How Maurten bicarb works — and where the $12.50 goes.

Maurten's Bicarb System is the gold standard in commercial bicarb supplementation — a hydrogel-encapsulated sodium bicarbonate product used by elite marathon runners, pro cyclists, and Olympic track athletes. It retails at $17.50 per serving.

BICARB.NET is $5. Same hydrogel mechanism. Same ingredient categories. Different price. This piece breaks down exactly how Maurten's system works and where the cost differential comes from.

Maurten's hydrogel mechanism

Maurten's Bicarb System uses a carbohydrate hydrogel system combining maltodextrin, fructose, modified starch, and xanthan gum — the same core hydrogel approach as their drink mixes — with hydroxypropyl cellulose and magnesium stearate as binders and flow agents. When mixed with water, the system forms a viscous gel that encases the sodium bicarbonate, slowing its contact with stomach acid and enabling controlled release in the small intestine.

The science is solid. Multiple studies have examined Maurten's specific formulation and confirmed reduced GI symptoms with maintained performance benefits. It works.

What BICARB.NET uses instead

Both BICARB.NET and Maurten's Bicarb System use xanthan gum and a maltodextrin/fructose carbohydrate matrix as the hydrogel foundation — the core mechanism is identical. Maurten adds modified starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose, and magnesium stearate as additional binders and flow agents for their manufacturing process. BICARB.NET keeps it to six ingredients: the hydrogel matrix, natural mango flavor, and silicon dioxide as anti-caking agent. The functional outcome is the same — bicarb physically protected from stomach acid, released in the small intestine.

Xanthan gum is food-grade, widely available, inexpensive, and well-studied as a food additive. It's in salad dressings, gluten-free bread, and — as of the last few years — sports supplements. The gel texture it creates is thicker than Maurten's system, which some athletes prefer (it's more obviously "gel-like") and others don't.

Where does the $12.50 go?

Maurten is a Swedish performance nutrition company with a full R&D operation, international distribution, elite athlete partnerships, marketing, and retail margins built into every serving. Their brand carries a genuine premium — years of research, clinical validation, and a proven track record with the world's fastest athletes.

BICARB.NET is a Palo Alto high school student's kitchen operation, batch 1 of 100 bags, sold at roughly cost — about $1.57 in ingredients plus packaging, labor, and LLC/FDA overhead, priced at $5 with almost nothing left over. No retail markup. No marketing spend. No distribution overhead. No brand premium.

The ingredients cost roughly $1.57 per bag in batch 1 quantities. At full commercial scale with Maurten's purchasing power, the ingredient cost for their formulation is probably $1–2 per serving. The rest is business.

Should you use Maurten instead?

If you're competing at a level where every marginal detail matters and your coach, nutritionist, and team sponsor Maurten — use Maurten. Their clinical validation and consistency are real advantages at the elite level.

If you're a high school or college athlete, a competitive amateur, or someone who just wants to try bicarb supplementation without spending $17.50 to find out if it works for you — BICARB.NET is the practical option. Same mechanism, different price point, different scale.

Update: BICARB.NET 2.0 was going to close the gap completely — enteric-coated pellets built to be a 1:1 of Maurten's Bicarb System. We had the pellets, but our supplier backed out at the last moment and stole our deposit, so 2.0 was cancelled and bicarb.net has closed. Read the final update →