Huel Ltd. is a British company that makes plant-based meals, snacks, drinks, and food supplements. The head office is in

Tring Tring is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Dacorum, Hertfordshire, England. It is situated in a gap passing through the Chiltern Hills, classed as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, from Central London. Tring is linked ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. Its products are made from

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...

rice protein Rice protein is a vegan protein supplement, protein isolate made from rice. It is often used as an alternative to the more common whey and soy protein isolates. To make it, brown rice is treated with enzymes that cause carbohydrates to separate fro ...

pea protein Pea protein is a food product and protein supplement derived and extracted from yellow and green split peas, ''Pisum sativum.'' It can be used as a dietary supplement to increase an individual's protein or other nutrient intake, or as a substit ...

sunflower The common sunflower (''Helianthus annuus'') is a species of large annual forb of the daisy family Asteraceae. The common sunflower is harvested for its edible oily seeds, which are often eaten as a snack food. They are also used in the pr ...

flaxseed Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is cultivated as a food and fiber crop in regions of the world with temperate climates. In 2022, France produced 75% of the ...

coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut fat) is an edible oil derived from the kernels, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat below around , and a clear thin liquid oil at higher temperatures. Unrefined varieties have a disti ...

MCTs, and several

dietary supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement a person's diet by taking a pill (pharmacy), pill, capsule (pharmacy), capsule, tablet (pharmacy), tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients eithe ...

s (vitamins and minerals). Most products are sweetened with

sucralose Sucralose is an artificial sweetener and sugar substitute. In the European Union, it is also known under the E number E955. It is produced by chlorination of sucrose, selectively replacing three of the hydroxy groups—in the C1 a ...

stevia Stevia () is a sweet sugar substitute that is about 50 to 300 times sweetness, sweeter than sugar. It is extracted from the leaves of ''Stevia rebaudiana'', a plant native to areas of Paraguay and Brazil. The active compounds in stevia are ...

. The product's name is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of ''human fuel''.

History

In 2014, Huel was founded by Julian Hearn in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

, England. The original recipe was formulated by registered

nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and Human nutrition, nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disci ...

James Collier, founder and former owner of MuscleTalk, a

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the practice of Resistance training, progressive resistance exercise to build, control, and develop one's skeletal muscle, muscles via muscle hypertrophy, hypertrophy. An individual who engages in this activity is referred to a ...

website, with the intention of providing the recommended daily amounts (RDAs) of nutrients as stipulated by the

European Food Safety Authority The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is the agency of the European Union (EU) that provides independent scientific advice and communicates on existing and emerging risks associated with the food chain. EFSA was established in February 2002 ...

, in a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

and environmentally friendly product. Huel powder, the first product, was released in 2015 and is sold in 1.7 kg white bags. Its ingredients contain oats, rice, pea protein, and

micronutrient Micronutrients are essential chemicals required by organisms in small quantities to perform various biogeochemical processes and regulate physiological functions of cells and organs. By enabling these processes, micronutrients support the heal ...

s. Black Edition was released in December 2019; it contains 50% fewer carbohydrates and 33% more protein than the original Huel powder, and is sweetened with

and organic coconut sugar, instead of artificial sweetener. In 2016 Huel began delivering to the rest of Europe and by June 2017, it became available in the United States. In November 2017, former Life Health Foods UK chief executive James McMaster was appointed as

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the company to oversee its international expansion. In 2023, Huel reported a 28% increase in revenue year-on-year, reaching £184.5 million for the 12 months to 31 July 2023. In 2024, Huel surpassed £200 million in revenue for the financial year ending 31 July 2024, tripling its profit compared to the previous year. Alongside its financial growth, Huel achieved B Corp certification in 2023, meeting strict social sustainability and environmental performance standards. The company also became a partner of Tony's Open Chain, an initiative promoting ethical cocoa sourcing. In November 2023, Huel's CEO James McMaster said the company was open to a sale, and played down talk of floating the company on the stock market, citing poor market conditions in the UK. Shortly afterward, in January 2024, Huel opened a new factory in Milton Keynes to support its growing operations.

Banning of advertisements

In February 2023, the British Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned two Huel advertisements after ruling that claims that Huel could help people save money were misleading, and that one of the advertisements violated the rules on making health claims about products. In August 2024, the ASA banned another Huel advertisement by Steven Bartlett due to undisclosed company affiliations.

References

External links

* {{Official website, https://huel.com/ Dietary supplements Food and drink companies established in 2014 Nutritional supplement companies of the United Kingdom Vegan brands Vegetarian companies and establishments of the United Kingdom Vegetarian diets Companies based in Dacorum