Top Endurance Nutrition Brands in the UAE: What Each One Does Best

Walk into any endurance event in the UAE, from a Dubai sportive to an Abu Dhabi triathlon, and you'll see the same thing: athletes with completely different fueling setups, each convinced theirs is right.

The truth is that most good endurance brands are good at different things. One might be built around high carbohydrate intake, another around gut comfort, another around convenient fueling formats, and another around sodium and hydration.

This guide covers every endurance brand we stock at Fueled Up, what each one does best, and who it suits.

Here's the quick version:

• Enervit: the widest range, from gels and drink mixes to bars and recovery products.

• Maurten: hydrogel-based fuel built around high carbohydrate intake, neutral taste and gut comfort.

• SIS (Science in Sport): practical high-carb gels, chews and hydration products that are easy to use.

• Applied Nutrition: high-carb gels with a substantial amount of sodium already built in.

• Clif: chewable, portionable carbohydrate fuel made with plant-based ingredients.

• Nduranz: a sodium bicarbonate supplement for high-intensity efforts rather than conventional endurance fueling.

Enervit: the full-range specialist

Enervit is an Italian brand with deep roots in professional cycling, and it's the one brand on this list where you can build almost an entire fueling strategy without leaving the range.

Its signature C2:1PRO system uses a 2:1 combination of maltodextrin and fructose. Using both glucose and fructose transport pathways can support higher carbohydrate intake rates than relying on glucose-based carbohydrate alone.

Where it excels:

• Range. Carbo Gels, Isocarb drink mix, chews, Power Crunchy bars and recovery products such as Magic Cherry.

• Race-day carbohydrates. C2:1PRO Carbo Gels provide 40g of carbohydrate per gel, with options ranging from neutral flavors to caffeinated versions.

• Real-food-style fueling. Power Crunchy bars work well during long, steady rides or races when you want something more substantial than another gel.

• Building a complete fueling plan. You can combine drinks, gels, chews and bars while staying within the same system.

Best for: athletes who want one brand to cover everyday training, long endurance sessions, racing and recovery.

Shop the Enervit collection.

Maurten: hydrogel fuel built around high-carb intake and gut comfort

Maurten is a Swedish brand best known for its hydrogel technology.

Its Drink Mix forms a hydrogel when it reaches the acidic environment of the stomach, while Maurten's energy gels are already in hydrogel form before you consume them.

The range is built around delivering large amounts of carbohydrate with relatively short ingredient lists, neutral flavor profiles and minimal extras.

Where it excels:

• High carbohydrate targets. Drink Mix 320 provides 80g of carbohydrate in 500ml of water.

• Choice of carbohydrate dose. Gel 100 provides 25g of carbohydrate, while Gel 160 provides 40g.

• Caffeinated option. Gel 100 CAF 100 combines 25g of carbohydrate with 100mg of caffeine.

• Neutral taste. Useful during long events where strongly flavored products can become tiring.

• Simple formulations. Maurten avoids added colors, preservatives and strong flavoring.

Best for: athletes targeting high carbohydrate intakes, particularly those who prefer neutral-tasting fuel or who have struggled to tolerate conventional sports nutrition products.

Shop the Maurten collection.

SIS (Science in Sport): practical high-carb fueling

SIS is a British sports nutrition brand built around practical products that are easy to use while moving.

Its Beta Fuel range uses a 1:0.8 maltodextrin-to-fructose ratio and is designed for athletes targeting higher carbohydrate intakes during long or demanding sessions.

SIS also offers multiple fueling formats, including gels, chews and electrolyte products.

Where it excels:

• High-carb gels. Beta Fuel Energy Gel provides 40g of carbohydrate per serving.

• Chewable fuel. Beta Fuel Energy Chews provide 46g of carbohydrate per pack.

• Multiple formats. You can combine gels and chews instead of relying on one texture for several hours.

• Easy hydration. SIS Hydro Electrolyte Tablets offer a simple way to add electrolytes to water without adding significant carbohydrate.

Best for: athletes who want straightforward, dependable high-carb products that are easy to carry, portion and consume during training or racing.

Shop the SIS collection.

Applied Nutrition: high-carb gels with sodium built in

Applied Nutrition is a British sports nutrition brand, and its Elite Performance Energy Gel is particularly interesting for endurance athletes training and racing in hot conditions.

Each gel provides 40g of carbohydrate from multiple carbohydrate sources in a 1:0.8 ratio, alongside 250mg of sodium.

That combination allows athletes to take in both carbohydrate and a meaningful amount of sodium from the same product rather than relying entirely on separate electrolyte products.

The gels also contain SENACTIV and are tested under the Informed Sport program.

Where it excels:

• Carbohydrate and sodium together. Useful for athletes who want some of their sodium intake built directly into their fueling strategy.

• Heat-focused fueling. Potentially useful during UAE training and racing, such as summer rides in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, particularly for athletes with higher sweat rates or sodium losses.

• Strong flavor options. Apple Burst, Lemon & Lime and Orange Burst offer a different experience from more neutral-tasting fuels.

• Hydration options. Applied Nutrition also offers electrolyte tablets, including Vimto-flavored options.

Best for: athletes training or racing in hot conditions who want a high-carb gel with a significant amount of sodium already included.

Shop the Applied Nutrition collection.

Clif: chewable and easy to portion

Clif is an American brand, and Clif Bloks are its endurance-focused energy chews.

Rather than taking an entire gel at once, Bloks allow you to eat one or two pieces at a time, making carbohydrate intake easy to spread throughout a ride or run.

The six-Blok packs we stock provide 48g of carbohydrate and are made using plant-based ingredients, including organic tapioca syrup.

They contain no high-fructose corn syrup or artificial flavors.

Where it excels:

• Controlled dosing. Instead of taking a full gel, you can eat one or two Bloks at a time.

• Texture. A useful alternative for athletes who get tired of liquid or semi-liquid gels.

• Variety. Options include Strawberry, Salty Watermelon and caffeinated Black Cherry.

• Easy to carry. The strip-style packaging works particularly well for cycling and longer endurance sessions.

Best for: runners and riders who prefer chewing to gels or want a simple, portionable carbohydrate source.

Shop bars and chews.

Nduranz: bicarbonate for high-intensity efforts

Nduranz is different from every other brand in this guide because its Bicarb product is not primarily an endurance carbohydrate source.

It is a sodium bicarbonate supplement intended for high-intensity exercise.

During intense efforts, the body produces increasing amounts of hydrogen ions alongside other metabolic by-products. Sodium bicarbonate acts as an extracellular buffer and may help the body manage exercise-induced acidity during very hard efforts.

Nduranz uses an enteric coating designed to carry the bicarbonate through the stomach before releasing it, with the aim of reducing the gastrointestinal discomfort commonly associated with taking plain sodium bicarbonate.

Where it excels:

• High-intensity performance. More relevant to hard intervals, repeated high-intensity efforts and races with significant periods above threshold than to steady endurance riding.

• Tolerability. The enteric coating is designed to reduce the risk of stomach distress compared with taking plain bicarbonate.

• Specialized use. It can complement a fueling strategy, but it does not replace carbohydrate, hydration or electrolytes.

Important: sodium bicarbonate carries a substantial sodium load and can cause bloating, cramping, nausea or diarrhea.

If you have a medical condition, take medication that affects blood pressure, fluid or electrolyte balance, or have been advised to limit sodium intake, speak to a healthcare professional before using it.

Always trial bicarbonate in training before using it in competition.

Best for: experienced, healthy adults preparing for events or sessions involving sustained or repeated high-intensity efforts.

View Nduranz Bicarb.

How to choose between them

The best choice depends less on which brand is "best" and more on what you're trying to achieve.

• Sensitive stomach, neutral taste or very high carbohydrate target: look at Maurten.

• Want one brand for almost everything: Enervit offers the broadest complete range.

• Want high-carb gels and chews in straightforward formats: SIS Beta Fuel is an easy system to build around.

• Training in the heat and want sodium included with your carbs: Applied Nutrition is particularly useful.

• Prefer chewing instead of gels: Clif Bloks or SIS Beta Fuel Chews.

• Preparing for very hard, high-intensity efforts: Nduranz Bicarb is a completely different tool and should be treated separately from your normal fueling plan.

Choosing by carbohydrate target

Your carbohydrate target per hour should also influence what you choose.

For easier or shorter endurance sessions, many athletes don't need an extremely aggressive fueling strategy.

As duration and intensity increase, carbohydrate requirements usually increase too.

If you're building toward 80–100g or more of carbohydrate per hour, ranges such as:

• Enervit C2:1PRO

• Maurten

• SIS Beta Fuel

make it relatively easy to combine drinks, gels and chews to reach higher hourly carbohydrate targets.

Applied Nutrition's 40g gels can also fit easily into a high-carb strategy, particularly when you want additional sodium included in the gel.

The key is not simply buying a high-carb product. Your gut needs to tolerate the total amount you plan to consume.

Test your race nutrition in training

Whichever brand you choose, one rule applies to all of them:

Never introduce a completely new fueling strategy on race day.

Practice with the same products, carbohydrate amounts, fluid intake and timing you plan to use during your event.

If you're increasing your carbohydrate intake, build toward your target gradually rather than jumping straight from a low intake to 90 or 100g per hour.

Our gut-training guide explains how to increase carbohydrate intake progressively and build a race-day strategy your stomach can actually tolerate.

Browse our full Carbs & Energy Gels and Electrolytes collections, with fast delivery across the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi.