Maurten

Maurten was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden in 2015 by Mårten Fryknäs, Olof Sköld and Karl Sköld. Fryknäs — a scientist and amateur Ironman triathlete — had repeatedly experienced the gastrointestinal distress that plagues endurance athletes trying to consume enough carbohydrate during long-course racing. He started looking into whether the problem could be solved at a fundamental level, not by tweaking flavouring or gut-calming additives, but by changing how carbohydrates are transported through the body entirely.

The solution was hydrogel technology. By encapsulating carbohydrates in a biopolymer gel made from pectin and sodium alginate — natural food-industry ingredients — Maurten’s products form a gel in the stomach that passes through quickly and delivers carbohydrates to the intestine for absorption, bypassing the gastric discomfort that conventional gels and drinks cause at high intake rates. The practical result: athletes can absorb up to 90 grams of carbohydrate per hour, compared to roughly 60 grams with standard products. The Gel 100 — five ingredients, no flavourings, no colourants, no preservatives — delivers 25 grams of carbohydrate in a jelly-like texture that doesn’t require water to wash down. The larger Gel 160 delivers 40 grams.

Maurten’s debut at the 2016 Berlin Marathon — where Kenenisa Bekele used the product and improved his personal best by two minutes to win the race — established the brand’s credibility at the highest level instantly. Eliud Kipchoge used Maurten during Nike’s Breaking2 project and again when he broke the marathon world record in Berlin in 2018. Maurten is now the official nutrition partner of IRONMAN, the major World Marathon Majors events, and L’Étape du Tour de France.