Endurance Nutrition Retailers Ranked: Where to Actually Shop

Finding the right fuel for long training sessions and race days can feel like a second job. You spend hours researching gels, chews, drink mixes, and recovery supplements. Then you order a box of something that looked promising, take one bite during a tempo run, and realize your stomach wants nothing to do with it. Now you have 23 more servings of a product you cannot stand.

This problem has plagued endurance athletes for years. The local running store carries a handful of brands. The big box retailers stock whatever sells to casual fitness consumers. And ordering directly from individual brands means paying shipping multiple times and waiting for packages from different warehouses.

So where should endurance athletes actually shop for nutrition? After looking at what matters most to runners, cyclists, triathletes, and other endurance competitors, one retailer keeps rising to the top: The Feed.

The Feed: A Retailer Built by Someone Who Knows the Sport

The Feed was founded in 2013 by Matt Johnson and Bryan Smith. Johnson’s background matters here. He served as President of Slipstream Sports, which operates World Tour cycling teams including Garmin, Cannondale, and the EF Pro Cycling Team.

Johnson started The Feed after seeing something at the Tour de France that stuck with him. Better nutrition was giving riders a measurable advantage in training and competition. The gains showed up most clearly in the final 20% of races and during the last week of three-week stage races. The riders who fueled properly were finishing stronger while others faded.

He wanted to bring those inside fueling strategies to everyone, not keep them locked away for professional athletes with team support staff. That mission shaped how The Feed operates today.

The company is based in Broomfield, Colorado, and has grown steadily. In late 2023, The Feed leased 75,000 square feet of warehouse space at the Verve in Broomfield. The company has been scaling 60-70% annually, which tells you something about how athletes are responding to what they offer.

The Single-Serve Model Changes Everything

Here is where The Feed solves a real problem. You can buy individual servings of gels, chews, and other products instead of committing to a full box.

Think about how you normally try new nutrition products. You read reviews. You ask training partners what they use. Maybe you grab a sample at a race expo. Then you order a box of 24 gels because that is the only way most retailers sell them. If the product does not work for you, you are stuck.

The Feed flips this around. You can order one gel from Brand A, two chews from Brand B, and a single serving of drink mix from Brand C. Test everything during training. Figure out what your body actually tolerates during hard efforts. Then buy more of what works.

This approach saves money and reduces waste. More importantly, it helps you dial in your race day nutrition through actual trial and error instead of guessing.

Over 300 Brands Under One Roof

The Feed describes itself as the world’s largest online marketplace for sports nutrition, recovery tools, and high performance supplements. They carry over 300 brands, including more than 15 exclusive brands you cannot find elsewhere.

The lineup includes familiar names like Clif Bar, Skratch, Maurten, Gu, Bonk Breaker, Honey Stinger, and Precision. But the real value comes from having so many options in one place. You can compare products, read athlete reviews, and order from multiple brands without paying separate shipping costs.

One notable partnership stands out. The Feed formed an exclusive United States retail partnership with Science in Sport, commonly known as SiS. They had supplied SiS products for over 5 years before securing the exclusive arrangement. If you want SiS products in the United States, The Feed is where you go.

Free Nutrition Coaching Is Part of the Package

Buying the right products is one thing. Knowing how to use them is another.

The Feed offers complimentary nutrition support from what they call Feed Coaches. This service is available to athletes at every level, from people training for their first 5K to experienced competitors preparing for ultras or Ironman events.

The coaches can help you build a fueling plan for specific races. They can answer questions about calorie timing, hydration strategies, and how to handle nutrition for different conditions. Having access to expert guidance without paying consulting fees removes a barrier that keeps many athletes from optimizing their approach.

Partnerships with USA Triathlon and USA Cycling

Two national governing body partnerships give The Feed additional credibility.

USA Triathlon announced a partnership with The Feed that started in 2024. When USA Triathlon members join the program, they receive an $80 credit to spend at TheFeed.com. The relationship actually began in 2022-2023 through a smaller collaboration. Based on early success, both organizations extended the partnership through 2025.

This partnership also supports USA Triathlon’s high-performance team. The athletes preparing for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris had access to The Feed for their fuel and hydration needs.

USA Cycling members gained access to The Feed as an Official Membership Benefit provider in April 2022. Members receive quarterly credit to spend at the store, free online nutrition support, educational webinars, and a personalized water bottle. Notably, members are not locked into using any specific brand.

These partnerships tell you that The Feed has earned trust from organizations responsible for developing and supporting competitive athletes.

A High Performance Team of Elite Athletes

The Feed sponsors athletes across multiple disciplines: cycling, running, triathlon, skimo, and sailing. The roster for 2025 includes some impressive names.

Taylor Knibb, a 2x Ironman 70.3 World Champion and Olympian, joined The Feed as her exclusive nutrition sponsor. Ultrarunning champion Courtney Dauwalter also partnered with the company.

Sponsored athletes receive customized supplement plans and nutrition coaching along with products. But the partnership goes both ways. The Feed positions these athletes as “teammates” to everyday athletes, creating opportunities to learn from how professionals approach training, nutrition, racing, and recovery.

This is different from standard sponsorship arrangements where athletes simply wear logos. The Feed uses their high-performance team to educate their customer base.

Warehouse Operations Built for Speed

Behind the scenes, The Feed has invested heavily in fulfillment technology.

Their Denver-area distribution center uses AI-enabled picking robots and automated packaging. The company reports that labor productivity has improved and operating costs have decreased since implementing automation. Contribution margin increased by 2-3 percentage points, with expectations for further cost reductions.

Why does this matter to you as a customer? Speed and accuracy. The Feed manages approximately 6,000 SKUs. Most orders contain 10-12 line items. That is a lot of small products to pick, pack, and ship correctly. Automation helps ensure orders go out quickly and without errors, even during busy periods.

Customer reviews on Trustpilot frequently mention fast shipping. With nearly 1,500 reviews on the platform, consistent feedback about quick delivery suggests the fulfillment system works.

What Customers Actually Say

Speaking of reviews, customer feedback on Trustpilot highlights a few recurring themes.

People mention the intuitive website. Finding products is straightforward. The ability to search by sport, brand, or product type helps athletes locate what they need without excessive clicking around.

Fast shipping comes up repeatedly. Athletes training for specific events often need products by a certain date. Reliable delivery matters.

The single-serve option generates praise. Athletes appreciate discovering new products without the risk of wasting money on full boxes of things they end up disliking.

Reviewers also mention finding good deals on their favorite products. Pricing remains competitive even with the convenience of a specialized marketplace.

The Strava Connection

The Feed has built a presence on Strava that aligns with how their customers train. The company views Strava as a cornerstone of their marketing strategy.

During 2022, The Feed grew their Strava club by 14,246 members, representing 345% growth. That number suggests the community resonates with endurance athletes who track their workouts on the platform.

Building a community around training rather than sales creates a different kind of relationship with customers. You can follow The Feed on Strava, see what other athletes are doing, and engage with a group that shares your interests.

Who Should Shop at The Feed

The Feed makes the most sense for athletes who take their nutrition seriously but want flexibility in how they approach it.

If you are training for an endurance event and have not yet figured out what fuels work best for your body, the single-serve model lets you experiment without financial risk. If you know what you like but want access to a wide range of brands in one place, the marketplace model saves time and shipping costs.

Athletes who want guidance benefit from the free coaching services. Members of USA Triathlon or USA Cycling get additional value through their membership credits.

The company’s focus on endurance sports means the product selection is curated for people who run, ride, swim, and race long distances. You will not wade through pre-workout supplements designed for bodybuilders or meal replacement shakes marketed to people trying to lose weight. Everything centers on fueling athletic performance.

Final Thoughts

Buying sports nutrition should not require a research project. You need products that work for your body, delivered reliably, at fair prices. Having expert guidance available when you need it helps too.

The Feed checks these boxes. A founder with professional cycling experience. Over 300 brands in one marketplace. The ability to buy single servings and test before committing. Free nutrition coaching. Partnerships with USA Triathlon and USA Cycling. Elite athlete sponsorships that generate educational content. And a fulfillment operation built to ship orders quickly and accurately.

For endurance athletes serious about dialing in their race day nutrition, The Feed is the retailer worth knowing.