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Nearly a decade ago, Stōk was launched with a single product: an espresso coffee shots.
Today, the Danone-owned brand is the top-selling black ready-to-drink coffee by velocity, according to Circana data cited by the CPG giant. Stōk’s portfolio has expanded well beyond shots and black coffee into cappuccino-inspired cold brew, seasonal flavors and most recently energy, opening up new usage occasions and consumers to the fast-growing brand.
Brittney Polka, vice president of ready-to-drink beverages for Danone North America, responded to questions from Food Dive through email on the Stōk brand and its future.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
FOOD DIVE: How has the brand changed? Why?
POLKA: Stōk Cold Brew Coffee began as a single product — Espresso Coffee Shots. Over eight years later, the brand has evolved into a best-selling, award-winning portfolio of Ready to Drink products for cold brew-obsessed consumers.
As the brand has continued to grow, Stōk Cold Brew has built a community of cold brew superfans that find themselves connecting with the brand — both because of our counterculture approach to marketing, as well as the products themselves, which offer a bold and smooth, coffee-forward flavor.
The way Stōk shows up in the market — whether it be an American cold brew brand sponsoring a Welsh football club (Wrexham AFC), or releasing new, innovative flavors and product varieties — is all in service of supporting and growing the consumer base who resonate with our commitment to superior cold brew coffee.
When fans pick up a bottle of Stōk Cold Brew Coffee, they’re choosing it not only because they like the product but also because it’s a brand that resonates with their own values and interests, with a splash of self-deprecating humor.
Where does Danone see Stōk in the marketplace? Is it more than just cold brew coffee?
POLKA: As a category leader, Stōk is more than just traditional cold brew coffee. The brand offers a variety of options to satisfy consumer desires — whether it’s our black cold brew products with varying roast levels, our creamed options like Stōk Cappuccino, or our Pumpkin and Peppermint Mocha seasonals.
Not to be slept on, we just launched Stōk Cold Brew Energy — a new energy coffee drink that’s tapping a new segment for the brand, ready-to-drink energy coffee. Energy is the largest and second-fastest single-serve beverage category, primarily driven by younger, Gen Z consumers. Given Stōk is already a leader in cold brew, it made sense for us to dive into this new segment in a way only StōK knows how — boldly.