In this episode, Megan Rooney, Program Development Manager at SFA, chats with Shawn Askinosie, the visionary founder & CEO of Askinosie Chocolate, about being a bean-to-bar chocolate trailblazer, making a positive impact on the lives of cocoa farmers worldwide, his upcoming Chocolate University trip to Tanzania, and how SFA was pivotal in connecting him with buyers.
it s really good. part of what makes your company unique the way it shares the profits with the people that grow your chocolate. that would include, there s a farmer in tanzania that heads up female farmers how does it work? the payback? sure. well, we practice what is called direct trade. it s unique among other american craft chocolate makers. so not only do we travel to the cocoa bean origins and meet with farmers. we work with them on post harvest techniques. we teach them even more about cocoa. we work with small farmer groups. we profit share with them. so we actually bring cash in addition we translate our financial statements and share the profits with them. can you tell me about chocolate university? sign me up. what is it about? sure. chocolate university is actually