Prefer real food to gels and gummies? Then we’re willing to bet you’ll vibe with Vafels. Giving a nod to the waffle-filled history of Belgian cycling, Vafels are made ‘with the highest quality plant-based, ethically and environmentally conscious ingredients to fuel the human body.’ Sounds good, right? Just wait until you taste them.
What is Vafels?
Vafels takes a modern approach to a centuries-old tradition, dishing up plant-based, Liege-style waffles to fuel athletes. The first crumbs of an idea were cooked up in 2017 when founder William Dugan, who’d recently moved to Boulder, Colorado, was brainstorming ways to attract cyclists to his philanthropic community bike rides. A longtime fan of the humble Belgian waffle, Dugan and his roommate started serving waffles and continued to tinker with the recipe as attendance rose. Eventually, cyclists were not only asking to buy the vegan waffles, but also re-ordering, and it wasn’t long before gear and coffee shops jumped on board too. By 2018, Vafels was ready to move out of its at-home kitchen and increase production by 10x.
Where is Vafels based?
Vafels is based in Boulder, Colorado, at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The city is known for its outdoor community and access to challenging terrain, making it the perfect incubator for aspiring performance nutrition brands like Vafels and Skratch Labs. To ensure freshness, the original Liege waffles are sent frozen from Vafels HQ, though the Dutch-inspired stroopvafels are shelf stable and do not need to be frozen.
Is Vafels a good brand?
Vafels is an ethical, environmentally conscious brand using vegan ingredients to make handmade waffles. Vafels proves that you can do good without sacrificing taste, as reviews across the internet can attest to. The products come in environmentally friendly, compostable packaging and can be enjoyed as a pre-workout snack or as on-the-go fuel.
Best Vafels products
Read more about a few of Aid Station’s favourite Vafel products.
Stroopvafels
Translating to ‘syrup waffles’, stroopwafels are a classic Dutch treat made from two thin waffle cookies held together by a sweet layer of caramel. Vafels’s vegan version – Stroopvafels – use the finest organic ingredients including organic wheat flour, organic rice syrup, organic cane sugar, organic soy flour and organic rice extracts. They’re easy on the stomach, with no added sugar or food colourings, and are perfect for a quick energy hit before, during or after a workout.
Though Stroopvafels can be enjoyed straight out of the packet at any point, they’re at their best when heated up over a steaming cup of tea or coffee. The heat melts the caramel between the wafers, creating a super-gooey superfuel you can’t resist. Get ‘em as a single serve or in a pack of six or twelve – available flavours include coffee, maple, caramel and speculoos (a spicy traditional biscuit).
