Where was this marketing? I’ve never seen this being a standout marketing element. Using Wayback Machine, there was no mention of this on the Huel Bar page between 2018 - 2023 in the samples just checked. No mention of this in any marketing on search engines. Can’t see anything related on socials. I get that the previous bar worked for you, but this claim seems exaggerated.
Again, let’s not exaggerate here and stick to facts. It’s impossible for the Huel bar to contain 20g of sugar alcohols. If total carbs are 19g, with 1.6g of sugars and 5.8g of fibre, then the maximum possible sugar alcohol content is 11.6g. Even then, extremely unlikely for all the remaining 11.6g of carbs to consist entirely of sugar alcohols, because it’s rare to have such a high proportion solely from sugar alcohols, and some of the other ingredients on the bar’s list also contribute, therefore would very likely be less than half of your figure.
Further, if this other person’s figures for sugar alcohol content in Grenade bars are correct, then it’s clear that Huel’s bars still contain either significantly less or fairly less sugar alcohol(s) than those bars.
Sorry to hear this. Regarding “a lot of people”, statistically these bars will benefit substantially more people than the previous bar, because of the major improvements in taste and texture which brings it to a point finally accessible to the masses. It’s definitely a shame that certain changes have made it inaccessible to some prior consumers, however let’s not take this personally and instead consider what makes the most logic, e.g. company releases the first 2 flavours of a brand new bar for the masses with maximum potential success, then listens to feedback and develops further versions/flavours to capture more audiences.
Looks like Huel offered months ago to potentially give a yes or no answer if you contact them with how much malitol you need to stay under, so perhaps give that a try while sending clear, constructive feedback on what you’d like in the next flavour/bar.
Your screenshot reinforces my previous point. The claim that Huel marketed the original bars with the standout that they don’t contain sugar alcohols is false. A one-off forum post from a Huel staff member 3 years ago replying to someone mentioning the bar’s sugar content, does not constitute this being a standout in their marketing.
Drama, exaggerations, accusations, etc get people nowhere, nor do extremely unrealistic expectations like asking a company to divulge secrets in their recipe, or getting up in arms because a chocolate bar doesn’t suit the specific requirements for every human being’s unprecedentedly diverse characteristics. Praise the improvements where they’ve occurred, and offer kind, constructive feedback on anything you think could be further improved. No-one at Huel is out to target or rattle anyone. No-one is perfect. The amount of patience, listening and excellent service I’ve seen consistently from Huel over the years gives them more than enough to warrant some respect, decency and care. If you want your voice heard, speak clearly, truthfully and respectfully.
Jesus chill the F out!! Is there really a need to write an essay
Maltitol sucks…and I can have and keep that opinion regardless of your hyper aggressive die hard huel protective attitude.
Anything more than 3 sentences and I won’t be reading so don’t waste your type time I’m already over it but not sure if you are
All calm here. Is there really a need to create false claims, drama, accusations, etc because of an ingredient in a chocolate bar? Politely correcting false info spreading and suggesting a more productive way of getting your voice heard, does not equate to a “hyper aggressive due hard huel protective attitude”.
Imagine trying to give millions of people what they want, but having to navigate through a sea of toxic, hyperbolic, attacking chatter to simply hear clear actionable objectives on how to proceed. It’s not logical or helpful. We all want Huel to succeed. Rather than change opinions, I’m suggesting how to give it in a more constructive way that has a higher chance of success for you.
A screenshot of a staff member mentioning sugar alcohols on a forum 3 years ago in response to a comment about the sugar content of the bar, does not equate to a change in the business’s priorities.
What they did do: Release the first 2 flavours of a new chocolate bar, and asked for feedback to refine their next steps.
What they didn’t do: Release a 10 year business plan, make promises about sugar alcohols, market the lack of sugar alcohols as a primary selling point, release their last ever product, devise an evil plan to target those with specific desires/allergies, say they will never give you what they want… you get the point.
They’ve achieved the goal of creating a bar with delicious taste and texture. Nice, that’s the big part done. Now let’s help make them aware of specific small, remaining elements they could improve upon, without trying to slate them constantly.
I can’t be @@@@@ with this. So well done - you win!!
Maltalol screws my digestion. The new bars are the same @@@@ that a dozen other companies produce.
I’m out.
Suggesting a winner is again emotionally charged confrontation. No-one is against each other. It’s just a chocolate bar. We’re all humans – If more people just worked together on solutions, more people would get what they’re after.
All I’m saying is that when feedback is shared respectfully and factually, it’s more likely to be taken seriously by the company. Seems like whenever Huel posts an announcement, people swarm in trying to bring it down with false claims, doomed outlooks and hostile attitudes like this thread.
If the new bar tastes delicious but maltitol causes digestive issues, it’s really not difficult to just say those pros and cons nicely like this, then suggest a non-sugar alcohol version. I for one love the new chocolate caramel bar and this is the first time since I started Huel in 2018 that I’m now subscribed regularly to the bars. A non-sugar alcohol version/flavour seems like a great idea for Huel to follow up with next.
He was being sarcastic - I think we’ve all given up now discussing this with you because of how much of a zealot keyboard warrior you are.
Reply if you want (I’m sure you will) I don’t care, I’m out.
Yes, which is why I said it’s continuing the emotionally charged confrontation. They are viewing this as “me against you”, which gets people nowhere. Keeping things rational, civil and productive does.
You post multiple false statements about a company’s product, and debunking each one makes me a “zealot keyboard warrior”? Avoid spreading misinformation if you don’t like people pulling you up on it. Just share pros and cons factually and suggest what you’d like Huel to do next. It’s really that simple.
The reduction of gluten-free products is really a problem. In the past the availability of lots of different gluten-free products has been the feature that made Huel special in some way, as most other brands are relatively high in gluten or non-vegan.
Really don’t get what all the sudden drama is about sugar alcohols – Doctor Google has a lot to answer for – Huel have used them in their products before (previous Black bars) and continue to do so (Daily A-Z’s) without a peep, now suddenly it’s the end of the world.
Most scientific studies out there say the same – due to its unique properties, Maltitol is a great choice for people who have to watch their sugar intake and causes zero adverse gastric effects in the majority of consumers in levels less than 40mg a day.
There have even been many requests for them to replace stevia and sucralose in the core products with polyols – even though this isn’t very practical. They really are on a hiding to nothing whatever they try. The Greens use Stevia Leaf and the new Super Blend uses Monk Fruit extract which I’m sure will also prove to be controversial even though its’ been often requested.
Regarding the ‘marketing’ or ‘change in direction’ – there have been many questions I recall in the past on the forums about replacing sucralose with polyols, and the NPD team have always pushed back on this as the core products can form the bulk of peoples calories intake - so using it in these kind of products could easily push the daily usage into laxative inducing territory. The general assumption is that people do not use snack products as the main source of their daily calories, so using polyols in those is less likely to do so.
Just jumping on here to hopefully ease any concerns surrounding polyols.
Firstly, to confirm, maltitol does not count as a type of sugar - it has a different structure and doesn’t behave like sugar within the body - so it would be inaccurate to include it as part of the sugar content on the nutrition label. Please rest assured this total sugar figure of 1.6g is accurate.
At normal consumption levels, polyols/sugar alcohols are generally tolerated well. Polyols do fall under the FODMAP umbrella, so some individuals with gastro-intestinal conditions may be sensitive to them, but this isn’t the case for the majority of the population.
To create a low-sugar bar with our best texture yet, we found polyols worked best in this application. Crucially here, we don’t have any strong evidence to suggest polyols cause any negative health outcomes at normal consumption levels. Some research even suggests a positive impact on dental health.
Consuming a high quantity may have a laxative effect, but the threshold for this with regards to our Complete Nutrition Bars would be around 5 bars. They’re tasty little things, but I’m doubtful anyone is scoffing more than a couple a day maximum. Nonetheless, we label this clearly on our website.
Any specific concerns surrounding maltitol, I’m happy to discuss.
I did cheekily have 3 bars in 1 day recently ahah. Genuinely if I had money to burn, I’d be buying way more.
Worth noting that it’s worth keeping them at room temp for a while or warming a bar up in your hands for that “soft fudgy gooey beauty” if they’ve just been delivered, because they get pretty hard and solid during the coldness of transit.
Yeah I got one of each as extras in my usual sub, and I’d eaten them within five minutes of delivery. So there was no gooeyness, but they were still nice.
They sound so good.