Hi Hueler,
We currently sell Huel in units of weeks, e.g. 1 week’s supply of Huel. However, not everyone uses 2000 cals per days. So if there a clearer description we could use? Here are some suggestions:
Thoughts?
1week/14000 calories/3.4kg
I would give one exact number + something human-readable/meaningful. For example:
7 to 10 days supply (14.000 calories)
21 to 28 meals (14.000 calories)
I think it is OK to give days/meals as a rough range to give people an estimation. (After all, no one expects to read an exact amount of meals on a bag of pasta; you’d only want to know the exact content and a way to estimate your consumption.)
Lastly, I would not use the weight as the main information, it offers the least amount of useful information, even if it’s technically correct.
Option 3, for me.
It is the best option for comparing with other brands.
And everyone knows that a normal diet (2000 Kcal/day) divided in 3 meals, is 667 Kcal. Most people eat 3 meals/day, not 4, right?
The problem with the whole 2000 calories per day thing is that this is only the average for a woman. For a man it is 2,500. So “1 week’s supply” of Huel is actually only 5.6 days supply for the average man. For example, I can get through two bags of Huel per week and still eat a normal meal for dinner (I calculate it as if I am eating 5 meals per day, with the 5th meal not being Huel).
So although it appears to be more useful to say “1 week’s supply”, this is actually not true for everyone. In my case, I would not be able to live for a whole week on 2 bags of Huel, not without losing weight (which I don’t need to do).
So I would say include all information (weight, calories, how many days), but be clearer that for men it is fewer days supply. Otherwise it is slightly misleading. A guy might buy 8 bags thinking that’s all his food shopping done for most of the month, and then he realises he still needs a further 500 calories per day.
@Marcus I understand all your points but we have to lead with something, for example in the drop on the product page we have currently:
1 week
2 weeks - 6% off
4 weeks - 10% off
What would you use?
@Julian Oh, I see what you mean. In that case, I would use the weight. At least it would still be relative, so people could see that would be getting a 10% discount for buying 4 times as much in bulk.
@Raymondcal Thanks you for your opinion. 3 meals per day is the traditional way but I personally don’t tend to consume quite like that, more like 3 larger meals and 3 smaller / snacks. I certainly don’t consume meals of 667 cals of Huel that would be pretty big, 165g. If you use a Huel shaker the max is probably three and half scoops which is 534 cals. So I’m tempted by 28 meals, on our label the serving size is currently either 4 or 5 meals per day.
@Marcus This just shows how tricky it is, you suggest weight, whereas @cmeyer1869 said weight was the least useful.
@Julian Yes, I see what you mean, it is a very tricky issue. People have different preferences. I suppose I should try to put my own personal preferences aside and try to think about it more objectively. Because I already consume Huel, I know what the deal is, so I’m not a new potential customer that needs to be sold on the idea of consuming Huel.
Not only do people have different calorie requirements, they are also going to have a different pattern to their consumption. Some people will do the standard 3 meals a day thing, some 4, some 5, and so on. And for different percentages of their diet too. Yet I can also see the benefit to stating that it is a week’s supply or whatever, even if that won’t apply to everyone.
Maybe the best approach would be to do what @Michael suggested and have it like:
1week/14000 calories/3.4kg
Although it would look less tidy than just showing “1 week”, at least you would have all bases covered. It would be totally clear how much they are buying.
I also agree that weight is the less useful, with raw calorie count as a close second.
The second and third options make the most sense: not everyone is exclusively on Huel so you actually want an approximate idea of the amount of “meals” you’re buying. Three meals per day and 2000 cals are standards, so I’d vote 21/667 but I can see that e.g Soylent is doing the 28/500 thing.
But do keep the cal count visible. Going back to the Soylent example, there’s only “28 meals” and you have to look further and infer that a meal is a serving and thus 500 cals.
My point of view is that dividing a day in more than 3 meals may not be very honest. Why not saying 70 meals at 200 cals, and 10 meals/day ?!? I’m joking, but this is reality: our standard is 3 meals, not 4.
Joylent is based on 3 meals.
When I first saw Pulve.com, which said 4 meals in a pounch, I found it cool, but with double-checking, I discovered that it was exactly the same pounch than Joylent, and that they were cheating on calories per meal. I have a suggestion for their marketing guys: the 50 cals meals; so that they will be able to announce more and more meals in the same pounch! Magic!!!
(sorry for my english, I hope you understand me all the same!)
I originally thought that option 4 that you currently use wasn’t very helpful as for myself it seems it would be less than 1 weeks supply. However having thought about the other options and reading the discussions above I’m inclined to suggest sticking with that option. You could rephrase it slight to 1 weeks supply and simply put beneath “Based on 4 (500cal) meals per day” for clarity.
I must say, if slightly off topic, that I really like the design of your website and product. The Black/White and minimalist design really captures the essence of the project and the values it is trying to promote! Well done!
I think the use of “1 week” also continues this theme quite nicely and could be a good reason to keep it.
To be honest julian I just made my first order, I like the way the labeling is, I like the way the website is. I read everything on the website before buying I think changing it will over complicate it. Everyone knows once reading the info you’ve given on the how to use page what they buying and what they need - ( if they are not a total idiot )
my partner who is also going to be hueling with me has said not to change it and make it over complicated. changing it to meals with set calories makes it go down a route of a fad diet.
Thank you all for your insightful comments. This is part of reason I love Huel so much, the intelligent, engaging, and helpful community.
We are redesigning the product page to better display the start-up offer (free t-shirt and shaker), the 1,2,4 weeks bundles, etc. All your comments will be carefully considered. Thanks again. I’m not stopping the discussion I just wanted to say thank you and to let you know we are listening carefully.
That’s a really good point actually. I also read everything on the Huel website before buying. I think most people will.
I think, even though 2000kcal doesn’t fit everyone, it is still the industry standard and every company seems to be using this amount. So saying the bag will last one week, 2000kcal each day, seams very good and comparable. Kilo probably isn’t that helpful because it doesn’t say how many calories there are per Kilo. The calories number is fine, but on the other hand you would first have to divide it by your individual calorie need to get a number of days it will last you. This seems a little complicated. So I think, 1 week still might be the way to go. With meals I would stick to 3 meals a day, which is kind of standard and has best comparability, but still meals seem to say less to me than weeks. You should rather give the total prize with the time that amount will last you, and additionally the prize per day/per meal.
