Fueling Performance: How Carbs Fuel is Disrupting Sports Nutrition

In the crowded world of sports nutrition, it's rare to find a brand that genuinely changes the game. Carbs Fuel is that rare exception—a company built on clarity, simplicity, and a deep understanding of what athletes actually need. 

A Connection Through Cycling

I first met Gabe Multer during my time at Laws Whiskey House. He was working for an innovative consumer intelligence platform that caught my attention for its potential applications at Laws. What started as a business conversation quickly evolved when we discovered our shared passion for cycling. Two wheels have a way of bringing people together like that.

Fast forward a few years, and Gabe had launched Carbs Fuel. With seemingly perfect timing, he identified a significant shift in endurance sports nutrition: athletes were dramatically increasing their carbohydrate intake during exercise. The science now shows that consuming between 90-120 grams of carbs per hour can significantly improve performance and endurance—a far cry from the conventional wisdom of just a decade ago.

Clarity in a Complicated Category

What's made me both a fan and user of Carbs Fuel isn't just the product itself (though I rely on it for my rides and runs). It's the crystal-clear positioning that sets the brand apart. The problem they're solving is straightforward: help athletes perform better by making it easier and more affordable to consume optimal amounts of carbohydrates during activity.

Their value proposition is equally direct: the best dollar-to-carb ratio on the market. Anyone who's filled their jersey pockets with energy products knows how quickly these costs add up. Carbs Fuel delivers genuine value in a category where premium pricing is the norm.

This clarity extends to their product formulation—remarkably simple with just water, maltodextrin, sucrose, fructose, citric acid, sodium citrate, and sodium chloride. This simplicity isn't just about clean labeling; it makes the product easier to digest when you're pushing your limits. And with 50 grams of carbs per package, tracking your hourly intake becomes effortless mental math, even when you're deep in the pain cave.

The branding and packaging reflect this same commitment to clarity. Clean design, prominent nutritional information, no distractions—just like their philosophy on fueling.

Q&A with Carbs Founder, Gabe Multer

I recently had the opportunity to dive deeper into the Carbs Fuel story with Gabe. Here's what he had to say:

Who are you?
Gabe Multer, Founder and CEO of Carbs Fuel. 

What is Carbs Fuel?
Carbs Fuel is a sports nutrition company, specializing in making products that are simple, effective, and affordable. Our mission is to help more athletes effectively fuel their sport. We believe properly fueling endurance activity should be simple and shouldn't be reserved to the affluent minority; more athletes will reach new heights and maintain a long-standing love for their sport. 

What makes Carbs Fuel distinctive from other sports nutrition brands? Everything we make is designed to be radically simple and with serious endurance athletes in mind. No preservatives, gelling/gumming agents, or synthetic flavors. Whether it’s our energy gels or our drink mix, our products are clean, easy to consume, and easy to digest. Our products are dense in the nutrition athletes need, while being at the most affordable price-point in the industry. Beyond the product itself, we’re trying to remove the overthinking and overcomplication that’s taken over endurance fueling.

What personal experience or insight led you to create Carbs Fuel?
I have been a competitive cyclist since I was 13 years old; it was my personal frustrations with how complicated and expensive properly fueling was. In the past 5 years, there has been a real fueling revolution in endurance sports; athletes have begun realizing they can and should be consuming far more carbohydrates during activity. Elite athletes are now consuming at least 90-120 grams of carbohydrates per hour during their activities; the issue is that products weren't formulated with that consumption in mind. Typical energy gels, the most efficient and effective way to get carbohydrates during activity, were 20-30 grams and $2-$5 per gel. This meant fueling properly involved consuming 3-5 gels per hour, often costing over $10.00 per hour. This is far too complicated - carrying huge amounts of product in 3-6 hour activities and eating every 15 minutes while exercising. This is far too expensive - many endurance athletes train 10-20 hours per week, the cost adds up quickly. The reality was that the vast majority of athletes weren't dealing with the cost and inconvenience, they were just deciding to under-fuel - meaning they were under-performing and not feeling as good as they could be. I wanted to create products that solved this problem for athletes and enabled them to better hit their fueling targets - creating quality products that are denser in carbohydrates and lower in cost. 

Who is your core consumer(s)? Are there other groups of people you would like to connect with?
Our products benefit anyone doing strenuous exercise exceeding 90 minutes. That most often includes cyclists, runners, and triathletes. We also have athletes like swimmers, skiers, tennis players, bodybuilders, rowers, and backpackers enjoying the products. As we expand, we would love to make more products that make sense for people doing all sports, but right now the problem we solve is only really felt by serious endurance athletes.

How did you go about developing your brand identity, and has anything changed?
Our identity came naturally. From day one, we’ve been clear on what we’re here to do: make the best-performing fueling products in the world, and make them simple and affordable. That means clear communication, minimal branding, a simple brand name, straightforward packaging, and no BS. We’re not flashy because we’re not trying to distract. We’re trying to help people fuel well and keep going. I like to think of us as the people's sports nutrition. We are transparent and everything we do has athlete's best interests in mind. 

What's your approach to promotional strategy?
How does community building fit into the marketing mix?
Every dollar we spend is intentional. Our promotional strategy centers around education, transparency, and building genuine relationships with athletes. We’re proud to sponsor some of the best athletes in the world - but our real community is built athlete by athlete, at races, in our retailers, on social, and through word of mouth. We care deeply about our community because that’s who we serve. We exist for them.

What's your biggest challenge as a brand?
Cutting through the noise is always a challenge - especially in a crowded space full of misinformation, over-promises, deep pockets, and flashy marketing. We’ve actually done a good job standing out so far by making a shockingly high quality and affordable product - but it’s a persistent headwind. Educating athletes and getting them to rethink what they’ve done for years takes time. That said, once people try our products, they rarely go back.

Beyond that, we face the same challenges any lean, fast-growing brand does. Managing cash flow and inventory is a constant juggling act, especially with how quickly we’re growing. And we’re a small team - there’s always more we could be doing. We have to be really intentional with our time and resources, which isn’t always easy, but it keeps us focused on what actually matters.

What does the product development process look like?
It always starts with performance. We only make products that actually help athletes go longer or go harder - no woo-woo science, nothing unproven by research. That means grounding everything we do in real sports science and real athlete experience.

We begin with what we, as athletes ourselves, want and need. We also listen closely to our sponsored athletes and our broader customer community. But we’re not chasing hype - we’re focused on what’s proven to make a measurable difference. If something doesn’t enhance performance, it doesn’t belong in the product. 

I am also laser-focused on the product serving a compelling purpose. I need a customer to see the product on the shelf and immediately be able to understand what purpose the product serves or why someone may want it instead of a different product. We focus on making something that is actually different, valuable, and has a compelling purpose that is either not fulfilled by other products or the current solution is too complicated, too expensive, or not good enough.

Once we’re clear on the purpose, we define the nutrition targets, identify the ingredients that can get us there in the cleanest and most effective way, and begin testing. We build small sample batches, test, adjust, retest - again and again—until we get it right. From there, we share top candidates with trusted athletes in our network for feedback in the real world.

Meanwhile, we’re working in parallel on scalability: sourcing ingredients, coordinating with our contract manufacturer, dialing in pricing, packaging, and branding. By the time something hits the market, it’s been through an intense and intentional process. If it’s not meaningfully better, we don’t make it.

What has been your proudest moment on this journey?
It’s hard to pinpoint just one moment, because this whole journey has been a steady progression. One recent moment that really stood out was at the Sea Otter Classic. Seeing our gel everywhere - being used by a huge number of the top-performing athletes - was incredibly validating. Not just a few here and there, but clearly the go-to fuel for so many of the riders competing at a high level.

At the same time, I was getting texts and photos from the Redlands Stage Race, where athletes told me that almost every jersey pocket in the men’s and women’s pro fields had Carbs Fuel gels in them. That kind of organic adoption, especially among elite athletes who are flooded with options, is something you can’t fake.

Seeing how genuinely loved our products are by the best in the sport reminds me why we started: to make something athletes actually want to use because it works and it is simple.

What's next for Carbs Fuel?
We’re building the future of fueling. That means more products that follow our same philosophy - simple, effective, affordable. We’re growing fast, and we’re committed to scaling without compromising. Our eyes are on new formats, expanded availability, and a bigger, more connected community. But we’ll always be who we are: the people’s sports nutrition.

Taking the Next Step

To learn more about how Carbs Fuel is revolutionizing sports nutrition, visit carbsfuel.com. Their story exemplifies what happens when a brand identifies a genuine consumer need and builds everything—product, positioning, packaging, and pricing—around solving that problem.

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Working with brands like Carbs Fuel is my specialty at Summit Brand Works. I help companies discover their unique positioning, craft compelling narratives, and execute strategies that connect with their target audiences.

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