𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 + 𝗛𝘂𝗲𝗹. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗟𝗣-𝟭 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁.

At a €1B expected valuation, Huel isn't a startup anymore:

→ £18M EBITDA, 8.5% margin

→ £214M revenue in 2024 [+16% YoY]

→ In-house manufacturing in Milton Keynes

→ Retail footprint: 25K points of sales

Profitable. Scaled. Omnichannel.

That's rare in DTC.

𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀:

Danone has scale. Reach.

Danone has nutrition science.

Danone doesn't have a digital-first approach. Huel does.

And the tailwind is real.

GLP-1 increases demand for nutrient-dense meals.

Complete nutrition is the category that benefits the most.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼𝗼:

1. Ultra-processed perception. Huel sits in a grey zone.

2. Regulatory history. ASA banned Huel ads for misleading health claims.

3. Community backlash. Huel's fans fear corporate dilution.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻:

𝘊𝘢𝘯 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘏𝘶𝘦𝘭'𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺?

That's the test.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀:

𝟭. 𝗕𝗶𝗴 𝗙𝗠𝗖𝗚 𝗯𝘂𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗗𝗧𝗖 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝗶𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱.

Unilever learned this with Dollar Shave Club.

Yet Unilever bought Dr Squatch last year.

This deal follows those steps.

𝟮. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰.

Nestlé, General Mills, and Mondelez should be watching.

Fighting for relevance in the GLP-1 Era comes in many forms.

It does not have to be only fiber+protein NPDs.

𝟯. "𝗡𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁"

This is from Peter McDonald.

Danone is transforming through smaller, more refined, portfolio-adjusting transactions, without going all-in all the time.

Complete nutrition is a real category now.

The acquisition race for food brands is accelerating.

Can Danone scale Huel without killing what made it work?