I wondered if you guys at Huel have considered the gap in the market for a nutritionally balanced meal replacement post bariatric surgery?
I had WLS in 2009 and was advised to go high protein liquids (to assist with healing) then start pureeing foods for up to 3 months, before moving onto soft solids.
As a massive foodie and health freak I found it quite anxiety-laden, having to construct meals which would be balanced and puree-able. And living on protein shakes didn’t feel right to me at all, as I have done low carb before and it didn’t serve me well! Also most protein shakes are laden with sweeteners and artificial ingredients. I love that Huel is vegan and made with natural ingredients, and is completely balanced and value for money.
Now 6 years post surgery, and having used Huel for 2 meals per day for the past 3 months, I genuinely think it would be a great option for those who are recovering from weight loss surgery. Or indeed any kind of bariatric surgery where ability to eat a ‘normal diet’ is impared,
If you do feel that this gap in the market is worth investigating and need some first hand experience, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Also for dental surgery. I have a friend who got all of his meals and stuck them in a blender after dental surgery; this included meat pies, roasts and anything else that was dished up to him. I imagine a Huel shake would be far more appealing for most people in that situation
Hospital meals generally! Last time I was in hospital they were worried that I wasn’t eating much despite the fact that I was fairly severely malnourished. When the consultant started to chide me for not eating I challenged him to eat a standard hospital meal and say it wasn’t “badly presented, over processed, nutrition-free slop that the cheapest, nastiest cafe around would be ashamed to serve up”. That said I did add that I believed the hospital kitchen were doing the best they could on an appallingly low budget.
The scope for using Huel in hospitals and other care situations is immense…
My mate is on a peg feeder for cancer treatment and has a similar looking powdered meal that he injects. He was annoyed when I told him I was on Huel, because he can’t eat and wishes he could.
It’s certainly something we want to consider. It annoys us that Doctors are told to prescribe products like Complan to patients, which is nothing more than sugar really.
At the moment we have no idea how we would tackle this though. We are encouraged by the number of people that contact us on here and privately about their experiences with Huel whilst going through some of toughest days of their lives. Right now, I think the best we can do is to spread the word and we thank you all sincerely for doing so.
Thanks Tim. I have my 6 year follow up appointment with my weight loss surgeon on Tuesday and am going to mention Huel to see what he thinks. I’ll let you know if he has any useful feedback!
The NHS has no central governing body and is managed by individual trusts for each region. I’d suggest making an appointment with Buckingham Healthcare NHS Trust for starters and selling your concept. If someone buys into your idea then they’ll start opening doors for you and putting you in contact with the right people
