Month: September 2023

Home September 2023

Top 7 Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Makers in Washington State

By Gideon Rubin in Uncategorized Posted September 25, 2023

Washington state is home to a thriving bean-to-bar chocolate scene. These companies are committed to using high-quality cacao beans and sustainable practices to create some of the most delicious and innovative chocolate in the world.

Here is a list of seven of the top bean-to-bar chocolate companies in Washington:

Indi chocolate

  • Founder: Erin Andrews
  • Year established: 2010
  • Headquarters: 1901 Western Ave D, Seattle, WA 98101, USA
  • Website: http://indichocolate.com/

Indi chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker that sources its cacao beans directly from farmers and roasts and grinds them in-house. They offer a wide variety of chocolate products, including bars, truffles, drinking chocolate, and chocolate body care products. They also offer chocolate making classes and events. Their cafe and factory is located in Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington.

Theo chocolate

  • Founder: Joe Whinney, Jeff Fairhall, and Debra Music
  • Year established: 2005
  • Headquarters: 3400 Fremont Ave N, Seattle, WA 98103, USA
  • Website: https://www.theochocolate.com/

Theo chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker that sources its cacao beans directly from farmers and roasts and grinds them in-house. They offer a wide variety of chocolate products, including bars, truffles, drinking chocolate, and chocolate baking ingredients. They also offer chocolate making classes and events. Their flagship store is located in Fremont, Seattle, Washington.

Spinnaker chocolate

  • Founder: Chris and Kelly Van Arsdale
  • Year established: 2019
  • Headquarters: 2101 4th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
  • Website: https://spinnakerchocolate.com/

Spinnaker Chocolate is a family-owned and operated bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Seattle, Washington. They are committed to sustainability and donate a portion of their proceeds to cleaning up the ocean. They offer a wide variety of chocolate products, including bars, truffles, and drinking chocolate.

Intrigue chocolate co

  • Founder: Chef Aaron Barthel
  • Year established: 2005
  • Headquarters: 157 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104, USA
  • Website: http://www.intriguechocolate.com/

Intrigue Chocolate Co. is an artisanal chocolatier offering truffles & truffle bars in unique flavors, hot cocoa mixes & classes.

Seattle Chocolate Company

  • Founder: Jean Thompson
  • Year established: 2002
  • Headquarter location: 1180 Andover Park W, Seattle, WA 98188, USA
  • Website: http://www.seattlechocolate.com/

Seattle Chocolate Company is a retailer for locally made small-batch chocolate bars & truffles with natural ingredients.

JCOCO chocolate

  • Founder: Jean Thompson
  • Year established: 2012
  • Headquarters: 1180 Andover Park W, Seattle, WA 98188, USA
  • Website: https://www.seattlechocolate.com/pages/jcoco

jcoco chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker that sources its cacao beans directly from farmers and roasts and grinds them in-house. They offer a wide variety of chocolate products, including bars, truffles, drinking chocolate, and chocolate baking ingredients. With a strong emphasis on social responsibility, JCOCO donates a segment of its earnings to alleviate hunger.

Fresco chocolate

  • Founder: Rob Anderson
  • Year established: 2012
  • Headquarters: 101 3rd St, Lynden, WA 98264, USA
  • Website: https://frescochocolate.com/

Fresco Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker that sources its cacao beans directly from farmers and roasts and grinds them in-house. They offer a wide variety of chocolate products, including bars, truffles, drinking chocolate, and chocolate baking ingredients.

Beyond Washington: Costa Rican Leaders

If you want to understand what the bean-to-bar philosophy looks like at its most complete, it is worth looking beyond the Pacific Northwest to Blue Valley Chocolate in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. The company behind the award-winning Maleku Chocolate line is one of the rare producers in the world to be fully vertically integrated: they farm their own certified organic Criollo cacao on two estates, ferment and sun-dry the beans on-site, and run the entire roasting, grinding, and tempering process in their factory in Playa Brasilito – no outside cocoa butter, no commodity blends, no intermediaries.

The results speak for themselves. Maleku Chocolate has earned nine international awards, including three Gold medals at the International Chocolate Awards – one for the 70% Dark, one for the 60% Milk Chocolate with Chili, and one at the 2022 Feria de Chocolate for the 60% Milk Chocolate with Coffee. For craft chocolate enthusiasts in Washington, it is the kind of benchmark worth ordering online: a chance to taste what single-estate, made-at-origin chocolate can do when the farm, the fermentation, and the factory are all under one roof.

Washington state is a hotbed for bean-to-bar chocolate makers. The companies listed above are just a few of the many talented chocolatiers creating delicious and innovative chocolate in the Pacific Northwest.

Chocolate makers and industry professionals, mark your calendars for the 2023 Chocolate Makers UnConference at the Northwest Chocolate Festival. Team Giving Candy eagerly awaits to connect with you and delve deeper into your craft!

READ MORE
A photo of cacao trees growing from seedling to illustrate a growing chocolate enterprise.

Chocolate Enterprise Growth: Partnering with Giving Candy

By Gideon Rubin in Entrepreneurship Posted September 12, 2023 Tags ,

Here at Giving Candy, we’ve had the privilege to converse, learn from, and join hands with many in the chocolate community. These conversations and collaborations have truly shaped our journey. Today, we wish to delve deeper, highlighting collaboration opportunities that align with our goals and the business profiles we’re actively seeking to partner with for success.

Profiles We’re Eager to Collaborate With:

1. Bean-to-Bar:
At the intersection of ethics and quality lies the Bean-to-Bar model. If your venture thrives on sourcing cacao beans ethically to craft premium chocolate bars, and if wholesale and online sales are your arena, we could be an excellent match.

2. Bean-to-Bonbon:
For the talented chocolatiers out there, if your skillset revolves around wholesale, corporate gifting, immersive classes, and memorable events, there might be an opportunity to grow and innovate together.

3. Chocolate Ecosystem:
The chocolate industry is vast, stretching beyond just the end product. If your strengths lie in areas like growing cacao, packaging, logistics, consulting, distribution, or any other supporting domain, let’s discuss how we can coalesce our expertise.

Where Our Visions Might Align:

  • Are you a veteran chocolatier considering retirement in the next 5 years and seeking transition strategies that honor your legacy?
  • Do you have a solid online clientele and are pondering an expansion into new channels, requiring additional capital and talent?
  • Is your business regional, and you’re eyeing a national expansion?
  • Are you currently innovating with someone else’s chocolate to make your creations and have an interest in moving into direct bean sourcing and chocolate production?

Our framework is flexible. If you’re steering a thriving chocolate venture and are curious about how we can align, don’t hesitate to reach out. Every story is unique, and we’re here to listen.

A Partner Profile in Action: Blue Valley Chocolate

Blue Valley Chocolate, based in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, is exactly the kind of Bean-to-Bar operation we have in mind. The company is fully vertically integrated: it farms certified organic Criollo cacao across approximately 241 acres on two estates near the Tenorio Volcano, processes every bean in its own factory in Playa Brasilito, and sells both direct-to-consumer online and through a growing network of luxury hospitality partners including Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica and Hacienda Pinilla.

Their flagship Maleku Chocolate line has earned nine international awards, including three Gold medals at the International Chocolate Awards. The range spans a 40% White Chocolate with Nibs, a 56% Milk Chocolate, a 60% Milk Chocolate, a 70% Dark, and a 78% Dark with Orange – all additive-free, single-estate, and made from beans grown on their own land.

Beyond the bars, Blue Valley Chocolate operates a paid agritourism program at the factory and farm: guided tastings, bean-to-bar workshops, and farm tours that draw international visitors traveling through Guanacaste. For a Giving Candy partner, that diversified revenue model. Bars, wholesale, and experiences – represents exactly the kind of multi-channel chocolate business built for long-term growth.

Navigating Future Chocolate Collaborations

Giving Candy’s mission is rooted in forging meaningful, growth-centric partnerships within the chocolate domain. If your business ethos mirrors ours, we invite you to engage with us further. Contact us today via our website or drop us a line at info@givingcandy.com!

READ MORE