I feel like there are a lot of people who avoid Huel specifically because…
-
It uses plant proteins exclusively which are linked to increases in estrogen in men (also giving it a slighty “off” taste and texture). Many serious atheletes refuse to use plant proteins of any volume outright due to estrogens effect on muscle mass. The “soy boy” stigma.
-
That dreaded CR report that just keeps popping up about your lead content, even if it is blown out of porportion a bit. Is also directly related to your reliance on entirely plant products.
Having a product that nutritionally duplicates the Huel Black but with animal proteins as the base would make it both easier to produce (cheaper, you wouldn’t have to bend over backwards to build an required BCAA profile for one), easier to make taste good with the correct textures people expect, would naturally remove two major barriers to entry for your entire product portfolio, and thus either increase profit margins or increase market share through higher volume for those of us who are not in it for the moral/ethical reasons.
Many of your users like myself simply don’t care that Huel is vegan or kosher and use it solely for the health benefits, and many of your potential customers would use it if it wasn’t wholly plant based (or could lower lead content, which would naturally happen moving to animal proteins).
(I know, I pitch Huel to almost everyone I meet who even remotely mentions wanting to get into shape, and I discuss it on-and-off with my “gym bro” friends too, because for both groups it makes daily meal planning less of a headache)
With the purchase of Huel by Danone, is there any consideration to widening market appeal by creating a more “mainstream” product? I mean, lets face it, Vegan Kosher product users are literally sub-3% in the U.S. and sub-1% worldwide.