The new bar pairs Bird Friendly® certified cocoa from the Dominican Republic with Maine maple sugar, connecting two farms 1,500 miles apart through the same migratory birds
BEND, OR - August 10, 2026. Seahorse Chocolate, a specialty chocolate maker known for two-ingredient bars, has launched its Maine Maple Sugar Bar. Dark, rich, and complex, with notes of cherry, butterscotch, and French toast, it's made from just cocoa and maple sugar, and is available now at seahorsechocolate.com.
The two ingredients share an unexpected connection: both farms are certified to protect bird habitat, and the same birds that winter in the cocoa growing regions of the Dominican Republic fly north each spring to nest in Maine. Seahorse Chocolate paired Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certified cocoa with Audubon certified maple sugar to build the bar around that route.
“This bar is dark, rich, and complex, the kind of chocolate that unfolds instead of just tasting sweet," said Emily, owner of Seahorse Chocolate. "There's cherry, butterscotch, French toast in there, but really it's about that first bite making you slow down."
ABOUT SEAHORSE CHOCOLATE
Seahorse Chocolate makes chocolate bars from as few ingredients as possible, pairing cocoa with a single, thoughtfully sourced partner ingredient. Every bar is vegan, and the company's cocoa is sourced from farms committed to ethical and sustainable practices, including Smithsonian Bird Friendly® certified origins. The company treats cocoa the way specialty coffee and wine treat their raw materials: tracing it to origin and farm, and letting each source's character come through in the bar rather than masking it. That approach has earned the company multiple Good Food Award wins and a reputation for traceable, farm-direct sourcing. In September 2025, Seahorse Chocolate was acquired by Bittersweet Ventures LLC, a family-owned company focused on sustainable chocolate and led by Emily Pappo, who also earned her Ph.D. studying cocoa and coffee ecology. The acquisition has strengthened the company's focus on ingredient integrity and the science behind quality sustainable chocolate.
More information can be found at seahorsechocolate.com and on Instagram @seahorse.chocolate.
MEDIA CONTACT:
Emery Launius, Brand and Communications Manager, [email protected]