STOKE_ was founded in Charlotte by Furman University track teammates Wilkerson Given and James Perez, when they sought nutritionally complete and effective pre-race fuel for their post-collegiate professional running careers._
How did STOKE get started?
Our story began five years ago when we were looking to optimize our diets as professional runners and noticed a problem with a common routine we had been doing for years. We, along with every professional runner and athlete we knew, were fueling with peanut butter in some form before training and competition. However, peanut butter has inherent inflammatory properties and many of the popular brands add extra sugar and low quality oils. This led us to an “ah-ha” moment: everyone is eating peanut butter and expecting to perform optimally, but peanut butter isn’t optimal performance fuel.
Hence, we went to work to design a formula that would not only support optimal physical and mental performance, but would also be super nutrient dense, whole-food based and anti-inflammatory. We formulated STOKE to include nutrients like DHA Omega-3, B-vitamins, selenium, iron, copper, zinc, and magnesium to support everything from cardiac output to energy metabolism and brain function.
We truly wanted to create the optimal fuel for physical and mental performance. Thus, after countless hours of research, formulation, and taste tests (our friends and family tasted a lot of nut butter), STOKE was born in 2020. Oh, and it tastes amazing too!
How did you go about sourcing your ingredients?
Currently, we are really “bootstrapping” the sourcing of ingredients by searching the internet for bulk sellers. If anyone in the CLTFC community would like to help us out, please reach out.
What’s the most popular flavor right now?
Definitely Cinnamon Pecan. It’s delicious.
Do you have a few of your favorite STOKE recipes to share?
All of our recipes can be found on our website. Some of our favorites include the STOKE Muffins and our Double Dark Chocolate Chunk Protein Bar.
Besides the website, where else can STOKE products be found?
You can find STOKE at other local businesses including Charlotte Running Company stores and The Exchange at 36th.
