“Wait… This Tastes Like Fudge?”
What We Heard From Athletes at Our Recent Jubilee Aquathlon Pop-Up
We turned up to our recent pop-up at the Jubilee Pool Aquathlon Series with RED-Scue bars, a table, plenty of samples and one simple goal:
Talk to athletes.
Not just about RED-Scue.
About training.
About racing.
About fuelling.
About what athletes actually eat when they're heading out for another session.
And what we kept hearing reminded us exactly why we created RED-Scue in the first place.
One reaction in particular made us smile:
“Wait… this tastes like fudge.”
Then:
“I love that.”
And honestly, that's the kind of feedback we love.
Because RED-Scue wasn't created because the world needed another energy bar.
It was created because athletes need better options for fuelling.
The Same Banana. The Same Flapjack. Again.
For many athletes, fuelling can become incredibly repetitive.
You train.
You pack a banana.
You grab a flapjack.
You have another banana.
Then another training session comes around.
And you do it all again.
There's nothing wrong with bananas or flapjacks. They can absolutely have a place in an athlete's overall fuelling strategy.
But when you're training frequently, sometimes you just want another option.
And this can be particularly relevant for young athletes and multisport athletes.
You might have a swim in the morning.
A bike later that day.
A run the next morning.
A weekend of racing.
Or simply a busy training schedule where you need practical carbohydrate that you can take with you.
Fuelling shouldn't become another source of stress.
It should help you do the work you're asking your body to do.
What Do Athletes Actually Need From Their Fuel?
This is a question we think about constantly at RED-Scue.
Because athletes don't just need something that contains carbohydrate.
They need something that fits into real life.
Something they can carry.
Something they can eat.
Something they enjoy.
Something that works around training.
Something that gives them another choice when they've already had enough of the same foods.
And perhaps most importantly:
Something they feel comfortable fuelling with.
Because knowing that you need carbohydrate and actually being able to consume it consistently are two different things.
“I Don't Get On With Gels.”
This was another conversation we heard at the event.
And it's an important one.
Gels can work brilliantly for many athletes.
But they don't work for everyone.
Some athletes don't enjoy the texture.
Some find them too sweet.
Some don't like the experience of consuming them while exercising.
And some simply prefer something they can actually chew and enjoy.
That doesn't mean they don't need to fuel.
It means they may need to find another way.
Fuelling doesn't have to look one particular way.
It might include:
-
Gels
-
Drinks
-
Chews
-
Bars
-
Food
-
Or a combination
The right approach depends on the athlete, the sport, the session, the duration and individual tolerance.
There isn't one perfect fuelling strategy that works for everyone.
And we think that's worth saying more often.
Why We Created RED-Scue
The story behind RED-Scue is personal.
As an athlete, I know what it's like to train hard without really understanding how to fuel properly.
I also know how frustrating it can be when you're trying to find practical foods that work around training.
My journey with cassava and plantain began while living and training in southern Spain, where I spent time around East African athletes.
I saw these ingredients being used as part of everyday food and fuelling.
Cassava and plantain are naturally carbohydrate-rich foods, and they became part of my own understanding of what practical carbohydrate sources could look like.
But there was a problem.
The traditional foods I was learning about weren't always easy to take to training or racing.
So the question became:
How could we create something that brought these ingredients into a practical format for athletes?
That question became RED-Scue.
Cassava + Plantain
At the heart of RED-Scue are cassava and plantain.
They're not ingredients we've chosen simply because they're different.
They're part of the story behind the brand.
They represent another way of thinking about athlete fuelling:
Look beyond the usual.
There are so many carbohydrate-rich foods around the world that have been part of people's diets for generations.
We don't believe athletes should be restricted to the same handful of conventional sports products.
Sometimes innovation isn't about inventing something completely new.
Sometimes it's about looking at familiar ingredients differently and asking:
Could this work for athletes?
Particularly for Young Athletes
One of the things that stood out to us at the Jubilee Aquathlon was just how varied the athletes were.
And that's important.
Young athletes are often juggling school, training, competitions, clubs and multiple sports.
Their fuelling needs don't disappear because they're busy.
If anything, helping young athletes understand that food is fuel can be an incredibly important part of developing a healthy relationship with training and performance.
We don't want fuelling to become complicated.
We don't want young athletes to feel that they need a cupboard full of specialist products.
And we certainly don't want them to feel that they have to restrict food to become better athletes.
Instead, we want to help create a culture where fuelling is normal.
Where taking carbohydrate to training isn't something to feel guilty about.
Where eating before and during demanding exercise is simply part of being an athlete.
And where young athletes can discover what works for them without feeling pressured to follow whatever everyone else is doing.
And Then There Are Multisport Athletes
The multisport community brings another layer to this.
Swimming.
Cycling.
Running.
Triathlon.
Aquathlon.
HYROX.
Different sports place different demands on the body.
And when you're training across multiple disciplines, your week can become a constant cycle of sessions.
That's where practical fuelling matters.
You don't necessarily want to carry the same thing every time.
You might want something different before a run than you do on the bike.
You might want something that feels more substantial.
You might simply want something you actually enjoy eating.
And that's okay.
Your fuelling strategy should work around your training — not make training harder.
“Wait… This Tastes Like Fudge.”
Which brings us back to the comment we kept hearing.
“Wait… this tastes like fudge.”
It's a simple comment.
But for us, it represents something important.
Because we don't want athletes to feel like fuelling is something they have to endure.
We want it to become something they feel confident about.
Something practical.
Something familiar.
Something they actually enjoy.
Because when you're halfway through a long training session, the last thing you want is to look at your fuel and think:
“I really don't want that.”
You want to know:
I can eat this.
I enjoy this.
This works for me.
And then get on with your training.
Athletes Deserve Options
This is probably the biggest thing we took away from our recent pop-up.
Athletes don't need more people telling them:
“This is the one way you should fuel.”
They need to understand their options.
They need practical information.
They need to learn what carbohydrate does.
They need to understand when fuelling may be useful.
They need opportunities to experiment during training.
And they need products that give them choice.
Because what works for one athlete might not work for another.
And that's completely normal.
Gels might be your thing.
RED-Scue might be your thing.
You might use both.
You might use something completely different.
That's the point.
Fuel the Work You're Asking Your Body to Do
We created RED-Scue around a simple idea:
Performance starts with fuelling.
Not because one bar can transform your performance.
Not because there's a magic ingredient.
And not because every athlete needs the same thing.
But because fuelling is part of the bigger picture.
You train.
You fuel.
You recover.
You adapt.
You do it again.
And sometimes, the most useful thing you can have is simply another option.
Another carbohydrate source.
Another food you enjoy.
Another way to make fuelling feel practical.
So if you're tired of the same banana.
If you've had enough flapjacks.
If gels aren't your thing.
Or if you're simply curious about trying something different:
Maybe RED-Scue is another option for you.
And if you were at Jubilee and tried one of our bars?
You might just understand why someone picked one up and said:
“Wait… this tastes like fudge?”
We couldn't have put it better ourselves.
RED-Scue
Carbohydrate-first fuelling for athletes.
Performance starts with fuelling.
