New energy drinks – without all the nasties
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When Eliud Kipchoge ran a 2:01 race and became the fastest marathon runner in the world, he had a few key tools in his arsenal. The first was the Nike Alphafly, a £290 running shoe. The second was a water bottle containing clear fuel from a Swedish brand called Maurten.
Maurten is a “game-changer”, says Kipchoge of the liquid formula that contains 80g of carbohydrate per 500ml sachet, which enables him to stay hydrated throughout the duration of a run. “I drink it every 5km,” he says. “The taste is neutral, and it’s friendly to the stomach.” Amateurs have taken note. Sales of Maurten are currently hitting a million a week for the 2015-founded brand’s sachets: annual revenues are projected to hit SKr380mn (about £27.5mn).
Maurten is a pioneer of a wave of start-ups offering a clean approach to exercise fuel. “Sweat isn’t sweet, so why were all the so-called ‘sports’ drinks filled with sugar?” asks Robb Wolf, a former biochemist and co-founder of LMNT. The brand (an official partner to USA Weightlifting, whose name is a simplification of the word element) sells sugar-free electrolyte drinks that are naturally flavoured, high in sodium and enriched with magnesium and potassium; citrus adds a summery kick to water, chocolate is nice hot. London brand Styrkr, launched last year, has effervescent tablets designed to stop muscle cramp that are sugar- and preservative-free. Mission offers pre-workout performance tea and Lean sells a natural caffeine drink — both great for the coffee-averse. Veloforte’s range of gels are handmade in small batches. Most come with a premium price tag: a box of 12 Maurten gels costs from £32.40; 30 LMNT sachets are $45; and Veloforte’s gels are £6.59 for three.
Exercise fuels have mostly been a necessary evil of endurance sports, but traditional gels, derive from sugar syrups and contain edible chemicals and preservatives, which are bad for the gut. Maurten, in contrast, has patented hydrogel technology – its gels contain just six natural ingredients to prevent digestive discomfort: the formula took two years to perfect.
The big fuel redo chimes with the accelerating trend for extreme sports and distance events. “Amateur athletes aren’t that amateur any more,” says Christian Sanderson, founder of Styrkr. The company’s 50g rice bars are so popular they often sell out on pre-order. “We now want to go faster and further, and we want the best tech, the best kit and the best fuel to help us do it.”
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