Alaine & Co.

Alaine & Co. is a founder-led food science consulting firm specializing in formulation, scale-up, and manufacturing-readiness services for food brands, manufacturers, and ingredient suppliers. Founded and led by Courtney Stokes, a food scientist with a BS in Food Science, an MBA, and over 20 years of experience inside food and flavor manufacturing companies, the firm provides hands-on technical expertise at the critical junctures where product development decisions carry the highest commercial risk.

The firm's core consulting services address common failure points in food product commercialization: scale-up breakdowns where bench samples do not replicate at plant volume, ingredient or supplier changes requiring reformulation while maintaining existing product profiles, applications proofing for ingredient suppliers, and formula standardization following acquisitions. Every engagement is led directly by the founder, with specialist expertise layered in as the technical problem demands.

Alaine & Co. offers a structured suite of services ranging from complimentary discovery calls to comprehensive flagship engagements. Its Product & Process Audit delivers a thorough technical evaluation covering formulation, ingredient functionality, flavor, texture, processing, manufacturing, and commercialization readiness. The Alaine Method™ is the firm's end-to-end commercialization framework—spanning Discover, Develop, and Commercialize phases—providing clients with a commercial-ready formulation, manufacturing-ready documentation, and full technical confidence prior to launch. For companies requiring ongoing technical capability without building an internal team, Fractional R&D Support provides month-to-month access to experienced R&D guidance including formulation reviews, supplier and co-packer meetings, and manufacturing troubleshooting.

Label compliance and regulatory services are also offered, including Label Compliance Reviews, Label and Claims Reviews, and specialist-supported Complex Regulatory Assessment and Claims Substantiation covering structure/function claims, ingredient-specific literature research, and safety and contraindication considerations.

The firm also publishes proprietary reference materials and training programs. The Seasoning Formulation & Ingredient Functionality Field Guide is a 38-page specialist R&D bench reference covering flavor architecture, ingredient specification, carrier systems, umami strategy, particle size, and compliance charts for USDA Organic, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and clean label standards. The Commercial Ingredient Sourcing & Supplier Qualification Playbook is a 189-page field manual for food founders covering ingredient vetting, supplier qualification, and co-manufacturer selection. Training programs include Kitchen to Commercialization™, a structured seven-module live program for founders moving from home kitchen to commercial production, as well as advanced training for industry professionals.

Alaine & Co. serves food founders, emerging brands, established manufacturers, and ingredient suppliers across a wide range of product categories. Confidentiality of formulas and project details is a stated commitment, and intellectual property terms for any developed work are established in writing before engagements begin. The firm's positioning emphasizes practical, outcomes-oriented technical support over generic advisory services.