SUSTAINABILITY is Our Nature

Chukar began in 1988 with the vision that everything we made would be high quality, regionally sourced, crafted with minimal or no added sugar, and free of preservatives and artificial ingredients. A commitment to local agriculture, our community, and sustainable manufacturing practices guides everything we do.

RESPONSIBILITY

Responsible sourcing, recycling, and reducing waste—these touchstones have guided Chukar since day one. Our team is continually searching out resources and opportunities to reduce our footprint. Below are our current efforts:

FSC Certified Paper: Chukar’s catalog and brochures are printed on paper that comes from responsibly managed and monitored forest lands.
Innovative Packaging Materials: Our chocolate cavity trays are plant based—reducing plastic waste by 60%. Our OceanPoly® retail bags contain a minimum of 25% plastic recovered from coastal pollution areas.
Recyclable: Chukar’s assortment boxes, gift boxes, shipping boxes, glass jars, and tins are fully recyclable. Our customers tell us they use our red boxes and tins for years.
Carbon Neutral Shipping: Our UPS packages ship Certified Carbon Neutral, supporting projects that offset transport emissions.
Compost: When we dry cherries there are a lot of pits leftover! We ensure the pits are composted locally or used as extra fill gravel on country roads.

Chocolate Sourcing: Our chocolate is sourced from a 6th generation family chocolatier that invests in the farming communities that grow their cocoa beans. Communities and farmers are protected through the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) and World Cocoa Foundation’s Cocoa Livelihood Program.

Chocolate cherries in copper kettle with melted chocolate being poured onto cherries

Pollinator Conservation: In 2023 Chukar planted a heritage garden outside our Prosser Headquarters & Factory featuring native plants that attract pollinators such as honeybees and butterflies. A portion of proceeds from our Beeliever Chardonnay are donated to pollinator conservation efforts.
How to Create a Pollinator Friendly Garden in the Columbia River Basin
Green Power: Chukar Cherries supports the transition to carbon free power by investing in our local Public Utility District’s Green Power Program. Currently 80% of our power usage is green.

SAFE PRACTICES = SAFE FOOD

The Chukar factory in Prosser, Washington is committed to rigorous safety and sanitation practices. We meticulously adhere to FDA Good Manufacturing Practices, USDA Organic standards, and Kosher certification oversight by KOF-K. Every ingredient, product, and package is tracked to ensure quick resolution if a problem should arise.

GOOD MANUFACTURING

Chukar began by gleaning orchards—finding a use for the extra-ripe cherries that were left hanging on the branch after harvest. This conservation mindset follows us to this day. We use ‘just in time’ manufacturing principles to ensure freshness and minimize waste. We are also committed to sourcing from Northwest growers, many of which we’ve worked with for decades.

Man inspecting cherries on tree in cherry orchard

Local grower Ted Durfey of Durfey Farms

Chocolate covered cherries being poured from metal bowl into plastic tray

Team member in chocolate room

Original Assortments being hand filled with chocolates

Original Assortments being filled

WORKING IN OUR COMMUNITIES

We actively engage in the communities we touch, from our headquarters in the south-central fruit lands of Washington to the greater Seattle and the Pike Place Market communities where we champion organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club, Pike Place Market Foundation, and more.