Black RTD Unflavored & Unsweetened Request

Can we please get Huel Black Ready to Drink in an Unflavored and Unsweetened version? I really appreciate that you guys have continued to offer Unflavored and Unsweetened powder in both the Original and Black formats. Those are 90% of what I buy from Huel. I have found that anything with artificial sweeteners–even stevia–makes me hungrier than Unsweetened.

There are times of the month when I just don’t have time to make Huel from the powder. Black RTD, even with the extra protein, is a frustrating experience because it just makes me hungrier because of the stevia. I don’t care how bad the Huel Black RTD Unflavored & Unsweetened would taste. Regardless of how gross/icky it is, I think I’d buy at least one 12 pack a month and just chug it because I’m so busy at times.

I feel like this relates to why people drink Huel and not the many other options available. For me, I started using Huel in 2017 because it was the most filling (high protein/fiber/fat) of all the meal replacement powders I tried. If I wanted something that tastes good and is widely available, I would just buy Soylent, but I have stuck with Huel because it is the most filling and healthy of all options. I understand that many people want to have their cake and eat it, too, in terms of their meal replacements being both filling and tasty. However, to me, what has made Huel unique and special is its increased focus on making items that are filling and healthy, even if it sometimes comes at the expense of taste and texture. However, things like the discontinuation of the very dry protein bar (and its replacement with the new bar that has a higher glycemic index) and the lack of an unflavored RTD option, especially in the Black format, does give me some concern for the direction that Huel is heading.

Thank you for your time and consideration. Just wanted to put in my two cents. I love Huel.

2 Likes

I would try it. I love the UU powder even when I don’t blend it with frozen fruit, or peanut butter etc.

But I think you and I would be the only two, lol

Love your avatar/username. Huell was my favorite BB/BCS character

1 Like

Hey there!

So grateful to hear how long Huel has been a part of your life! Thank you for the product suggestion. I’ve passed it to our product team.

Nutrition is our first priority, but our food scientists do try to make products that taste good, as well. Enjoyment is a priority for many people when it comes to meals, it can make it easier to keep up a diet, and it’s not necessarily incompatible with nutrition. The Ready-to-Drink is not just an improvement on the efficiency of the powder, but also on the sensory experience, because homogenizing the drink industrially results in a smoother mixture than you can typically achieve when mixing powder and water at home. We’re able to use more ingredients like canola oil and flaxseed oil and less ground flaxseed to aid texture.

The Ready-to-Drink is a much more retail-ready product than 17 or 10-serve bags of powder, so how it would perform in a store does factor in to how we develop flavors for the product line. It’s a bit more expensive to produce because of the manufacturing complexity when you’re dealing with a liquid rather than a solid. There’s heat treatment, pasteurization, aseptic filling, more packaging, increased costs of transporting a heavier product, which could all potentially make us more selective when choosing which flavors to produce.

We’re always navigating how to optimize both taste and nutrition without losing one or the other, and we appreciate your feedback on how we can continue to improve! :heart: