As energy gels expand beyond endurance athletes, changes are occurring in their packaging-but don't expect any radical departures.
Generically referred to as "goo," energy gels surfaced in the early 1990s in Berkeley, CA, still home to the three largest manufacturers: Clif Bar Inc., PowerBar and Sports Street Marketing, maker of GU energy gel. Not only did it lend its name, Sports Street created the bottle-shaped polyfoil package that defines the category. The shape suggests a water bottle, a nod to the electrolytes and simple sugars in the gels. The gel is mostly complex carbohydrates that don't require much digestion before delivering energy to on-the-go athletes.