We built a reusable sports nutrition system for endurance athletes.
Venture Strategy, Business Model Design, User Research, Product & Brand Design
Endurance athletes spend hours in nature, and leave a trail of single-use packaging behind them. Trephor set out to change that without asking athletes to give up performance or convenience.
We approached it as a venture from day one: a reusable packaging system paired with modular nutrition, tested with real athletes and pressure-tested by programs and judges who back early-stage companies.
The DIY Snack System
Modular Nutrition
The nutrition is a dry product which, when re-hydrated, turns into a puree or gel-like consistency. The formulation contains as many non-processed ingredients as possible, whilst optimising for athlete performance, palatability and digestebility. The dry, bulk format has the additional benefit of lowering cost per portion by not shipping water weight.
Instead of a single product, we designed a system with two parts that work together:
Re-usable Packaging
The re-usable flask is designed specifically with athletes in mind. Every detail – from the mouth-piece, to the shape, to the resealable zipper, is designed to fit into an athletes reality of training and racing, without compromising convenience. It is made to work hand in hand with the modular nutrition system.
Specialised nutrition keeps athletes performing, but it comes wrapped in disposable packaging. The alternatives, like homemade snacks, usually fail on convenience, portability and nutritional precision, which matter most mid-race (or training for one). As trail runners ourselves, we lived this contradiction.
The question we built the venture around:
How might we reduce waste in sports nutrition without compromising performance, convenience or accessibility?
Video Credit: NOI Tech Park. Read full article here
Will athletes actually want it?
We started with the athletes: interviews, surveys and behavioral observation within trail running communities, as well as journey mapping and personas. Rigorous user testing with 12 athletes and their feedback shaped every prototype cycle.
Can we make it work?
We developed and refined the nutrition in the NOI Techpark Kitchen Lab through repeated prototype and test cycles, balancing nutritional precision (in collaboration with a sports nutritionist), portability and convenience, and testing the reusable packaging with athletes in real conditions.
Can it sustain itself?
Market and competitor analysis, brand and industry benchmarking, a business model canvas, a venture development roadmap, and a lifecycle-based sustainability impact assessment. The conclusion: lasting environmental change comes faster by working within existing economic systems than by standing outside them, so impact is built into the value proposition from the start.
Athlete Testimonials
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“The overall experience is really positive. At the moment I have two flasks (iteration one and two). During my activity I refill the two available flask before the start and complete two refills during the trail. The refill operation is super easy and quick.”
Tester 1 (trail running)
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“I loved the flavor and option to adjust the consistency based on my taste. Having less trash is definitely a bonus!”
Tester 2 (road cycling)
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“I was amazed by all the flavours, and how much better they are compared to normal gels. Also, the process of re-filling the flask is easy and intuitive.”
Tester 3 (road cycling)
Traction
NOI Techpark pre-incubation (IPIP): accepted into the 6-month program in 2024, with mentoring, workspace, access to the Kitchen Lab and workshops.
Storming Pizza Pitch Contest: won the pitch contest in 2025 against 5 teams, landing us a spot at the Interreg Europe MOZART Startup Bootcamp at H-Farm.
H-FARM: One-week incubation bootcamp with personalised mentoring.
Want to get into the nitty gritty?
Trephor was also the subject of our MA thesis in Eco-Social Design at the Free University of Bolzano: In it for the Long Run: Eco-Social Transformation in Endurance Sports Nutrition through Design and Entrepreneurship [Download the full thesis: (PDF)]
Collaborator: Xavier Pettigrew
Trephor was discontinued in 2025 for personal reasons, at a point when athlete demand and external backing were strong. What I took from it, from validating demand to building a business model, now shapes how I approach brand and sustainability strategy.