Gnarly Nutrition is a supplement brand founded in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2012.
Before Eli Kerr sold any protein powder, he spent a decade as an outdoor recreation therapist for teenagers in Utah. In 2012 he and a small group in Salt Lake City started Gnarly Nutrition, because he saw nobody bringing the science of sports nutrition to mountain athletes. The villain, as the company tells it, was the chalky tub of protein at the back of the cupboard.
Three years in, Gnarly hired Shannon O'Grady, who holds a doctorate in biology from the University of Utah, as chief product officer, and the company says the lineup has tripled since. Half of it was NSF Certified for Sport by early 2022, when Gnarly had finished moving every plastic tub into a steel can.
Gnarly does not run its own plant. O'Grady, who became chief executive in 2024 when Kerr stepped back, also oversees the co-packers that make the powders. The company is still run from Salt Lake City, and Kerr told the state in 2022 that the team can climb at lunch. That is the one supplement nobody has figured out how to put in a can.
In May 2014 Gnarly Nutrition landed in all five Whole Foods stores in Utah.
Their berry BCAA is in my bottle on every big ride. So good.
Alex
