Guittard Chocolate Company
Corporate brand
UnclaimedGuittard Chocolate Company is a California-based, family-owned chocolate maker known for couverture chocolate, baking products, and traditional French-influenced manufacturing.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Guittard Chocolate Company is an American chocolate manufacturer headquartered in Burlingame, California. Founded in 1868 by French immigrant Étienne "Eddy" Guittard, the company grew from a small San Francisco trading and confectionery operation into one of the United States' enduring specialty chocolate producers. It remains family-owned and is described as the oldest continuously family-owned chocolate company in the United States, with ownership and management extending across more than four generations. Guittard's origins are tied to the California Gold Rush. Étienne Guittard emigrated from Tournus, France, to the United States during the 1850s and brought French chocolate with him. While attempting unsuccessfully to find gold in the Sierra Nevada, he traded chocolate for supplies with merchants in San Francisco. After several years, those shopkeepers encouraged him to turn his experience with chocolate into a business. Guittard returned to Paris to save money and acquire the equipment required for chocolate production, then came back to San Francisco and opened a shop at 405 Sansome Street on the waterfront in 1868. In its early years, the business sold chocolate alongside tea, coffee, spices, and other provisions. The company passed to the next generation under Horace C. Guittard. Its San Francisco operations were severely affected by the 1906 earthquake, which destroyed much of the city. Guittard responded by establishing a new plant on Commercial Street. Further expansion followed in 1921 and 1936, when the business acquired additional property on Main Street south of Market. In 1954, Guittard sold its San Francisco property to the city for construction associated with the Embarcadero Freeway. The company then moved to a 75,000-square-foot facility at Guittard and Rollins roads in Burlingame, which became its long-term manufacturing base. The company emphasizes original formulas, couverture chocolate, and production methods influenced by French tradition. Its portfolio includes cocoa products, chocolate syrups, milk-chocolate balls and eggs, baking chips, mints, mint wafers, chocolate bars, and other professional and home-baking products. Guittard serves both industrial and food-service customers. According to the referenced company description, approximately 85 percent of its clients are food-industry professionals and approximately 15 percent are pastry chefs, illustrating the importance of professional chocolate to its business model. Its customer base has included confectionery, restaurant, bakery, and food brands such as See's Candies, Rocky Mountain Chocolate, Kellogg's, Baskin-Robbins, Recchiuti Confections, Garrison Confections, Williams Sonoma, Nation's Giant Hamburgers, and Blue Chip Cookies. Guittard also develops products for consumers and amateur bakers, including chocolate bars designed specifically for home baking. This gives the company a position spanning ingredient chocolate, professional couverture, food-service supply, and retail-oriented confectionery. Gary Guittard joined the company full-time in 1975 and succeeded his father, Horace A. Guittard, as president and chief executive in 1989. The available reference material does not identify a later leadership change, a public listing, or a parent corporation. Guittard's continuing family ownership, California manufacturing base, and combination of traditional methods with products for professional and household users remain central to its identity.
History
Guittard Chocolate Company was established in San Francisco in 1868 by Étienne "Eddy" Guittard, a French immigrant from Tournus. Guittard had arrived in the United States during the California Gold Rush carrying French chocolate, which he exchanged with merchants for supplies. After spending three unsuccessful years prospecting in the Sierra Nevada, he followed the advice of San Francisco shopkeepers who had traded with him and pursued chocolate making as a profession. To prepare for the venture, Guittard returned to Paris, saved money, and acquired chocolate-making equipment. Back in California, he opened a business at 405 Sansome Street on the San Francisco waterfront. The original operation was broader than a chocolate factory: tea, coffee, spices, and other goods were sold alongside chocolate. Over time, chocolate became the defining product and the business developed into a specialized manufacturer. Leadership later passed to Guittard's son, Horace C. Guittard. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake destroyed the city's existing facilities and forced the company to rebuild. Guittard established a replacement plant on Commercial Street, maintaining its San Francisco presence. The company expanded again in 1921 and 1936 through additional property on Main Street south of Market. In 1954, Guittard sold its San Francisco property to the city for infrastructure development connected with the Embarcadero Freeway. The business relocated to a 75,000-square-foot plant at the intersection of Guittard and Rollins roads in Burlingame, California. That facility became the company's continuing headquarters and manufacturing base. The company maintained a family-owned structure while expanding its product range and professional customer base. Its manufacturing approach has been associated with original formulas, couverture chocolate, and French-influenced traditional methods. Products include cocoa, syrup, baking chips, chocolate bars, milk-chocolate pieces, mints, and mint wafers. Guittard has supplied professional confectioners, food manufacturers, restaurants, bakeries, and specialty retailers, while also developing products for consumers and amateur bakers. Gary Guittard began working full-time for the company in 1975. In 1989, he succeeded his father, Horace A. Guittard, as president and chief executive. The available reference material identifies no subsequent change in ownership, public listing, or corporate parent. The company's historical identity therefore rests on the continuity of the Guittard family, its California production base, and its combination of traditional chocolate-making practices with products for professional and household use.
- 1989
Gary Guittard becomes president and chief executive
[1]Gary Guittard succeeded Horace A. Guittard as president and chief executive.
- 1975
Gary Guittard joins the company full-time
[1]Gary Guittard began working full-time in the family business.
- 1954
Relocation to Burlingame
[1]Guittard sold its San Francisco property for infrastructure development and moved to a 75,000-square-foot facility in Burlingame.
- 1936
Further San Francisco expansion
[1]Guittard added further property on Main Street south of Market as its operations grew.
- 1921
Expansion on Main Street
[1]The company expanded onto property on Main Street south of Market.
- 1906
San Francisco earthquake destroys company facilities
[1]The earthquake destroyed the company's San Francisco operations, prompting construction of a replacement plant on Commercial Street.
- 1899
Death of founder
[1]Founder Étienne Guittard died, after which the business continued under the Guittard family.
- 1868
Company founded in San Francisco
[1]Étienne "Eddy" Guittard opened a chocolate business at 405 Sansome Street after returning from Paris with equipment for chocolate production.
Products and positioning
A family-owned American chocolate maker combining French-influenced formulas and traditional methods with professional couverture, food-service ingredients, and consumer baking products.
Professional chocolate
Couverture chocolate
Guittard's professional couverture range reflects the company's core identity as a chocolate manufacturer serving confectioners, pastry chefs, bakeries, and other food-industry users. The company describes its production as drawing on original formulas and traditional French methods. Couverture is used in applications such as molded confections, enrobing, pastries, desserts, and other professional chocolate work.
Baking ingredients
Baking chips
Baking chips are part of Guittard's ingredient portfolio for commercial and household baking. They extend the company beyond large-format professional couverture into products suited to cookies, cakes, brownies, and other baked goods. The reference material identifies baking chips as one of the company's established product categories, without specifying individual varieties or launch dates.
Consumer chocolate
Chocolate bars
Guittard sells chocolate bars, including products developed specifically for amateur bakers. These bars support the company's consumer-facing activity while retaining its emphasis on chocolate as an ingredient and craft material. Detailed flavor, format, and launch information is not specified in the available reference material.
Chocolate ingredients
Cocoa and chocolate syrup
Cocoa products and chocolate syrup form part of Guittard's broader ingredient and food-service offering. They are suitable for baking, beverages, desserts, and commercial food preparation. The available source confirms these categories but does not provide detailed product specifications or introduction dates.
Confectionery
Milk-chocolate balls and eggs
Milk-chocolate balls and eggs represent Guittard's molded and seasonal-style confectionery products. They complement the company's professional chocolate ingredients with finished chocolate pieces for retail and food-service applications. Specific packaging, distribution, and seasonal schedules are not identified in the source material.
Confectionery
Mints and mint wafers
Mints and mint wafers are established confectionery categories in Guittard's portfolio. They show the company's activity beyond cocoa and baking ingredients into finished flavored chocolate products. The available reference does not provide detailed information about their formulations, formats, or launch chronology.
Brand decisions
1954
Move manufacturing from San Francisco to BurlingameStrategyBackground
The company sold its San Francisco property to the city for infrastructure development associated with the Embarcadero Freeway.
Action taken
Guittard relocated its operations to a 75,000-square-foot facility at Guittard and Rollins roads in Burlingame, California.
Aftermath
The Burlingame site became the company's continuing headquarters and manufacturing base.
Recent events
Reported
See's Candies offers chocolate-coated coffee beans[2]
See's Candies offered roasted Brazilian coffee beans coated with dark chocolate in a collaboration with Peet's Coffee and Guittard Chocolate.
Reported
Guittard chocolate chips enter Waitrose stores in the UK[3]
Guittard Chocolate Company announced that it was launching its chocolate chips in Waitrose stores in the UK for the first time.
Sources3 sources
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