[nunez]

They are popular amongst people that don’t know of other options. Meal replacements have been around since forever. Every grocery store out there carries Slimfast, for example. Abbott and Labrada Labs, amongst many others, also make them.

IMO Soylent tastes gross, too. Kind of like soggy cereal.

[Klathmon]

Slimfast (and many of the alternatives) are diet tools, I drink Soylent for the opposite reason, so I get calories.

As someone that doesn't really take pleasure in eating on my own, cooking, cleaning, and even eating is a chore that I'll skip if I'm busy or stressed.

Soylent lets me easily grab something that won't have too strong of a taste and isn't as bad for me as skipping a meal, or eating half a bag of goldfish.

[nunez]

There are “mass gainers” (basically diet drinks with more carbs and protein) that accomplish the same thing and are more cost efficient if you’re looking for alternatives. Lean Body is one.

[fernly]

I did a detailed comparison of Soylent and its clones to Ensure here[0].

There are striking differences in the macronutrient ratios and in the prices. Soylent (Huel, etc) are much closer to the USDA recommended macro ratios, and have much less sugar. Only Ensure Original is less expensive than Soylent, all the other Ensure products (there are several) are much more expensive per calorie.

[0] http://futurefood.hellobox.co/soylent-is-not-ensure-and-why/...

[dragonwriter]

> Soylent (Huel, etc) are much closer to the USDA recommended macro ratios

No, by your numbers, Ensure (pretty much all of the various versions) are closer than any others the center of the USDA ranges.

> Only Ensure Original is less expensive than Soylent

Your own analysis shows all of the Ensure products except High Protein as less expensive than Soylent 2.0, and only Ensure Plus (not Original) is cheaper than Soylent 1.8.