When we launched the Lecka Ultra Gel in Vietnam, I had modest expectations. It was a bigger product — 65 grams of carbs, 410mg of sodium, one spout pouch — designed for athletes fueling at 60 to 70 grams of carbs per hour. We assumed it would find a small, specific audience.
We were wrong about the size of that audience.
The gel went live at 9am Vietnam time. I was in America, watching orders come in — not every second, but steadily. Every minute, another notification. We'd never seen that with a product launch before. Within two weeks, we were sold out.
Then we had to restock. Two more weeks before we were back.
That kind of early demand tells you something real: people had been looking for this product and couldn't find it. Real food, in a larger format, built for longer efforts. The passion fruit mango flavor is the only one we launched with, and it was enough to move the market.
The same pattern showed up in Germany and Denmark. The ultra community in Germany is established and active, and they responded the same way Vietnam did — positively, quickly. It wasn't just Vietnam excitement.
The Ultra Gel is now available in the US on thefeed.com. Amazon availability is coming soon; our shipment is currently clearing US Customs (a process I'll save for another episode). We're also rolling out to France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Singapore.
What this launch confirmed for us: real food ultra nutrition is a gap in the market. Athletes training for ultra marathons, ultra triathlons, and other long-format events are fueling at high volumes. A lot of products in this space are highly processed. The Lecka Ultra Gel gives them a real food foundation — something that can anchor an hour of fueling without the ingredient list that comes with most lab-formulated gels.
We also have a second Ultra Gel flavor coming. I'll say this much: it contains a fruit and a nut. Less sweet, more creamy, with 60 grams of carbs and even more sodium — around 430mg. We're targeting a June launch.
The ultra niche isn't a niche anymore. It's growing fast, across markets, across distances. We want to be in it with a product that actually fits how these athletes eat and train.
New episode of Lecka Bites podcast is out. Listen here or watch on youtube.