Our Story
CHOCOLATE THAT TASTES GOOD & DOES GOOD
The search to find great tasting, no-sugar-added products can be tough. Sweetened only with real organic fruit, Wild West gives you a taste of simpler times and invites you to discover a better-for-you indulgence by providing great tasting, high quality chocolate (all without any sugar added) so you can feel guilt-free about eating chocolate. We are a women-led and purpose-driven company. We are advocates for better food, responsible manufacturing and protecting our wild spaces. We believe people can taste the difference in Wild West Chocolate and find that our love for creating delicious chocolate is evident in each bite. GO FORTH. EAT CHOCOLATE.
Meet
Our Leader
Wild West was started by BJ Howard with the desire to give back to the precious Western waters that have given so much to her over the years. BJ was inspired to use her work and business as part of the solution, and that was how the mission for Wild West Chocolate was born. The product? A breakthrough organic chocolate that is wildly delicious and sweetened only with fruit (no sugar added). Wild West is making waves in chocolate, and a splash to help preserve and protect our rivers, lakes and streams.
A NOTE FROM OUR FOUNDER
“Wild West is about going back to the basics in life of good living and simple eating. Its spirit is inspired by the past, as the West has long been viewed as a symbol of freedom, adventure and pristine, natural resources. Wild West is about restoring our connection with the earth, and the people and animals coexisting within it. It's getting back to a time when water ran clean and wild and everything we ate was as clean and pure as the water it came from.”
- BJ Howard
Our Mission
We are Wild West. We're here to return chocolate to its raw and rustic roots—to simpler times when organic, unprocessed food was the only kind. From the beginning, Wild West has been built with love — the love of adventure, the love of conserving wild places, and the love for clean, whole food ingredients. BORN TO BE WILD. MADE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
THE WW WAY
Our philosophy is simple: We believe chocolate doesn’t need to be fancy, it just has to have spirit. We combine the spirit of the West and nature's most irresistible flavors into a one-of-a-kind recipe of pure cacao and naturally sweet, crushed fruit. No sugar added. No GMOs. Just real food as pure, simple, and delicious as it used to be.
The Round-Up
Meet the Team
Some label us as outlaws. Others say we’re pioneers. We just call ourselves chocolatiers with a wild side. From near and far, we’ve built a team that knows how to put in a hard day’s work but also how to keep it wild by living active, daring, adventurous lives.
BJ Howard
FOUNDER, CEO
Hometown:
Whitefish, MT
Favorite Chocolate Pairing:
Wine!
Favorite Wildlife:
How do you choose when its all so amazing, but probably owls
Favorite Outdoor Activity:
Skiing and Rafting- can’t pick one.. mountain biking too
Favorite “Out West" Place:
My home in Missoula MT, but really anywhere in Big Sky country on a mountain or a river
CARA CHIARELLO
DIRECTOR BRAND MARKETING + CREATIVE
Hometown:
Raised in Port Charlotte, FL
Favorite Chocolate Pairing:
Peanut Butter
Favorite Wildlife:
River Otter
Favorite Outdoor Activity:
Hiking, Trail Running, Skiing
Favorite “Out West" Place:
Wasatch Mountain Range, Park City UT
JYLLE RYAN
SENIOR DIRECTOR DIGITAL & ECOMMERCE
Hometown:
Raised in NY. Moved West in 2003.
Favorite Chocolate Pairing:
Craft Bourbon. Bonus points if consumed around a campfire
Favorite Wildlife:
Mountain Goats. They're aloof and beautiful
Favorite Outdoor Activity:
Kayaking, Sailing, Snowshoeing, Skiing
Favorite “Out West" Place:
Crested Butte, CO
Carisse Varr
Director of Sales
Hometown:
Santa Barbara CA,
Favorite Chocolate Pairing:
Dark Horse with Raspberries, Strawberries, Blackberries and Passion Fruit
Favorite Wildlife:
Deer
Favorite Outdoor Activity:
Hiking in the foothills or mountains behind my house
Favorite “Out West" Place:
Lake Tahoe, CA