Maurten

In 2015, Maurten made sports nutrition easier to tolerate. The formula was to encapsulate large concentrations of carbohydrates in hydrogels, and it was so successful that, a year later, top Swedish runners and some of the world's best marathon runners were already powering up with Maurten's technology in their training and competition sessions.

Athletes have always struggled to supply themselves with the amount of energy they need. In the 1960s, US scientists discovered that drinking carbohydrate solutions improved the performance of athletes. Thus, by mixing carbohydrates, salts and lemonade, the first sports drink was born.

But carbohydrate solutions can cause problems. Our stomach does not usually tolerate high concentrations of sugar, which occasionally results in slow gastric emptying, leading to gastrointestinal disturbances.

Maurten has developed a new range of products within sports nutrition. Through the application of hydrogel technology, it has developed energy products, rich in carbohydrates, that our bodies can tolerate.

Hydrogel technology has redefined the field of sports nutrition. Firstly, with Drink Mix 160 and Drink Mix 320. Twice the energy with approximately twice what was previously thought possible for our bodies to tolerate, with no added flavours as the taste of the drinks comes directly from the natural ingredients that make up the drink and are made with natural ingredients, with no added colourings or preservatives.

Hydrogels are widely used in the food industry, where they are often used as thickeners and gelling agents. A hydrogel is a biopolymer and water-based structure with tiny pores. It is a three-dimensional network capable of retaining water with an appearance and behaviour similar to that of a sponge.

At Maurten, they discovered a way to create hydrogels from natural ingredients, and have managed to fill them with the most efficient source of energy on the planet: carbohydrates.

The hydrogels in Drink Mix drinks are formed from a combination of two ingredients, Alginate, extracted from the cell walls of brown seaweed, and Pectin, a substance found in apples, lemons, carrots and tomatoes, to name a few foods. These two dietary fibres have been used in the food industry for decades. When combined under the right conditions, Alginate and Pectin form a pH-sensitive hydrogel.

The number of elite athletes using Maurten technology is steadily increasing.