Entrepreneur Ella Livingston received the answer to her prayers after her business soared overnight as a result of food critic Keith Lee’s exposure.

Livingston, founder of Cocoa Asante, produces and sells high-quality chocolate products “ethically sourced from Ghana.” Inspired by her family’s long history as cocoa farmers, she wishes to carry on their legacy.

 

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The company website mentions it is committed to controlling production from the cocoa bean to the chocolate bar in an effort to invest in the community that helps grow the cocoa beans. While working toward that ultimate goal, Cocoa Asante will continue to ethically source its chocolate. The West African countries of primarily Ghana and the Ivory Coast are where 70% of the world’s cocoa is produced, according to the Food Empowerment Project.

Livingston received rave reviews on Lee’s TikTok platform, which has 11.2 million followers, as of this writing. Following the exposure and increase in traction, the Ghanaian-American revealed that all Cocoa Asante products sold out within 33 minutes. Shortly after, she opened up the website to allow eager customers to place pre-orders.

“This is why I do what I do,” Keith Lee expressed on TikTok.

According to Livingston, Cocoa Asante’s revenue increased exponentially. Based on the company’s analytics, it earned $194.50 on March 16. Analytics also showed that sales rose to $997.85 a day later. Livingston revealed that Lee’s exposure resulted in the company earning $24,719 by March 18.

Livingston said she is now able to retire from her job as a teacher so she can focus on her business full-time.

“Our lives are forever changed,” Livingston explained. “Cocoa Asante is forever changed. Because we got so many orders, I now will be going in to turn in my resignation because I no longer have to work part-time. I can now afford to pay myself something so that I don’t have to work part-time to bring in income for my home. So Keith you have officially retired me from being a teacher.”

@cocoaasante These results are unbelievable! Thank you everyone for the support!! @keith_lee125 #cocoaasante ♬ original sound – Cocoa Asante