Overview
- The Advertising Standards Authority upheld four complaints and ordered the advert removed on Tuesday after ruling it presented an exclusively Huel-based diet as compatible with exceptional endurance performance.
- The short podcast-style clip showed brand ambassador Spencer Matthews recounting meeting an ultramarathon runner who “only eats Huel” and saying the runner “won it by miles,” with Huel founder Julian Hearn adding that he uses Huel for weekday meals.
- The ASA said the anecdote suggested complete replacement of conventional food was nutritionally appropriate and therefore encouraged or condoned irresponsible dietary habits in breach of advertising rules.
- Huel said it respects the ASA decision, has complied with the ruling, and reiterated that its products are intended as convenient meal options within a varied diet rather than a full replacement or a performance aid.
- The ruling highlights how regulators treat anecdotal celebrity endorsements in food ads and could increase scrutiny of Huel’s future marketing at a sensitive time for the company’s reputation as the Danone acquisition moves forward.