Fran's Chocolates

Fran Bigelow was born and raised in Seattle and trained as an accountant.^[6] She graduated from the University of Washington in 1965 with a degree in business administration and travelled to France with her husband about five years later.^[7] Her husband was a hospital administrator, and his career required them to move to San Francisco.^[6] Bigelow enrolled in professional cooking classes at California Culinary Academy, where she apprenticed with a Swiss pastry chef.^[6][8][9] In 1980, they returned to Seattle, and in 1982 she began selling chocolate truffles and desserts from a small shop in Seattle’s Madison Park neighborhood.^[8][9] There were two employees at the original shop and the truffles were originally priced at 35 cents each.^[7] Eventually, she developed the store's signature Gold Bars because she wanted a candy that was not as perishable as the truffles. The Gold Bars quickly became a customer favorite, and by 1996 she was selling nearly 500,000 Gold Bars a year.^[6] In 1986, Bigelow began making caramels.^[7]

In 1998, she began adding gray salt to the caramels.^[3][10][11] By 2006, the caramels made up seventy-five percent of the company's sales, and by 2008 the caramels were the bestseller, partly due to publicity from former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.^[3][12] In 2006, Fran's was featured in O, The Oprah Magazine and the company consequently reached a record $4.5 million sales for the year.^[4][7] By 2007, Fran's had forty employees, and Bigelow's daughter, Andrina, joined the company.^[7][13] In 2008, Fran's opened a location in Downtown Seattle in the Four Seasons hotel.^[14] The Downtown location would take over as the flagship store.^[14]

In 2014, the company moved its headquarters from the Capitol Hill neighborhood to the historic Rainier Brewing Company building in the Georgetown neighborhood.^[15] At the time, the company had 67 employees and was making 30,000 pieces of chocolate per day and shipping regularly across the United States and to Japan.^[15] In 2018, she was inducted into the Specialty Food Association Hall of Fame for "sparking the artisan chocolate renaissance in the United States".^[16] In 2021, Food & Wine named Fran's one of the top 50 chocolate shops in the United States.^[17]

In December 2025, Fran's almondmilk chocolate which they introduced into the market with undisclosed allergen contents was recalled following a report of allergic reaction report from a consumer. It contained undisclosed hazelnuts, which can cause serious or life threatening reactions for people with allergies to hazelnuts.^[18][19][20]

In 2004, Bigelow published a book, Pure Chocolate: Divine Desserts and Sweets from the Creator of Fran’s Chocolates, which she co-authored with Helene Siegel.^[21][22] The book contains chocolate recipes that are not "too difficult" to make.^[23] It was nominated for 2005 James Beard Foundation Award in the Baking and Desserts category.^[24]

• 2003 Confection of the Year, National Association for the Specialty Food Trade, gray salt caramels^[23][12]
• 2005 NASFT Award, Smoked Salt Caramels
• 2007 Sofi Award Finalist: Outstanding Chocolate, Hazelnut Diamonds^[25]
• 2007 Sofi Award: Outstanding Hot Beverage, Fran’s Premium Hot Chocolate^[26]
• 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award, Northwest Chocolate Festival
• 2014 Sofi Award, Gray Salt Caramel
• 2016 Mott Green Sustainability Award
• 2017 Sofi Award, Almond Gold Bar
• 2017 Good Food Award, Almond Gold Bar
• 2017 Northwest Chocolate Festival Award Winner, Fran's Park Bar
• 2018 Good Food Award, Dark Chocolate Sauce^[27]
• 2018 Good Food Award, Caramel Sauce^[27]
• "The country's best overall chocolatier in the United States" by The Book of Chocolate^[14]

Fran's was featured in Season 1, Episode 22 of Food Finds, which aired on the Food Network in May 2002.^[28] The company was also featured on Food Network's The Best Thing I Ever Ate: Season's Eatings.^[29]

Former President Obama and Michelle Obama occasionally had the chocolates shipped to the White House.^{[12][30][31][32]} Bigelow donated to Obama's campaign and was able to meet Michelle Obama.^[32] Michelle Obama sent Fran's caramels to Barbara Walters and the cast of The View as a thank you for her recent appearance.^[32]