Dear Performance Nutrition Leaders,
This week: a new sodium bicarb format, what's on the snack table when England Rugby travels, plus the latest moves, news, and opportunities.
🧠 ON THE GROUND
Dr. James Morehen posted a year-end roundup of snacks from England Rugby's 2025 travels — UK, Ireland, Argentina, Washington.
His line: "Keeping rugby boys fed when travelling the world is an exciting and sometimes challenging process depending on location, access and facilities."
Food first. Wraps, overnight oats, Greek yoghurt with granola, fresh fruit stations — berries, melon, papaya. Beetroot and sweet potato brownies.
Fresh apple and beetroot juice made on site. Colourful shot glasses lined up: beetroot, ginger, multivitamin.
Supplements support performance. SiS Beta Fuel chews and Nutrition X Xplode shots on the table. PAS Protein Bars in the box. Big Whey shakes lined up for post-session. Repair shots ready to go.
What stands out is the variety. Different formats, different textures, different moments.
Not one solution for everyone — a spread that lets players choose based on preference, timing, and need.
📈NEWS
Dr. Samuel Bennett joins Decathlon Cycling.
Diogo Emidio joins Estoril Praia as head of nutrition.
Charlie Binns showcases a nutrition station at the ECB.
100+ business tools every performance nutritionist can use.
Dr. Jon Bartlett announced as VP of Performance Solutions at Hexis.
Sarah Lawson-Tilley shares the latest performance nutrition job roles faster than anyone else.
Dr. Laurent Bannock rebrands his Fuelling Greatness newsletter and podcast as “Nutrition Authority”.
Jaelyn M. Shipman joins North Carolina State University as Director of Football Sports Nutrition.
💡PERFORMANCE TECH
A new product just dropped that reframes how athletes might take sodium bicarbonate.
Racedayy launched what they're calling the world's first bicarb bar on January 1st. First batch sold out in hours. Second batch incoming.
The format: 21g sodium bicarbonate, 38g carbs. Oats, dark chocolate, honey, peanut butter.
The bicarb story so far has been a delivery problem. The science is solid: 0.2–0.3g per kg bodyweight increases blood bicarbonate, improves hydrogen ion transport out of working muscle, and delays acidosis during high-intensity efforts lasting 1–10 minutes.
But getting that dose into an athlete without GI distress has been the challenge.
Maurten solved it with their Bicarb System — mini tablets suspended in hydrogel, swallowed whole, transported through the stomach intact. Clever engineering.
Racedayy is betting on a different approach: make it taste like a normal snack.
The format is interesting — and the early traction suggests athletes are paying attention.
