Markham & Fitz

Markham & Fitz is a bean-to-bar chocolate company and café founded in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2014 by Lauren Blanco and Preston Stewart, who started the business under the name Hello Cocoa with two single-origin bars and a shared conviction that chocolate could be made with more intention. Lauren had spent five years in nonprofit work facilitating small business development in conflict-affected countries, where she first visited cacao farms and began to understand the supply chain behind the ingredient. Preston studied chemistry before training as a Chocolate Maker and Chocolatier through École Chocolat. They combined those backgrounds and started making chocolate from the bean up.

By December 2017, they had rebranded as Markham & Fitz and opened a chocolate factory, dessert bar, and café in Bentonville, giving the region a place to encounter the full bean-to-bar story through drinking chocolate, confections, and pastries. The company sources cacao from Bolivia, Haiti, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic through importing partners Uncommon Cacao and Enliven Cacao, paying above Fair Trade prices and prioritizing transparency at every step of the supply chain.

With sustainability at the forefront, Markham & Fitz wraps its bars in recyclable paper and compostable sleeves, uses organic ingredients, and operates its factory as part of a zero-waste initiative. The company is woman-owned, shares 10% of profits with employees, and ships nationally. Awards include a Good Food Award for the Ooh La Lavender bar, an International Chocolate Award for the No. 1 Fan bar, and recognition in O Magazine's sustainability issue. The No. 1 Fan bar was also featured in a Vogue popup shop at New York Fashion Week.