Steven Bartlett from Dragon’s Den is an investor in Huel
(Picture: Steven Bartlett)Huel, the all-in-one meal drink, saw sales cross £100 million last year as it bulks itself up for an initial public offering (IPO) or further investment.
UK sales grew by 45% in the 12 months to 31 July, the company said, while US sales increased by 42% and international revenue rose by 43%.
Founded in 2014 in Aylesbury by entrepreneur Julian Hearn, Huel -- a portmanteau of human fuel -- makes meal replacement powder that it claims saves times and can help people lose weight. It has recently branched out into other plant-based foods such as energy bars or grain bowls.
Former Life Health Foods UK chief executive James McMaster joined the company as chief executive in 2017.
He said that the company was growing by an estimated “40% year-on-year” and that only a handful of consumer businesses had reached that trajectory and a lot of them “burned through a lot of cash to get there’.
“Obviously, an IPO is an option, but it’s just one of several options and, at the moment, we’re not set on a specific course and we’ll keep thinking about what the right option is for us,” McMaster said.
Towards the end of 2018, tech investor Highland Europe invested £20 million in Huel to strengthen the company’s international advance. Dragon’s Den investor Steven Bartlett is also an investor and sits on the company’s board.
Huel was valued at £220 million during its 2018 funding round,. However, in 2019 the company said that on its own growth predictions, it expected to be valued at $1 billion (£760 million) by this year.
Huel said it had “continued product innovation” with the launch of its “hot & savoury” range of vegan pasta and curries dishes. It expected to launch “at least” one new product range a year. Huel has now sold more than 10 million hot meals since its range launched in September 2020.
“We’ve got 30 new ideas in the product pipeline,” McMaster added.
