By the 1960s, scientists realised that drinking carbohydrate solutions during exercise increased performance. With a mixture of sugar, salts and lemonade, the first sports drink was born. But carbohydrate drinks can cause problems. Our stomachs don't cope well with high concentrations of sugar – often resulting in slower gastric emptying and GI distress. In 2015, Maurten discovered how to make sports fuels easier to tolerate by encapsulating high concentrations of carbohydrates in hydrogels. The sports fuels, based on only natural ingredients, became popular and one year later some of the world's best runners started using their products.

Hydrogels are widely used in the food industry, often as thickeners and structurants. A hydrogel is a biopolymer- and water-based structure with very small pores. As a three-dimensional network with the ability to hold water, it looks and behaves a bit like a kitchen sponge. At Maurten, they've found a way to build hydrogels with natural food ingredients and filled the structure with the most efficient source of energy around – carbohydrates.

Maurten's latest innovation, SOLID, reinvents by removing everything but the essentials. The result is a performance-focused oat-and-rice-based chewable. It may look like a bar, feel like a bar, and taste like a bar — but it’s definitely not a run-of-the-mill bar. SOLID is the brands first non-Hydrogel product. SOLID 225 and SOLID 225 C are fast and light carbohydrate-rich, low fiber fuel sources — the perfect complement to your Hydrogel fuelling. SOLID 225 is sweet and natural. SOLID 225 C contains cocoa, offering a taste alternative or flavour reset during training or racing. Sorry, it’s not Hydrogel. But it’s unapologetically Maurten.

Maurten SOLID is available in-store and online now.