Huel: Record sales as profit triples at brand backed by celebrities
Huel, which counts the likes of Idris Elba, Steven Bartlett and Jonathan Ross among its investors, has reported record sales as a profit almost tripled during its latest financial year.
The Hertfordshire-headquartered company, which is known for its vitamin-enriched food items, has reported a revenue of £214m for the 12 months to 31 July, 2024, up from the £184.5m it achieved in the prior 12 months.
Huel’s pre-tax profit also jumped from £4.7m to £13.8m over the same period, according to new figures.
The business said its products are now sold in 25,650 stores, up from 11,250.
The company said its revenue growth was driven by a “combination of growth in e-commerce revenue from new customers and repeat sales, along with a greater contribution from retail revenue following a significant increase in Huel’s retail presence”.
Huel’s UK revenue increased by 17 per cent to £110.1m, by 16 per cent in the US to £67.2m, and by 13 per cent to £36.7m in the rest of the world.
The business also confirmed that its headcount now stands at more than 300 people.
Steven Bartlett’s Huel adverts banned
The results come after adverts featuring Dragons’ Den star Steven Bartlett for nutrition brands Zoe and Huel were banned in August after it was ruled they failed to disclose their commercial relationship with the celebrity entrepreneur.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) said the adverts, which were seen on Facebook in February, “omitted material information” about their links to Bartlett.
Bartlett, who made his fortune after co-founding Social Chain in Manchester, is an investor in Zoe and a director at Huel.
‘A strong financial performance’
Huel chief executive James McMaster said: “This has been another year of growth and expansion for Huel, as we continue to demonstrate there is strong demand for convenient, sustainable and nutritious food options.
“We have scaled up with our widest range of products ever, selling to more customers via our direct to consumer business as well as a rapidly growing footprint in physical retail stores.
“We delivered a strong financial performance. We broke the £200m revenue mark for the first time while also driving a significant uplift in profitability, helping to ensure that our growth is as sustainable as our products.
“We continue to improve and widen our product offer to serve the demand from health-conscious consumers looking for convenient nutrition products.
“We’re proud of the progress we’ve made with new launches – including the Black Edition ready-to-drink meal, which became our most requested product ever.
“We also expanded further outside of meals products with the launch of our Daily A-Z Vitamins Drink and our Daily Greens powder.
“The future for Huel is bright. We are motivated by playing our part in tackling some of the biggest issues facing society today – unhealthy eating and obesity, food waste and greenhouse gas emissions.”