TUUS

What TUUS does

TUUS Nutrition Labs is an EPFL spin-off foodtech startup headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, developing HyCORE, a patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform for the controlled oral delivery of nutrients and active compounds. The technology enables zero-order, constant-rate release kinetics with adjustable duration, uses 100% plant-based materials (no synthetic polymers, no animal products), and is described as scalable to ton-scale production using common infrastructure at costs competitive with commodity delivery systems.

The company's first commercial application is TUUS Energy Gel, a sustained-energy gel for endurance athletes designed to address sugar spikes, stomach discomfort, and uneven energy delivery. Beyond the energy gel, TUUS has articulated a pipeline spanning metabolic health (sugar management for diabetes and clinical nutrition), medical nutrition (sustained supplementation to eliminate dose-related spike-and-crash effects), and a longer-term vision of applying HyCORE to oral drug delivery for commodity pharmaceuticals.

TUUS operates a hybrid commercial model: a B2B licensing GTM targeting leading nutrition and healthcare players as anchor partners for the HyCORE platform, alongside direct e-commerce distribution of its energy gel. As of mid-2026 the company is pre-revenue, with approximately CHF 150,000 in disclosed Venture Kick grant funding, a 1–10 person team, and a patent-pending IP position, making it an early-stage platform licensing play rather than a commercial product business at this stage.

Name

TUUS

Legal name

TUUS Solutions Sarl

Website

https://tuusnutrition.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

TUUS Nutrition Labs is an EPFL spin-off developing HyCORE, a patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform for zero-order delivery of nutrients and active compounds. It licenses the technology to nutrition and healthcare players and sells an energy gel for endurance athletes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Controlled-release hydrogel technology

NAICS

Animal Food Manufacturing (3111)

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840), Perfumes, Cosmetics & Other Toilet Preparations (2844), Medicinal Chemicals & Botanical Products (2833)

akta.pro primary industry

Gelling Agents & Systems (Gelatin, Agar, Gellan, Konjac) (AFAJACAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Non-Antibiotic Health & Performance Supplements (Immune, Gut Health, Stress/Heat Support) (AFADALAO)

Keywords

• Controlled-release hydrogels
• Oral drug delivery
• Plant-based nutrition
• Energy gels
• B2B platform licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Lausanne

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. B2B Licensing: Licensing the HyCORE platform technology to leading nutrition and healthcare players. The company grants access to their patent-pending hydrogel technology for partners to develop and commercialize products in their respective markets.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

TUUS has developed HyCORE™, a patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform that enables precise, constant-rate (zero-order) delivery of active compounds through oral administration. The company operates a B2B licensing model, granting enterprise partners in nutrition and healthcare access to the platform to develop and commercialize products in sports nutrition, clinical nutrition, metabolic health, and pharmaceuticals. Its first commercial application is the TUUS Energy Gel, a sustained-energy hydrogel product for endurance athletes that demonstrates HyCORE™ at market scale.

Product overview

TUUS offers a platform-plus-products architecture built around HyCORE™, a patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform for controlled delivery of nutrients and active compounds. The core HyCORE™ platform enables zero-order constant-rate delivery with 100% plant-based composition that is scalable and cost-competitive. The first commercial product is TUUS Energy Gel, applying HyCORE™ technology to sustained energy delivery for endurance athletes. The product pipeline extends HyCORE™ into three verticals: Sugar Management (Metabolic Health), Medical Nutrition (Sustained Supplementation), and Oral Drug Delivery — all leveraging the same underlying hydrogel technology through a B2B licensing model targeting nutrition and healthcare players.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HyCORE™: Patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform enabling precise, constant-rate (zero-order) delivery of active compounds. Plant-based, scalable to ton-scale production, and cost-competitive with commodity delivery systems.

Products and services

• HyCORE™ Platform Patent-pending plant-based hydrogel platform enabling precise, constant-rate (zero-order) controlled delivery of active compounds for applications in sports nutrition, clinical nutrition, and oral drug delivery. Features 100% plant-based composition with no synthetic polymers or animal products, and is scalable to ton-scale production using common infrastructure. Licensed to enterprise partners in nutrition and healthcare.
• TUUS Energy Gel Sustained-energy hydrogel gel for endurance athletes, serving as the first commercial demonstration of HyCORE™ hydrogel technology. Targets athletes who experience sugar spikes, stomach discomfort, and uneven energy delivery with conventional gels.

Quantifiable outcome

• Constant-rate delivery eliminates sugar spikes and provides steady energy for endurance athletes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Rousselot (Darling Ingredients): Rousselot is a global leader in gelatin-based gelling and delivery systems for food, nutrition, and pharma. Its expertise in gel-forming biomaterials directly parallels HyCORE™'s plant-based hydrogel positioning.
• Lonza: Lonza is a global contract development and manufacturing organization with deep capabilities in oral drug delivery, capsules, and controlled-release formulations. It represents a comparable platform for the pharmaceutical expansion of HyCORE™ and a likely enterprise partner target.
• Ingredion: Ingredion is a global ingredient solutions provider with extensive capabilities in plant-based hydrocolloids and texturizing systems. Its portfolio overlaps with TUUS's hydrogel platform and represents both a potential partner and competitive threat.
• Evonik: Evonik is a specialty chemicals company with a strong drug delivery and controlled-release excipients portfolio. It is comparable as both a potential HyCORE™ pharmaceutical licensee and as a competitor in controlled-release oral delivery.
• DSM-Firmenich: DSM-Firmenich is a global nutrition, health, and ingredients powerhouse with deep expertise in functional food ingredients and drug delivery. It is the type of large strategic partner TUUS's B2B licensing model targets, and a likely competitor in any controlled-release nutrition pipeline.
• Tate & Lyle: Tate & Lyle is a major food ingredients company with a controlled-release and texture/specialty ingredients portfolio. It could be both a potential licensee for HyCORE™ and a competitor in gelling/hydrocolloid systems used in nutrition.

Direct peers

• Science in Sport (SiS): SiS is a sports nutrition brand with a strong endurance gel and hydration portfolio targeting the same athlete personas. Its recent acquisition by Sunshine Yangshengtang demonstrates the strategic value of endurance nutrition brands.
• Maurten: Maurten pioneered hydrogel-based sports nutrition for endurance athletes using a similar biopolymer hydrogel delivery system. It is the closest direct competitor to TUUS Energy Gel and demonstrates the commercial viability of hydrogel technology in endurance sports.
• GU Energy Labs: GU is the dominant incumbent in the endurance energy gel category that TUUS is entering. It represents the brand-driven, distribution-heavy competitive benchmark TUUS must displace or differentiate from at the consumer level.
• Honey Stinger: Honey Stinger is a leading natural-ingredient energy gel and chews brand in endurance nutrition. It competes head-to-head with TUUS in the same retail and athlete channels, particularly in the natural/clean-label positioning TUUS emphasizes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors2 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about TUUS