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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.
Brittney Polka, vice president of ready-to-drink beverages for Danone North America
Permission granted by Danone
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.
One can of Stōk Cold Brew Energy packs a powerful mix of bold and smooth, high-quality coffee, along with focus-boosting caffeine, B-vitamins, ginseng and guarana. We know that consumers in this space are looking for a great tasting option that also offers functional benefits, and I have to say — I think we nailed it on both.
What does the future look like for Stōk?
POLKA: We always have something brewing here at Stōk. Alongside our Stōk Energy Cold Brew launch, we’ve brought back our fan-favorite Peppermint Mocha Cold Brew flavor for the holiday season — this time, with a bold twist on holiday sweaters.
We also introduced Stōk Decaf in a multi-serve format, the first ready-to-drink decaffeinated cold brew made available in stores nationwide, offering a bold and smooth experience for people who love the taste of cold brew, but don’t always want caffeine — whether during different life stages or to enjoy in various times of the day. Our fans have been asking this for years, and we’re thrilled to give them a bold cold brew they can enjoy any time of day.
In 2025, we’re excited to continue to lean into our great taste — whether in a multi-serve bottle or can — and deliver new, innovative marketing campaigns along the way. Fans can follow along on our social channels to learn more about what’s next for the brand in 2025 and beyond.
How will the brand remain competitive in what is a pretty crowded category?
POLKA: Coming out of the pandemic, we have seen at-home coffee consumption habits stick. People are all about enjoying the at-home coffee experience with customized beverage options, and our product innovation pipeline serves to meet this consumer demand. Just open social media to see this in action — where “For You” pages are inundated with users recreating their favorite coffee shop-inspired beverages at home or sharing their unique, “secret-menu”-style orders when they’re enjoying coffee on the go.
Stōk Cappuccino, as an example, was launched with the goal of doing just that — create an innovative product that enabled coffee lovers to pour their own coffeehouse-style blend without the coffee shop-style wait time.
Our job at Stōk is twofold: to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation so that we deliver the products that consumers are craving in the RTD coffee category, and to continue showing up in authentic and bold ways that capture consumer attention and entertain.
Knowing our fans are laser-focused on high-quality, flavor-forward options, we continue to match their energy and innovate to give them superior cold brew coffee in a variety of high-quality, flavor-forward beverages. That’s what keeps us driving demand in what continues to become a more saturated market.
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