I wish people would stop obsessing about the “substantial meal”. What the rules actually say is that in order to open pubs must be “operating as a restaurant” which is then qualified to state they must be offering table service of substantial meals. So it’s pretty much irrelevant whether Huel is a substantial meal. A pub that only has three flavours of H&S on the menu is in no way operating as a restaurant.
That’s before you even consider the reasons for the rules to be in place in the first place. It’s about reducing social contact and mixing in enclosed spaces.
But hey, let’s all debate what a substantial meal is, whether that’s scotch eggs or a sandwich and chips, or Huel. That’s definitely more important than talking about food waste of all the food ordered but not eaten, so people can have a drink. Or talking about the rise in cases caused by more pubs being open.
Personally I’d argue that the real story (and the most important one) is that the UK had c.16500 new cases today and 533 deaths. Figures that are already rising again. But hey, let’s not worry about all those people dying as long as Huel gets some publicity about being a substantial meal.
For anyone else jumping ship because of this here is a long list of alternatives, including many that aren’t soy based:
So far cost and nutrition-wise, Lently seems like the best choice IMO. On the limited research I’ve done so far. Ambronite and Ka’chava seem alright too, just a bit pricier.
If you don’t mind soy there’s Soylent and Jimmy Joy as well.
Can’t really help it, it does make me feel nice to see Huel in the media, gaining recognition and being accepted as something substantial rather than some dieting fad. And I like to voice my happiness in these trying times where good feelings might be scarce.
We have to use proper definitions in order to navigate this crisis. If operating as a restaurant means offering substantial meals, and Huel is a substantial meal, then by definition those places are restaurants if they offer Huel. It becomes irrelevant whether we like it or not, the best we can do is ask government to change definition of what it means to be a restaurant. In a way, I’d like someone to challenge Huel being a substantial meal, and obviously fail thus providing even more recognition for Huel.
This forum is focused on Huel the food, so any discussion regarding Huel being a substantial meal is definitely on-topic here. Food waste is related, but secondary. Rise in infectious disease is not related.
There really isn’t much, if any, censorship on these forums. I’ve certainly said some things before, that could be considered controversial, and was not banned/censored. Being a decent human being and engaging well with others is certainly encouraged however, and I’d advise you type with that in mind.
It very much is when Huel is posting all over their social media about how clever they’ve been in helping pubs get around the rules to reduce the spread of infectious diseases by supplying them Huel.
In no way nutritious but I expect any 5cm square of carpet from a Wetherspoons would provide you with something to chew on for weeks.
Interestingly Tim Martin has announced that he isn’t reopening a whole load of Wetherspoons pubs in tier two as they are wet led and not viable as restaurant style pubs.
That is the assumption we’re all making, but we haven’t seen any sales reports yet.
For example, I would have never predicted that people would be crazily stocking up on toilet paper, so I don’t dare making predictions in the food segment.
You might be being a bit optimistic on the impact of “the hustle”. Judging by the coverage in the UK press, Huel is that cheap instant meal you can pay £3.50 for in two pubs so you can order your pint of Doombar, which is what you actually came in for. You also don’t have to eat it, just order it, and the expectation is that along with all the other variants on a substantial meal that people are ordering so they can drink, it will go in the bin.
Great publicity and I’m sure many more people will be placing a subscription as a result. Oh, and the coverage isn’t even on brand as it’s referred to as a meal replacement product throughout the articles.
I have not claimed that Huel is struggling to survive. I only stated we have not seen the sales data for this year. Yes, there was increased demand at the start of the pandemic, but that could have simply been a bunch of people placing the minimum order and keeping it in their pantry just in case (and forgetting about it by now).
Repeat customers are key, and for example if lots of people lost their jobs this year, then they perhaps cannot afford to keep on buying Huel.
Many variables, and hence seeing the actual data would be nice.
