Over the past week I’ve been thinking about other ways of transporting Huel around and really like the 100mg sample sachets, one could easily squeeze 125g in there. They’re good quality bags, care has been taken in their creation and the design, but I imagine they’re quite expensive, but they’re perfect for shoving in the drawer at the office and just making up a meal when you want one.
So I was thinking that there must be a better way to have some bags knocking around the office.
Initially I considered suggesting ‘walkers crisp’ style packets. They’re thin, have a metallic (aluminium?) inside which would stop light leaking into them if they’re left out but they can be a bit weak and can sometimes puncture when they’re heat sealed (but the amount of air in the packets to stop the crisps from being squashed could also be a part of that, with Huel as a powder that might not be an issue.)
Then I thought about cup-a-soup style packets which are paper, they’re stronger but light may get in.
Then I ended up thinking about the Quaker “Oat So Simple” packets - they’re thicker, not sure if they’re entirely paper, and they’re designed to have water/milk put in them up to a ‘fill to this line’ marking before being put into a bowl.
So what I’m asking for is, next time you’re reviewing packaging options, is to consider an option for 28 sachets in the ‘28 meals’ price.
I appreciate that quality of packaging is important to the brand, and I imagine that even the 100g sample packets have an element of manual work to put them together, but having the ability to have a number of sachets in the office like one would have with cup-a-soups would be really beneficial, even if there is an additional price to be paid for a ‘28 sachets’ option, it would be beneficial to the end-user and has a fringe marketing benefit of someone saying ‘oh, why don’t you try one of these?’ to a colleague.
All really good suggestions for packaging solutions. The idea of individually packaged meals is an idea we have considered in the past and may consider in the future. I’ll explain why we haven’t yet progressed it:
Inflexibility. 500 kcal pouches would be completely inflexible for people that require less/more calories. We use 500 kcal as a reference figure, but really everyone is eating different amounts and this idea doesn’t give the option for people to do this.
Increased packaging. One of our main goals is to reduce waste, food and packaging. This would obviously increase packaging hugely. For example the 28 meal sachets would need to be kept in an additional box to save labour.
Cost. Changing the packaging like you suggest would help, but not a huge amount. Really the main costs come from labour. If you imagine someone/a machine filling a 1.75kg bag of Huel (14 meals) and filling 14 x 125g sachets, it isn’t 14 times faster and therefore would take a lot longer. There wouldn’t be any way of making the sachet option the same cost as the large pouch option.
However, we have just costed it out because it is something people are interested in. Not taking into account packaging costs (if we found a cheaper and suitable solution for packaging we would likely incorporate it across the board), then a 28 meal sachet package would cost just under £60, compared to £45 for the bigger pouches. Would this cost increase be something you would consider?
I think it would probably be cheaper if it was more mass produced and heat sealed. Plus the current packets aren’t recyclable but a paper based one would be 100% recyclable.
£15 is a bit of a steep increase. But efficiencies could be made with changing the packaging for it.
I don’t like the idea of individual packets just for environmental reasons. One of the appealing things about Huel is all that food in absolutely minimal packaging. If you need to take Huel to work it’s not hard to just stick it in a small reusable tupperware or something.
The cost I’ve given you is based on our current facilities which has a fairly large production demand, our packaging at the moment is also heat sealed, so the price is the one. The problem with a paper based package is that the product wouldn’t last as long and could lead to further food waste if it went out of date. The cost may reduce slightly with a few ideas we have, but the sachets would always be at least 20% more expensive. Are you saying you wouldn’t consider buying these at that price?
I use these things. They are available on Amazon or eBay.
Ideal for when I’m away for a day or two, they hold the 100g that I need each. And they stack up as high as you want to go.
It wasn’t really a moan, it was just a new product suggestion (or new packaging option suggestion)
The 100g Huel packets are really good quality, and you can see that the packaging is expensive. My suggestion is more that you could, in the future, consider other packaging options which would be easier to take and leave with you at somewhere like an office drawer.
Consider the difference in price between these three packages:
Huel left & right, 100g. Generic Aldi something or other in the middle, 115g.
Obviously chucking Huel in a mixed material thinger like the middle would cheapen the brand, but I bet the one in the middle costs pennies from a packaging perspective.
I think as a holiday food option people may accept an increase in cost purely because of the convenience factor, easier to pack and use than a standard bag plus when going on holiday, people are a bit more free and easy with their finances.
Personally if I was planning ahead for a holiday I’d be more likely to buy multiple samples or look at the sort of resealble bags out there with similar levels of light protection as the large bags and decant the desired amount into those.
For long weekends away I’ve just used supermarket ziplocks with premeasured amounts and kept them in a small toiletry bag.
I’ve never thought to try the same for the office as I work 2 minutes away from home have my pre made Huel in the Fridge.
It’s not that it’s a bad idea in any way shape or form, I’m just a tight wad - I can see others buying into it but not sure if it appeals to the holiday market rather than the office market.
I personally would be very interested in using individual portion sachets, not just as convenience, but practically.
I work as a pilot, and have recently switched to long haul. I have, for a number of years, taken protein powder with me, sometimes individual sachets, sometimes in those individual containers.
Now whilst flying around Europe no one has objected but I have had a few ‘run ins’ in some countries. Individual protein sachets pose no problems, but I am getting a bit fed up of having the tubs ‘tested’, and getting pulled for secondary screening.
I should add that I always take carry on, putting my kit in the hold is not an option, and I want access to the ‘meal’ in flight. I’d use between 10 and 14 sachets per month so could stand a reasonable increase in price.
(Edited: the 28 for £60 would be acceptable to me)
I would like to see a half size or quarter size packet. Im a lorry driver and I keep a bottle of water and a package of huel in my bag. It’s nice knowing I have a food source no matter what happens. Though the big bags a bit of a pain. Really though I should just not be lazy and divide out some portions myself!
