e-Gel Packet Size
e-Gel Packet Size
Why are e-Gel packets bigger than some other gels?
You may notice that e-Gel packets are larger than some other energy gels. For those that are interested in the details there are actually three reasons for this:
Reason # 1
thinner consistency
One of the biggest complaints about energy gels is that they are too thick and hard to get down. To address this problem we added more water to the e-Gel formula, thus making it a thinner consistency and easier to consume. More water means more volume, so the pack needs to be a little bigger. We like to say that consuming a pack of e-Gel is “more like drinking it than CHOKING on it like you do with other gels”. Most athletes agree that this is a pretty good trade-off. When you think of it as taking a drink, it’s not really very much at all!
Reason # 3
50% more energy
Each pack of e-Gel contains 150 calories (37 grams of carbohydrate) as opposed to 100 in most competing energy gels. The traditional 100 calorie size seems to have been arbitrarily selected years ago, and when you think about it you have to ask why. All runners for example burn approximately 100 calories per mile regardless of speed or body size, so a full pack of 150 calorie e-Gel is only enough energy to run 1.5 miles – that’s not much when you think about it. Obviously this does not mean that you take a gel every 1.5 miles as energy gels are meant to supplement your “on-board” energy stored in your body in the form of muscle glycogen. It just means you don’t have to take them as often. Some athletes prefer to dispense their energy gel into a gel flask and then take smaller doses along the way – for those people e-Gel’s size makes even more sense.
Reason # 3
pasteurization
The first two reasons are somewhat obvious, but this one not so much … but it’s vitally important.
At Crank Sports, product safety is a top priority. The last thing we want to do is to be responsible for an athlete getting sick. For that reason e-Gel is pasteurized during the manufacturing process which raises the temperature of the gel to over 180 degrees. This additional safety precaution helps to ensure the quality of the gel as well as making sure that the packaging material is sterilized.
So what does this have to do with packet size? Well, on a high speed production line when you are injecting 180 degree energy gel into a packet, the hot liquid has a tendency to splash. If the gel splashes up into the top area of the packet then you can end up with packets that are not properly sealed – that’s a problem. To ensure that this doesn’t happen we need to leave a little extra room at the top of the pack (we call it head space). So if you feel a pack of e-Gel you will notice that it’s not quite filled to the top – this is why, it’s for you’re safety!
Competing energy gel companies that do not use a pasteurization process fill the gel packs with cool (thick) energy gel that does not splash, thus eliminating the need for the additional head space. We won’t take this chance.
additional benefits
By putting more energy gel in each pack we are able to lower the cost so when you compare e-Gel to our competitors on a per calorie basis you will find e-Gel to be a very strong value. In addition, since two packs of e-Gel is equivalent to three packs of competing gels you will have less trash to deal with which is also better for the environment!
So now you know some of the decisions that we made that impact the packaging. All of our decisions are designed to make the BEST energy gel for our valued customers – and we hope you enjoy every pack!
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