Dual-source carbohydrate
Maltodextrin plus fructose uses two intestinal transporters, so you can absorb more grams per hour than glucose alone allows — up to roughly 60–90 g/h when trained.
Since 1993
We invented the energy gel. Then we kept improving it.
Dr. Bill Vaughan, a biophysicist, mixed the first GU gel in his Berkeley, California kitchen for his daughter — an endurance athlete who needed fuel that worked at race pace. Three decades later that same lab-first obsession sits behind every sachet on this shelf.
The origin
A kitchen in Berkeley, 1993
Before GU, endurance fuelling meant flat cola, sandwiches and luck. Bill Vaughan set out to solve a specific problem: get carbohydrate, electrolytes and amino acids into a working athlete fast, in a package small enough to carry and gentle enough to keep down.
The result was a 100-calorie gel with a dual-source carbohydrate blend — maltodextrin for speed, fructose for a second absorption pathway — plus sodium, and the amino acids leucine, valine, isoleucine and histidine. It shipped in 1993 and quietly rewrote how races are fuelled.
Roctane followed for ultra-distance efforts, with more sodium, more amino acids and higher caffeine options. Chews, Hydration Drink Tabs, Drink Mixes and Stroopwafels rounded out a system rather than a single product.
Lab photography — formulation bench
Athlete — Comrades
Athlete — Cape Epic
The science
What is actually in the sachet
Amino acids
Branched-chain amino acids plus histidine to reduce muscle damage and perceived effort on long efforts, not as a marketing garnish.
Electrolytes
Sodium leads, with potassium, calcium and magnesium. Roctane raises sodium for hot, humid and multi-hour racing — exactly what a Durban summer demands.
Measured caffeine
Caffeine-free, 20 mg, 35 mg and 40–70 mg Roctane options so you can build a plan instead of guessing.
Real gut testing
Formulas are tested at race intensity, because a product that only works while sitting still is not sports nutrition.
Vegan and gluten-free
Almost the entire gel and chew range is vegan and gluten-free, with allergens listed plainly on every product page.
Warehouse — Montague Gardens, Cape Town
The SA operation
Montague Gardens, Cape Town
GU South Africa runs out of Prime Park, Printers Way in Montague Gardens. Stock is held locally, picked and packed in-house, and dispatched by nationwide courier — usually the same or next working day, delivered in 3–5 working days.
We also supply specialist running, cycling and triathlon retailers, clubs and race organisers across the country. Orders and support are answered by people in Cape Town, in SAST business hours, on email and WhatsApp.
- Free nationwide delivery on orders over R500
- Payfast checkout — card, Instant EFT, SnapScan, Zapper and Mobicred
- Wholesale and club pricing on request
Athletes & events
Where our fuel gets used
Comrades Marathon
87 km, Pietermaritzburg to Durban
Absa Cape Epic
8 days of mountain-bike stage racing
Two Oceans Marathon
56 km around the Cape Peninsula
Ironman African Championship
Full-distance triathlon, Nelson Mandela Bay
Cape Town Cycle Tour
109 km, the world's largest timed cycle race
Ultra-trail Cape Town
Table Mountain's 100 km trail classic
Athlete portrait — trail
Athlete portrait — road
Feed zone — stage race
What we stand for
Lab-made
Every formula is developed and tested in our own lab, not white-labelled. Dual-source carbs, amino acids and electrolytes in ratios the working gut can actually absorb.
Athlete-led
Recipes change because athletes tell us they need them to. Comrades, Cape Epic and Ironman feedback drives the flavours and formats we stock in South Africa.
Honest labels
What is on the sachet is what is in it — carbs, sodium, amino acids and caffeine in milligrams. No proprietary blends hiding the dose.
Locally stocked
Warehoused in Montague Gardens, Cape Town. Real stock on the shelf, nationwide courier in 3–5 working days, free over R500.
The timeline
1993
The first GU Energy Gel is mixed in a Berkeley kitchen by Dr. Bill Vaughan.
2000
GU Chomps arrive — chewable carbohydrate for athletes who dislike gels.
2007
Roctane is launched for ultra-distance and multi-day efforts.
2013
Hydration Drink Tabs and Energy Chews expand the fuelling system.
2016
Stroopwafels bring real-food fuelling to long rides and pre-race routines.
2026
GU South Africa holds local stock in Cape Town with same-week dispatch.