About us
Umara was founded in 2013 by biomedical students Tommy Ivarsson, MSc, and Simon Gustavsson, BSc, who studied Biomedicine with a focus on nutrition and the body’s ability to perform. We are both competing athletes who understand sport, as we are runners, cyclists, skiers, triathletes, swimrunners, and more – we can say we are multisport athletes.
We are specialists in nutrition/energy for endurance sports. With the help of science, athlete experience, and our ability to weave together theory and practice, we develop optimized sports nutrition to help you perform at your individual best. Anyone can reach the next level, with nutrition as one of many important tools.
Vision
“We believe everyone benefits from physical activity and inspiring sports goals. We believe people are inspired to be active when they feel in control and believe they have what it takes to reach their goals.
We get more people active by helping them perform better with knowledge, inspiration, and science-based products.
We develop sports nutrition and educate people on how they can reach their highest potential as athletes. We communicate directly through digital education in the form of podcasts, videos, and articles, as well as wonderful ambassadors. We live as we teach and strive to be the best example we can possibly be by practicing what we advocate.”
Product Development
Umara's product development team today consists not only of Simon and Tommy, but also of multiple biomedically trained individuals and athletes who are passionate about performance. Whenever we want to discuss new products and their development, the combined expertise is just around the corner. This is to ensure that what we create is always optimized, as when it comes to performance, we believe that only the best is good enough.
IT & Media
In IT and web development, we have in-house expertise through our triathlete Erik Arenhill, who develops and manages most of what falls under the digital domain. He is a full-stack software engineer, which surely means something nice. He is quite skilled at coding, or so say those of us who are not in that field. Johan Linhart is also a triathlete and cyclist who ensures that all content is 100%. Besides being an awesome photographer, Johan is highly competent in project management and ensures that Umara stays focused on what is most important at the moment.
Ambassadors, Marketing & Content
Here we have the cyclist and sports scientist David Raustorp Hansson. He works on writing articles, providing product information, planning events, and Umara's overall visibility across the country. He has studied Sports Science and holds a master's degree in sports and performance. He is just as nerdy and well-read as the rest of us and fits like a glove—ready to help you with whatever you need.
Logistics & Orders
Resellers & Associations
The elite cyclist Richard Larsén manages resellers and association collaborations for Umara alongside his own cycling career and coaching business. His cycling career has, among other things, made him a Swedish champion.Why the name Umara?
Regardless of how real their performances are, they are a group that has had a tradition of moving on foot for hundreds of years and, regardless of age and gender, they run as a lifestyle. They consume their own sports drink called Iskiate during their long runs. According to legend, it consists mainly of corn flour, honey, cinnamon, and chia seeds, which provide energy.
Tarahumara reminds us of why we love Umara. We go our own way, and we see energy as a tool to get from point A to B faster than we've done before.
Training and competing is a lifestyle, not a fad!
Environment & Production
As a company, we continuously work to ensure the highest quality of our products while aiming to leave as small a climate footprint as possible. Below are some of the areas we are particularly proud of.
Production
- The products are developed by us here in Sweden.
- All nutrition products are manufactured according to HACCP & GMP, which ensures quality and safety at the highest level.
- All products that can be manufactured in Sweden are made in Sweden (this includes all powdered products, as well as pills, capsules, protein bars, and energy bars). The remaining products are manufactured within the EU, except for some accessories, such as the Racebelt, which is designed by us and then imported directly from China.
Environment
- In product development, environmental considerations are always taken into account, and for each new product, we explore various models to minimize our climate footprint.
- Examples of recently completed projects include bottles made from sugarcane, replacing cans/jars with bags, maximizing fill levels in products to minimize air being shipped, tailored packaging for maximized fill levels, and, when needed, filler materials made of cardboard.
- Examples of ongoing projects: Individually packaged gels/bars with lower plastic content and increased fill levels, bulk packaging for customers, scoops that can be excluded from tubs, i.e., not automatically included, etc.
- Examples of recently completed projects include bottles made from sugarcane, replacing cans/jars with bags, maximizing fill levels in products to minimize air being shipped, tailored packaging for maximized fill levels, and, when needed, filler materials made of cardboard.
Together, we drive Umara forward and continuously work in line with our vision of packaging performance for you as an athlete. This is achieved through education, community, and nutrition optimized for your performance.