A powdered food brand has embarked on a search for someone willing to forgo solid food for an entire year, in a bid to learn more about the role food plays in our lives.
Huel is offering £35,000 for the right candidate and expects to gain deeper insight into what life would be like without the planning and preparation that goes into regular diets. The company is open to applications from members of the British public who are willing to endure a powdered food-only diet for an entire year, as part of its latest research project.
The successful applicant will be required to undertake daily video calls with the monitoring team to report their progress, and agree to weekly visits Huel’s headquarters in order to maintain regular medical assessments. They will be required to perform exactly 30 minutes of physical activity every day, dictated by Huel, in order to clearly show the effects of a powdered food diet – but will otherwise be free to continue all usual daily duties such as work and undertaking family commitments.
In July, FoodBev spoke to Huel’s founder about the brand’s origins and how the concept of a diet consisting entirely of powdered food would work.
The powder has been rigorously tested during development and delivers 100% of the government-recommended nutrition that the human body needs, with a flavour comparable to vanilla porridge.
Huel founder Julian Hearn said: “We completely understand that this is no easy feat; not many of our customers are on Huel 100% of the time; the norm is probably about 50% Huel and 50% traditional meals. Having said that, we are intrigued to understand more about the role of eating in our culture. What would life be like with no solid food? Huel provides everything the human body needs, in a healthy and sustainable way, so we know that it is a perfectly nutritious way to consume what we need – but what will happen if this really is the future of all food? What will life be like when we have so much more time in our day and so much less to think about? We are keen to get a better insight into the longer-term effects on our behaviour, health and social lives.
“Our search is certainly on to find the right person. We need to be able to trust them to tell the truth; cheaters need not apply! We will be undertaking regular monitoring, but it’s important that there is complete honesty there. For the right person, this challenge could actually be very liberating. There was a lot of scepticism when we first launched and no doubt many people will find this an unbearable thought, but clearly Britons are far more interested in changing their lifestyles and habits than many initially expected.”
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