The Kalkman Story

Everything old is new again. This is the line that comes to mind when Alexander Kalkman thinks about his grandfather, Chris Kalkman. He was a Dutch road cycling champion in 1909 and 1914. He achieved race times riding primitive bikes on dirt roads that would still impress people today, and he did it while eating a normal diet of fresh, whole foods. His record inspired Alexander to rethink what cyclists eat today. 

Alexander had the idea for Kalkman during a seven day road cycling ride through the Pyrenees with his friends. He realised that there was something very strange about eating healthy real food at home but then switching to “sports nutrition products” when out on the bike. What are all those mysterious ingredients on the ingredient list? Are they healthy? He made some bars for the Pyrenean trip, they were a hit with his friends and led to the launch of Kalkman Food.

Our mission is to help athletes perform and stay healthy by enjoying natural, real food. Both on and off the bike. We believe that in this way we can help you to enjoy your sport more. We can make the inevitable suffering a little more bearable. 

Flavour

Sports food can be delicious; why should you abandon the pleasure of eating when you are exercising? Natural ingredients are naturally tasty while synthetic ingredients are not. This is why synthetic support nutrition products have added flavourings and sweeteners. These are a poor substitute for what mother nature provides. This is why we like to talk about “Food, not Fuel”.

Portions

Experiments have shown that 10g to 15g doses of carbohydrates are more effective in helping athletes maintain stable blood glucose readings during exercise than typical doses of 20g to 60g in conventional sports nutrition products. We believe that athletes can perform better by eating smaller amounts of carbohydrate more frequently.

Natural

We only use natural ingredients. This is food that our body has evolved to use. These ingredients are better absorbed and work in harmony with our body’s appetite regulation and energy systems. Natural ingredients are also  rich in nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients that are often missing from synthetic products.

Alexander Kalkman en Harvey Wells - the founders of Kalkman Food.