Of course price and regulatory issues are the reason why certain micronutrients have been removed. Not every customer’s main concern is perfect nutritional value, but also convenience and price. Some people just want to save money and time. Convenience requires the product to have a good solubility, because many people don’t like lumpy, gritty textures - if you need special equipment or long preparation times to get smooth shakes it is not convenient. Price is another concern. Adding certain micronutrients would make the product more expensive in the long run, or decrease profits. Almost all rivaling companies have raised their prices - but also their quality. The difference is not as large as it used to be. It seems that Huel has decided choose a different strategy.
This is so true. Especially for vegans who worry about getting enough complete protein, it’s the convenience of knowing a couple of shakes of BE and that’s sorted, the rest of the day’s diet can be turnips or whatever.
and I’ll always trade a fringe-benefit micro-ingredient for keeping it affordable. 
If it was always known useless but still was useful for marketing and it was already in, then why go to the trouble of removing it, according to you?
We originally added kombucha to the formula to contribute B vitamins. However, after thorough nutritional testing, we found that kombucha didn’t significantly impact the product’s nutritional value in the way we thought, and was complicating the supply chain. Lycopene was present as a source of antioxidants, although there are several regions where including lycopene for nutritional purposes causes issues with regulators, meaning potential restrictions that we want to avoid. As Black Edition is such a wide-reaching product with Hueligans across the world, we wanted to optimise the product in line with the varying legislations in differing regions, so that everybody in all countries is using the same great formula. Moreover, even without lycopene, Black Edition still contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which are also beneficial carotenoids with antioxidant properties, as well as green tea extract which further enhances this. The price of our Black Edition remains unchanged as the cost saving of removing those two ingredients is negligible. We’re committed to ensuring that Black Edition remains a high-quality product while keeping it accessible to all our customers. 
@Amy_Huel is the change immediate? All new black edition orders will be new version?
Normally there is some warning…,
I love the flavour of current black chocolate and caramel. Hope they haven’t changed…
If I order now will I get the old version…???
I’ve got an order due in a couple of days, really hoping it’s the new version. 
I think these days the changes are just transitional depending on stock – many, many years ago didn’t they have something called the Outlet? (aka Granola’s Last Stand) where axed products went to pasture while stocks lasted and the new products went straight into the regular store? That seemed to work pretty well.
I see they’ve been selling old stock on foodcirclesupermarket.co.uk recently although nothing on there at the moment. I have mentioned it previously.
So regulatory issues are the problem? Understandable.
Alternatively you could offer a supplement, like many other companies in this market. One that can be made available in every country, where transport is easier, for example capsules or tablets.
We’re phasing the new recipe in over the next couple of months, and the switch will be happening at slightly different times depending on flavour. You can expect to receive the first v1.2 pouches towards the end of this month, so any orders placed now will be the existing v1.1 version. 
With the removal of Kombucha, is Huel Black 1.2 now completely Yeast free?
This week I have been diagnosed as highly Yeast intollerant, so am looking to cut it out completely.
Current use Huel black.
Yes, the new v1.2 Black Edition is no longer made with any yeast. We’re however unable to declare Black Edition as completely ‘yeast-free’ as we don’t conduct the necessary tests to verify this.
Has anyone else received a v1.2 delivery yet?
I just got Cookies & Cream 1.2, and I’m quite disappointed with the taste change. I was a big fan of C&C when it was first released - it basically tasted like ground up bourbon biscuits.
However the new 1.2 recipe has what I can only describe as like an (albeit mild) sulphur or rotten egg taste.
I’ve been having v1.2 for a couple of months. All delicious, with added chocolate pieces in both bags of the Salted Caramel.
Only taste differences I can detect is a bit less sweetness in both Banana and SC, (good, I like). Maybe they’re all a bit dialled-back? Tho’ can’t say I noticed with the Vanilla. I tried Cinnamon Swirl for the very first time, it was less sweet than I was expecting, but can’t compare as never had the v1. Haven’t had C&C either so not much help there, but B, SC, V & CS are all great.
I mean this certainly shouldn’t be the case!
Would you mind emailing us at team@huel.com so we can look into this for you?
I agree that the new recipe is awful.
I have bought the C&C twice. The original recipe and the new one which i just tried yesterday.
I remember the old one was a deep rich dark chocolate flavour with some bitterness that you get from dark chocolate. very nice if you’re into dark chocolate
The new one the chocolate taste is very muted and its quite sweet with an odd taste too it. I wont be buying it again.
and why is it £2 more expensive? the excuse for the cinnamon swirl being more expensive was cost of ingredients. what exactly is more expensive in C&C over regular chocolate? sounds like a money grab to me.
Downgrades in quality and upgrades in prices are something that you should be used to meanwhile if you have used Huel for a longer time, so it’s not really new. Remember that there are alternatives, which had mostly upgrades in quality, but more extreme upgrades in their prices too. With inflation everything is going to become more expensive sooner or later.
Any other high quality brands you’d recommend? Cost isn’t so much of an issue for me, thanks 
Go for something that contains real food powders; the first downgrade has been the removal of lycopene. First Huel cited literature demonstrating its benefit, but suddenly it was “no longer necessary” and removed. I suspect the downgrade was made to lowder production costs, but also to make customers buy their “new” products, superfood powder and drinks.
There are brands that add these things to all of their shakes.
I guess I am not allowed to name these brands. But I can send you a private message if you are still interested.
I’m glad that Huel seems to cater for those of us for whom cost really is an issue.