Why So Bland? Puresport Takes on Flavour Fatigue with New Unflavoured Energy Gel

March 31, 2026

Unflavoured. Unfatigued. A simpler way to fuel when it matters most.

London, UK (March 31, 2026) /ENDURANCE SPORTSWIRE/ – We’ve all been there, the longer you run, the less you want anything sweet and Puresport has built a gel around exactly that. The newly launched Puresport Unflavoured Energy Gel strips fuelling back to its essentials; clear in colour, neutral in taste, and designed to remove one of endurance sport’s most overlooked barriers: flavour fatigue.

Supported by the team’s new campaign “Unflavoured. Unfatigued.”, the launch reframes blandness not as a compromise, but as a performance advantage. As efforts extend, and long run miles get ticked off, athletes often struggle not with energy intake itself, but with the growing intensity of flavour. What tastes fine early on can quickly become overwhelming, leading to missed fuelling and, ultimately, a drop in performance.

Research* highlights that as exercise duration increases, perception of sweetness intensifies impacting an athlete’s ability to maintain consistent carbohydrate intake over time, as Dr Jamie Pugh, Scientific Advisor at Puresport, explains. He says: “As efforts lengthen, so too does our perception of sweetness. This means that a product that tastes good at the start can become overly sweet later on, which can reduce the desire to keep fuelling and ultimately impact performance.”

The Unflavoured Energy Gel is designed to tackle exactly that. By removing flavour entirely, Puresport eliminates the variable; no sweetness to reject, no flavour to fatigue, supporting a consistent and effective fuelling strategy from start to finish.

Dr Pugh continues: “We have found that for most runners, around 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour is the sweet spot for performance. But consistency is where many struggle. Removing flavour helps athletes stay on track with their fuelling strategy, particularly over longer durations. And this is arguably the most important thing that this gel solves, it means athletes can avoid the drop-off in intake that often occurs as flavour fatigue builds, and reduce the risk of under-fuelling driven by sensory fatigue rather than energy needs.”

This simplicity becomes especially important during longer efforts, when sustaining carbohydrate availability becomes critical to performance.

The new gel will be available along with Puresport’s original orange and berry flavours, launched in October 2025, and delivers 30g of carbohydrate per serving through the brand’s DualCarb™ formulation – a 1:0.8 ratio of maltodextrin and fructose designed for efficient absorption and sustained energy delivery. Rather than adding complexity, the format supports a simple, repeatable fuelling strategy: one gel every 30 minutes to help athletes consistently meet carbohydrate targets.

Dan Temm, CEO of Puresport, said: “The gels category has become so overcomplicated. Runners are faced with too many choices, too much noise, and often conflicting advice. Our goal from the very beginning has been to simplify things, and to ensure that runners are not overwhelmed by all the information out there. With the unflavoured gel, we’re taking that even further – removing absolutely anything that doesn’t need to be there – in this case, the flavour too. It might sound simple in principle, but when you’re deep into a session, the impact is huge!”

Key Product Details

• 30g DualCarb™ formula (maltodextrin + fructose, 1:0.8 ratio)
• No added flavouring or artificial ingredients
• Clear in colour, neutral in taste
• Vegan and gluten-free
• Informed Sport certified

The Puresport Unflavoured Energy Gel launches on Tuesday 31st March, priced at £5 (2 pack), £14 (6 pack) and £24 (12 pack)

Available via puresport.co and selected retail partners.

*Gauthier, A. C., Guimaraes, R. D. F., Namiranian, K., Drapeau, V., & Mathieu, M. E. (2020). Effect of physical exercise on taste perceptions: A systematic review. Nutrients, 12(9), 2741. Link here..

ENDS

Media Contact:
Name: Kate Allan – Compete PR Ltd
Phone +44 7754 072648
Email: kate@competepr.com

About Puresport:

Puresport is a running and wellness brand built For the Long Run®. Founded by former professional athletes, the brand creates clean, science-backed supplements designed to help people perform and feel their best. Beyond products, Puresport champions balance, culture, and community – redefining what health looks like by rejecting quick fixes and encouraging consistency, connection, and joy. Through its community, innovative product range, and growing movement, Puresport supports people who want to live and perform For the Long Run®

Puresport Website & Social Links
Website: puresport.co
Instagram: @puresport