Part I – Food Scientist II, Brittney Bonham 

In this three-part series, we go behind the scenes of the creation of STōK Espresso and highlight three Danoners who helped bring the flavor to market. Learn about their role in the process, how they have grown in their careers and why they love working at Danone. 

In the lab of Danone’s Louisville, Colorado Innovation and Technology Center, the food scientists are deeply immersed in conducting their experiments. They don white lab coats, safety glasses, hairnets and close-toed shoes. By all accounts, they look like mad scientists as they fervently work with an unwavering singular focus – to innovate the next big flavor. 

OK, so it’s not quite that intense. Still, Food Scientist II Brittney Bonham – one of the aforementioned mad scientists – is dedicated to her part in the development of ready-to-drink beverage flavors. She’s one of many Danoners who had a hand in creating STōK Espresso.  

The Flavor Makers 

Brittney works in Research and Development (R&D) on the Ready-to-Drink (RTD) team in Beverage Creations. They’re the team responsible for creating flavors for STōK and International Delight Iced Coffee brands. Their job is to extensively research and analyze flavor profiles before rigorously testing their flavor creations to ensure they are consumer ready. 

“Not only do we physically develop the products, but we support scale-up from the lab to our pilot plant, and all the way up to manufacturing,” Brittney says about the cross-functional teamwork. 

Brewing up STōK Espresso  

New flavor ideas can come to the RTD Team from a variety of places. Sometimes, they start in the lab. In other instances, brand managers on the Beverage Creations RTD team study the consumer market to identify what’s missing from the product lineup.  This is how STōK espresso was born. 

To kick off the creation process, the RTD team reached out to their flavor house suppliers, which created espresso-flavored samples for the team to test in the lab.  

“Espresso is a concentrated coffee produced under pressure,” Brittney says, “So, achieving this profile via cold brew and staying true to STōK as bold and smooth presented its own challenges.” 

Next came flavor development – a process to which many a tastebud contributed. R&D Food Scientists and the User Experience team – experts in sensory experiences – joined the RTD Brand Managers to extensively sample the product. Their collective consensus determined whether it was ready to be sent to the grocery store aisle, or back to the labs. Several iterations and about a year and a half later, STōK Espresso emerged – ready for distribution.  

The Perks of the Project  

When the STōK Espresso project began, Brittney was a technician. By the end of it, she was promoted to Food Scientist I, an experience she said gave her great perspective into the product development process.  

“It was so wonderful to evaluate the science and the coffee extracts and to provide feedback to the food scientist leading development at the time,” Brittney says. “And then by the end of the project, to be on the decision-making side, leading that development and launch. It was a fun project, but they all are, to be honest!” 

Living the Mission  

Brittney loves that the products she helps create let consumers have their at-home coffee moments. From black coffee to zero-added sugar, to indulgent choices, the RTD team works to meet consumers' wants and needs.   

She says the passion that she and her teammates in R&D have for creating healthier options is an example of Danone’s mission to bring health through food to as many people as possible.    

“You can see the passion for the mission in the products that R&I is producing,” Brittney says. “We live the mission through our work.” 

Stay tuned for our next story featuring Beverage Creations RTD Senior Associate Brand Manager Annie Fennell. Learn how she worked on a team that discovered which flavor was missing from the STōK lineup and how she worked with the R&D team to bring the flavor to life.