24g of fast carbs. A taste you’ll still want at mile 18. And a texture thin enough to swallow at pace without breaking your breathing. The only thing maple was missing was sodium — so we added sea salt. That’s the whole gel.
- ✓24g carbs — naturally 1:1 glucose to fructose
- ✓110mg sodium from sea salt
- ✓Thin enough to take on the move
- ✓Two ingredients: maple syrup and sea salt
- ✓Vegan · Gluten-free · Caffeine-free
Who fuels with Maple Ignite
Sophie
Course record holder
Race To The King 100km · 10:31:19
“Maple Ignite are such tasty gels. I lost count how many I took on my 100km, but fuelling on the run is essential.”
Dr Hussain Al–Zubaidi
This Morning’s TV doctor · Boston marathon
GB age-group triathlete
“They taste great, are easy on my gut and contain all-natural ingredients. Training is important.”
Why maple
Two sugars. Two doors.
Golden maple syrup is mostly sucrose — one part glucose to one part fructose. Glucose and fructose take different routes through the gut wall, and using both is the principle the premium artificial gels are built around. Maple syrup already had it. We didn’t formulate it in — we just didn’t take it out.
That’s the whole recipe. Runners tell us it’s kinder on the gut.
Awarded in 2026
Best All-Natural Gel
- Runner’s World Awards 2026
- Men’s Health Awards 2026
- Women’s Health Awards 2026
Per 36g gel
24g
Carbs
1:1 glucose : fructose
1:1 glucose : fructose
97kcal
Energy
406kJ
406kJ
110mg
Sodium
from sea salt
from sea salt
2
Ingredients
maple syrup, sea salt
maple syrup, sea salt
Every calorie in the gel comes from the carbohydrate. No caffeine, no gluten, nothing else added.
Directions
Tear the top and drink — no water needed.
Aim for 60–75g of carbs per hour on runs over 90 minutes — that's 2–3 gels. Build up gradually in training; your gut adapts. Racing hard, up to ~90g per hour (about 4 gels).
Nothing new on race day — trial your fuelling first.
Ingredients
Grade A Canadian maple syrup (99.1%) and sea salt (0.9%).
Store in a cool, dry place. Not recommended for children.
Nutrition
Typical values per 100g: Energy 1130kJ / 270kcal · Carbohydrate 67g (of which sugars 67g) · Fat 0g · Protein 0g · Sodium 305mg
Per 36g gel: Energy 406kJ / 97kcal · Carbohydrate 24.1g (of which sugars 24.1g) · Fat 0g · Protein 0g · Sodium 110mg
All the carbohydrate is sugar, naturally a 1:1 ratio of glucose to fructose. The sodium comes from the sea salt. Maple syrup also naturally contains trace minerals, including potassium, calcium, manganese and iron.
The science of dual-source carbs
On longer or harder runs, your body runs on carbohydrate. Research shows that using two carbohydrate types together — glucose and fructose — lets the body absorb more per hour than glucose alone, because each uses a different transporter through the gut wall.
Golden maple syrup is naturally about half glucose, half fructose. That's the same dual-source principle the engineered gels are built around.
The research, if you want to read it:
- More carbs per hour — Jeukendrup (2010), Sports Medicine. Multiple transportable carbohydrates increase total absorption and oxidation vs glucose alone. [link]
- Gut tolerance — Jeukendrup & Moseley (2010), Scand J Med Sci Sports. Glucose–fructose improves gastric emptying and fluid delivery. [link]
- Endurance — Rowlands et al. (2015), Sports Medicine. Fructose–glucose blends and endurance performance. [link]
- Higher intakes — Jeukendrup (2010), Sports Science Exchange. Benefits most relevant above ~60g carb/hour. [link]
- Carb availability — Newell et al. (2018). Carbohydrate dose and endurance performance. [link]
Read the full summary: Maple Syrup: Is It Nature's Performance Fuel?
Runners ask us
Runners’ questions
“I’ve tried other gels and they taste awful. Will I actually like these?”
Real maple syrup and sea salt — that’s the whole ingredients list. Nothing artificial, no chemicals, not the sickly synthetic sweetness of standard gels. Most customers say they actually look forward to taking Maple Ignite gels mid-run and compare them to salted caramel treats. A small number find them very sweet — if that’s a concern, the Maple Coffee version has a coffee bitterness that balances the taste.
“Best energy gel I’ve ever tried. No horrible after taste, just like having a shot of pure maple syrup.”
— Loox review, 5★“I love these!! I have a sensitive tummy and I now won’t use any other gels. They’re not gloopy or lumpy. It’s a smooth tasty syrup that goes down well.”
— Loox review, 5★“Are they easy to open mid-run with sweaty hands?”
The tab at the top stays attached to the packet to reduce litter — just one small tear needed. The consistency is thinner than most gels so it flows cleanly without squeezing hard. A small number of customers find the packet stiff in very cold conditions — keep the gels close to your body on cold days to warm them up.
“Easy to open whilst running, great natural taste, no stomach issues and kept me fuelled on my 32km race.”
— Loox review, 5★“Non tear-off packaging is great — means no small pieces to worry about disposing of.”
— Loox review, 5★“I’ve used these for shorter runs. Will they hold up over a long ultra?”
Yes. Several customers have used Maple Ignite gels across 100-mile races with no GI issues at all. Natural ingredients hold up over long efforts significantly better than synthetic gels, where gut problems compound with time. One reviewer used them for 14.5 hours straight at a 100km race and lost count past double figures.
“I lost count how many I had, well into double figures, with no negative issues at all. Got me over the line at the Canalathon 100k.”
— Loox review, 5★“Certainly better on my stomach compared to the usual gels — and I used them across 100 miles.”
— Loox review, 5★“How much carbohydrate is in each gel? Will one actually be enough?”
Each Maple Ignite contains 24g of carbohydrates, comparable to most mainstream gels. Because the formula is pure maple syrup with no fillers, the packet is compact. Most runners take one every 20–30 minutes, delivering 48–72g carbs per hour. Some runners take 4 an hour to reach 96g carbs — one every 15 minutes.
“I take half a gel every 20 minutes but I appreciate everyone is different.”
— Loox review, 5★“These have fuelled me on faster sessions when I needed a burst of energy. Each session I was getting faster and stronger.”
— Loox review, 5★“Are they worth the extra cost compared to cheaper gels?”
Our gels provide two quality ingredients versus twelve substandard artificial ingredients found in most energy gels. If you want a stomach-friendly gel that tastes great mid-run, Maple Ignite is worth it. Several customers spent years buying cheaper gels that upset their stomach and which they dreaded taking at pace. The price difference per gel is small. The cost of a GI incident in a race is not.
“Slightly more expensive than other gels but they’re 100% worth it.”
— Loox review, 5★“This is genuinely the only one that has worked consistently for me on 15+ mile runs. Very happy to have found these and will be using them for marathon training going forward.”
— Loox review, 5★Verified reviews
What runners actually say
Two ingredients. 24g of carbs. Naturally 1:1 glucose to fructose.
Choose your pack →After the run
What a lot of our runners take next
Gels are for the miles. What you do between them matters just as much. Most of the runners who fuel with Maple Ignite also take Run Easy — our marine collagen — as a daily habit, the same way they lace up.
See Run Easy →