Inside rise of Huel boss Julian Hearn who worked on a building site before launching trendy plant-food brand from his garage… and then cosied up to Idris Elba to make £500MILLION
When Julian Hearn left school in 1988 the future looked bleak – and with only two Es to his name he went to dig holes in his native Buckinghamshire’s roads.
But 16-year-old could never know how much his life would change.
Thirty five years later he is worth an estimated £240 million and at the head of a company whose investors include Idris Elba and Jonathan Ross.
The Huel founder has grown the company from a start up in his garage to being valued at £464m in just eight years – with the company selling three of its meals every second globally in January.
The reason for the Huel chief’s success? He claims it is his unimpeachable work ethic as he climbed the corporate ladder – with the meal-replacement mogul not taking a lunch break in four years.
He even has a devoted gang of followers – known as Hueligans, there are nearly 8,000 members of their Facebook group, where people go to learn how ‘to be the best Hueligan you can be.’
Hearn, 46, says that that to be as successful as him you have to ‘work your a**e off’.
‘There are no shortcuts,’ he says on his website. ‘Being successful is going to take a lot of work.
When Julian Hearn (pictured) left school in 1988 the future looked bleak – and with only two Es to his name he went to dig holes in his native Buckinghamshire’s roads
But the 16-year-old could never know how much his life would change. Thirty five years later he is worth an estimated £240 million and at the head of a company whose investors include Idris Elba and Jonathan Ross
Hollywood actor Idris Elba says he has been a Hueligan for years – backing a £20million fundraising campaign last November. Pictured: Idris Elba and Huel CEO James McMaster
Joining him in the ranks of the food-replacement’s supporters were his UN Goodwill Ambassador wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Jonathan Ross (left) and TALA boss Grace Beverley (right)
Timeline of Huel chief Julian Hearn’s career
- 1972: born in Buckinghamshire, England
- 1988: left school at 16 with two Es in English
- 1988: worked in a shop for a year
- 1989: worked as a labourer
- 1991: told he was too bright to dig holes, so went to college
- 1993: passed college with distinction but couldn’t get a job, so went to University of Bournemouth
- 1996: left university with a 2:1
- 1997-2008: worked way up the ladder to Head of Marketing
- 2008: started first company with a £1,500 personal investment
- 2011: sold Mash up Media to Internetbrands
- 2012: launched Bodyhack
- 2013: paused Bodyhack and started work on Huel
- 2015: launched Huel on 17th June from his garage
(Taken from Huel’s website)
‘You want to do every job in the business for the first 6 months at least, so you can teach the next person how to do it the way you want it done.
‘You will need to be become obsessed for certain period of time.’
The Hertfordshire-based firm recorded its best-ever monthly sales in January, with its customer base growing by double digits year-on-year, according to documents seen by the Mail.
Eight years after the company was founded in 2015, it has sold a stunning 300 million meals in 100 countries.
Its profits before tax reached £4.7million this year – as it soared 28 per cent to £184.5million in sales for the year ending in July.
Hollywood actor Idris Elba says he has been a Hueligan for years – backing a £20million fundraising campaign last November.
Joining him in the ranks of the food-replacement’s supporters were his UN Goodwill Ambassador wife Sabrina Dhowre Elba, Jonathan Ross and TALA boss Grace Beverley.
Speaking at the time, the Luther star said: ‘I’ve been a Hueligan for several years now, starting my journey while preparing for my role in Thor, so to come on board with Huel was an easy decision.
‘I believe in their mission to deliver nutritionally complete food, sustainably.
‘We have some exciting projects coming up and I look forward to spreading the message and raising awareness around healthy, low-carbon food.’
Huel claims to be the ‘future of food’ – with its products includeing protein powder as well as drinks and dehydrated meals such as macaroni cheese and Thai curry.
The reason for the Huel chief’s success? He claims it is his unimpeachable work ethic as he climbed the corporate ladder – with the meal-replacement mogul not taking a lunch break in four years
The Hertfordshire-based firm recorded its best-ever monthly sales in January, with its customer base grow by double digits year-on-year, according to documents seen by the Mail
Huel – which was founded in 2015 – was valued at £464m in February, with the company selling three of its meals every second globally in January
This year they have also launched Daily Greens, a once-a-day powder to be taken with breakfast containing vitamins, minerals and nutrients costing £1.20 a serving.
READ MORE: Meal replacement firm Huel backed by actor Idris Elba records best-ever monthly sales in January
But Hearn has always been looking over his shoulder, as he says you can ‘never rest on your laurels.’
He continued: ‘Your competitors will improve, so you need to improve to stay ahead.
‘Too often companies slow down and stop innovating. Stay hungry, keep pushing, keep innovating.
‘Otherwise another brand will steal your lunch.’
After Hearn left school at 16, it took three years of working as a labourer and in a shop before his girlfriend persuaded him to go back to college.
That was when his path changed – following a distinction, he went to university and worked his way up the marketing ladder, heading up teams at Starbucks, Tesco and Waitrose.
And in 2008 – after a rocketing career path – he set up his first business, Mash up Media. With only £1,500 of his personal investment, he says it was a ‘cash generator’ with the primary objective of family secure.
Hearn, 46, says that that to be as successful as him you have to ‘work your a**e off’ and you can ‘never rest on your laurels’
Eight years on from the company being founded, it has sold a stunning 300 million meals in 100 countries
Growing the company to generating a stunning £2.5million per year by 2011, any money worries were gone – as he sold it for a multiple of the yearly figure.
While he said he could have retired aged 40 on this money alone – it was not long before he started off a fitness specialist company with bespoke diet plans called Bodyhack.
But year later, in 2013, he started work on Huel – putting this on hold.
Like Google, Apple and Disney – the company was first launched in 2015 from his garage, and three years on it was already valued at £220million.
And meal magnate now practices what he preaches – having a Huel powder for breakfast and lunch which takes just 15 seconds to make.
Speaking to GQ, he explained: ‘I probably haven’t had a lunch break in four years.
‘Breakfast and lunch in the working week are not typically social occasions – I want to crack on.’
Hearn doesn’t even leave the office to exercise – with a gym in the building and a personal trainer visiting twice a week for group sessions.
Despite saying he is now in ‘marathon mode’ with the business rather after completing the initial ‘sprint’, his anxiety to make every second count is characteristic – as he refuses to waste time travelling and takes meetings on Zoom.
Speaking to the magazine, he added: ‘We’ve got teams in LA, New York, Berlin, Birmingham and London, but I try to avoid travelling.
‘All of our meeting rooms have Zoom. You can’t beat meeting somebody and shaking their hand, but the time it takes to get to those places is dead time.’
Hearn says that he has two tests when he is developing is brand – whether his friends would use his products unprompted and whether it will make his son proud.
In an unashamed brag on his website, he adds: ‘Both have been achieved.’
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