On Springfield’s historic Commercial Street, a former criminal defense attorney walked away from a twenty-year legal career to build one of the most internationally celebrated chocolate companies in the country — and built a school-feeding program that has provided more than a million meals along the way, all without a single donation.
Askinosie Chocolate: From the Courtroom to the Cocoa Farm, One Bean-to-Bar at a Time
Shawn Askinosie spent nearly twenty years as a criminal defense lawyer, working high-profile cases across his career. But by his own account, he had reached a desperate point — he says he prayed for five years, “Dear God, please give me something else to do.” The search for new meaning led him through hobbies including baking with chocolate, and eventually to a trip to the Amazon in 2005, studying how farmers influence the flavor of chocolate through their harvesting methods. That was the moment, he says, he knew he would start his own company.
Bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturing was not the popular movement then that it is today — there were only a handful of people in the entire country doing it. Shawn sold his first chocolate bar in 2007, a single-origin dark chocolate made from cocoa beans sourced from Del Tambo, Ecuador. Today, his Commercial Street factory in Springfield produces roughly 40 metric tons of chocolate annually, with his daughter Lawren now serving as part owner and Chief Marketing Officer alongside him — the two even co-authored a book together, “Meaningful Work,” about finding purpose through ethical business.
What genuinely sets Askinosie Chocolate apart is its direct trade model. Shawn travels personally to source cocoa beans from farmer cooperatives in Ecuador, Tanzania, and the Philippines, opening the company’s books to farmers and translating the financials into their own languages so they can see exactly how the business performs. He pays cocoa farmers, on average, almost 50 percent more than they would receive without a direct buyer relationship, and shares company profits with them directly — a principle inspired by fellow Springfield entrepreneur Jack Stack’s philosophy of giving employees and partners a genuine stake in the outcome.
The company’s community impact extends well beyond fair pricing. During one of his sourcing trips to Davao, Philippines, Shawn learned about malnutrition affecting students at the village’s Malagos Elementary School. In response, Askinosie Chocolate launched a sustainable nutrition program selling Tableya, a traditional Filipino hot chocolate made from milled cocoa tablets — produced by the school’s own PTA and shipped to Springfield in the very same container that brings the cocoa beans over. One hundred percent of Tableya sales go directly toward providing meals for those students. Combined with similar programs in Tanzania, Askinosie Chocolate has provided more than a million school lunches to malnourished children, entirely without donations — funded purely through the sale of chocolate and Tableya.
Back home in Springfield, Shawn founded Chocolate University, a hands-on learning program that brings local students into the world of ethical business and chocolate production, including trips to visit the actual cocoa farms in Tanzania. His earlier Cocoa Honors program, launched in 2009, took a group of Central High School juniors through an eighteen-month bean-to-bar curriculum that culminated in a trip to Tenende, Tanzania, where the students worked alongside a local farmers’ cooperative and helped provide the village with its first freshwater well, tank, and windmill.
Why locals love them: A chocolate factory whose own founder describes its mission with a phrase that sounds almost like a riddle — “It’s not about the chocolate, it’s about the chocolate” — meaning that making genuinely excellent chocolate is precisely what funds school lunches, freshwater wells, and life-changing educational trips for students half a world away.
Why Local Businesses Matter to the Ozarks
Shawn Askinosie’s journey from a Springfield courtroom to direct-trade cocoa farms on four continents reflects something he himself describes as deeply rooted in the Ozarks: “Springfield is a giving community,” he says, “and I’ve never seen anything like it.” That same spirit of genuine community generosity defines what makes Ozarks small businesses worth supporting.
FAQ: Supporting Local Businesses in the Ozarks
Which local businesses should I support in the Ozarks?
Springfield’s Commercial Street is home to Askinosie Chocolate, an internationally celebrated bean-to-bar chocolate maker founded by former attorney Shawn Askinosie, recognized by Forbes as one of the 25 Best Small Companies in America.
Why are small businesses important to a community?
As Askinosie Chocolate demonstrates, a genuinely values-driven local business can fund school lunches and educational opportunities across the globe simply by doing its core work exceptionally well — proving that supporting local makers creates ripple effects far beyond the community itself.
Discover More Local Favorites in the Ozarks
Discover more amazing local businesses that make our community special — explore Ozark Snow. Support the heart of our community — see more neighborhood favorites featured here.
References:
Askinosie Chocolate. (n.d.). Shawn Askinosie Bio. https://askinosie.com/pages/shawn-askinosie-bio
Springfield Business Journal. (2019). Made in the Ozarks: Askinosie Chocolate LLC. https://sbj.net/stories/made-in-the-ozarks-askinosie-chocolate-llc,62692
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Askinosie Chocolate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Askinosie_Chocolate
