 Theo Chocolate in 2017 | |
| Company type | Privately held company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Food |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Seattle, Washington |
| Products | |
| Website | theochocolate |
Theo Chocolate is an American chocolate maker headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Established in 2006, it is the first organic fair trade-certified cocoa producer in the United States. [1]
Theo has sourced beans from the Congo, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Madagascar, Peru, and Venezuela. [2]
The business was established in 2006 by Jeff Fairhall and Joe Whinney in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. The business is located in the historic Fremont Trolley Barn at 3400 Phinney Avenue. [3]
Jeff Fairhall, the founder of Seattle's Essential Baking Company, invested in the establishment of Theo Chocolate with Joe Whinney. [4] [5] When he was in his early 20s, Whinney volunteered with a small conservation foundation in Southern Belize that was looking at the way that communities cultivated their crops. He developed a passion for the Theobroma cacao plant and wanted to get into the business while supporting the farmers, and contacted 10 bean processors. One responded. While providing this business with organic materials and customers, Whinney was able to start saving up to found a chocolate business of his own. [1]
The business struggled to find a good supply of organic cocoa beans and came to a halt in 2002. After finding an interested investor in Seattle, Washington, the decision was made to build the Theo Chocolate factory, named after the Theobroma cacao tree. [1]
From 2004 to 2006 Fairhall sold all of his other business interests, retaining only Theo Chocolate. He published more than 30 advertisements in The Stranger about various religious ideas, revelations, and conspiracy theories. He also mentioned his use of magic mushrooms. [4] Fairhall died of brain cancer in 2007. [4]
In April 2018, Etienne Patout, a former Kellogg's executive, became the company's CEO. [6]
In June 2023, the company announced it would be closing its Seattle based factory and laying off 60 employees in the second half of 2023 as part of a merger with American Licorice Company. [7]
Also in June 2023, a class action lawsuit was filed against Theo Chocolate claiming at least three of its dark chocolate bars contained lead and cadmium. [8]
Theo Chocolate sells chocolate bars in six different categories: Classic, Fantasy, Limited Edition, Baking and Holiday. The company also sells caramels and specialty items. [9]
Cengage Learning produced a 6:44-minute BizFlix video case titled "Theo Chocolate", which discusses the firm's fair trade practices and vertical integration. [10]
Chocolate or cocoa is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civilization, and later Mesoamerican civilizations also consumed chocolate beverages before being introduced to Europe in the 16th century.
Theobromine, also known as xantheose, is the principal alkaloid of Theobroma cacao. Theobromine is slightly water-soluble (330 mg/L) with a bitter taste. In industry, theobromine is used as an additive and precursor to some cosmetics. It is found in chocolate, as well as in a number of other foods, including the leaves of the tea plant, and the kola nut. It is a white or colourless solid, but commercial samples can appear yellowish.
The cocoa bean or simply cocoa, also called cacao, is the dried and fully fermented seed of Theobroma cacao, from which cocoa solids and cocoa butter can be extracted. Cocoa beans native to the Mexican pre Colombian territory were extended to Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest and are the basis of chocolate and Mesoamerican foods including tejate, an indigenous Mexican drink.
Theobroma cacao is a small evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. Native to the tropics of the Americas, the largest producer of cocoa beans in 2018 was Ivory Coast, at 2.2 million tons. Its leaves are alternate, entire, unlobed, 10–50 cm (4–20 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) broad.
Cocoa butter, also called theobroma oil, is a pale-yellow, edible fat extracted from the cocoa bean. It is used to make chocolate, as well as some ointments, toiletries, and pharmaceuticals. Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Its melting point is slightly below human body temperature. It is an essential ingredient of chocolate and related confectionary products.
Scharffen Berger is an American chocolate manufacturing company, which was a subsidiary of The Hershey Company after it had been acquired in 2005. Scharffen Berger was established as an independent Berkeley, California-based chocolate maker in 1996 by sparkling wine maker John Scharffenberger and physician Robert Steinberg.
Theobroma is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae, that is sometimes classified as a member of Sterculiaceae. It contains roughly 20 species of small understory trees native to the tropical forests of Central and South America.
Green & Black's is a British chocolate company founded in 1991. The company produces a range of organic food products, including: chocolate bars, ice cream, biscuits and hot chocolate.
Chocolate is a food product made from roasted and ground cocoa pods mixed with fat and powdered sugar to produce a solid confectionery. There are several types of chocolate, classified primarily according to the proportion of cocoa and fat content used in a particular formulation.
Dagoba Organic Chocolate was a brand of chocolate founded in 2001 by Frederick Schilling. The Hershey Company acquired Dagoba in 2006 but in June 2021 Dagoba again became a privately held company. Hershey divested the Dagoba chocolate brand along with Krave Pure Foods and Scharffen Berger in order to focus on the salty snacks and nutrition bars markets. After the divesture, Scharffen Berger moved production and its headquarters to the Dagoba factory in Ashland, Oregon and registered in 2021 as an LLC with the Oregon Secretary of State. However, Dagoba did not re-register in Oregon as a business entity and the Dagoba home page redirects to the Hershey site.
Baker's Chocolate is a brand name for the line of baking chocolates owned by Kraft Heinz. Products include a variety of bulk chocolates, including white and unsweetened, and sweetened coconut flakes. It is one of the largest national brands of chocolate in the United States. The company was originally named Walter Baker & Company.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to chocolate:
The environmental impact of cocoa production includes deforestation, soil contamination, and herbicide resistance. The majority of cocoa farms are now located in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana.
Fair trade cocoa is an agricultural product harvested from a cocoa tree using a certified process which is followed by cocoa farmers, buyers, and chocolate manufacturers, and is designed to create sustainable incomes for farmers and their families. Companies that use fair trade certified cocoa to create products can advertise that they are contributing to social, economic, and environmental sustainability in agriculture.
Taza Chocolate is a Mexican-inspired stoneground, organic chocolate manufacturer based in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. The factory was founded by Alex Whitmore in 2005 and is home to over 40 different products that can be found in 2,800 retail stores across the country.
Organic chocolate is chocolate which has been certified organic. As of 2016, it was a growing sector in the global chocolate industry. Organic chocolate is a socially-desirable product for some consumers. Major brands, such as The Hershey Company, have begun to produce organic chocolate.
Dark chocolate is a form of chocolate containing only cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. Dark chocolate without added sweetener is known as bitter chocolate or unsweetened chocolate. As with the other two main types of chocolate, dark chocolate is used for chocolate bars or as a coating in confectionery.
The chocolate industry in the Philippines developed after introducing the cocoa tree into Philippine agriculture. The growing of cacao or cocoa boasts a long history stretching from the colonial times. Originating from Mesoamerican forests, cacao was first introduced by the Spanish colonizers four centuries ago. Since then the Philippine cocoa industry has been the primary producer of cocoa beans in Southeast Asia. There are many areas of production of cacao in the Philippines, owing to soil and climate. The chocolate industry is currently on a small to medium scale.
Fremont Trolley Barn is a building in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Originally built as a carbarn for trolley cars, it has served numerous purposes during its years of existence and is widely remembered as the brewery for Redhook Ale, considered by many to be Seattle's first craft beer brewery. Redhook brewed here from 1988 until 1998, when they moved to a larger site in Woodinville. The building functions today as the production center of Seattle-based chocolatiers Theo Chocolate. It was designated a Seattle Landmark on September 20, 1989.
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