Maeve

Founded: 1991, as Seattle Chocolate Company
Consumer brand: Maeve Chocolate
Home: Tukwila, Washington
Owner & CEO: Jean Thompson
Specialty: Truffle bars and bonbons
Known for: Creative flavours, colourful design, ethical sourcing and its Pacific Northwest roots
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From Seattle Favourite to Contemporary Chocolate Brand

For more than three decades, Seattle Chocolate Company has been part of the Pacific Northwest chocolate scene. Now, its flagship chocolate brand has entered a colourful new chapter under a new name: Maeve Chocolate.

Founded in 1991, Seattle Chocolate Company became known for its signature truffle bars and bonbons. The company itself remains Seattle Chocolate Company, but Maeve now carries that chocolate tradition forward with a refreshed identity built around creative flavours, ethical sourcing and a distinctly playful personality.

Building a Chocolate Company in the Pacific Northwest

Seattle Chocolate Company began in 1991, developing a range of chocolate bars and confections inspired by the flavours and personality of the Pacific Northwest.

Its signature products became filled truffle bars — chocolate shells surrounding soft centres in flavours ranging from espresso and salted toffee to seasonal combinations.

The company operates from Tukwila, Washington, just south of Seattle, where its chocolate products are produced and distributed. Current company information lists its facility at 1180 Andover Park West.

Jean Thompson and a New Chapter

A major turning point came when Jean Thompson took ownership of Seattle Chocolate Company.

Under Thompson’s leadership, the business developed into a woman-owned chocolate company with an increasingly colourful visual identity, expanded flavour collections and a stronger emphasis on social and environmental initiatives.

Rather than positioning itself as a traditional European-style chocolatier or a small bean-to-bar maker, Seattle Chocolate developed its own space within contemporary American chocolate: accessible confections with distinctive flavours, design-led packaging and a strong sense of place.

Reinventing the Brand as Maeve

More recently, Seattle Chocolate Company’s consumer chocolate identity has evolved into Maeve.

The evolution has gone beyond branding. In 2024, Seattle Chocolate Company added chocolate-making capabilities to its Tukwila factory, giving the company greater involvement in the process from cacao sourcing through finished confections. The move also strengthened its ability to build more direct relationships with cacao producers.

The change represents more than new packaging. Maeve gives the company’s chocolates a more playful contemporary identity while retaining the Seattle Chocolate Company behind the products. Its current range includes truffle bars, bonbons and seasonal collections. Flavours span classics such as dark salted toffee and espresso alongside more playful creations including birthday cake, crème brûlée, Mexican hot chocolate, blackberry and s’mores.

Seattle itself remains visible throughout the collection. Current products reference local icons and culture through names and packaging connected with the Space Needle, Washington State ferries and Seattle’s 206 area code.

Chocolate With a Sense of Seattle

That local identity helps distinguish the company from many nationally distributed chocolate brands.

Seattle Chocolate Company’s connection to the Pacific Northwest isn’t based on cacao origin — cacao cannot be commercially grown in Washington’s climate. Instead, the connection comes through flavour, design, storytelling and regional references.

Espresso-inspired chocolates reflect Seattle’s famous coffee culture, while gift collections use imagery associated with the city and surrounding region.

The result is a contemporary chocolate brand that treats its home city as part of the experience.

Beyond the Chocolate Bar

Seattle Chocolate Company’s identity has also expanded beyond products alone.

Over the years, the company has incorporated social-impact initiatives into its business, including programmes supporting women and girls, while also working on packaging and sourcing initiatives intended to reduce environmental impact.

Those efforts have helped shape a company that increasingly presents chocolate as a vehicle for both creativity and broader community involvement. At the same time, its Tukwila facility has brought consumers closer to production through factory experiences, providing another connection between the brand and the people eating its chocolates.

A Contemporary American Chocolate Brand

Seattle Chocolate Company occupies a very different place in American chocolate from the craft bean-to-bar makers producing single-origin bars or historic houses preserving century-old confectionery traditions.

That difference is precisely why it belongs within Artisan Chocolatiers & Contemporary Brands.

Its story is about how an established regional chocolate company can continue evolving — through flavour, packaging, social initiatives and, most recently, an entirely refreshed consumer identity.

From its beginnings in 1991 to the emergence of Maeve, Seattle Chocolate Company demonstrates how a familiar American chocolate brand can reinvent itself while keeping its Pacific Northwest roots.