Influencer Advisory™What is the Huel marketing strategy?
The Huel marketing strategy pairs a 400 calorie meal pitch with social ads, customer talk and paid creators. See what to copy and what to leave.
Founder · November 13, 2026 · 3 min read
Huel's marketing strategy is a 400 calorie meal replacement pitch, social ads, customers who talk to each other, and now paid creators. (Marketing Operators) (Huel)
"We don't pay influencers." Huel's founder, on Startup Microdose, 1:13:43.
That was 2018, and Huel pays creators now, with 986 sponsored YouTube videos for Huel in our deal tracking since May 2024.
How is Huel different from other protein drinks?
Pick one job and cut what blurs it
- Huel stays out of the typical ready to drink protein range of 170 calories and 20g protein, and pitches a 400 calorie full meal replacement. (Marketing Operators)
- In 2018 it had an explicit ban on fitness models and visibly ripped physiques in its content, so the brand would not read as a fitness product. (Huel)
- Its best performing Facebook ad was a plain shot of two pouches side by side, and it ran for well over a year. (Huel)
Once the pitch is set, people will argue with it in public, so plan the replies.
How does Huel handle negative comments on social media?
Write the reply rule and give it to one person
- Huel's founder answered the Facebook comments himself every evening for eighteen months, nasty ones included, and called it soul destroying. (Huel)
- The house rule is answer everybody, and block only the most abusive. (Huel)
- Huel replies to critics on social media with a deliberately witty, confident tone of voice, because the exchange itself buys more engagement and distribution.
- Huel built a place for customers to talk to each other, with one full time person on the forum, Instagram, Facebook and a little Twitter.
Replies keep customers talking, so next reach people who have never heard of you.
How does Huel use influencers?
Gift first, then give it a team
- Huel's version of influencers was customers with Huel in the office telling their colleagues about it, which its founder calls daily micro influencers.
- Huel's founder personally packed every early box with a free t-shirt and a handwritten note, citing the thousand true fans theory as the reason it pays off.
- In 2018 the founder counted that branded t-shirt as a paid-for acquisition channel, returning roughly one customer per shirt. (Huel)
Huel had no proactive influencer team until very recently, and Steve Bartley, now on their board after running a social media agency, said he was amazed they got this far without one. 44:43
Huel then hired 4 people as its influencer team, partly on the word of that board member.
In our deal tracking, comedy is the largest category Huel pays for, at 148 videos or 15%, and sports is next at 110.
Disclosure is a live risk for brands backed by an influencer, after the ASA action on Huel and Zoe over the Steven Bartlett stake. (D2C Diaries)
Before the next paid post, name who checks that every stake is disclosed.
- Who Owns the Big Wellness Drink Brands, and What They Paid
- What makes the Liquid IV marketing strategy different?
Who can run this if my brand has no influencer team?
Gifting, replies and creator deals each need an owner every week, and brands hire us to do that work.
Creators keep posting all year, without a flat fee every time. New creators ask to get in, so cold outreach shrinks. Creators share hooks and ideas, so the content gets better. Videos you can run as ads. Small creators tell you what to fix in your product.
If you have some of the steps in place, we audit what's missing in each and how to take it further.