Our Story
We craft award-winning small batch, bean-to-bar chocolate using ethically sourced, heirloom cacao just outside of Park City, Utah. Founded in 2010, our mission has always been to produce exceptional quality chocolate while celebrating the complexity of flavor from unique cacao origins. It’s simple. We put people, quality ingredients and flavor first. Because everyone deserves great chocolate!
Teeny steps. A Little Hope and a Big Dream.
Humble beginnings
The story of Ritual Chocolate begins in a tiny 400-square-foot studio turned test kitchen in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. We were driven by a dream to change an industry that was broken. Back in 2008, we felt high quality chocolate was hard to come by and there was certainly no transparency in how chocolate was made or how the beans were sourced.Â
Quality first
So we name ourselves Ritual, paying homage to days where cacao was truly appreciated and held in high regard in the rituals and ceremonies of the Mayans, Aztecs and Olmecs.Â
We wanted to make a change and have an impact, because we believed (and still believe) everyone deserves to have great quality chocolate!
Our story continues
It’s been a while since our first forays into the world of cacao. We’ve left one set of mountains for another, and we now have a factory just outside of Park City, Utah, where we are driven by a passion for chocolate each day. Our heart still beats for cacao, and we continue to learn and use what we’ve learned about this world in order to bring YOU the best chocolate experience possible.
Anna Seear, CO-FOUNDER
Born in England to a multigenerational farming family in Essex, Anna has always been passionate about quality food and a deep connection to its source. After visiting a cacao farm in Costa Rica in 2008, she began her journey into the craft of chocolate, driven by a vision to reconnect people with sustainably sourced cacao and high-quality chocolate. Now living in the Utah mountains and raising three young children, Anna remains deeply committed to creating chocolate (and a life!) that brings people together through quality, sustainability and joy.
Co-Founder
Robert Stout
Robert Stout co-founded Ritual Chocolate in 2010 and helped to lead the company's journey for over a decade. From its inception, he was involved in every aspect of Ritual, focusing on chocolate making, products, developing new projects such as cafes and production facilities, and driving efforts in marketing, branding, management, and sustainability. In 2021, Robert welcomed the birth of his son, Henry, and in 2023, he stepped away from Ritual Chocolate to devote more time to his family.
