Askinosie Chocolate

Askinosie Chocolate is a small batch bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer based in Springfield, Missouri. Shawn Askinosie was recently named by O, The Oprah Magazine, as "One of 14 Guys Who Are Saving the World." They said, "Why we're fans: The philanthropically-minded chocolate entrepreneur aims to get students thinking about business ethics in a way that could have ripple effects for generations."[1] Askinosie, founder and chocolate maker at Askinosie Chocolate, spent nearly 20 years as a criminal defense attorney before he started making chocolate. In 2007 he sold his first chocolate bar and Askinosie Chocolate began.

Products

Askinosie Chocolate bars are crafted from 100% traceable, single-origin cocoa beans from four regions: San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador; Davao, Philippines; Cortes, Honduras; and Tenende, Tanzania.[2] Though specializing in dark chocolate bars, their product line includes dark milk chocolate, white chocolate made from scratch, all natural cocoa powder, roasted cocoa nibs and chocolate hazelnut spread. Their new CollaBARation line, features various craft, artisan food manufacturers’ products in their dark chocolate bars. It includes a black licorice bar in collaboration with Lakritsfabriken,[3] a coffee bar in collaboration with Intelligentsia Coffee & Tea, and a malted milk bar in collaboration with Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams.

Sustainable Nutrition Programs

Our Products of Change--Tableya and Premium Kyela Rice—fully support our Sustainable Lunch Programs in Mababu, Tanzania and Davao, Philippines. By providing access to market for the above products, created and harvested by the administration and PTA of the local schools, and returning 100% of the profits, we are currently providing lunch to all of the 1,800 students every day, many of whom struggle with malnourishment.

Tableya

During one of Shawn’s bean sourcing trips in Davao, Philippines, he learned of a nutrition problem at the village’s Malagos Elementary School, where many of the students suffer from malnutrition. In an effort to meet this need, Askinosie Chocolate began a sustainable nutrition program by selling Tableya, a traditional Filipino hot chocolate beverage made of roasted cocoa beans that are milled into tablets. The PTA of Malagos Elementary produced Tableya and shipped them to Springfield, MO in the same container the cocoa beans were shipped. 100% of the sales from Tableya went to provide meals for the students at Malagos. Each package provides 232 meals, which will be purchased from disaster relief organization, Convoy of Hope, and prepared by the school’s PTA.[4]

Kyela Rice

Harvested in the Kyela district of Tanzania by the PTA of the Mwaya Secondary School, this Premium Kyela White Medium Grain Rice is some of the best rice we’ve ever had. Just like our Tableya in Davao, Philippines, one hundred percent of the sales of this rice funds meals for the students at Mwaya, where they currently eat one meal per day. This rice has a story: each bag of rice that you buy provides enough money for 220 meals. This ensures a lunch every day for each student for one school year. That’s a total of 220,000 meals for 800 students.

In other words, the Askinosie Chocolate University Mwaya Secondary School Lunch Program operates using no donations. With the assistance of Convoy of Hope's Africa office, the Mwaya teachers and PTA packages the rice and ships it on our container of cocoa beans each year. The Mwaya PTA uses the funds we return to them monthly to source local food and prepare lunches daily for the students. Read more about our work at this school here. Imported and distributed directly by Askinosie Chocolate, the rice is shipped in the same container as our beans from Tanzania, with no additional shipping costs. We monitor height, weight and arm circumference of every student, along with attendance and graduation rates to measure the success of this program. We are in constant contact with the school administrators.

Chocolate University

Chocolate University[5] was created to benefit the children of the Askinosie Chocolate factory neighborhood. Nearby Drury University is a partner in this endeavor. It was formed with a vision to provide a learning experience to Boyd Elementary, Pipkin Middle School, and local high school students through the lens of artisan chocolate making. Shawn Askinosie was motivated to found this program because he wanted to reach out to the neighborhood children. The factory is located in the Historic Commercial Street District and is one block from the Missouri Hotel, Springfield’s largest homeless shelter, where too many children have to spend the night. Many of the kids attend nearby schools just blocks from the factory and near Drury University. The goals of the project are to inspire the children about (1) social entrepreneurship and (2) a world beyond their own. Askinosie Chocolate is the sole funding source of Chocolate University by donating 100% of their tour proceeds to the Community Foundation of the Ozarks.[6]

Tour Our Factory

Our award-winning chocolate tastes even better once you’ve visited our factory on Commercial Street in Springfield, MO. You will have the opportunity to walk through the factory, learn the bean-to-bar chocolate process, get a glimpse into our company's social impact, and of course, sample chocolate!

Our public tours every Tuesday at 3:30 p.m. - the duration of tour is approximately 45 minutes to an hour.

The charge for a tour is $5 per adult and $4 per student/child, all of which is donated to Chocolate University. Payment is requested upon arrival and reservations can be made on our website.

Due to the use of strong magnets, individuals with pacemakers or internal defibrillators are unable to attend. In addition, it is imperative for all children under the age of 5 to be carried by an adult or in a stroller.

Awards and features

One of Forbes' 25 "Best Small Businesses in America", 2016

Winner of the NASFT Silver sofi 2009, 2010, 2011 [7]

London Academy of Chocolate's 2011 Best Bean to Bar Dark Chocolate Gold and Silver WInner, Best Bean to Bar Milk Chocolate Silver Winner, and Best Packaging Gold Winner [8]

Named one of the best chocolates of the south by Southern Living Magazine (Feb. 2012)[9]

Sipping Chocolate featured in Wall Street Journal (Feb. 2012)[10]

Named one of the best artisan American-made chocolates by Bon Appetit (Mar. 2012)[11]

Featured on the cover of Specialty Food Magazine (Mar. 2012)[12]

Featured in Oprah Magazine (Feb. 2011) [1]

See also

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 "Home page - Askinosie Chocolate".
  2. ↑ Stone, Brad (March 27, 2009). "Forging a Hot Link to the Farmer Who Grows the Food.". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-11.
  3. ↑ "Lakritsfabriken i Ramlösa". Lakritsfabriken i Ramlösa.
  4. ↑ Turnage, Neal (June 6, 2009).Of the Philippines and Cocoa Beans Four Seasons Magazine. Retrieved 2009-11-2.
  5. ↑ "Chocolate University".
  6. ↑ "Community Foundation of the Ozarks - Connecting Passion to Purpose in the Ozarks since 1973".
  7. ↑ http://www.specialtyfood.com/do/focused/SofiAwards. Retrieved 2009-8-11.
  8. ↑ "Academy of Chocolate". Academy of Chocolate.
  9. ↑ "Home page - Askinosie Chocolate" (PDF).
  10. ↑ "Serious Hot Chocolate". WSJ. 25 February 2012.
  11. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-03-18. Retrieved 2012-03-22.
  12. ↑ "Trends".

External links

  1. Askinosie Chocolate Homepage.
  2. Silva, Jill Wendholt (February 12, 2008). Kansas City Star. "Passing the bar: Former criminal defense lawyer turns artisan chocolate maker". Retrieved 2009-8-11.
  3. Shawn Askinosie on Bloomberg Venture. Retrieved 2009-8-11.
  4. Askinosie San Jose Del Tambo Dark Chocolate Nibble Bar. Review
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