STOKE was created by two Furman University XC/Track teammates, lifelong friends, and pro runners, Wilkerson and James, who were looking for a more nutritionally complete and effective pre-race fuel alternative to peanut butter during their post-collegiate running careers. Having been a part of the endurance sports community most of their lives and competed at the highest level, Wilkerson and James noticed that just about every athlete they knew ate some form of peanut butter before training and races. Connecting this with their knowledge that peanut butter inherently has inflammatory properties, is limited to only the nutrients in peanuts, and that many of the popular brands of peanut butter add extra sugar and/or low quality oils (which isn't ideal for optimal performance), Wilkerson and James set out to create a better alternative. 

They went to work expanding their previous research on performance nutrition and began creating recipes with specific key nutrients beneficial to physical and mental performance. As they were testing different foods high in the nutrients they were looking to include, one thing was non-negotiable - all ingredients had to be whole foods, anti-inflammatory, and nutrient dense. Thus, after countless hours of research, formulation, and taste tests, STOKE was born.