Here’s a straight-to-the-point review of Purendure’s natural, real-fruit energy gels. Are they the best-tasting gels runners and cyclists can get their hands on? Honestly, it’s hard to argue otherwise.

For your sake — and mine — I’m not about to churn out several thousand words on Purendure’s gels. Though with a PhD in Waffleology, I probably could. Instead, here’s everything you need to know about the brand — and nothing you don’t.

Who Are Purendure? Brand Background & Mission

Purendure — a mash-up of PURE (ingredients) and ENDURANCE (sport) — was founded by wife-duo Laura and Hayley. They saw sports nutrition leaning far too heavily on artificial ingredients and unpronounceable additives, and decided to build an alternative: real-ingredient gels made for real endurance athletes. Real, gut-friendly energy, and no nasties.

Ingredients: What Makes Purendure a Natural Energy Gel?

Purendure’s gels are made from fruit purée (banana or mango), electrolytes (salt), natural sugars (date syrup), and lemon juice from concentrate — and that’s it. No artificial sweeteners. No additives. They’re 100% plant-based and certified so by The Vegan Society. Unlike most gels that could probably survive a nuclear winter, Purendure’s actually come with a best-before date. That alone reassured me their ‘real-ingredients only’ message wasn’t marketing fluff. They’re made in batches which are pasteurised, each good to go for 12-months.

Purendure Flavours: Banana & Mango Energy Gels

At the moment, they come in two flavours: banana and mango. Why those two? Simple: They’re naturally high-carb. And — in my totally unbiased opinion — they’re simply the best fruits.

Purendure Nutrition: How Many Carbs Per Gel?

Mango packs 25g, while banana comes in at 22g. They provide a dual-source of carbohydrates (fruit purée:date syrup) and are ideal for use before, during, or after exercise. They also contain electrolytes (salt), ~0.126g (126mg) per pouch if I’m not mistaken.

Price & Value: How Much Do Purendure Gels Cost?

At the time of writing, all Purendure pouches are half-price. That’s a 12-pack of Purendure for just £11.49 (96p per pouch), 24 for £21.49 (90p per pouch), or a trial pack of 4 for just £3.99 (£1 per pouch). The prices are the same whether you get mixed (half and half) or a singular flavour. I don’t know whether these prices reflect the proximity to the batch BBE date (December, 2025) or if they’re on offer for other reasons (like Black Friday).

Purendure Discount Code

Personally, I think Purendure’s energy gels are already great value — but if you use code GRITTY15, you’ll get an extra 15% off and support our ad-free reviews in the process.

Gritty Verdict: Best Energy Gel on the Market?

I’ve tried a lot of gels, drinks, chews and carb-mixes over the years. I rarely dislike them, but I never exactly look forward to them either. As a result, I typically rely on the SuuntoPlus Race Nutrition app to remind me it’s time for another squeeze.

That was until these. With Purendure, the problem flips — I have to stop myself inhaling the lot within 30 minutes of setting off. They’re that delicious. And while flavour isn’t exactly the point of an energy gel, having something you want to take massively boosts your chances of actually hitting target carbs per hour. When your muscles are in desperate need of fuel, the last thing you want is to have to force down some stomach-churning artificial nonsense. It turns a laborious — sometimes disgusting — but absolutely necessary task into something you actually look forward to.

I know a lot of athletes struggle with the texture and viscosity of certain gels. You’ll be pleased to know that Purendure feels really well-balanced. It’s not too thick, nor is it overly watery. There’s no grittiness to them either, and you don’t have to chew them like you might a Maurten gel. The texture is exactly what you’d imagine puréed fruit to be like — because that’s what it is! No complaints: top marks for viscosity texture.

Purendure’s gels give me something most others don’t: peace of mind. When you’re out on the trails for hours, the last thing you want is to be force-feeding yourself a stack of synthetic, syrupy gels and hoping your stomach doesn’t stage a protest. These, though, are made from actual food — real ingredients you can pronounce — and in my experience they’re far gentler on the gut. I’m not saying they’re a magic shield against mid-run stomach drama, but I feel a hell of a lot more confident taking ten of these over ten of the usual artificial suspects.

The twist-cap is another genuinely useful touch. I’ll admit, I wasn’t sold on it at first — it looked like needless extra plastic — but the whole pouch and cap are fully recyclable, which softens the blow. Functionally, it’s brilliant: you’re not forced to neck the entire thing in one hit (though resisting is its own sport), you avoid the sticky-hands fiasco, and your pockets don’t end up looking like a toddler’s snack drawer. Just finish it, twist it, and stash it until you can recycle it.

As touched on, the taste is where Purendure absolutely buries the competition. But that’s not just a nice bonus — it genuinely changes how (and when) you end up using them. I’m one of those runners (idiots?) who runs fasted far more often than I should. That’s because I tend to run soon after I wake and I’ve never been one for immediately breaking the fast. Even grabbing a banana feels a bit heavy. Coffee, kit on, and off I go. The idea of taking a gel beforehand has never appealed, either. But Purendure? I’ll happily — and I mean, happily — knock one (or two) back before heading out the door. No forcing down something artificially-flavoured. Just something that tastes like food — because it is — that goes down easy.

In the not-too-distant future, I’d love to see Purendure offer larger pouches designed for reusable gel bottles. When I floated the idea to Hayley, she pointed out the obvious snag: shelf-life. Because Purendure avoids the usual cocktail of additives, an opened pouch won’t last anywhere near as long as the artificial stuff. In a way, that’s reassuring — you’re actually eating real food — but it does make the “big refill pouch” concept tricky.

Still, it’d be great to see a clever, natural workaround that cuts down on waste. Even a multi-serve pouch — say five servings — would help. I’ve no doubt the Purendure team, being vegan founders, are already chewing on every possible environmentally-conscious solution. And honestly, they shouldn’t stress too much: these gels taste so good I’d happily demolish a larger pouch within a couple of days anyway. Granted, not everyone is as unhinged as me.

All things considered, Purendure’s gels are the best I’ve tried. The whole brand exists to tackle a glaring problem in endurance “nutrition”: an over-reliance on artificial flavours, sweeteners, and additives. We’ll spend hours hammering roads and trails, yet think nothing of necking sachets full of mystery chemicals. Purendure flips that on its head. Their real-ingredient, fruit-purée-based gels feel far more aligned with the spirit of what we’re actually trying to do out there. And the kicker? They’re as cheap — if not cheaper — than the synthetic stuff. Oh, and good luck finding another gel you’d happily drink for breakfast or as a mid-afternoon snack. You won’t.

BRB, going to inhale another mango pouch.

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