Founder Feature: BJ Howard of Wild West Chocolate
The Startup CPG Podcast
Startup CPG
4.9 • 642 Ratings
🗓️ 19 September 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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In this episode of the Startup CPG Podcast, Caitlin Bricker interviews BJ Howard, founder of Wild West Chocolate, a chocolate brand revolutionizing the confectionery space with fruit-sweetened, no-added-sugar products. BJ shares the company’s journey from concept to launch, including the challenges of navigating a volatile cacao market, the science behind developing a proprietary fruit-based sweetener, and the brand’s commitment to clean ingredients and sustainable practices.
The conversation highlights the role of creative branding, the importance of strong partnerships, and the mission-driven approach that ties Wild West Chocolate to environmental stewardship and community impact.
Listen now to learn how Wild West Chocolate is carving out a unique place in a highly competitive category while staying true to its vision of creating indulgent, better-for-you chocolate.
Listen in as they share about:
- About Wild West Chocolate
- Product Development & Team
- Brand Mission & Inspiration
- Market Challenges
- Retail and Distribution
- Future Outlook
Episode Links:
Website: https://wildwestchocolate.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bj-howard-6b87b075/
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Show Links:
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- Episode music by Super Fantastics
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | A few years back when I ran a beverage company, we had to launch using those plastic sleeves to put our designs on the cans. |
| 0:08.0 | But they looked bad, the sleeves get stretched out, they don't cover the full can, and overall they just look and feel low quality. |
| 0:14.0 | Lucky for you, digital can printing technology has come so far over the last few years that now you can launch your beverage brand or new skews with a fully |
| 0:21.7 | printed look and it's at similar pricing to those plastic sleeves. |
| 0:25.3 | Our friends at CanWorks, which is the largest U.S.-based digital can printer, are happy to work with |
| 0:30.1 | our community at very low minimums, even one palette. |
| 0:32.9 | They've got locations in the East Coast, the West Coast, Texas. |
| 0:36.0 | Get in touch with them through our contact form. |
| 0:38.2 | It's at canworksprinting.com slash startup CPG. |
| 0:42.7 | Thank you. We launched about a year and a half ago, and, you know, purchased cacao for a launch and kind of had our big debut. |
| 1:07.8 | And then last year for people who are close to chocolate probably know the |
| 1:12.7 | cacao market went up by almost 400%. So you know this same bar to produce |
| 1:20.7 | literally that I mean being that the cacao is 70% or I guess of the dark |
| 1:25.1 | chocolate 70% of this bar you know and the cacao itself is such a |
| 1:30.5 | huge percentage of those cost of goods and it went up by 400%. And so, you know, it's caused all |
| 1:37.3 | sorts of reactionary things in the market. |
| 1:43.1 | Hey everybody. This is Caitlin Brooker, editor at startup CPG. We are back with another founder |
| 1:49.0 | feature. Ever wonder what chocolate would taste like if it was sweetened only with fruit? |
| 1:53.9 | Well, today we're talking with BJ Howard, founder of Wild West Chocolate. Chocolate with |
| 1:58.6 | zero added sugar, zero stevia, and zero sugar alcohols. |
| 2:02.9 | After formulating a proprietary blend of four dehydrated fruits as their sweetener, |
| 2:07.9 | BJ launched into one of the most competitive CPG categories, just as cacao prices spiked |
... |
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