Five Minutes With: Nuun

The Five minutes with series presents a company with five short, sharp and to-the-point questions about who they are and what they do. This week, we’re joined by Nuun brand manager Chris Stuckey.

Can you tell us the history of the company?

Nuun is a pioneer in the sports nutrition industry being the first brand to develop a product that separated hydration from fueling serving the specific needs of endurance athletes. 13 years later the best selling Electrolytes line is based on the same groundbreaking research that has differentiated Nuun from the high sugar sports drink market since its inception. It is free from artificial sweeteners, dyes and preservatives and is also vegan, gluten free and certified safe for sport. Over this time Nuun has grown to be a staple at sporting events globally and in 2018 will hydrate over 2 million athletes across 500 mass participation events including Prudential Ride London.

What are you ultimately trying to achieve?

Nuun’s purpose is to inspire movement for everyone ultimately leading to a healthier, happier and more active lifestyle. We believe activity is the solution to a lot of the challenges in our society and we strive to be a change agent encouraging those out on the roads and trails and continually working to foster others to become part of this community.

What gives you an edge over other companies in the industry?

First and foremost at Nuun our competitive advantage is the people, from our internal team to the extended Nuun family of fans and customers. Collectively we live and lead a healthy, active lifestyle and have created an impactful tribe of inclusiveness and encouragement. The culture is driven on continual improvement and developing products for ourselves. Through this we have developed a unique environment for innovation in that we are utilizing both the latest in sports science research and natural foods sourcing developing products that are not only optimized for performance but also for the health of all Nuun users.

What innovations in the industry are exciting you at the moment?

We are excited and encouraged by the shift in the sports nutrition industry away from engineered nutrition towards cleaner and more functional ingredient profiles. This has been led by a larger macro trend towards natural foods and the sourcing innovations coming out of this movement have led to products that are better for you body that therefore help you perform better. Also, with the movement towards customization we expect to see more products tailored towards the customers specific needs based on the time of day, their fitness levels and performance goals.

What does the future hold for the company?

Expect Nuun to become more visible on education. We want to inspire everyone to move more. Education on proper hydration with nutrition will be key for folks to have the best chance at success in their activities, health, and life. Further, expect Nuun to keep improving our existing products as well as come out with new formulations to help you be at your best across different needs states. In essence, you can expect that we won’t be sitting still. There is much work to be done.