Tasty marketing for food powders - Bird Lovegod

Last month a friend of mine introduced me to Huel, “The World’s no.1 Complete Food with over 150 million meals sold.”
EthicalMuch.com delivers food parcels to people in Sheffield.EthicalMuch.com delivers food parcels to people in Sheffield.
EthicalMuch.com delivers food parcels to people in Sheffield.

As a business that’s pretty good going. Looking at its Trustpilot scores people either love them because the products are great, or hate them because the orders are delayed or missing and customer service is struggling with demand. Good problem to have. So, what’s the buzz? To quote the website:

“Huel can help you with weight management. But unlike diet shakes and simple protein powders, Huel is made with ingredients like oats, rice, peas, coconut and flaxseed. As in, real food. So you fuel your body with what it wants: a balanced macro-split featuring 26 essential vitamins and minerals.”

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You could theoretically live on the stuff, although it’s more intended as a replacement for one or two meals a day. (I did two and a half days of just Huel then cracked and ate a lamb shank.)

Another benefit is no waste, unless you spill the powder, and not too much packaging. It’s very convenient – add powder to water, shake and it’s done, plus it’s vegan, so from an ethical and environmental perspective it’s a winner and even a money saver, works out around £1.50 per meal for the powder, a third of the price of a basic lunch.

I liked the sample my friend shared, but my first purchasing experience was less impressive, the delivery didn’t arrive, then it was re-sent, then it still didn’t arrive. I ended up placing a second order, and am awaiting the refund from the first. They must be doing something right in terms of marketing for me to make a repeat purchase whilst still not having received the first. The website is a case study in ecommerce. Subtly it entices you through the process, you can’t even see how much anything costs until you’ve added it to your basket, and then it’s upselling you, minimum order two bags, buy another for just £12 and so on.

Then they send hyper motivational emails on a daily basis because you’re a Hueligan… didn’t stop me requesting the free T-shirt though.

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My company EthicalMuch.com delivers food parcels to people here in Sheffield. Huel has released a range of hot foods, mac and cheese, Thai curry, this kind of thing, complete and very healthy meals, just add hot water.

So, my thinking is, would Huel be a good addition to food parcels? A bag of the ‘ready meals’ (although they definitely don’t call them that) costs around £16.50, depending on how many you buy, and contains seven meal portions, £2.35 a pop. Not bad value, and definitely very much healthier than a comparable ready meal from a supermarket.

Can Huel be used to supplement the food parcels we provide? Bearing in mind our food parcels are without a doubt the best in the UK and often include steaks and smoked salmon.

Would a meal replacement powder, or a meal in a powder, be a welcome addition?

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So when my order arrives I’m going to bag up a selection of meals and give them to our clients for feedback.

If they taste half as good as the marketing we might just have a novel way of extracting people from poor nutrition and food poverty. Let them eat Huel!

Bird Lovegod is managing director of Ethical Much

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