Latest / The Marketing Funnel Podcast with Fexingo: Awareness, Interest, Decision, and Action Stages / How Huel Built a Marketing Funnel on Nutritional Replacement
Transcript
- Lucas: Huel. The name itself is a portmanteau of 'human fuel' — and for a long time, that's basically what the brand positioned itself as. A powder you mix with water, drink for a meal, and move on with your day. Luna: And on paper, that sounds deeply unsexy. How do you build a marketing funnel around something that deliberately strips away the pleasure of eating? Lucas: Exactly. That's the puzzle. Most food brands lean into taste, texture, experience. Huel leaned into efficiency. And they managed to build a funnel that's generated something like half a billion dollars in lifetime revenue, with a subscription retention rate north of 60 percent. So let's walk through the AIDA framework — Awareness, Interest, Decision, Action — and see how they did it. Luna: Start at the top. Awareness. How do you get people to care about a beige powder? Lucas: Their early awareness strategy was almost confrontational. They ran ads on London buses and tube stations with slogans like 'Eat Better, Less Often' and 'Your Body Deserves Better Than This' — with a picture of a sad desk lunch. It was designed to create a reaction, and it worked. People either loved the directness or hated the implication that their lunch was terrible. Luna: I remember that campaign. It got a lot of backlash actually — people saying it was body-shaming or too aggressive. Lucas: Right. But controversy, in a cluttered ad environment, drives awareness. You can't buy that kind of organic conversation. The key is that the backlash didn't actually damage the brand among its target audience. The people who were already frustrated with unhealthy convenience food saw Huel as a solution, not a scold. Luna: So the interest stage. Once someone's heard of you, what makes them want to learn more? Lucas: Huel's interest engine is almost entirely content-driven. They have a very active blog and YouTube channel — but the content isn't about how great Huel is. It's about nutrition science. They'll explain micronutrient density, protein bioavailability, the importance of omega-3 ratios. It's educational. The assumption is: if you care enough to learn about this stuff, you're already a potential customer. Luna: Interesting. So they're filtering for a certain kind of person — someone analytical, maybe a little obsessive about optimisation. Lucas: Exactly. And they're incredibly transparent about ingredients. Every product page has a full nutritional breakdown, sourcing details, even the specific suppliers. That transparency builds trust. In a category where 'healthy' is often a marketing claim, Huel gives you the data to verify it yourself. Luna: Let's move to Decision. How do you convert interest into a purchase? Especially when the product is a subscription and the upfront cost isn't trivial. Lucas: The decision stage is where the subscription model does a lot of the work. Huel offers a starter pack — typically a bag of powder, a shaker, and a taster of another flavor. The price is around forty to fifty dollars. That's a commitment, but it's not outrageous for a month's worth of meals. And they heavily incentivize the subscription: you save about fifteen percent compared to one-time purchases. Luna: But that only works if the product actually delivers on its promise. People have to try it. Lucas: Right. So they also offer a thirty-day money-back guarantee, even if the bag is opened. That reduces the risk dramatically. And here's the smart part: the guarantee isn't just a safety net — it's a psychological anchor. It signals confidence. 'We're so sure you'll like this that we'll eat the cost if you don't.' That turns a hesitant prospect into a buyer. Luna: And then Action — or really, retention. Because in a subscription model, the real funnel doesn't end at purchase. Lucas: That's the whole game. Huel's retention play is built on the product itself. If you drink Huel regularly, you start to notice benefits — more consistent energy, less decision fatigue around food, maybe better digestion. Those are sticky outcomes. The brand reinforces them through email sequences that share tips, recipes, and user testimonials. They also have a loyalty program called Huel Rewards that gives points for purchases and referrals. Luna: And referrals are a huge channel for them, right? word of mouth. Lucas: Massive. Their best acquisition channel isn't paid ads — it's existing customers telling friends. They give both parties a discount, which lowers the cost per acquisition and increases lifetime value. Some estimates suggest referral customers have a thirty percent higher retention rate than those acquired through other channels. Luna: It makes sense. If a friend recommends something, you're already primed to trust it. Lucas: One more thing on the action stage: Huel has expanded into retail. They're in stores like Target and Whole Foods now. That creates a new top of funnel — someone walking past the shelf, curious, buying a single bottle to try. But the real goal is still the subscription. The retail product is essentially a trial unit. Luna: Speaking of things that are useful — if this episode has sparked an idea or a tactic you might actually use, that's exactly why we keep this show ad-free. The way that stays true is listener support. You can find us at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. And honestly, every contribution, no matter how small, helps us keep the conversation going. Lucas: Yeah, absolutely. And we don't run sponsorships or read ads — this is a listener-supported show. So if you've gotten value from episodes like this one, that link is really the simplest way to give back. Luna: All right, back to Huel. Lucas, one tension I see: Huel's brand is very utilitarian, very 'fuel not food.' But they now sell bars, hot meals, ready to drink bottles. How do they maintain the core funnel while broadening the product line? Lucas: It's a delicate balance. Each new product can serve as a separate entry point into the funnel. Someone who would never buy a bag of powder might buy a ready to drink bottle at a convenience store. Once they're in the ecosystem, Huel can upsell them to the subscription. But the risk is diluting the core message. If Huel becomes just a 'healthy snack brand,' it loses the specificity that made the original funnel work. Luna: So they need each product to still feel like Huel — complete nutrition, not a snack. Lucas: Exactly. And they've been careful. The hot meal pouches, for example, are still nutritionally complete. The bars are designed to be a meal replacement, not a protein bar. The branding is consistent: neutral colors, scientific language, the same ingredient transparency. They're expanding the product line without expanding the brand promise. Luna: Let's talk about a specific number. You mentioned sixty percent subscription retention. How does that compare to the industry average? Lucas: For subscription-based food and beverage, average monthly churn is around five to seven percent, which translates to an annual retention rate of roughly forty to fifty percent. Huel's sixty percent is high — not best-in-class, but well above average. And remember, their customer acquisition is relatively cheap because of referrals and content marketing. So the unit economics work. Luna: What about the competition? Companies like Soylent, the original meal replacement, or newer entrants like Ka'Chava and Jimmy Joy. Lucas: Soylent is the obvious comparison. But Soylent had a rougher journey — regulatory issues, a rebrand, some negative press about ingredients. Huel has been more conservative and more transparent, which has helped them avoid those pitfalls. Ka'Chava is more premium, more focused on superfoods and taste. Huel stays in the middle: affordable, science-backed, no-nonsense. Luna: So the lesson from Huel's funnel might be: if your product is genuinely useful, you don't need to dress it up. You just need to get it in front of the right people and let the results speak. Lucas: That's the playbook, but it's harder than it sounds. Huel succeeded because the product actually delivers on the promise. If the powder tasted terrible or didn't keep you full, no amount of smart funnel architecture would save them. The funnel is an amplifier, not a substitute for product quality. Luna: Alright, final thought: where does the Huel funnel go next? They're already global, already in retail. What's the next frontier? Lucas: I think personalisation. Imagine a Huel subscription that adjusts the nutrient mix based on your activity level, your goals, your blood work. They've started collecting data through their app, and they have a community of highly engaged users. The next iteration of the funnel might not just be about selling a product — it could be about selling a personalised nutrition plan that happens to include Huel. Luna: That would take the interest stage to a new level — 'tell us about yourself, and we'll tell you exactly what you need.' Lucas: Exactly. And that kind of data-driven funnel is incredibly sticky. Once you've invested time in setting up your profile and receiving tailored recommendations, switching costs go way up. That's the ultimate retention moat. Luna: Great angle. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. That's Huel — a funnel built on nutrition, transparency, and a product that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is.