Last edited 3:08 p.m., Nov. 8, 2011The decision to leave behind 20 years as a successful criminal defense attorney to become Springfield's Willy Wonka began with a simple concept - stress management.
Shawn Askinosie, founder of the four-year-old Askinosie Chocolate, hit a mid-life crisis of sorts following back-to-back murder trials.
"Trials are just so stressful," he said. "I said to myself, '"I want to do something different.'"
And when the lightbulb flickered, an idea blossomed into a Commercial Street operation that ships its chocolate globally, including a recent move allowing the company to export to the rapidly expanding Chinese market.
Askinosie was the featured guest for Springfield Business Journal's monthly
12 People You Need to Know series at Hilton Garden Inn on Nov. 8, the same day his company debuted its second chocolate bar in the CollaBARation line, this time a partnership with Chicago-based Intelligentsia Coffee.
Askinosie Chocolate, which ships roughly 25 metric tons of chocolate per year with just eight full-time employees, has a variety of partnerships both domestic and international, which Askinosie notes as key to operating a successful small-batch chocolate factory.
Springfield Business Journal's media partner KSPR's Community Close-Up with Shawn Askinosie
"If you have someone like Marisol (International) helping you, it's really not that much different than shipping to San Francisco," he said, pointing to the Springfield-based global logistics company as Askinosie Chocolate's primary partner for inbound materials.
In late October, the company shipped a pallet of chocolate to distributor Shanghai Eagle Import & Export Co. Ltd. at the same time a trade delegation led by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon closed on more than $4 billion in trade agreements with the country.
For Askinosie Chocolate - which worked with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce and the Missouri Department of Economic Development to foster the agreement - the deal was a labor of love.
"It's a huge market, obviously," Askinosie said, pointing to the country's population of roughly 1.3 billion, according to 2010 census data. "We've been trying to get there for three years."
For Askinosie Chocolate, it was a matter of finding the right partner, as scams can be prevalent when dealing overseas, he said.
"Shanghai is fast becoming the food and fashion capital of the world," Askinosie said. "They have the money to buy nice things, and that includes chocolate."
Askinosie's company also extends partnerships to the cocoa farmers themselves in places such as Tanzania and Ecuador, working a profit-sharing agreement Askinosie noted as unique to the industry.
"I wanted to take the idea of profit sharing up one notch to the suppliers," he said, adding that he practices Jack Stack's open-book financial management technique both within his company and with suppliers.
On a global scale, Askinosie Chocolate's biggest customer is a distributor in Sweden, while at home, the Abbey of Gethsemani monastery in Kentucky and Dogfish Head Brewery in Delaware are the company's top buyers. More than 300 stores, including Whole Foods Market and myriad food artisan shops, carry the company's products in the states.
Askinosie, whose company has experienced revenue growth the past two years, said a spirit of cooperation is the best medicine in a down market.
"We need confidence in our economy, and we need jobs," he said. "In the meantime, we must help each other."
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