Rob, of Aberdeen, is the founder of FTP Endurance Fuel. He asked me to test and review a FTP Endurance Fuel starter stack, including: Energy Pastilles, Power Fluids and a Adventure Pouch.
FTP Endurance Fuel has won a Runner’s World 2026 Sports Nutrition Award for the pastilles.
The details:
Energy pastilles: I energy pastille (17g) contains 15g of carbohydrate. Two is 30g, which is equal roughly the average gel.
Power Fluids: A drink mix. A 30g scoop in 500 to 750ml of water gives 27g of carbohydrate and 300mg of sodium, plus potassium, calcium and magnesium. (Tart Cherry is caffeine-free and has 3g of dried Montmorency tart cherry per scoop. Core has 50mg of caffeine.)
Adventure Pouch: Reusable, waterproof zipped pouch. You can decant pastilles from the 1kg bag, so there are no wrappers.
I was interested in the pastille ingredients
Sugar (a 50:50 glucose and fructose blend), water, wheat starch (gluten under 20ppm), citric acid, flavouring and colouring.
They are vegan and dairy free.
Per 100g: 348 kcal, 90g carbohydrate (78g sugars), salt 0.01g (But remember that you need almost 7 pastilles to make up 100g).
I wondered how this compares to the basic jelly baby.
Carb for carb they are close relatives. A jelly baby is roughly 6g and about 5g of carbohydrate, so one pastille is similar to three jelly babies. The differences are practical:
- The sugar in the pastille is a 1:1 glucose and fructose blend, rather than mostly glucose syrup. As I understand it, a glucose and fructose blend is better than a glucose-only source when you need to consume high amounts of carbohydrates (over 60g per hour) during endurance exercise. This will aid absorption and is likely to lead to less stomach issues and irritations.
- The pastille is a fixed dose. Each pastille is exactly 15g of carbohydrate, so you know what you have taken without counting sweets.
The FTP pastilles are vegan. Most jelly babies are made with gelatine.
The FTP pastilles are bought by the kilo and carried in the pouch, so there are no packets or sticky wrappers when out running, cycling or walking etc.
On test: FTP Endurance Fuel
I tried the mixed fruit flavour and the tart cherry flavour energy pastilles and I liked them all. I think, on balance, my favourite is the tart cherry. The texture is a bit like a more squishy Turkish delight (the proper stuff and not the Fry’s version).
The pastilles are very easy to chew and swallow and the give a good mouthful but without feeling too much.
Depending on what you are doing, the advice is to consume 30g to 60g of carbohydrate an hour on moderate days and 60g to 90g on long or hard ones. This means two to four pastilles an hour, or four to six per hour.
I also received the tart cherry Power Fluid. I confess I found this a bit too sweet at the recommended dilution levels so I had to add more water. This dilutes the amount of carbs being taken on board but it made it more palatable. I need to own up and tell you that I have rarely found any energy powder drink that I like.
Anyway, according to the stats, two pastilles plus a bottle of Power Fluids is 57g of carbs, so it is an easy way to take a known amount without doing complex sums on the move.
I don’t think I have ever been that scientific about fuelling my exercise but that is probably a mistake on my part.
I do like that it is relatable as an exact science but I guess you also need to think about your own weight, how you metabolise, how hard you are working and what the weather conditions are etc.
I told Rob that when I was eating the pastilles and drinking the fluids, I didn’t actually feel much. I was expecting a sort of oomph, I think!
But he had a good answer: “You are right that it is hard to feel a difference on any one outing, and I would not claim you should. What I can give you is the arithmetic. Most endurance guidance is 30 to 60g of carbohydrate an hour on moderate days and 60 to 90g on long or hard ones. Two pastilles plus a bottle of Power Fluids is 57g, so it is an easy way to take a known amount without doing sums on the move.”
I felt totally fine when fuelled with the FTP Endurance products and, I guess, that is what I need to feel.
Brilliantly, they did not upset my stomach at all. I have been known to suffer an irritated stomach especially on longer runs but I felt fine.
There is a caffeine addition to the Power Fluids Core and that might work well for some people, although I know others who find caffeine upsets their stomach. It’s good that there is a choice.
So then I started thinking about the cost.
The Starter Stack is £19.99, which is a good place to start to find out if you like the products.
1kg bags of pastilles are £42.99 for 30 servings each of Tart Cherry and £44.99 for 30 servings each of Mixed Fruit.
That works out at about £1.43 to £1.50 per single 30g pastille serving from the 1kg bags.
The Power Fluids are £25.99, again with 30 servings, costing 87p per bottle fill up.
I’d say the Power Fluids seem fairly reasonably priced while the pastilles are going to add up to quite an outlay if you use then for every run or bike ride.
A three-hour run would require between six and 18 pastilles, which is around £8.50 to £25.50. But you could substitute some of the pastilles for the Power Fluid, which makes it cheaper overall. I also think that there would quickly come a point, after about five pastilles, when I wouldn’t want any more.
So, I am thinking, that the pastimes are quite expensive. I reckon that once I’d tested these on a couple of training runs, I might well reserve them for races only. Rather like a special treat.
I really like the idea of the wee pouch for carrying the pastilles. It’s a good way to avoid the need for wrappers and it keeps the pastilles in one handy place. Its good to be able to buy the pastilles in bulk and therefore that keeps packaging more to a minimum and that must be better for the environment, especially compared to the single packed gels that many sports people use.
Overall, I really like the concept of the FTP Endurance Fuel. The pastilles are easy to consume and tasty. They offer a good amount of the right energy and the science part is easy to understand. They did not upset my stomach and that is a big bonus.
However, I question the cost. I am not sure I could justify this cost on-going. Plus, I think I would want to mix in other types of fuelling. I often prefer savoury when doing endurance events, or a mix of savoury and sweet.
See FTP Endurance Fuel for more information.