Huel

I’ve had 1 vanilla and 1 coffee today. I feel absolutely terrible! My stomach is full of gripping pain. Not sure I can carry on with this. I’m annoyed so much that you have to order so much for the first order. £58 I’ve spent and it looks like I just can’t stomach it!

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I made an order around 10 weeks ago and considered their "subscription" offer.

10 weeks later they sent an email in the middle of the night on a weekend and then proceeded to process a £40 order barely 2 days later I didn't ask for or want. In no way is this a sufficient amount of time to warm people you're going to process an order that they may not be aware of or even want.

I ensured the order was canceled as soon as I saw their email to say "we've sent you an order!" within an hour. They ignored this.

Regardless they've charged me £40 and are unwilling to process a refund. I tried to call them and after wasting 20 minutes being unable to get through - I finally speak to someone who hangs up the line before listening to my request.

I then get through to speak to someone for a second time and the line is so muffled and noisy I can barely hear what the other person was saying. I'm then told - "go and find the product, go to the post office pay for postage, send us a picture and then maybe we'll process a refund at some point".

I'm now stuck in the frustrating position where Huel has:

- Wasted my time keeping me waiting to speak to someone.

- Wasted my time.

- Taken £40 of my money despite me providing clear instruction not to do so.

- Said they'll process a refund when I go out of my way to send to them the product they've failed to deliver (thereby impossible).

DPD also states on its website "only the sender can recall your parcel" - however, Huel seems determined to ignore this. They could simply recall the parcel, but are unwilling to provide any level of customer service.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I actually bought it as the Huel site says it has a low glycemic index of 27. I'm diabetic and working and eating 5-6 meals a day to keep my sugar ok is quite a challenge. So I was thinking I can use Huel for 1-2 meals a day as a convenient substitute to ordinary meals. Every time I eat Huel I get sugar blood content of like 350-450 mg/dl. For all non-diabetics out there, this is like toxic levels. I could eat the same amount of refined sugar and get similar results as I get with Huel. I don't know what they put in it but it seems to be about as healthy as a diet made of eating only candy bars. If they are willing to lie about the glycemic index and risking some diabetics like me getting sick because of this misleading claims, I wonder what else are they willing to lie about. My 2 bags of Huel, unfortunately, will go to the trash. As now I am convinced that actually eating it would be harmful to my health. It may not be as harmful to non-diabetics, but for diabetics like me, I would like to warn you. This thing is literally a poison as it will push your sugar into hyperglycemia as if you eat sweets.

Sorry for my English, I live in Poland and I'm not a native speaker and don't use English often so I'm not too good.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

It tastes how dog food smells. I have had way cheaper and better-tasting protein drinks for 1/3 of the price. I also ordered through Facebook, and yet apparently do not have a login to their website even though I have purchased their product.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

Huel seems to have terrible back-end systems which means they often messed up customer transactions.

On one occasion I was sent double my order and charged for it. I am now locked into a subscription which I cannot cancel because my account is not recognized. I have told Huel to cancel the subscription yet they continue to send me the product and charge me for it. I have now had to pursue legal action in an attempt to get them to stop.

There are many other supplements out there, all very similar and many cheaper, so I strongly advise choosing one of them instead. My decision to purchase Huel has become one of those terrible consumer experiences that you wish you'd never got into.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I have tried many different meal replacement shakes. Many are quite costly. I gave Huel a shot, despite having to shell out for two bags. I am glad that I did. Many folks speak about an adjustment period but I never had any issues. The recommended serving size is three scoops; I take two. This keeps me full for six hours (or longer if I'm working too much and forget about lunch). I feel great as well. The taste is far superior to the shakes of old. It reminds me of a plain, oatmeal type substance which is great. It doesn't taste bad in any way, especially if you've been eating protein for as long as I have (20+ years). The only thing I dislike is that you have to buy two bags at once. I'd prefer a one bag option.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I'm used to those regular ol' whey protein shakes so a shaker with liquid smoothie stuff is very familiar to me, but...

This stuff is so coarsely ground that even after shaking it for several minutes it's still not a uniform smoothie. It's like tiny hard-ish pieces of oats that are suspended in a liquid. I even tried chewing it a bit before swallowing, but it didn't really help; it just added to my nausea over what I was trying to consume.

I ended up chugging the last half just to get it over with, and I felt miserable afterwards.

The flavor (even after adding a flavor pack) is...much milder than a regular protein shake but nothing terrible, just something to know.

I have looked into returning, but after concluding that the shipping would cost me as much as the partial refund, I'd receive I'm probably going to end up throwing everything away. An interesting idea but I'll just have to keep making regular breakfast.,]

P.S. I know that you can put it in the fridge overnight to let everything soak and get softer, but if I wanted to prepare things the day before, I'd rather marinate a steak.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

With regard to mixing, we add a MIXER BALL Stainless Steel Blender Whisk to the shaker bottle which makes mixing simple and much more effective.

I have reactive hypoglycemia, which is like the opposite of diabetes. My blood sugars have become much more stable and better balanced.

I have one proper meal a day, plus fruit snacks, and replace all other calories with Huel. It sustains me through my triathlon training and I have found much-improved skin condition and generally improved energy levels.

It is very convenient. If you have the time for a fully balanced diet, it is unlikely to be for you, but it seems to me to offer a far better alternative than most breakfasts on the run and for me is a life saver. (The terrible unsavory flatulence disappeared after about four weeks!)

It also works out a lot cheaper than normal food!

I would and have recommended it.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Huel is filling, and with all of the nutrients I guess I can't say I'm surprised, but it tastes like a pistachio smoothie. Not even coffee can cover up the taste. And now I'm out 50 bucks just because I wanted to try it. Very unfortunate that they don't have a sample option and even make you buy two bags just to ship it. Because they know you won't want to buy any more after you try it.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend

I'm at a real loss to understand the whining and complaining about this product. Taste? There is nothing in its taste that's offensive, and in fact, it's quite pleasant. Mixability? Just how incapable are these people? Put water in the jug, dump the HUEL in on top, close the little cap, shake for 10-20 seconds....done, drink it and shut up. What are you looking for? An answer to your lives? It's a meal replacement drink, not a Friday night martini. Drinks like this were never meant to replace a juicy steak and baked potato. They are tools for people looking for health improvement, weight loss, diet control, etc. They also are great for people on the run etc., to ensure an adequate diet.

I use 2-3 Huel meals a day, am losing weight, have no loss of energy even though I workout hard every day. And it has significantly reduced the time in my life that I waste acquiring, processing, cooking, and eating food. I never realized how much of life is used up dealing with eating. Not that I don't have my steak and potato every now and then as a break.

Also, a big one, my wife has trouble with her blood sugar as type 2 diabetic. Taking a Huel meal late in the evening before bed has stabilized her sugar overnight perfectly, so she wakes feeling great and with a normal glucose reading. That's because it's balanced food with a very low glycemic index. It's PERFECT for this problem. If you can't handle the taste and are too weak to shake a bottle a little bit, you have bigger problems than what a meal replacement product is used for.

Bottom Line: Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

I tried this product, and I am frustrated and displeased. Here are my concerns, which I believe are applicable to the majority of consumers.

First, Huel made Stevia and artificial vanilla part of the default product flavor. I've tried several different accouterments, and none of them fully mask the bitter aftertaste Stevia leaves, or the fake taste of the vanillin. In addition, some people actually react negatively to the sugars in vanillin. If you mind Stevia, you will not be able to tolerate Huel's taste at all, and this could have easily been avoided by making the unsweetened version the default to be purchased.

Second, it's not fair to consumers to require a $75 commitment just to try the stuff. It also doesn't bode well for Huel's confidence in their own product. Unfortunately, Huel gives me such bad acid reflux that I'd rather leave the specifics to the imagination, and I'm down half my purchase unless I want to pay to ship the rest back. Huel, let people order samples or something and have a care for food-sensitive consumers.

Third, the product is difficult to mix due to the sheer volume (1 cup per 24 oz water) that must be mixed in. I had to get a thermos and a whisk and make Huel ahead of time in order to produce something drinkable. The included protein shaker bottle was laughably insufficient and resulted, on various tries, in a very thin smoothie on top of a mound of unmixed chalky powder, or left huge chunks of unmixed powder inside the drink.

If you are reading this because you are stuck with $75 of smoothie that doesn't taste good enough for you to drink, my best recommendation is to add 1/2 tsp of each of turmeric and ginger along with a pinch of cinnamon. Huel is earthy, and it pairs well with earthy flavors.

Bottom Line: No, I would not recommend this to a friend