I am a big Huel fan and my husband and I use it daily, but my biggest concern is the amount of packaging that huel comes with. Since huel is such a straightforward product, it doesn’t seem difficult to start putting something in the works for this as I imagine the demand for less packaging from companies will only grow.
I have seen requests for larger bags, which is a great idea, but I would love to see some development of a delivery option to have more sturdy returnable containers. It can be an opt in option so that people who aren’t open to this don’t have to choose it, and then your company can slowly introduce the initiative as time passes.
I would imagine something like the large tubs protein powders come in, and they could be returned in the box one received the tub originally in. Or alternatively, returnable and reusable bags which could be saved and returned in larger quantities as the consumer goes through them to reduce shipping back and forth.
I like this product and I don’t want to start seeing bags with Huel’s branding floating in the ocean!
Hey @barb.k! We totally hear you about your concerns and this is something that is at the forefront of our minds as well.
At the moment, the Huel bags are made of a composite of plastic outer layer for strength and ensure it’s waterproof and an inner layer of foil to block light. This stops the micronutrients from degrading. This is why we can’t use the tubs like some protein powders come in.
We could make the pouches recyclable tomorrow, from biodegradable material. However, the compromise is that they will be weaker, will start to breakdown in the presence of moisture and will not block all the light. This means that the shelf life of Huel will need to be reduced, and there will be significant increase in product being spoiled due to water damage and general wear and tear. Therefore, we think overall using the current stronger, light blocking, non-recyclable pouches actually creates less waste overall.
Despite this fact, the amount of waste that Huel packaging creates is frankly minimal compared to the packaging involved in most store-bought food. This picture shows the amount of Huel and packaging for 96 years of Huel:
Hope this helps explain our thought process behind everything! We’re always looking for ways to improve ourselves though so thank you for your feedback and you had some fantastic ideas in this thread!