
Literally not one of my friends, colleagues or acquaintances know what Huel is.
I wear my t-shirt and hoody all the time and not one person has recognised the brand.
I’ve managed to get a couple of my friends and neighbours to try it out, so they now know about it. But those who I’ve not pushed it on () really have no idea and no interest. I’ve mentioned that it’s a ‘complete meal in a drink’ and they look at me either like I’m barmy or on slimfast.
Facebook seems to be the main target for marketing, but the target audience of busy professionals (eg doctors, accountants, NHS staff… to name a few examples) are mostly not Facebook users in my experience. Maybe it’s my generation, or my personal group of acquaintances, but most of them don’t use fb for privacy reasons.
I know a few people who are Huel consumers now, and yes not all of them came via Facebook but certainly that’s where most of them first saw it advertised (Huel spends a lot of money on advertising on social media after all); I found out about Huel from an article rather than social media. Some use it via my recommendation, but I still think seeing it sitting on a supermarket shelf for 3.50 will not attract many who have not heard of it, but what do I know?
I reckon if it was £1 or £2, lots of people would try it. But not like it. They would assume it’s a milkshake because it’s sat next to the milkshakes and comes in milkshake flavours. They wouldn’t pay much attention to the nutrition because they’ve bought it cos it’s cheap - they would judge it purely on taste.
Now the taste is pretty good. But not great. It doesn’t match up to a Frijj for example (which is delicious but ridiculously unhealthy). I don’t think people would buy it again.
Personally I think the £3.50 price tag is a good thing because people will buy it only if they realise it’s complete nutrition, and then they are buying it for the ingredients, not for the taste. And more likely to buy it again!
It’s like Art… price it too low and people will not appreciate it’s worth
When Huel is sat next to the colourful looking milkshakes but in a less colourful container that appeals more to hipsters the consumer may immediately reach for the unhealthy option.
What do most supermarket customers want? Convenience I guess…supermarkets sell loads of cheap microwave meals. Cheapness…those microwave meals are quite unhealthy and unbalanced but can fill you up. Something that tastes good. Again Frijj probably tastes great, I’ve never tried it.
Sainsbury’s is probably better than some other supermarkets for customers who may try it…Waitrose and M&S may be even better.
What does Huel want? Customers to buy it and buy it again. If customers pay 3.50 for something that may be healthy but doesn’t knock it out of the park tastewise, they won’t necessarily purchase it again.
A lot of supermarkets are releasing vegan products - veganism is a bit further evolved than healthy drink meals, even ones that are vegan; yet they are still often high in salt, fat and sugar, but the fact that some have a pricepoint higher than the Omni-alternative means that they won’t necessarily attract non-vegans to try them.
At the moment Huel is still a niche product and I’m not sure that the average shopper is quite ready for it. Things are changing though and if it hasn’t launched a bit too prematurely, Huel could find a place in mainstream shopping places. I hope so.
to remove a flavor and add a new one without the cancel/reorder bit.
) really have no idea and no interest. I’ve mentioned that it’s a ‘complete meal in a drink’ and they look at me either like I’m barmy or on slimfast.