Wild West Chocolate is so good it should be outlawed. The first of its kind, the company launched to great success with delicious, divine chocolates sweetened only with natural fruits that serve a mission as well. This is good chocolate you’ll want to giddy up to while doing good for the planet too. Wild West Chocolate’s founder BJ Howard spoke to Beyondish about the brand’s beginnings, bear claws, her passion for preserving our water systems, and more.
We love a purpose-driven brand. Tell us about the mission behind Wild West Chocolate.
Wild West gives back a portion of proceeds to the River Management Society (RMS) for every case of chocolate sold. The River Management Society is comprised of volunteer professionals from lawyers to scientists, rangers to river guides and more, who work tirelessly to preserve and protect North America’s waterways. RMS directly supports Wild and Scenic Rivers ensuring that our wild rivers are restored, maintained, and stay protected for generations to come.
Tell us how the brand came to be. Do you have a tie to the West?Â
 Yes, I have deep roots growing up in northwestern Montana – fishing, rafting and recreating on many rivers, lakes and streams. As the founder of Wild West Chocolate, I wanted to use my connections to helping preserve these precious water-based ecosystems. Without clean water we can’t have clean ingredients or clean food. With a lot of support and product ideation from my business partner and a genius chocolatier in our work family, I was able to launch a super unique chocolate under a very wildly unique brand. It is near and dear to my heart and we are able to do our part in preserving our most precious resource – water!
What was your background before you began Wild West?
Professionally, I have worked for many years in the organic food industry in better-for-you snacking. This experience, although not directly, translated into launching a better-for-you chocolate company with the help of a great business partner and small, but impactful team: the Chocolate Outlaws!
The chocolate is honestly some of the best I’ve ever tasted. What sets Wild West apart from others?
We are revolutionary in the category, trailblazers championing the consumer demand for no added sugar/alternatively sweetened chocolate that actually tastes extraordinary. Our one-of-a-kind, first-to-market chocolate is sweetened only with fruit. No added sugar. No refined sugar. No cane sugar. No sugar alcohols. No sugar substitutes. Most alternatively sweetened chocolates contain sweeteners and ingredients that aren’t good for you. The aftertaste they leave is unappetizing, and some sugar alcohols are now linked to digestive issues, stroke and heart attack. Wild West creates chocolate that is simple and honest as nature intended. Not only does Wild West taste great, but it’s also organic, vegan, and gluten free certified, non-GMO project verified, kosher, and soon to be Regenerative Organic agricultural Certified, and made with Fair Trade Certified cocoa.
Can you walk us through the chocolate making process? Where do you source the ingredients and how do you perfect the recipe?
We create all of our artisanal, small-batch chocolate ourselves in the U.S. We conch it ourselves and process the raw butter and liquor ourselves into a smooth, silky chocolate. We don’t just buy bulk chocolate and put it in a branded package like most other chocolate companies. Because we do it all in house artisanally and small batch, we can better ensure that each of our products meets our high quality and eating experience standards. Our beans are specifically sourced from the Amazonian region of Peru as the Satipo variety there provides the nutty, citrus flavor that is the perfect balance for our indulgent experience.
Amazing! What are some of your goals for the future?
We would love to bring our chocolate experience to more people to let them know “hey, you can have your chocolate and eat it too,” so to speak. We aim to bring to market more fun forms and more unique flavor combinations and provide a unique experience to anyone looking to do better for themselves by eating healthier, while also doing better for our planet.
What are some of your top sellers?
People LOVE our Bear Claws. Almond sea salt and huckleberry cashew in particular but the bear paw shape is fun, conveniently packed in individual wrappers, and bite size. So far, however, our top sellers are Most Wanted (almond and sea salt with dark chocolate and appropriately named), Grizzly (raspberry and hazelnut with creamy oat milk chocolate), and our classic Dark Horse bar (70% cacao rich, smooth dark chocolate-70% cacao).
So it was a good year?Â
We have worked very hard behind the scenes for nearly two years to bring this product to market. 2024 yielded major accomplishments with our recent distribution into Whole Foods Market Rocky Mountain Region, Sprouts Market, and Erewhon on the West Coast. Our holiday program on Costco.com was a big success as well. We aren’t busting out the champagne quite yet, but we are gaining traction and hope 2025 will be a pivotal year for Wild West – our ‘Giddy Up’ year! The more we can bring people into our brand, enjoy our products, and ultimately support clean Wild and Scenic River efforts, the closer we will be to popping that top!
AUTHOR
Elizabeth Hazard is a writer, producer and photography editor. Her work has appeared in various publications and she writes frequently about art, culture, fashion and history.
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