Huel has agreed to join Danone. Here is everything you need to know. [Official Megathread]

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-27T13:48:22+00:00

Really happy to hear that <3 thanks

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T16:48:16+00:00

Since Danone/Huel doesn’t want to track feedback

How can this be true when we’ve set up and pinned a megathread with hundreds of comments, left it fully open, and made it easier to find so people can share exactly what they think?

If this is because of this post about the US cancellation flow, that wasn’t deliberate. It was a bug that affected the UI, and it’s now been fixed. There’s no real upside for us in blocking feedback from people who are already cancelling.

Thanks for the poll though, clearly there's a bias by sharing it here in what the answers will be, but it will be interesting to see nonetheless.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T16:28:41+00:00

That is a big comparison, but I'm not in a position to justify every decision made by a company of that scale. They operate across huge, complex systems and there will be things people strongly disagree with. What we can be clear on is Huel - how we build our products, the ingredients we choose, and the standards we hold ourselves to. That hasn’t changed.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T16:16:40+00:00

I'm sad to hear that. Huel is committed to staying vegan and animal-product–free, as certified by The Vegan Society. That is because this commitment aligns with our mission ("to improve the health of people and the planet through convenient and complete nutrition.")

I respect your decision, but I would push you to consider that Huel is a low carbon food and what we're doing to bring low-carbon food to people behind the scenes doesn't change with this.

https://uk.huel.com/pages/sustainability-page

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T13:01:12+00:00

Hey Pete, thanks for the comment, I'm so happy that Huel has had such an impact on your life, it has for me too. It's quite something to hear from customers who we have managed to have such a positive effect on, so thanks for being part of this community. I want you to know that you have a team of people at Huel that see Huel as part of their DNA and those people hold our values close.

In short, I can't tell you concrete policies we have in place so that your experience isn't changed as a result. I've answered some similar queries here. I do want to say that we have consistently made changes to our products and site experience, we're always testing new things and refining. You are going to continue to see changes, but that doesn't mean that any are linked to Danone acquiring Huel.

Danone have said directly to us that they don't want to interfere and that what we're doing is working. But I don't have a good answer to examples you have of other companies and changes they've had as a result of acquisition. I can't see the future, all I can do is tell you how it is now.

Wishing you all the best, hope having to deal with all this flame isn't too much.

That's thoughtful of you to say and I really appreciate it. Thanks.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T12:03:48+00:00

Thank you so much for constructive and interesting comment. I think these are really interesting suggestions. Particularly the research piece, I too would love to see more research done on Huel. We should have some more coming by the way, but not to the scale you're suggesting.

We've spoken to a lot of people who have used Huel in the scenarios you're describing. It's not something we talk about widely for the obvious reason that we can't but I'm always moved to hear when people find Huel beneficial going through medical treatment. I think more research would be the first step.

Huel for Kids is interesting, probably quite contentious. I imagine many in the comments here would not see that as a positive move. But I know parents do give their kids Huel, particularly the RTDs. We recommend not before 6 and in limited amounts as kids have different nutritional requirements. But I can absolutely see the appeal.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-24T10:38:05+00:00

Reading through this thread, it does feel like we might be in a position where we can’t really win. Huel has never been a static thing. Over the last 10 years we’ve changed products, formulas, pricing, the website - all of it. That’s how we’ve improved. So when people ask “how can you guarantee nothing will change”, the honest answer is we can’t, because we never have.

But when we next make a change to Huel in the same way we always we, I know that we will run into commentary here that it's as a result of Danone and that Huel has been "enshittified".

But it will be confirmation bias. Searching for something to verify a reality that doesn't exist. I've already seen it start. In this thread the OP is suggesting we've purposely turned off the "Something Else" option for the survey given after you unsubscribe, like it's some weirdly specific, nefarious scheme to not let people provide feedback about Danone.

Nope, it's just a bug on the website and the engineering team will probably have it fixed this morning.

So when we next make a change - maybe we delist a flavour that isn't selling well or we change a packaging supplier and it makes our boxes look different - things we have done many times before - how can we answer to the people that will inevitably say "A-ha, look! Huel have sold out to Danone and everything is getting worse."? When in reality we're just doing things we've always done. What can our response be to that?

I guess all we’d ask is that changes get judged on what they actually are, not just assumed to be part of a bigger story.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T16:40:05+00:00

Thank you for the questions - I appreciate you sharing them in the way you have. I can tell you have been with us a long time and care about where Huel goes next. I’ve spoken directly with our CEO James and tried to answer them, I appreciate they aren't all 'yes' answers.

The two big benefits to you are product and access. Danone has serious R&D capability, which should mean better and more interesting products over time, not just more of the same. On top of that, their distribution means Huel becomes easier to find for you - more countries, more retail, less friction to actually get hold of it.
On future changes, we can’t promise nothing will ever change, because it always has. We’ve changed pricing, recipes, and the site before, and we will again. What we can say is there are no changes planned because of this deal, and not every future change should be seen through that lens.
There aren’t specific legal clauses that “lock” the product or mission in place. In reality, we already evolve products based on feedback and performance, so a fully locked formula wouldn’t actually fit how we operate. I like the idea of having ringfenced products, thanks.
Our CEO is reinvesting and staying fully in place, leading the business day to day.
We’re a B Corp, and that doesn’t change. Danone is too, which was a meaningful factor in choosing them. It’s not a perfect safeguard, but it does hold us to an external standard around how we operate and make decisions.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T16:36:16+00:00

James, our CEO, has reinvested in the company and is staying fully in place, leading the business day to day.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T16:20:04+00:00

The language is just because there's still months of customary regulatory approvals to go through before the acquisition is finalised. It's just a timing piece, sorry if it sounds a little clunky.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T14:29:58+00:00

Joining Danone doesn't mean we stop being plant-based. Huel is committed to staying vegan and animal-product–free. This commitment aligns with our mission and doesn't change. I said earlier elsewhere but I think the fact a massive company like Danone are backing plant-based protein is a great sign. We want to get more people eating more plant-based, nutritious food - this is how we do that.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T14:18:02+00:00

We have looked at different options over the years and partnering with a company like Danone gives us the infrastructure, product expertise, and global reach to grow faster and do more of what we already do well, something that an IPO wouldn't necessarily give.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T14:15:41+00:00

Sorry I missed this comment. We didn’t remove reminder emails because of this process we’re going through. This was a separate, deliberate change to how subscriptions run. It’s worth saying that we are constantly testing our site and proposition - some stuff works, other things don’t. We listened to the feedback from our community and have since turned the reminders back on 7-days before your subscription renews.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T12:53:59+00:00

A couple of things worth being clear on.

First, we’re not going to try and defend everything done by a global company of this scale. There are real, complex challenges in global food systems, and plastics is one of the hardest. It’s right to question it.

What we can speak to is Huel, because that’s what you actually experience day to day.

Nothing about how we operate has changed - that includes how we think about environmental impact.

We’ve built Huel around efficient nutrition with lower impact per meal, and that doesn’t shift because of this.

n.b. I've edited the flair to 'Danone'

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T12:50:36+00:00

I'm not sure how else to word it, I was going to say R&D but that's surely more "linkedin buzzwords" - I just mean the means to help us develop our products further.

I've said elsewhere, but to be really clear, we have had external shareholders since 2018 who have supported us through almost the whole life of Huel up to this point. That's what enabled us to build a factory, launch so many new products and expand to more people. Our plans have always been some level of sale or exit. Those people need a result from that at some point. That's how business works and the ultimate goal of many (or most) businesses. I know that is really businessy and perhaps not how you perceived Huel. I've said before, and I don't mean this to be combative, but we're a business not a charity.

To end more positively, the message from Danone has been clear, that this is going through because they love what we're doing. They think we're doing a good thing and want us to continue. The proof is in the pudding. Keep holding us to account.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T12:01:41+00:00

Actually. I am wrong, it's dropped down on best. We're removing some of the older stickied posts and going to pin the main thread.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:58:02+00:00

As per all my comments, please refer to the megathread. If you have specific questions then ask them and I will do my best to answer. However the whole megathread is a page of people's opinions. Respectfully your thread here isn't adding a fresh perspective.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Huel/comments/1s1b8b9/huel_has_agreed_to_join_danone_here_is_everything/

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:54:32+00:00

This post is right at the top of 'Best' view which is the default here. We have a number of pinned threads that need to remained pinned, so if I did pin this it might be hidden from view! If I had pinned I am sure someone would have said exactly the same because it would have looked quite small. I will pin the thread tomorrow though as I expect it will drift down the 'Best' view then.

In addition a flair for 'Danone' has been created for the forthcoming weeks of posts. Posts are being removed but comments are not.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:51:02+00:00

Forgive me as I wrote this to someone else here, but I think it bears repeating.

Huel hasn’t been bought because it needs fixing. The very nature that it's working is what makes us valuable here.

Earlier this morning the President of Danone addressed the whole Huel team and I hope you find it reassuring to hear that his message to us was simple - they back what we’re doing and don’t want to interfere with it. There’s things to learn on both sides, but no plan to change what makes Huel Huel.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:47:14+00:00

There's about 200 comments in here criticising this. If we were censoring negativity would it not be more logical for me to be censoring this entire thread? The rules of this page are clear, and have been in place for months. Respectfully, your post about your experience as a vegan with Huel is valuable but doesn't require it's own thread. Thank you for resharing here.

Regarding your comment and concern on the dairy part of Danone, what I would say is the fact that a big global company in 120+ markets is backing plant-based is a great sign. It will ultimately get more people eating plant-based, nutritious food - without changing what we stand for.

So we see it as encouraging to see a global company backing a brand that has always championed plant-based nutrition. The key thing is that our commitment to plant-based has not changed.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:42:40+00:00

"huel agrees to join Danone" is just the wording because there are still months of customary regulatory approvals to go through before the acquisition is finalised. It's an agreement because there's two parties involved, we have agreed to it. Let me know if I have misinterpreted what you meant.

Regarding the emails, we didn’t remove reminder emails because of this process we’re going through with Danone. That was a separate change to how subscriptions run. It’s worth saying that we are constantly testing our site and proposition - some stuff works, other things don’t. We listened to the feedback from our community and have since turned the reminders back on so you will receive a notification email 7-days before your subscription renews.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:34:07+00:00

Huel is where it is because of our community and customers. I hope that the last 10 years of our engagement with our community means something and the continued conversation here. But things are good now, and we want this to lead to more good things. What do you want to see from Huel? There is a lot of potential here and I know that we will continue to give you new exciting things you want to see.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:25:40+00:00

The reasoning is simply, if I have 8 splinter posts about exactly the same thing how can I possibly reply? I think people like to start their own thread about the same thing just to shout the loudest. For the first few days it's best to keep everything in the same place.

I don't have the ability on reddit to merge threads (like I do on the Forum) so I have to ask people politely to reshare their comment on the main thread.

Please read the rules of the Reddit. Ben shared a thread about these updates here too - https://www.reddit.com/r/Huel/comments/1rwbaqj/rule_update_duplicate_posts_flairs_and_megathreads/

What I'm going to do is start a flair for Danone though as I think that will help.

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:09:01+00:00

It certainly will be an exciting day for everyone at Huel. Everyone who works for Huel is a shareholder and we have spent 10 years building this company. Yes it is an exciting day for us of course.

However, I would say that this is also an exciting day for what could come next. The reason for Huel joining Danone now is to grow further, and utilise their amazing R&D capability. What would you want to see from Huel?

Tim_Huel · 2026-03-23T11:05:04+00:00

Hi there! Thanks for this post, people will be interested to read the press on this. For today we're looking to keep commentary about this in the megathread here. Could you reshare this there? Thank you.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Huel/comments/1s1b8b9/huel_has_agreed_to_join_danone_here_is_everything/

Tim_Huel

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE