Battle Oats, the rapidly growing nutrition brand which specialises in gluten-free high protein bars, will sponsor Total Warrior’s extreme sports events across Scotland and the north of England this summer, five years after the company’s founders first took on the mud-filled obstacle race themselves.
The three-year-old sports nutrition brand, that sold over one million bars to customers in 2016, landed the deal as the nutrition sponsor of the national series of extreme events. Since launching, Battle Oats has grown into a leading brand available through health stores, independent gyms and climbing walls throughout the UK, the company also has distribution in Ireland, Netherlands and Kuwait and now exports to over ten countries.
Battle Oats will supply 20,000 protein snack bars to participants at the Total Warrior events at Bramham Park, Leeds (June 24-25); Shap in the Lake District (August 5-6); and Edinburgh (September 16-17) as part of the deal.
Hull-based entrepreneurs Kevin Smith and Shaun Gibbins, who founded the business in 2014, participated in an early Total Warrior 10k in the Lake District back in 2012, just before Battle Oats was conceived, and they have been keen to support the increasingly popular events.
Adam Dickinson, director of Total Warrior, said: “It’s fantastic to be joining forces with Battle Oats. Having supported our events as participants themselves over the years, they really understand what we’re all about, which is really important for our partnership. With challenging 10km and 10-mile courses comprising 30 obstacles each, I’m sure that our participants will really appreciate a high protein bar to help them battle through to the finish line.”
Kevin Smith, of Battle Oats, said: “Both Shaun and I love sports and taking on new challenges, I’ve taken part in endurance cycle rides and trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp in 2006, while Shaun is a crossfit enthusiast, so when the craze for obstacle racing started, we were keen to give Total Warrior a try.
“The courses really are gruelling and push even the fittest athletes to their limits as I found out when I took part in the event again last year. We’re really pleased to have teamed up with Total Warrior and our four-strong office team will be taking part in this year’s Lake District event.
“We’ve really benefited from the trend for ‘food on the go’ as well as the increased interest in healthy lifestyles with more focus on natural products and exercise driving demand for high protein snacks. The business is going from strength-to-strength and we have some exciting plans for the year ahead.”
