Switched from Jimmy Joy to Huel. A short review

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This is a post I made on the forum of Jimmy Joy, for the comparison between the two.

Consistency and Settlement in the shaker
This is actually the thing that I like most about Jimmy Joy, the solvability of JJ is much much better than Huel. I experience that much less water is needed, and Huel really tends to clump and leave a big portion on the bottom. I have the idea that Huel has for a big part hydrophobic elements in their formula which makes the clumps. Also for this reason cleaning the shaker is much easier with JJ. Huel V3.0 has improved in this part, but is still far away from JJ. So for this part, I give points to JJ.

Taste
I find the taste of JJ much better. To me itā€™s much sweeter and the texture is much better, just like a milkshake. Huel gives me kind of an itchy oaty taste. This is also something that gives JJ a headstart.

Community
This is something that I can give huge compliments to Huel for. The community of Huel is much more active. This follows from a much bigger customer base for Huel as well. However, I feel like Huel gets much more checked, and also the heads of Huel are very active on the forum, answering every day to all posts, whereas JJ often takes weeks to respond to answer and they often try to be nice instead of a scientific straight forward answer such as Huel perfectly does.

Nutrition
This is my biggest point why I switched to Huel. Huel has done extensive research on their product. JJ only adds products that have been proven scientifically, but even with this they are behind the current recommendations (example choline and potassium, where they still use recommendations of 2011). Huel on the other hand also pays attention to not fully scientific findings, but also to science that is currently in the working, but adds it to be sure. Examples of this are phytonutrients and probiotics. Huel is very open about their nutrients and all the science behind it. They have much more information online, have all test results (including e.g. Heavy Metals), have much more nuanced additions in their nutritional profile, and they respond immediately to their community on questions. I feel like this is the major point that JJ lacks, and also why JJ is not growing as rapidly as Huel. Both companies have a different approach to marketing. Whereas Huel focusses on clean and scientific values, JJ gives more of a fun and lose vibe (e.g. when looking at their social media profiles and Youtube videos).

Price
This is something Jimmy Joy gets points, especially after the price increase of Huel V3.0.

I do find ease and taste important, but since I am taking the complete food for 100% of my meals, I choose to go for the most scientifically and community proven solution and that is Huel.

Something that JJ has a jump ahead in, is their Plenny Bars. This is an amazing product that functions as a meal replacement, a chewable easily portable one. Huel only has bars as snacks.

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I agree with most of that. I prefer the taste of JJ but it has (for want of a better word) a creepy aftertaste and texture.

I donā€™t agree that their bars are meal replacements and Huel bars are only snacks. Just eat two Huel bars. Itā€™s almost too easy! Plenny Bars win on price.

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The Huel bars are intented as snacks by Huel, it even says so on the main page. This can also be seen from the nutritional profile, going for 100% on Huel Bars gives you of some nutrients too little, and on many way too much. Also the price are a high indeed.

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Hello again :wink:

I am now trying JJ for the first time and I am not 100% satisfied. The consistency is what strikes me as the biggest difference, I donā€™t really like the powdery, thick consistency that much, so Iā€™ll probably have to tinker a bit with the water ratioā€™s. I also noticed that there was a more dense sludge at the bottom of my shaker (I make it and let it stand in the fridge for a bit to thicken up, like Huel), so I need to remember to give it a shake before I start to drink it :slight_smile:
I also have the feeling JJ is less sweet, but maybe thatā€™s because Iā€™ve only tried the Chai.
I do like their shaker more, itā€™s brighter and I like the fact that itā€™s small and cute (I ordered the small version).

I agree that the community and communication of Huel are much, much better.

Iā€™m still in doubts, havenā€™t tried the ā€œwhiteā€ V3 yet (consistency changed?), so Iā€™ll order two bags of that one and then Iā€™ll make a decision which one to go with.

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Apparently, but I canā€™t tell the difference.

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Jimmy Joy really should be drank without putting it in the fridge, then JJ is much smoother than Huel. And then as I stated, I experience that Huel is much clumpier and leaves a sludge at the bottom.

The consistency of V3 (white) has indeed changed, it is a bit smoother, but still far away from JJ. It is still clumping and gritty.

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Yep, itā€™s true. But you can easily have them as a meal. If you have them for all your meals then I agree theyā€™re not suitable. Do some people go on 100% Plenny diets? I can see the appeal in terms of convenience.

This statement horrifies me. I canā€™t even tell you how much it horrifies me. Itā€™s like you posted ā€œI have noticed that sometimes I have shit on my hands, so I need to remember to wash them after using the toiletā€. ALWAYS SHAKE OR YOU WILL GET THE FLOATY SLIME. AAAAAARGH! :face_vomiting:

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Oh David, maybe your reactions are the main reason I donā€™t want to switch from Huel to something elseā€¦ :slight_smile:

Idk, with Huel I just give it a small up and down shake, but with JJ this was clearly not enough, there was a big sludge at the bottom that I had to eat with a spoon! It turned into something like a pudding. Soā€¦ next time Iā€™ll drink it fresh, like Dennis said. But I like it very cold, so idk how that will turn out. Probably Iā€™ll have to put the shaker with water in the fridge first then and add the powder Ć  la minute. (my colleagues will think Iā€™m only eating water from now onā€¦)

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Thanks for your balanced review Dennis.

Iā€™m going to try and clear a few things up if thatā€™s okay. Iā€™m just nitpicking and think your review is really well done!

Huel probably needs more water because I think the percentage of oats and flaxseed is higher (I canā€™t be certain of this though). There shouldnā€™t be a big portion left at the bottom or clumps add 400ml of water, then 2 scoops of Huel shake, top up 200ml and shake again.

If the macros work for you, you could always try Huel Black Edition which doesnā€™t contain oats?

This is something that Tim and the rest of the early Hueligans have built from the start of the company. To say itā€™s because of our bigger customer base I think does them a disservice to the hours theyā€™ve put in to make the Huel community what it is today.

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Thanks for the reply @Dan_Huel.

I do use much less water, 400 mL with 4 scoops (200 g), as I was used to this with JJ. Iā€™m gonna try to add more water indeed. I do prefer a thick consistency though, so my main issue with it then is that it can become watery, whereas the thickness was perfect with JJ. Thanks for the tip!

Black Edition, unfortunately, doesnā€™t work for me, firstly because of the price and secondly because Iā€™m using it for 100% of my meals and I feel like Iā€™ll consume too much protein then. As it seems to me now, a White Edition with the consistency of the Black Edition, but the macros, micros, and price of the White Edition would be perfect.

Good point you make there, apologies. I indeed appreciate the huge effort that Huel and the community have put into making the company that it is now!

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I like my Huel thick so only have 400ml with 2 scoops but thatā€™s next level!

Thatā€™s fair enough, thanks for your feedback on how we can improve!

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:grin: yes maybe I should try to add more water

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Do you put the water or the Huel in the shaker first? It should be water first to avoid a clump of unmixed powder at the bottom. Also, make sure you donā€™t invert the shaker before starting to shake, I used to make that mistake and always had problems with clumping before I realised what I was doing wrong.

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I just had another shake, this time with 800 mL water and 4 scoops (Iā€™m really full now). The overall consistency was smoother, but there were still clumps (though a bit less). I do prefer a less watery shake.

I pore in the water first, then the powder, and then top it off with more water. Then I shake vigorously for a while. Still clumps.

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I donā€™t bother shaking I prefer blasting it in my blender

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Try:

  1. water
  2. powder
  3. swirl in a circular motion
  4. shake up and down and side to side
  5. top up with water
  6. shake again

Youā€™re kinda sandwiching the powder in the water at the moment - shake it before adding more water so there is plenty space for it to mix properly.
The swirling motion is optional but stops the powder getting thrown up into the spout and stuck there

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These are great tips! Thanks!

However Iā€™m still gonna make a point haha. JJ has proven that it can be done without all the shaking, blending, and order of adding water. I still prefer JJ in this area and I hope that Huel will continue working on making their powder also less clumpy and easier to clean the shaker.

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JJā€™s biggest strength is the fact that you add 300ml of water to the shaker, 2 scoops of powder, shake it for 10 seconds and you have a ready drink with perfect consistency. The bad thing is that after they changed their recipe, their shake is way too water-like and it doesnā€™t feel like a meal. Huelā€™s more thick consistency is the main reason why I ditched JJ and picked Huel as my main meal replacement.

@ROAG Never put a prepare JJ shake in the fridge, it completely ruins the texture, consistency etc. It is the opposite of Huel which really needs to sit in the fridge to get a really nice texture and consistency. JJ is meant to be consumed right after it is made, it has a very smooth consistency already after 10 seconds of shaking.

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The thinner consistency of JJ is probably why I am used to use so little water indeed, which does make it very thick, but without any clumps. I like that this way it didnā€™t feel as such a ā€˜bombā€™ on my stomach (that might be a Dutch saying).

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Dennis, many thanks for your review. I will also leave my input. I used JJ, Queal and stayed with Huel powder. Although I didnā€™t agree with recent changes in the formula, the keeping of a U&U version and the absence of soy/soya is the main motive to stay with Huel for the foreseeable future.
Think that without soy protein isolate or soy flour there are few alternatives, even within this price/quality ratio, besides being vegan.
And people see soy products all alike but fermented soy products used in Asian cultures are not the same as unfermented soy based and widely available products ( people can look further into it).
And some days Huel is my only food. And within the 2000 Kcal I donā€™t need to add any supplement to my diet.
The mixing is for me a non issue. I use a big blender with a Tritan jar and make the amount needed at once and then split into 2/3 shaker bottles. Regarding taste I use U&U as is, or with a oat drink and sometimes with cocoa powder.

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