All nutritional products are not created equally. No one knows this more than Paige Foote.

Paige is a registered dietician and marathoner who struggled to find a nutritional product that satisfied her on her runs. In 2021, she decided to partner with her husband and Air Force Veteran, Ben Foote to create sour gummy energy chews designed for performance for all athletes called Noogs Nutrition.

Each pack of Noogs chews offers nutritional value to those who indulge them before, during or after exercise. But beyond nutrition, each pack represents the value of community and how members of the running community and run-specialty community continue to help elevate the brand.

“All in all, the community is the heart of our business, It’s our whole strategy,” Ben Foote tells Running Insight. “We love partnering with clubs, partnering with stores to do race events, to get product in people’s hands. We just try to get in front of as many people as possible

The retail/nutrition connection

In 2023, Paige and Ben walked into the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop in Charlottesville, v to showcase their product. Paige recalled the couple being terrified as they

held a ziplock bag of Noogs in their hands, watching outfitters at the store help customers try on shoes.

They shared the product with the team shortly after being greeted by one of the associates at the store — and the rest is Noogs’ history. Not only did they support the business, but they also taught Paige and Ben the art of working with retailers.

“The store owners have been just such a blessing for us,” Ben says. “To this day, we go to The Running Event and it’s like meeting all these friends because they all took a risk on us.”

Kindness and education has been a common occurrence for the couple when meeting with retailers, especially locally owned and smaller retail shops. Working with local retailers has been an efficient strategy for the couple as they continue to grow their business. Not only have they learned how to work with the retailers, but it’s given them insight on how they can be of great benefit to those who carry Noogs in their respective stores.

“We really like working with smaller stores and smaller chains because we can build really authentic relationships,” Ben explains. “We can understand how we can serve them. And then I think as we continue to grow, we’ll be able to support bigger and bigger retailers as we grow.”

Supporting running clubs

The couple also leaned into supporting running communities by sponsoring local run clubs, which opened the door for them to meet with run retailers that are staples in their respective communities.

“Everybody’s tied into their local running store,” Paige says. “So then we get connected to local running stores through providing support to their community-based running groups. And then that helps us get into the stores.”

The community connection and bonds built with local run specialty retailers led them to becoming more involved in the road racing scene. After working with the Ragged Mountain Running and Walking Shop, they felt inspired to find more ways to engage with their local running community.

The first race that they handed out samples of Noogs was at a local race in Charlottesville, called the Halloween Hustle 10K put on by the local YMCA. Since then, the couple has taken Noogs to races across the country to promote the product at races and expos, including the Allianz Richmond Marathon and the runDisney racing events.

Every interaction that the couple has had with race directors has been positive. From answering questions about what to expect at races and expos, to logistical needs such as needing product to be near their booth, the race directors have been more than willing to lend a helping hand.

“We’ve not had a bad experience working with race directors,” Ben says. “They’ve all been so wonderful to work with.”

The couple has also found great fellowship among other exhibitors at the expos ahead of races, especially with the amount of time that they spend with one another at the different races.

“Even though it’s just me and Ben doing this on our own, I feel like they’re almost our colleagues, or our little coworkers at these events.” Paige says.

The couple says that the biggest piece of advice that they would offer anyone in their shoes is to always say yes to opportunities offered, because of the doors that can open because of it. As the Noogs brand continues to grow, so does their love of community.

“We literally would not exist if it wasn’t for the community,” Paige adds. “Wanting community was the entire reason that I got into running, and we wouldn’t have Noogs if I hadn’t gone on that journey.”