YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
YOUR BUSINESS AUTHORITY
Springfield, MO
Askinosie Chocolate founder and CEO Shawn Askinosie recently embarked on his 50th origin trip to meet with farmers in the Philippines city of Davao, where the chocolate is sourced for the candy bar of the same name. He met with lead farmer partner Peter Cruz and his team to look over operations and review profit-sharing. “It’s all part of a program we pioneered in the cocoa business called direct trade. We patterned it after coffee,” Askinosie says. “The most important thing is on these trips, I profit-share with the farmers. It’s about relationships.” Askinosie Chocolate doesn’t stop with profit-sharing. The company is often busy helping to feed malnourished children with school lunch programs, and the company’s Chocolate University allows students to participate in an experiential learning program designed to help them be better global citizens.
SBJ: What are the ingredients that go into the Davao white chocolate bar?
Shawn Askinosie: The first main ingredient is cocoa butter that we make from scratch. The cocoa butter is from our beans that we get from Davao. The cocoa content, if I’m not mistaken, it’s 34%, which is very high for white chocolate, but it gives it a creamier texture. What we do is we put ground-up cocoa beans in a hydraulic press. We press the cocoa butter out and that’s very, very unusual in the chocolate world for a chocolate maker to make their own cocoa butter. There probably is another in the United States, but I’m not aware of it. The second ingredient would be dairy. We use goat’s milk. I like the sort of caramel note that goat’s milk has. When combined with the cocoa butter and sugar, then it’s a nice kind of caramel note. The third and the only other ingredient is organic sugar.
SBJ: You’ve seen a renewed interest in white chocolate. What has brought that on?
Askinosie: There was a press mention, Bon Appétit. Their quote was, “White chocolate haters, this bar might change your mind.” That was in April of last year. When we started doing this like 18 years ago, there were only two or three of us in the United States making chocolate from the bean in the craft, small-batch world. We were the only ones and the first ones to make small-batch white chocolate, but over time, a lot of people have made it, and so, it’s become more popular. I think that’s part of it, too. When the first of anything comes around, it takes a minute to catch on.
SBJ: Why do you manufacture your products in the Ozarks?
Askinosie: I’ve seen lines out the door in New York, San Francisco, and I’m like, “Dang, that’s cool.” But that passes pretty quickly when I start thinking about the business side of it, which is the real estate costs. The real estate costs are just exorbitant. I don’t even see how they do it. We could go someplace else, but I’m so rooted here because I grew up here. I can list a whole bunch of reasons why it’s an awesome place, but for me, personally, I think it has to do with the roots that I have here, combined with the community we have. I’ve never visited a place that’s more compassionate and giving. When you combine that with the rooted nature that I feel from this place, I can’t imagine doing it someplace else.
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