Huel hit with third ad ban in two months

A "misleading" advert from meal supplement maker Huel has been banned a month after it was ordered to take down two of its other promos.

The company posted a video, featuring founder Julian Hearn discussing its Daily Greens product to Instagram in April.

In the clip, he made claims about health benefits and cost savings that couldn't be backed up, according The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

Two ads promoted by Diary of a CEO podcaster Steven Bartlett being taken down were removed in August which failed to make clear he had a financial interest in the company.

Huel declined to comment when contacted by BBC Newsbeat but blamed an "editing error" in its response to the ASA.

Huel is best known for its range of plant-based meal replacement products.

Its Daily Greens advert featured Mr Hearn saying: "You've been told your whole life to eat greens and a lot of people can't get that amount of greens into their diet."

Referring to the product, he goes on to say: "We've taken a very broad range of greens, so you get a product which is equally good, or in my eyes better, but you get it substantially cheaper."

The ASA said customers would generally understand "eat your greens" to mean eating vegetables and that Huel was comparing the cost and nutritional value of its product to green veg.

However, Huel told the ASA it had intended to compare its product to similar meal supplement products, and blamed an editing error.

The regulator said the ad had been shortened, leaving "the impression the comparison was with fresh green vegetables".

"Because we had not seen evidence that the Daily Greens product was cheaper than a portion of greens," the ASA said, "we concluded that the claim the product was 'substantially cheaper' than an equivalent portion of greens was misleading and could not be substantiated."

Huel recognised "the error fell short of their standards" according to the ASA report, but the watchdog also took issue with some of its other health claims.

These included suggestions the product could reduce tiredness, had "gut-friendly probiotics" and contributed to "smooth, healthy skin".

The ASA said all health claims for food and food supplements have to be authorised by a regulator and "must be presented clearly and without exaggeration".

"We considered those claims did not have the same meaning as any authorised health claims," the ASA said.

As a result, Huel has been ordered to take down the banned ad and was warned about making general health claims and comparative price claims.

The ASA also banned another Huel advert in February 2023 which suggested their replacement shakes could save people money on their food bills.

The ad claimed a month's supply of the meal supplement could cost less than £50 - but didn't make clear this was based on having one meal replacement per day.

At the time, the ASA noted the ads were seen at the same time as a "worsening financial crisis" was having a "significant impact on people in the UK".