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Askinosie Chocolate - The Farmers

WE TAKE THE MIDDLE OUT OF MIDDLEMAN... CONNECTING FARMERS WITH THE PEOPLE WHO LOVE OUR CHOCOLATE.
A Stake in the Outcome is a business philosophy founded by Jack Stack. Originally intended for employees in the workplace, we have taken Stake in the Outcome "upstream" to farmers linking quality, price and profit share. I personally travel to Ecuador and Mexico to meet with farmers and to share 10% of the net profits from the chocolate that was made with beans grown on their farms. We pay higher than Fair Trade prices, but that in itself is simply not enough. A Stake in the Outcome takes it a step further to guarantee quality and taste. --Shawn Askinosie, Founder & Chocolate Maker

Shawn’s Trip to Ecuador
-> See the full press release
-> See more pictures from this trip


"Shawn is the first chocolate maker I know of in the past 20 years who has actually followed through on such a personal commitment he made to the farmers who supply his beans." –Clay Gordon, editor and publisher of Discover Chocolate

Working directly with farmers is one of our guiding principles. We will not buy beans unless we have been there to meet the farmers first. This is a guiding principle for three reasons:
(1) We want to make great chocolate and we need to influence the taste of the cocoa beans to do this, so we go to great lengths to work with and teach farmers.
(2) Traceability: we want to be able to trace our beans and the chocolate so you can know the story behind the story and not just marketing hype about the origin of the bean.
(3) Most importantly, we share profits with our farmers in a program called a Stake in the Outcome, and you can’t share profits with people you don’t know.
Shawn’s Trip to Mexico
-> See the full press release
-> See more pictures from this trip