French Broad Chocolate didn't start in a factory — it started on a cacao plantation in Costa Rica. Founders Dan Rattigan and Jael Skeffington left graduate school, converted a school bus to run on vegetable oil, and drove south to Puerto Viejo de Limón, where they bought an abandoned cacao farm and opened a café called Bread & Chocolate. That first chapter gave them something most chocolate makers never have: a lived understanding of cacao at the source.

Their journey eventually brought them to Asheville, North Carolina, where French Broad Chocolate was born — first out of a home kitchen, then at farmers markets, then a beloved chocolate lounge, and finally a 14,000-square-foot bean-to-bar factory near UNC Asheville capable of producing nearly 50 tons of chocolate a year.

What hasn't changed is their philosophy. French Broad defines terroir not just as soil and climate, but as a sense of place — the culture, the community, the relationships that shape what gets made and how. They source cacao from trusted farmers, share importation with fellow regional makers, and fold local Appalachian ingredients into their bars whenever possible. Cacao shell mulch goes to local gardeners. Compostables are diverted from landfill. Strawberries come from a neighboring holler; pumpkins from a local market stand.

We carry French Broad because they treat chocolate as a craft with a conscience — one that honors the land, the farmers, and the communities at every point in the chain. Every bar is a reflection of that commitment.