UFC AND FOODSTORY BRANDS ANNOUNCE GROUNDBREAKING PARTNERSHIP TO CREATE NEW UFC PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE-BACKED PROTEIN BAR

Rhea-AI Summary

UFC (NYSE:TKO) and FoodStory Brands announced a strategic partnership on Feb. 11, 2026 to develop a nutritionist-backed, high-performance protein bar. The collaboration pairs the UFC Performance Institute (supporting >80% of UFC roster) with FoodStory's CPG scaling experience and $100M brand track record.

The new branded protein bar line will be announced later in 2026 and targets athletes and performance-minded consumers with research-driven functional ingredients.

Positive

• UFC Performance Institute supports >80% of roster
• FoodStory scaled a national brand to $100M in sales
• Partnership to launch a nutritionist-backed protein bar
• UFC PI has international facilities in Las Vegas, Shanghai, Mexico City

Negative

• None.

News Market Reaction – TKO

-1.74%

-1.74% Session close to close

In the Feb 11 session, TKO declined 1.74%, reflecting a mild negative market reaction.

Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.

Market Context

This announcement adds a new dimension to TKO’s partnership strategy, leveraging the UFC Performance...

Analysis

This announcement adds a new dimension to TKO’s partnership strategy, leveraging the UFC Performance Institute to back a nutritionist-designed protein bar with FoodStory Brands. It follows a series of media, venue, and commercial partnerships that historically averaged a -1.46% share move, signaling that markets have not always rewarded such deals. With TKO trading above its $185.47 200-day MA and close to a $218.11 52-week high, investors may watch how execution, brand traction, and any further insider activity develop after launch.

Key Figures

UFC PI athlete coverage: over 80% of roster Las Vegas PI opening: 2017 Shanghai PI opening: 2019 +3 more

6 metrics

UFC PI athlete coverage over 80% of roster UFC athletes supported by Performance Institute globally

Las Vegas PI opening 2017 First UFC Performance Institute opening year

Shanghai PI opening 2019 UFC Performance Institute Shanghai opening year

Mexico City PI opening 2024 UFC Performance Institute Mexico City opening year

Fresh Cravings brand size $100 million National refrigerated dips brand scaled by FoodStory Brands

Yellowstone licensing sales over $100 million Sales driven by FoodStory’s Yellowstone licensing program

Previous Partnership Reports

5 past events · Latest: Jan 28 (Positive)

Same Type Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	24h Move	Catalyst
Jan 28	Marketing partnership	Positive	-2.2%	Good Greek Moving & Storage named Official Mover with UFC branding and activations.
Nov 20	Commercial partnership	Positive	-6.3%	DoorDash multi-platform partnership across WWE and UFC targeting large global fanbase.
Nov 13	Media innovation deal	Positive	+0.5%	Polymarket named Official Prediction Market Partner with new fan prediction features.
Oct 28	Media-rights expansion	Positive	-0.0%	Paramount and UFC expanded streaming partnership to Latin America and Australia.
Sep 03	Venue partnership	Positive	+0.7%	Extension with T-Mobile Arena securing UFC and WWE events in Las Vegas through 2030.

24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.

Pattern Detected

Partnership announcements have often been followed by mild negative reactions, with an average move of about -1.46% and more divergences than alignments.

Recent Company History

Over the last several months, TKO has repeatedly used partnerships to expand UFC and WWE reach. Deals have ranged from venue security (T-Mobile Arena through 2030) to media-rights expansion with Paramount across Latin America and Australia starting in 2026, and commercial tie-ups with Polymarket, DoorDash, and Good Greek Moving & Storage. These announcements targeted broadcast innovation, fan engagement, and branding. Historically, such partnership headlines produced an average move of -1.46%, with several instances where shares traded down despite strategically positive news, framing expectations for today’s nutrition-focused collaboration.

Key Terms

consumer-packaged goods (cpg), performance nutrition

2 terms

consumer-packaged goods (cpg) financial

"disruptive innovator in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage space"

Consumer-packaged goods (CPG) are everyday products people buy often and replace regularly, like food, beverages, toiletries, and household cleaners. Investors care because CPG companies sell staples with steady demand, predictable cash flow and strong brand value—think of them as companies selling daily essentials rather than one-time luxuries—so performance, pricing power, and distribution reach can signal stable returns or risk in a portfolio.

performance nutrition technical

"for the fast-growing performance nutrition category"

Performance nutrition covers foods, drinks and supplements specifically formulated to improve physical or mental performance, recovery and endurance — think of them as higher-octane fuel and targeted maintenance for the body. It matters to investors because consumer demand, pricing, scientific evidence and regulatory oversight directly affect sales growth, profit margins and legal or reputational risk for companies in this fast-evolving market.

AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.

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Collaboration Unites UFC's Performance Institute with FoodStory Brands' Award-Winning Food & Beverage Incubator to Introduce the World's Next Big Performance Nutrition Brand

LAS VEGAS, Feb. 11, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- UFC^®, the world's premier mixed martial arts organization, today announced a strategic partnership with FoodStory Brands (FSB), an award-winning incubator and disruptive innovator in the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) food and beverage space, to develop and launch a high-performance, nutritionist-backed protein bar for the fast-growing performance nutrition category. The partnership was brokered by UFC's licensing agent, IMG Licensing.

This groundbreaking collaboration merges the UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI), the world's leading combat sports performance training, research, rehabilitation, and nutrition center, with FoodStory Brands' expertise in scaling disruptive, high-quality food brands. The result will be an exciting and compelling new brand, to be announced later this year, and a line of elevated and innovative high-protein bars with targeted functional ingredients, leveraging research-driven nutrition to meet the demands of UFC athletes as well as performance-minded consumers.

"By bringing together the UFC Performance Institute's experience working daily with the world's best combat sport athletes and FoodStory's ability to turn bold ideas into high-quality consumer products, we have a powerful combination," said Dr. Duncan French, Senior Vice President, UFC Performance Institute. "Through close collaboration, we have developed a protein bar that reflects how athletes train, fuel, and recover, and we are making this available to general consumers. We believe this partnership has produced something truly unique that will stand out as a leader in the market and raise the standards for performance nutrition." 

"At FoodStory Brands, we pride ourselves on creating meaningful brand stories and amazing products backed by powerful consumer insight and innovation," said Jordan Jedeikin, EVP Business Development at FoodStory Brands. "Collaborating with UFC—a global powerhouse in performance, endurance, and innovation—gives us a unique opportunity to bring a nutritionist-backed, high-performance protein bar to market that's designed for both elite athletes and everyday achievers."

UFC opened the first Performance Institute at UFC headquarters in Las Vegas in 2017, followed by facilities in Shanghai in 2019 and Mexico City in 2024. Since its inception, the UFC PI has become an essential resource for UFC athletes around the world, supporting over 80% of the roster through in-person coaching, remote interactions, or UFC event services. In addition to supporting athletes locally in China and Mexico, the UFC PI Shanghai and Mexico City locations serve as training hubs to develop MMA athletes from the greater Asia and Latin America regions, respectively.

FoodStory Brands has emerged as one of the fastest-growing innovators in the CPG food and beverage sector, specializing in curating brands that bring disruption and revitalization to mature categories. The company scaled Fresh Cravings into a national $100 million refrigerated dips brand, developed an award-winning Yellowstone licensing program that has driven over $100 million in sales, and continues to expand its portfolio with innovative national launches like Upper Cut (America's Fastest Growing Deli Snack Brand) and Mad Genius (a new Gen Z focused frozen snacks and apps mashup brand).

About UFC^®

UFC^® is the world's premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 700 million fans and approximately 330 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world while distributing programming to more than 950 million broadcast and digital households across more than 210 countries and territories. UFC's athlete roster features the world's best MMA athletes representing more than 75 countries. The organization's digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS^®, one of the world's leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is part of TKO Group Holdings (NYSE: TKO) and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC and @UFC on X, Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok: @UFC.

About the UFC Performance Institute
The UFC Performance Institute (UFC PI) is the world's first mixed martial arts multi-disciplinary research, innovation and performance center. The UFC PI is equipped with a full-time staff of experts in the fields of strength and conditioning, nutrition, and physical therapy, with a designed focus to providing athletes with world-class performance optimization. The first facility opened in Las Vegas in 2017, followed by additional locations in Shanghai in 2019 and Mexico City in 2024. All UFC PI services are offered at no cost to UFC athletes. For more information on the UFC Performance Institute, please visit ufcpi.com.

About FoodStory Brands
FoodStory Brands, founded in 2015, is an award-winning family-owned and operated consumer packaged goods company (CPG) based in Phoenix, Arizona with regional satellite offices across the country. Passionate about finding and developing new food and beverage products, the company specializes in building challenger brands that create disruption and revitalize categories. The company has built and scaled national brands like Fresh Cravings and has won over 100 awards for product innovation, packaging design, marketing campaigns and food licensing programs. The team has curated and launched two new national brands in Mad Genius and Upper Cut. In addition, FoodStory Brands brings to life compelling stories with iconic global brands like award-winning Yellowstone Authentic Cowboy Cuisine, among many others. Beyond brand building, FoodStory Brands is deeply invested in giving back to its communities, consistently dedicating volunteer hours and financial resources to local and national nonprofits. To learn more about FoodStory Brands, visit www.foodstorybrands.com.

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SOURCE FoodStory Brands

FAQ

What did UFC (TKO) and FoodStory Brands announce on February 11, 2026?

They announced a strategic partnership to develop a nutritionist-backed performance protein bar. According to UFC, the collaboration pairs the UFC Performance Institute with FoodStory Brands to create a consumer protein bar line informed by athlete training, fueling, and recovery needs.

When will the new UFC-branded performance protein bar be announced and released by TKO partners?

The new brand and product line will be announced later in 2026 with market rollouts thereafter. According to FoodStory Brands, the announcement will introduce the brand first, followed by product launch timing and distribution details to be disclosed later in 2026.

How does the UFC Performance Institute contribute to the TKO protein bar development?

The UFC Performance Institute provided athlete-driven research and nutrition input for product formulation. According to UFC, the institute applied its training, rehab, and nutrition expertise to shape targeted functional ingredients for athletes and performance-minded consumers.

What consumer market experience does FoodStory Brands bring to the TKO partnership?

FoodStory brings CPG scaling experience and previous national brand success into the partnership. According to FoodStory Brands, they scaled Fresh Cravings to a $100M national brand and built licensed programs delivering over $100M in sales.

Will the UFC (TKO) protein bar target elite athletes or general consumers?

The product is designed for both elite athletes and everyday performance-minded consumers. According to UFC, the bar reflects how athletes train, fuel, and recover while being formulated and marketed to meet broader consumer performance-nutrition demand.