Just curious what kind of reactions people give you when you’re mixing up your Huel etc. Especially if you work in an office, this is always an interesting place to gauge this sort of thing because there’s usually a whole spectrum of familiarity with people around you and I personally have found that strangers are more willing to comment than team mates sometimes. I’ve worked in two different parts of the company and in each role I have seen another person also bring Huel into the office, but other than that people have been overwhelmingly negative (they think I’m bonkers basically). What’s your experience?
People (ranging from family/classmates/boyfriends) have been very negative too about Huel (they think it’s not good for you since it’s a liquid diet). That’s why I mix Huel at home and pretend it’s water whenever I drink it. I get weird looks. Whatever lol
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I have been getting mostly negative comments and reactions, at least initially. I recall my supervisor pulling a face and commenting that it looked like “bird food”. To her credit, it does! But, that says nothing about its actual value and quality.
People are mostly concerned with what it contains. They always seem to say that to take Huel (or any other powder replacement for food) is a leap of faith because you can never be sure about its contents. Well, that’s true, but it’s also true for virtually everything else we consume these days.
I believe in live and let live without shoving everything you do in people’s faces. Of course, I explain what it is when people ask; I tell them what benefits it carries with it, how much it is and where to get it but ultimately, it’s a choice, and it takes a specific mindset to accept it.
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Thankfully we don’t get weird looks in the office here! Although I’m still no good at explaining what I do in a way that people understand in one go. The other day I was attempting to explain what Huel was and had to be very restrained and not go into Facebook Response mode when I got the standard responses! I got asked what colour Huel was and after describing the colour was asked “Why don’t you put colours in it?”
…
I didn’t go on to describe what lycopene is and how it gives Huel red flecks, perhaps I should have!
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I just let people think the red flecks are human blood.
I work from home now, but for many years I worked in IT in an office environment; I was always the weird vegan guy (in a nice way - no-one was ever a d*ck about it, even if they did take the pee occasionally), so when I started drinking Huel there was some minor curiosity, a few people tried it, and they were quite accepting of the idea that it was not a bad thing…they used to do Friday runs to the greasy spoon and bring back foot long rolls filled with bacon, eggs, sausages, black pudding etc…I found that odd. I left 18 months ago…since then Huel has become quite a bit better known, and give it a few more years and it could be seen almost normal…I mean veganism now is quite a big thing…when I was first vegan - 3 decades ago…it was just twigs and leaves for lunch.
Didn’t you know? Huel used to be Vegan but they insisted on claiming it was complete nutrition. Yeah, I know. I could have heard they have to add dried blood to it just so they can pass the tests cos obviously even vegans would notice lumps of horse in their Huel.
First time I noticed the lycopene I assumed I’d cut myself & bled into my blender. Posted this observation & discovered I was not alone, lol.
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Soylent Green wasn’t fiction after all - it was prophecy?
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Same here… And if you want to explain what is people are going to think that you are trying to sell it… I prefer to lie about what I am drinking or not comment anything at all. Most of the people dont like the idea but I love the food and the concept of Huel/Soylent.
Even saying the name in Spanish with english accent is super weird, like they dont understand anything. I prefer to call it soylent for my friends and family.
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Very interesting! Huel is all well and good as a portmanteau in English, but I can see how it could sound odd in other languages.
My Russian colleague commented that it sounded a lot like a rude word for a very specific body part in his language 
Yes… in spanish is a very fast and low sound, so if you want to say it in english in front of spaniards you sound like a snob. In the case of Soylent the sound is much better and longer and you dont sound like an idiot when pronouncing (very important in Spain).
Other than a few of the dinosaurs in the office pulling faces, most of the reactions I’ve had have been positive/inquisitive. I tend to summarise the description as “a nutritionally balanced meal in liquid form”, and for anyone wanting to know more, email them my referral link 
On the rare occasion I decide to treat myself to a posh baguette from the local Deli, someone usually asks “ditched Huel, then?”… I usually reply “well, you’d occasionally want a change from your daily two slices of bread and a packet of crisps, wouldn’t you?”.
The only time it’s tricky is when I’m working somewhere other than my usual office - standing at the end of a conference room wildly shaking a Huel bottle and praying this won’t be one of those surprise leak days is often when I make it a sarnie day 
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Kind of a mixed bag.
Some people think I’m weird, others think it’s cool. Only had my boyfriends’s mum become a user though.
Though having Huel twice a day then not being shy to have pizza, chips and other unhealthy stuff as my other meal whenever the chance arises and not putting on weight has gone a way to convincing people that it’s good stuff.
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A few coworkers have commented that they will never try it because they like chewing food too much. One of them decided to try it and said it didn’t taste as bad as she thought it would. But, I am in a more progressive than average office so the reaction isn’t as harsh. Seems like when I say, “yeah it looks gross but when you try it with x ingredient it tastes like x food” the reaction is more tame.
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They think I’m mad for paying £150 for 8 bags of oats, mixed seeds and a few multivitamins crushed in. I suppose they’re not wrong - It’s bloody expensive for what it actually is…
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Once I faced my own reluctance to drink it in public, I found that workmates don’t even care that much if I’m having take away, a home prepared meal or drink from a shaker.
At most I’ll get a remark like “is that protein shake?” to which I’ll just reply “no, it’s meal replacement, i.e. not only protein” to which people usually say “cool”.
So in my experience it takes one quite short explanation per co-worker to normalise the practice.
Still, after more than a year, I get the occasional comment but people are generally used to me shaking my bottle for lunch. They do think I’m weird though.
To avoid explaining as always I normally say if they ask that is made of vegetables, they shut down inmediately
I always wondered what those red flecks were!
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Consider yourself informed!
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