Guittard Chocolate Company

What Guittard Chocolate Company does

Guittard Chocolate Company is a privately held, family-owned chocolate maker founded in 1868 and headquartered in Burlingame, California, now in its fifth generation of family stewardship. The company produces premium couverture and baking chocolate using small-batch French artisan techniques, sourcing cocoa beans from West Africa, South America, Central America, and Madagascar. Its core product range includes couverture chocolates spanning 31% to 72% cacao content (e.g., Coucher du Soleil 72%, L'Étoile du Nord 64%, Crème Française 31%), newly formulated 50% cacao chocolate batons engineered for laminated pastry applications, baking chips, baking bars, wafers, and cocoa powder. Most products carry Fair Trade, Kosher Dairy, and Non-GMO certifications.

Guittard operates a dual-channel go-to-market model. On the B2B side, it sells through a nationwide network of wholesale partners and distributors to professional pastry chefs, confectioners, chocolatiers, and food manufacturers, with professional 3.0kg couverture units priced at $106. On the B2C side, it sells direct to home bakers via guittard.com, offering free shipping on orders over $35, supported by an educational platform called the Chocolate Studio that provides recipes, technique guides, and hands-on classes. Marketing efforts span the Chocolate Studio content platform, email/newsletter, Instagram/Facebook/LinkedIn, and trade show participation (e.g., NYC Fancy Food Show).

The company's primary customer segment is professional pastry chefs, with secondary segments in home bakers and food manufacturers. Distribution is concentrated domestically in the United States, with recent expansion into the United Kingdom through trade masterclasses and chef collaborations. Headcount is reported in the 101–250 range, and the company has remained privately held across its 158-year history with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or acquisition activity.

Name

Guittard Chocolate Company

Legal name

Guittard Chocolate Company

Website

https://guittard.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1868

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Guittard Chocolate Company is a fifth-generation, family-owned premium chocolate maker producing couverture (31%–72% cacao) and baking chocolate. It sells to professional pastry chefs via U.S. wholesale distributors and to home bakers through guittard.com, supported by an educational Chocolate Studio platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Premium Couverture and Baking Chocolate

NAICS

Chocolate and Confectionery Manufacturing (31135)

SIC

Sugar & Confectionery Products (2060)

akta.pro primary industry

Chocolate & Chocolate Confectionery (CRADABAA)

Keywords

• Premium couverture chocolate
• Artisan chocolate maker
• Professional pastry chocolate
• Baking chocolate products
• Cocoa powder products

Headquarters

HQ city

Burlingame

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. B2C E-commerce Sales: Direct online sales to home bakers through guittard.com. Products include baking chips, wafers, bars, cocoa powder, and merchandise. Free shipping on orders over $35.
2. B2B Wholesale Distribution: Wholesale product sales to professional pastry chefs, confectioners, chocolatiers, and manufacturers through a network of wholesale partners and distributors nationwide. Products include couverture, batons, and bulk chocolate products.
3. Professional Product Sales: Sales of professional-grade chocolate products including newly launched batons specifically designed for pastry professionals, available through wholesale network.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Guittard Chocolate Company manufactures and sells premium chocolate products, including a flagship line of couverture chocolates (wafers and batons) in cacao percentages ranging from 31% to 72%, as well as baking chips, baking bars, baking wafers, cocoa powder, and curated baking kits. The company serves professional pastry chefs, confectioners, chocolatiers, and food manufacturers through wholesale distribution, and home bakers through direct e-commerce on guittard.com.

Product overview

Guittard Chocolate Company is a family-owned premium chocolate maker offering a comprehensive portfolio of chocolate products across two primary segments: (1) Professional Couverture — the flagship offering including wafers/batons in multiple cacao percentages (31%-72%) such as Soie Blanche (35%), Éclipse du Soleil (41%), Soleil d'Or (38%), L'Étoile du Nord (64%), Coucher du Soleil (72%), La Nuit Noire (55%), and Lever du Soleil (61%), along with newly launched 50% cacao Batons for laminated pastry; and (2) Home Baking — including baking chips, baking bars, baking wafers, cocoa powder, and curated baking kits. Upcoming products include single origin couvertures from Madagascar and Hawaii, and a 72% allergen-free chocolate made with coconut sugar. The company also operates the Chocolate Studio, an educational platform providing recipes, techniques, and training for professional pastry chefs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Guittard Couverture: Premium couverture chocolate line for professional pastry chefs, confectioners and chocolatiers, made in small batches in the French artisan tradition.

Products and services

• Guittard Couverture (Wafer/Couverture Range) Premium range of couverture chocolates available as wafers, in multiple cacao percentages (31%-72%) including dark, milk, and white varieties. Designed for professional pastry chefs, confectioners, and chocolatiers who require consistent, high-quality chocolate for applications such as ganache, mousse, baking, ice cream, cremeux, sauce, glaze, decor, and enrobing.
• Guittard Batons (50% Cacao) Chocolate batons composed of 50% cacao, specifically engineered for professional laminated pastry applications such as pain au chocolat. Designed to reduce melt-out during baking while preserving structural integrity and robust flavor in high-fat environments.
• Baking Chips Range of baking chocolate chips including semi-sweet, milk chocolate, bittersweet, extra dark chocolate, butterscotch, green mint, and choc-au-lait varieties, designed for home bakers and professional use with consistent performance in classic recipes.
• Baking Bars (Melting & Tempering) Chocolate baking bars available in semi-sweet and bittersweet varieties, designed for melting and tempering applications in baking.
• Baking Wafers (Dipping, Coating & Baking) Chocolate wafers for dipping, coating, and baking applications, including organic wafer options.
• Cocoa Powder (Baking & Drinks) Cocoa powder products for baking and beverage applications, including organic natural cocoa powder and cocoa rouge cocoa powder.
• Baking Kits Curated baking kit bundles for home bakers, including the Chocolate Lovers Bundle, Level Up Baking Kit, Baking Chip Essentials, and collaboration bundles with named pastry chefs.
• Chocolate Studio (Education & Training) Guittard's educational platform offering professional recipes, resources & techniques, classes & training, and chocolate fundamentals for pastry professionals. Includes hands-on classes, downloadable technique PDFs, and video content.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced melt-out during baking in laminated pastry applications
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Wholesale/Distribution PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNationwide network of wholesale partners and distributors that sell Guittard chocolate products to professional pastry chefs, confectioners, and food manufacturers. The company announced the newly formulated chocolate batons are available nationwide through this network.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Valrhona: French premium couverture chocolate maker serving pastry chefs and chocolatiers — most direct head-to-head competitor with Guittard in the professional premium segment, with similar cacao-percentage range and education-led GTM.
• Callebaut (Barry Callebaut): Industry-leading global couverture chocolate brand competing head-on with Guittard in professional baking and pastry chef channels; broader catalog and larger scale make it the benchmark for premium couverture pricing and distribution.
• Cacao Barry: Premium couverture brand within Barry Callebaut targeting professional pastry chefs with single-origin and high-cacao offerings; directly overlaps with Guittard's Coucher du Soleil and Lever du Soleil lines in US chocolate kitchens.
• Felchlin: Swiss premium couverture maker with a strong professional pastry following; competes with Guittard in the artisan chocolate segment and operates a similar education/chef-engagement model.
• Scharffen Berger: US-based premium dark chocolate maker (now part of Hershey's) operating in the same high-cacao artisanal segment as Guittard's Lever du Soleil and Coucher du Soleil offerings.
• Ghirardelli Chocolate Company: Historic San Francisco Bay Area premium chocolate maker with overlapping consumer baking-chips segment and similar California roots; operates at larger scale with broader retail presence.

Emerging players

• Tcho Chocolate: Bay Area craft bean-to-bar chocolate maker with strong professional and direct-to-consumer following; partial overlap with Guittard's specialty cacao and small-batch storytelling.
• Dandelion Chocolate: San Francisco bean-to-bar craft chocolate maker focused on single-origin bars and café experiences; competes in adjacent premium-but-not-couverture positioning relevant to Guittard's planned Madagascar/Hawaii single-origin launches.

Broad incumbents

• The Hershey Company: Mass-market US chocolate and confectionery incumbent controlling multiple premium brands (Scharffen Berger, Dagoba); sets competitive intensity in US retail baking-chips and broader consumer chocolate segments.
• Lindt & Sprüngli: Global premium chocolate maker with a broad portfolio spanning mass and premium retail; competes with Guittard in home-baking premium chocolate and overall brand premium positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/guittardchoco
• Facebookfacebook.com/guittardchocolate
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/guittard-chocolate-company
• Instagraminstagram.com/guittardchocolate

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Guittard Chocolate Company