Huel’s Recipe for Sustainable Nutrition

Huel is transforming food systems with the mission to improve the health of people and the planet through complete and convenient nutrition.

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Today, we are learning more about their B Corp Journey with Emma Detain, Sustainability Manager at Huel.

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Before diving into Huel’s B Corp journey, can you tell us more about the company’s mission and sustainability strategy?

As a complete nutrition brand, Huel creates meals and snacks that deliver optimal nutrition while minimising the social and environmental footprint of our food.

Our five-pillar sustainability strategy underpins everything we do: what we make (complete nutrition, lowest impact), how we make it (be fundamentally sustainable), who makes it (responsible, ethical sourcing), who buys it (inspiring a shift to plant-rich diets) and how we give back (sharing the benefit).

Our products tackle two critical global challenges where food systems play a central role: human health and environmental impact. Through sustainable nutrition, we're delivering solutions that address both simultaneously—proving that what's better for our bodies can also be better for the Earth.

What inspired Huel to embark on the B Corp journey?

When we started our B Corp journey, we knew we were doing a lot in sustainability, so we looked at the certification as a way to validate our existing practices, benchmark ourselves against industry peers, and support our growth strategy. The B Corp framework provided a structured tool to identify improvement opportunities and create a roadmap of continuous improvement to ensure we keep up with what is considered best practice.

In which areas did Huel excel during certification, and which areas required the most focus?

Huel strengths stem from our science-aligned carbon footprint targets that limit global warming to 1.5 degrees across our entire product range and our rigorous, responsible sourcing program with ethically certified suppliers throughout our supply chain.

Regarding areas for improvement, the certification process revealed opportunities to set environmental metrics beyond carbon. We are now looking at establishing similar targets for water stewardship and biodiversity conservation.

Did achieving B Corp certification shape your overall business strategy in any way?

The B Corp certification process provided a unifying framework for our sustainability initiatives. It helped us formalise our approach. Using business tools such as job descriptions, policies, training, impact measurement, data collection and supplier management programs, we consistently ensure the consideration of all stakeholders and improve our performance.

It accelerated the process of embedding sustainability into our company processes and decision making. As well as upskill our employees to consistently ask the right questions to get the best results.

How has achieving B Corp certification influenced employee engagement with sustainability initiatives at Huel?

Our B Corp certification reinforced the purpose-driven nature of our business, making people prouder to be a Hueligan. It also further embedded sustainability into the culture - both through the process of readying the business for certification and the actions taken to achieve certification.

Which initiative are you most proud of as part of your B Corp journey and why?

Rather than a specific initiative, I think what I'm most proud of is Huel's role as an agitator. We are using our business to create a more sustainable food system that not only provides people with the nutrition they need, but also minimises the impact of food on the environment.

Beyond delivering sustainable nutrition through our products, we are actively trying to drive change across the industry that goes beyond Huel. For instance, all of our products now sit within the 1.5 degree aligned targets we have set, so we are now trying to go back to source to minimise the impact of how our key ingredients are grown. We currently have three live field-trials on farms in the UK and Canada where we are planting clover as a companion crop alongside oats to try and reduce the use of nitrogen fertiliser (the largest driver of emissions for most arable crops). Through projects like these we hope to influence the wider supplier network by showing evidence that farmers can reduce their environmental impact while maintaining yields and quality.

‍🌱 DID YOU KNOW?
Nitrogen Fixing Clovers: How does this sustainable fertiliser alternative work?

Plants need nitrogen to grow, and farming consumes this vital nutrient in the soil. While farmers can add factory-made fertilisers to replace it, these have a large carbon footprint. Clovers offer a natural solution. They partner with special bacteria (called rhizobia) that live in small swellings on their roots. It's a fair exchange: the clover feeds the bacteria sugars, and in return, the bacteria take nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form the plants can use. This natural process replenishes soil nitrogen without the environmental downsides of synthetic fertilisers.

What makes this meaningful is our role as catalysts - we're not agricultural experts, but we provide the upfront costs and motivation to make these trials happen. It's powerful to show suppliers that we're willing to invest, support, and join them on this sustainability journey.

Have you connected with other B Corps to collaborate on shared challenges?

We actively participate in a regional B Corp community across Hertfordshire, where our headquarters is located. This network brings together a diverse mix of organisations from both the product and service sectors for quarterly meetings, creating valuable cross-industry learning opportunities and strengthening the collective impact of the B Corp movement in our region.

What are your ambitions for the next phase of Huel's B Corp journey?

Our immediate focus is preparing for recertification under B Corp's new standards. As a first step, we are conducting a comprehensive gap analysis to assess our current position and identify specific actions needed to meet the new requirements.

In addition, we want to keep embedding best practices across the business as we grow. The recertification process is a strategic opportunity to realign our focus on B Corp principles and reengage our entire team with these core values to ensure sustainability remains central to our business operations.

What does it mean for Huel to be a B Corp in just one sentence?

Being a B Corp formalises our legal commitment to prioritise environmental and social impact. It ensures we remain accountable to our mission of improving human and planetary health through sustainable nutrition.

Three Tips For a Smooth B Corp Certification

1. Embrace it as a framework, not a checklist

Approach B Corp certification as a framework that guides strategic development rather than treating it as a box-ticking exercise. The process provides valuable tools to strengthen the foundations of your business.

2. Progress over perfection

Don't let the pursuit of perfection delay your sustainability journey. B Corp certification is designed around continuous improvement. Begin where you are and commit to ongoing progress.

3. Secure organisational buy-in

The certification process requires significant effort and coordination across departments. Invest time in helping your team understand what B Corp represents, why certification matters to your business, and how it benefits everyone.