Why is it so expensive and so complicated to fuel properly?
This question inspired us to create Carbs Fuel.
You hear it everyday: pro athletes bringing on 100-150 grams of carbs every hour. Okay, sounds feasible for a pro that gets handed bottles and free nutrition from a team car. What about normal people? How do we carry that much? How can we afford that much?
See the faces and read the story behind Carbs Fuel.
Meet Gabe Multer, Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Since Gabe was 12 years old, endurance sports have been a major part of his life.
In November 2022, he started Holy Cow Racing in Golden, Colorado with the mission of growing the cycling community and spreading fun.
In the background, Gabe was frustrated by how expensive, over-complicated, and inconvenient it was to properly fuel day-to-day training and racing.
He had a hunch there could be an easy fix.
So he called Aaron.
Meet Aaron Gouw, Co-Founder & Chief Product Officer
Gabe and Aaron grew up together in Santa Cruz, California.
He knew that Aaron was close to finishing his PhD in Human Bioenergetics, so when he had this crazy idea of revolutionizing the way athletes fuel, Aaron was the first person he thought to call.
Aaron confirmed Gabe's hunch; it indeed would be possible to make a more carb-rich gel, that is less expensive, yet still enhances endurance performance.
Aaron got right to work developing the ideal formula.
Meet Michael Kussin, Sales & Marketing
While Aaron was busy formulating our gel and experimenting for our long-term product roadmap, Gabe was juggling the business plan, operations, sales, marketing, and more.
When he knew he needed help, he looked no further than Michael.
He and Gabe worked together in the software world and he was known for his incredible work ethic and creative, yet analytical mind.
So they got right to work on all things Carbs; now we just needed to make the numbers work in order to make our gel price so exceptional...
Meet Laini Ritsch, Chief Financial Officer
To offer a 50 gram carbohydrate gel for $2.00 sounds great on paper, but ensuring it is a feasible business model is a whole different issue.
Gabe knew Laini as an exceptionally bright finance alumni of Gonzaga University. Gabe also knew Laini as an exceptional endurance runner and cyclist.
Our mission resonated with Laini, so she made the financial models to make our business work.
So thank Laini for our gels.
Carbs Fuel Brand Story
About Carbs Fuel
Where is the Carbs Fuel HQ?
Carbs Fuel was founded in Golden, Colorado. We still operate out of Golden, Colorado today.
We don't have a physical store or showroom, but we have some amazing Golden retailers like Peak Cycles, Bentgate Mountaineering, and Golden Bike shop.
Where are Carbs Fuel products made?
The Carbs Fuel Original Energy Gel is manufactured in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The Carbs Fuel Original Sport Drink Mix is blended and packed in Denver, Colorado.
Where does Carbs Fuel ship from?
Carbs Fuel ships all orders from our warehouse in Denver, Colorado.
Sustainability at Carbs Fuel
Here at Carbs Fuel, sustainability and the problematic nature of sports nutrition CPG has been on our mind from the beginning. Today, we are delivering a gel that packs twice as many grams of carbs per gel, when considering the density of most energy gels, which effectively cuts wrapper waste in half from the start. Our product is vegan and produced with a very short ingredient list. All ingredients are sourced in the U.S. aside from Highly Branched Cyclic Dextrin, which is exclusively manufactured in the U.K. While the measures we have taken are a great start, we know this doesn't make a huge difference on the overall negative environmental impact of single-use sports nutrition wrappers.
We don’t greenwash our business with the word “sustainable.”
There is no such thing as a sustainable consumer packaged good, unless everything that has been extracted from the earth to manufacture the product is being returned as compost.
Our mission is to help more athletes effectively fuel their sport. This is accomplished through our exceptional products and the price-point we offer to consumers. As we grow and become more established in the sports nutrition space, we promise to be as socially and environmentally responsible as possible. We vow to continue to improve our manufacturing to make a larger impact on this industry-wide issue.