A meal replacement drink targeted at gamers who refuse to tear themselves from their screens long enough to prepare nourishing food is coming to the UK.

The vegetarian formula, which is made from a soybean protein, oats and grapeseed oil, has been engineered to provide the necessary nutrition humans need to survive.

Soylent chief executive Bryan Crowley said: “We are targeting gamers who are looking for better solutions to do what they love for longer and more successfully.

“So many products marketed to gamers are unhealthy snacking products.”

Soylent is already a Silicon Valley superfood fad. It has proven hugely popular with people working long hours in tech startups and students looking for a convenient alternative to junk food.

The name is in reference to the 1966 science fiction novel Make Room! Make Room! which inspired the dystopian Warner Bros horror film Soylent Green.

Those old enough to have seen the film will not be too pleased to learn that a green flavour could be on the cards. "People request green a lot. So it's a maybe from me," said Crowley.