Published: March 25, 2026 at 8:05 am
THG CEO Matt Moulding has said Julian Hearn deserves every penny of his reported £400m payout after Paris-based food giant Danone acquired Huel in a deal worth €1bn.
Hearn founded Huel in 2015 with a mission to improve the health of people and the planet through complete and convenient nutrition.
Huel – which takes its name from a combination of ‘Human’ and ‘Fuel’ – has since sold more than 600 million meals across 100+ countries, with around 50 per cent less CO2 impact than the average meal.
Moulding took to LinkedIn to praise Hearn, saying he fully deserved his payout of up to £400m ‘as payback for all the risk-taking, stress and sleepless nights over the years’.
He wrote: “You can’t help but respect and recognise the hard work that’s gone into making Huel the success it’s become.
“The back story is brilliant. A young working-class man backing himself to switch from manual labour and start a meal replacement company.”
THG owns Myprotein, the world’s largest online sports nutrition brand, and Moulding said the deal was another example of a ‘British champion’ being sold to an overseas company.