Springfield Business Journal_2019-02-25

BUILDING • ON TIME PROJECTS • DELIVERING WITHIN BUDGET • QUALITY CRAFTMANSHIP • PROACTIVE COMMUNICATION 417.887.7134 | FRIGAINC.COM IL IN DREAMS with YOUR VISIONS BECOME A REALITY PARMELE LAW FIRM, P.C. SPRINGFIELD BUSINESS JOURNAL · 19 FEB. 25-MARCH 3, 2019 MADE IN THE OZARKS Patty Johnson is stripping away the tox- ins and focusing on simplicity with Reborn Co. ingredients, only using soy wax and es- sential oils. The scents, however, are all unique. Mag- ic Library channels the world of Harry Pot- ter. Road Trip is reminiscent of a journey on historic Route 66. She hand pours candles in her south Springfield shop, which sold $100,000 in 2017, and has worked with 15 businesses on signature-scent candles since buying the business in 2016. Sales for 2018 were undis- closed. SBJ: How is your business structured and what are the core products? Johnson: We do candles, wax melts and car, truck and room sprays. We were totally surprised by how successful the business was. It was just supposed to be a hobby in retirement. About 80 percent of our business is wholesale and (the rest) retail. We are in over 100 locations in four states. In Springfield, we are in over 35 stores. SBJ: What are the challenges and opportu- nities to manufacturing your candles in the Ozarks? Johnson: There doesn’t seem to be any- body in the Ozarks that makes candle jars, especially the top quality kind. That would probably be the biggest challenge outside of the growth. We’re lucky if we have one day off a week. We feel very blessed by the opportunity and how much people love our candles. Each year, we’ve been growing by 50 percent. SBJ: Were you inspired by another busi- ness or entrepreneur? Johnson: Johnny Morris. We literally are a block away from where he started selling out of his dad’s store. If Johnny Morris started selling fishing supplies out of his dad’s store, that is very inspir- ing to me. SBJ: What was the first thing you made? Johnson: I’m from an Italian family in St. Louis. Both sides of my family owned restaurants. I had a catering business in the 1990s. I just always loved cooking and creating recipes. The candle busi- ness, it also involves creating recipes. SBJ: Was there a moment when you knew this company was going to work? Johnson: We were about two months into the process and I noticed that there was a million candle companies out there. I told my husband we have to come up with something to make us unique. We decided that we would come up with a candle and call it Ozark Mountain and instead of opening one jar of oil and scenting our candle, we were literally going to use as many oils as we could to make it smell just like when you’re driv- ing in Branson. It really took off. At that point, I was hooked. After a career as a criminal defense lawyer, Shawn Askinosie made the sur- prising shift to chocolatier. The first bar he ever made was a single- origin dark chocolate with cocoa beans from Del Tambo, Ecuador. Today, the Commercial Street shop produces rough- ly 40 metric tons of chocolate annually. With a passion for quality and a heart for fair wages for cocoa bean farmers, Askinosie has launched a small chocolate shop in the Midwest to widespread ac- claim. SBJ: How is your business structured and what are the core products? Askinosie: We are a small-batch, bean- to-bar chocolate company sourcing all of our cocoa beans directly from farm- ers and sharing profits with them.  SBJ: What are the challenges to making chocolate in the Ozarks? Askinosie: Learn- ing how to make chocolate from the bean and manage cash flow without a big line of credit.  SBJ: What was your driving factor to start this business? Askinosie: Something I’ve said for years is, “It’s not about the chocolate; it’s about the chocolate.” This means that our school lunch program providing a meal for nearly 1,000 students per day in the Philippines or taking local stu- dents to Tanzania is not about choco- late. It’s about much more than that. On the other hand, it is completely and totally about the chocolate. We’re laser focused on making the best-tasting, direct-trade chocolate in the world. SBJ: Were you inspired by another busi- ness or entrepreneur? Askinosie: Yes, Jack Stack. Jack is the father of open-book management and has inspired me for decades. So while he did not directly inspire me to start the business, he did inspire a part of our business model that relates to open books and farmers. I was also inspired by the business model of Assumption Abbey, a Trappist monastery near Ava. They use the Rule of Benedict as a governing management document, and the monks inspire me to this day.  SBJ: What was the moment you decided to do this business? Askinosie: I knew that I would start a company when I was in the Amazon in 2005 studying how farmers influ- ence the flavor of chocolate by how they harvest beans.   Reborn Co. Askinosie Chocolate LLC Owners: Patty and Carlton Johnson and Adam Johnson Founded: 2012 Address: 420 W. Walnut Lawn St., Springfield, MO 65807 Phone: (417) 773-8090 Web: RebornCo.net Email: reborncandles@gmail.com    Product price range: $14-$30 Employees: 5 Owners: Shawn Askinosie and Lawren Askinosie  Founded: 2005  Address: 514 E. Commercial St., Springfield, MO 65803 Phone:  (417) 862-9900  Web: Askinosie.com  Email:  info@askinosie.com  2018 Revenue: $2 million  Product price range: $8.50-$78.50 Employees: 17 Johnson Askinosie WES HAMILTON WES HAMILTON Reborn Co. retails in over 35 stores in Springfield. All cocoa beans for Askinosie Chocolate are sourced directly from farmers.