The Science
Two bars.
Only one of them
has a window.
Every ingredient, every dose, and the papers behind the ones that have papers. Where there is no mechanism to argue about, we say so.
The window
Fuel has no window.
Recovery does.
That is the whole difference.
Carbohydrate is a digestion problem, not a timing problem — it works whenever your stomach can handle it, which is why IGNITE can be eaten before a session or in the middle of one. Recovery is different. For roughly half an hour after you stop, what you eat measurably changes what your body does next. That half hour is the only place on this page where timing is the active ingredient, and it is where REBUILD lives.
Before or during
IGNITE
Carbohydrate and electrolyte. Take it thirty to sixty minutes out, at halftime, or both — there is no window to miss.
The session
Output
Glycogen drains and sodium leaves in sweat. This is what the first bar is paying for.
Within 30 minutes
REBUILD
Glycogen is low and the tissue you just worked is stressed. Short window, real effect.
60–90 minutes
A real meal
REBUILD bridges the gap to dinner. It does not replace it.
Fuel
IGNITE
Thirteen ingredients built around one question: what does the body actually need to keep working? Carbohydrate at mixed digestion rates, the electrolytes you sweat out, and nothing in here pretending to be a mechanism.
Carbohydrate blend
Mixed-rate fuel
Raw honey, date paste, tapioca syrup, tapioca maltodextrin and oats — fast and slow sources together, so the curve does not spike and drop. Honey brings fructose alongside the glucose, and combining sugars that use different intestinal transporters raises the total rate the gut can absorb, which is why this is a blend rather than a single sugar. Together they carry IGNITE's 31 g of carbohydrate.
Antonio et al. (2023). Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise. Nutrients. · Jeukendrup (2010). Multiple transportable carbohydrates. Sports Med.
Electrolytes
Elemental minerals
IGNITE carries 300 mg of sodium, 200 mg of potassium and 77 mg of magnesium, from sea salt, potassium citrate and magnesium glycinate. Sodium is the one that does real work during effort — it's what you lose fastest and what holds fluid where you need it.
Armstrong (2021). Rehydration during Endurance Exercise. Nutrients. · Tarsitano et al. (2024). Magnesium supplementation and muscle soreness. J Transl Med.
Gingerol
GI tolerance
Matters more in this formula than it used to, because you may be eating this mid-session rather than an hour before one. Ginger has also been studied for exercise-induced muscle soreness.
Black et al. (2010). Ginger reduces muscle pain caused by eccentric exercise. J Pain.
Almond butter
Binder — and the reason there are no seed oils
Holds the bar together and keeps it from going hard in a kit bag. It is also the honest answer to why this product contains no seed oil: the fat is already doing a job, so nothing cheaper had to be added to do it.
Vanilla, orange and lemon oil
Flavour, stated plainly
Vanilla powder, orange essential oil and lemon essential oil — cold-pressed citrus rather than a natural flavour blend. No functional claim attached: these are in here because the bar has to taste like something.
Recovery
REBUILD
Fifteen ingredients aimed at the half hour after you stop. Protein and carbohydrate to start rebuilding, the two actives with the most consistent evidence behind them, and the electrolytes you are now short of.
Whey isolate
Muscle protein synthesis
Whey protein isolate delivers REBUILD's 7 g of protein. Isolate rather than concentrate means less lactose and a faster clear. Protein taken soon after training supports muscle protein synthesis and limits breakdown. This bridges the gap until a real meal; it is not the meal.
Cintineo et al. (2018). Effects of protein supplementation on performance and recovery. Front Nutr.
Carbohydrate blend
Glycogen replacement
Tapioca syrup, date paste and honey carry REBUILD's carbohydrate — mixed sugars that restore glycogen faster than a single source, and honey brings fructose alongside the glucose, which is why this refills liver glycogen as well as muscle. Dutched cocoa is what gives the bar its flavour; it's alkali-processed, so don't expect flavanols from it and we won't claim any. Together the blend carries REBUILD's 17 g of carbohydrate.
Antonio et al. (2023). Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise. Nutrients. · Jeukendrup (2010). Multiple transportable carbohydrates. Sports Med.
Tart cherry
Anthocyanins
The most consistently replicated recovery ingredient on this list. Tart cherry has been shown to reduce post-exercise muscle pain and strength loss. REBUILD carries 600 mg of tart cherry extract, in for that effect rather than for the flavour.
Howatson et al. (2010). Effect of tart cherry juice on recovery following marathon running. Scand J Med Sci Sports.
Turmeric extract + black pepper extract
Curcumin, made absorbable
REBUILD carries 200 mg of turmeric extract with 6 mg of piperine. Curcumin around exercise has been associated with lower muscle damage markers and less soreness. On its own it is poorly absorbed; piperine raises how much of it reaches the bloodstream, which is why the two are always paired here.
McFarlin et al. (2016). Curcumin supplementation and muscle recovery after exercise. FASEB J. · Shoba et al. (1998). Influence of piperine on pharmacokinetics of curcumin. Planta Med.
Electrolytes
Rehydration
REBUILD carries 210 mg of sodium, 220 mg of potassium and 60 mg of magnesium, from sea salt, potassium citrate and magnesium glycinate. Rehydrating with sodium restores fluid balance better than water alone, and by this point in the day you are dehydrated.
Armstrong (2021). Rehydration during Endurance Exercise. Nutrients. · Tarsitano et al. (2024). Magnesium supplementation and muscle soreness. J Transl Med.
Gingerol
GI support
For the stretch after training when your stomach has not decided it wants food yet.
Black et al. (2010). Ginger reduces muscle pain caused by eccentric exercise. J Pain.
Sources
The papers, and what they actually show.
Protein + Muscle Protein Synthesis
Cintineo, H.P., et al. (2018). Effects of protein supplementation on performance and recovery in resistance and endurance training. Front Nutr 5:83. Post-training protein is recommended to optimise recovery and muscle protein synthesis.
Multiple Transportable Carbohydrates
Jeukendrup, A.E. (2010). Multiple transportable carbohydrates and their benefits. Sports Medicine. Combining glucose + fructose increases carbohydrate absorption and oxidation rates, allowing up to 90 g/hour uptake vs ~60 g/hour from a single sugar.
Tart Cherry / Recovery
Howatson, G., et al. (2010). Effect of tart cherry juice on recovery following marathon running. Scand J Med Sci Sports 20(6):843-52. Tart cherry juice reduced post-marathon muscle pain and strength loss.
Sodium + Rehydration
Armstrong, L.E. (2021). Rehydration during Endurance Exercise: Challenges, Research, Options, Methods. Nutrients 13(3):887. Sodium replacement is critical for restoring fluid balance post-exercise.
Curcumin + Exercise Recovery
McFarlin, B.K., et al. (2016). Curcumin supplementation and muscle recovery after exercise. FASEB J 30(9):3113-3121. Curcumin intake around exercise reduced muscle damage markers and subjective soreness.
Piperine + Curcumin Bioavailability
Shoba, G., et al. (1998). Influence of piperine on the pharmacokinetics of curcumin. Planta Med 64(4):353-6. Piperine substantially enhanced curcumin bioavailability in humans when co-ingested.
Carbohydrate + Endurance
Antonio, J., et al. (2023). Carbohydrates and Endurance Exercise: A Food-First Approach. Nutrients. PMC10054587. Pre-exercise carbohydrate meals improved endurance cycling performance compared with fasting.
Ginger / Muscle Soreness
Black, C.D., et al. (2010). Ginger (Zingiber officinale) reduces muscle pain caused by eccentric exercise. J Pain 11(9):894-903. Daily ginger supplementation reduced exercise-induced muscle soreness.
Magnesium + Exercise Recovery
Tarsitano, M.G., et al. (2024). Effects of magnesium supplementation on muscle soreness: systematic review. J Transl Med 22:629. Magnesium supplementation reduced post-exercise muscle soreness in active individuals.