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The Magic’s in the Making: Theo Chocolate Co-Founder Joe Whinney Finds His Next Act
After stepping away from the chocolate industry, he never thought he’d return. Now, he’s launched his second chocolate company with history-making treats.
By Rachel Gallaher-Zenz November 2, 2026
This article originally appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Seattle magazine.
For years, Joe Whinney was Seattle’s own Willy Wonka, complete with his own chocolate factory. One of the cofounders of Theo Chocolate, Whinney applied his passion for social and environmental justice to the brand, using organic ingredients and fairtrade practices that ushered in a new era for the industry. He remained at Theo’s helm until 2017, stepping away to explore other areas of interest, including mental health awareness and psychedelic-assisted therapy. Two years later, legacy brand Dr. Bronner’s—known for its organic soap and personal care products called Whinney looking for advice. It wanted to get into chocolate.
Whinney initially agreed to consult on the project—helping develop Dr. Bronner’s All-One Magic Chocolate. (At the time, the company, in line with its regenerative organic practices, needed a use for the cocoa crops that its Ghanaian palm farmer partners planted to increase the biodiversity of their farms.) Although the launch was successful, and the brand quickly gained a following, Dr. Bronner’s ultimately decided to sell its chocolate division and remain focused on its soap.
“I said, ‘I’ll help you put together a C-suite, help with the transition, and then I’m going to go back to my other interests,” Whinney recalls. “They came back and said, ‘We want you to run it.’” Whinney wasn’t sure that he was ready to return to the industry full-time, but his strong convictions around land stewardship and regenerative organic practices—in which a company considers the future of the entire ecosystem in every decision it makes—nudged him over the line. “At the end of the day, I don’t need chocolate,” Whinney says. “I mean, I love chocolate, but I got into this because of my passion for social and environmental justice. There’s nothing else as important.”
As Magic’s CEO, Whinney decided to continue the existing partnership with Maestrani Schokoladen, a 174-year-old, family-owned Swiss chocolate maker (it led the world’s first large-scale production of organic chocolate in the late 1980s). “We’re self-funded,” Whinney says. “As a result, we’re not beholden to venture capitalists or private equity, or anybody else. We’re just really focused on doing the right thing.”
Magic chocolate, which holds the title of the world’s first Regenerative Organic Certified® chocolate, offers vegan bars (a mix of dark and oat milk chocolate) in flavors including Gold Milk Chai, Crunchy Hazelnut Butter, Creamy Mocha Latte, and Smooth Coconut Praline. At the beginning of 2026, the brand introduced its Truffle Bars: four individually wrapped treats—perfect for sharing, or indulging throughout the day. Ingredients are all organic and straightforward (i.e., no strange or unrecognizable chemicals)—aligning with the values that Whinney embraced when he first entered the chocolate industry more than 20 years ago.
“I wanted to create something that was a different eating experience,” he says of the Truffle bars, which won a 2026 Natural Products Expo West NEXTY Award for Best New Sweet Snacks and Desserts, and a Good Housekeeping 2026 Snack Award in the Better-for-You Sweets category as the Best Vegan Chocolate. Looking ahead, Whinney says he’s focused on strengthening the brand’s supply chain, continuing to get the word out (especially to the Seattle market), and eventually, adding new product categories. It might happen at a more measured pace than in the past, but for Whinney, that’s okay. “We want to make sure that we have a positive impact with every move we make,” he explains. Because sometimes the biggest magic takes a little time.
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