The Aporia · Huel advert banned for ‘encouraging’ replacing all meals with its products

Huel advert banned for ‘encouraging’ replacing all meals with its products

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗

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Wise, A. (2026, September 30). Huel advert banned for ‘encouraging’ replacing all meals with its products. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/business/business-news/advertising-standards-authority-instagram-youtube-amazon-rainforest-b1299006.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned an advertisement for meal replacement brand Huel, finding it encourages replacing all meals with its products. In the ad, Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews discusses meeting someone who completed an ultramarathon while eating only Huel, implying such a diet supports high performance. The ASA ruled that even though the ad did not explicitly recommend replacing conventional food entirely with Huel, it might suggest doing so is nutritionally appropriate and aids physical performance, which encourages irresponsible dietary habits. Huel countered by saying the ad was meant to address consumers who already use Huel exclusively but does not promote such a diet as intended or advisable.

Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned an ad by Huel, a meal replacement brand, for suggesting that its products could replace all conventional food. The ad featured Spencer Matthews sharing an anecdote about meeting an ultramarathon runner who only eats Huel and won a race "by miles." ASA ruled this implied that replacing meals entirely with Huel was nutritionally sound and suitable for high-level athletic performance, which it deemed irresponsible.

The original ad appeared as sponsored content on Instagram and YouTube. Matthews' skepticism about the diet's viability contrasted sharply with the runner’s success story. However, experts have raised concerns over the nutritional completeness of such diets. Huel responded by stating that the ad did not recommend a fully Huel-based diet but aimed to dispel misconceptions.

In response to the ASA ruling, Huel founder Julian Hearn clarified: "in an ideal world you should have nutritionally complete whole food" and added that if one could do this for every meal, it would be optimal. However, he acknowledged that most people can't manage such a diet due to time constraints or other factors, hence the relevance of Huel's products as dietary supplements.

Written for “Huel Advert Bannings” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 2 other(s) covering the same event.

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sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

15%

2 of 13 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

64/100

Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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Other

Same framing elsewhere

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Who wrote this

Anna Wise

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Also by Anna Wise

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Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 72 articles by Anna Wise →

Narrative

Claims (13 extracted, 2 hedged)

Huel advert banned for ‘encouraging’ replacing all meals with its products An advert for Huel has been banned by the advertising watchdog for encouraging or condoning the replacement of conventional food with its products. asserted

advert → ban → products

In the video, Mr Matthews is talking with Huel founder Julian Hearn in the style of a podcast, and recalls meeting someone at an ultramarathon event who said he “only eats Huel”. asserted

he → talk → Huel

The former Made In Chelsea reality star said he was sceptical that the man would “manage the race” – a 260-kilometre run through the Amazon rainforest – but went on to say “he won it by miles” and “left us all in the dirt”. asserted

he → make → dirt

Mr Hearn then responds by saying: “In an ideal world, you should have nutritionally complete whole food. asserted

you → respond → food

If you could do that for every meal that would be the best solution for life. uncertain

that → do → life

“Most people either don’t do that or can’t have the time to do that, and therefore that’s where Huel fits in the gap.” asserted

Huel → do → gap

He also says earlier in the video that he has Huel for breakfast and lunch during the working week, then a “traditional meal” in the evening and on the weekends. asserted

he → say → weekends

Huel sells a range of products including powders, shakes, snack bars and drinks, aimed at providing essential nutrients and reducing meal times. asserted

Huel → sell → times

ASA, which received four complaints about the advert, found that it “did not explicitly recommend that consumers replace all conventional food with Huel”. asserted

consumers → receive → Huel

However, it said that consumers might understand from the ad that while it was unusual to have Huel for every meal, doing so was “nutritionally appropriate and presented no barrier to achieving a high level of physical performance”. “We considered that message encouraged or condoned irresponsible dietary habits,” ASA said in its ruling. uncertain

ASA → say → ruling

In its response to the ruling, Huel said the ad was “specifically designed to address that some consumers used Huel as 100% of their diet, and to correct any misconception that was its intended use”. asserted

that → say → misconception

The company, which is being acquired by consumer goods giant Danone, said Mr Matthews’ reference to the competitor in the ultramarathon was an “anecdote of a one-off incident that was surprising and unusual” and that he reacted with “extreme scepticism and disbelief”. asserted

he → acquire → scepticism

“At no point in the ads did either speaker suggest that consumers should adopt a 100% Huel diet.” asserted

consumers → suggest → diet

Huel advert banned for ‘encouraging’ replacing all meals with its products

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Claims (13 extracted, 2 hedged)