So new order, and in comes v.1.2 of vanilla flavoured Huel.
Now there is nothing vanilla-ry about it. It smells quite simply off, or rancid even. The taste is worse. Almost cardboard, then a sweet kick, but with a sharp acidic and very unpleasant after taste. Not earthy, like the unflavoured version, but off.
I’m not being fussy, or a diva, it genuinely is foul. I have no idea if Huel can go off properly, and if it can it may be I’ve received a dodgy batch. However after reading all the comments about the flavour (or lack of) of the unflavoured version, I also don’t think it’s a simple mix-up of orders.
Could someone please let me know if this new flavour is actually what the vanilla has become?
I really don’t want to seem aggressive or pissy about it. However, if it is, and customers are being encouraged to spend more on additional flavour packs that’s just not good form, and I can’t see myself carrying on (this coming from someone who’s been 100% Huel for the last 2 months).
Sorry if it seems I’m being unreasonable, I just love living on Huel, and would absolutely hate giving it up!
That sounds worrying. I was about to place my next order for the regular Vanilla Huel, but now I’ll wait a bit until this is figured out. The previous batches I’ve been using up till now, which taste fine, have been v1.1.
@ECarlton I’m sorry that you think the flavour has changed.
Basically there is zero difference between v1.1 (the less sweet version) and 1.2. We changed the name to 1.2 instead of saying “the less sweet version of v1.1”.
Everything is identical. We have not changed suppliers or ingredients.
What is your batch number? I’m happy to exchange the pouch for a new one.
@Julian Thanks for getting back so quickly. The batch number’s 2058. It’s all very odd. Is it possible then that I’ve been sent four bags of unflavoured instead of vanilla?
@eldrin It does indeed say “Vanilla Flavour, Sucralose”! But it’s almost exactly as zoltan wrote in his post about his unflavoured batch.
@Julian The label’s white, and as above, sucralose is listed in the ingredients. The only explanation is that your supplier filled the wrong packaging with the wrong product. I’ve checked all of the bags, and they are all the same I’m afraid.
@Julian Let us know what your findings are, and whether or not there is a bad batch. I’d like to place my next order when it’s safe to do so, when any problematic batches are eliminated from being sent out.
Hi Nath, as the title of my post states, mine was unflavoured batch 2061, but it appears that this number does not help a lot in identifying anything really, seeing as you state that you had no issues with batch number 2058, but @ECarlton found his issue was with that one. I have gone through a number of rancid tasting bags and have not felt sick or anything yet. Though having to acknowledge this now makes me think that @Julian and @JamesCollier has some serious inspection to do on their sourcing process and quality checks if they want stay in business. I don’t think a lot of their customers will just keep drinking Huel despite it’s rancid taste, let alone buy more. What I would like to see is a bit more transparency and honesty on this and in general.
@zoltan - we have been honest and transparent. The formula hasn’t changed, the supplier hasn’t change, the blender hasn’t changed. Yes I agreed that the product does taste a little different, but certainly not rancid. Natural ingredients do vary, that we accept. But I do agree that the need to ensure less variants. Therefore, we are speaking to our supplier and attempt to agree annual supplies of each ingredients which are sourced as similar as possible. We are on it, and I promise we will do our best to ensure a consistent taste and texture.
Sometimes I have noticed that I can taste the rice protein more with some bags. I am aware that rice protein varies in flavour, having bought various brands of rice protein for my own DIY mixtures in the past. Not a major problem, but just something I noticed a couple of times.
Hi, here’s another data point: I have two bags of batch 2058 too, and I’m having the same experience as @ECarlton with both of them. I don’t like it, whereas my previous order (410 calorie v1.1, I think that’s the one that’s supposed to be the same as v1.2?) was really good.
I think it’ll be a good idea for me to order just a 1 week supply for my next order rather than going for a 4 week supply. It sounds like batch 2058, at least, was dodgy. I wonder what the current batch number being shipped is? Hopefully @Julian can get to the bottom of this soon.
Since this isn’t the only report of this nature, and I can confirm that my experience with 1.2 is like this also, it might be safe to assume that the “less sweet version” is simply lacking in the taste department.
I loved the first vanilla version, but this one is just a chore to get down.
Onto the solution: What are your plans for 1.3? Is making it a bit sweeter again even up for discussion, or are we stuck with this taste (which probably means I’ll stop using Huel; not sure how much more of this i can take)
@stian we have no plans to make Huel sweeter again. The reason is that people have different requirements in terms of sweetness, some prefer sweeter and some prefer less sweet. We took the decision to be less sweet than previous due to that being to overwhelming feedback. We conducted extensive taste tests and the less sweet version was the winner. Also once the sweetener is added the end user can’t remove it, but they can add more if they prefer a sweeter taste. I hope that makes sense.