Meet the maker
Beaningful
About Beaningful
Nestled in the quiet highlands of Lithuania is Beaningful, a small bean-to-bar maker founded by Justinas. Their journey began in 2017, where he purchased a land ‘in the middle of nowhere’ as he likes to say. It was there that the vision for Beaningful took shape: a place where exceptional chocolate could be crafted with care, curiosity, and respect for every ingredient.
Beaningful began taking shape in 2020, at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the world slowing down, so did their plans, and what was expected to be a straightforward project became a two-year journey of sourcing equipment, building the brand, and overcoming countless challenges. In September 2022, Beaningful finally wrapped and sold its very first chocolate bars.
Justinas oversees every aspect of chocolate production – from roasting and refining to tempering and wrapping – while also handling the practical administration of running a small business. His wife, Marija, brings the brand’s story to life through thoughtful communication, sharing Beaningful’s values, experiments, and everyday moments with their growing community, while also helping throughout the production process. Their longtime friend Ieva, a professional chocolate taster and chef, leads chocolate tastings and contributes her expertise to product development. Together, they believe that great chocolate is about more than flavour; it is about craftsmanship, transparency, and staying true to the values that inspired Beaningful from the very beginning.
How they became makers
Since childhood, Justinas spent countless hours in his grandmother’s kitchen, where some of his fondest memories were shaped by food. That early passion led him to study culinary arts and begin his career as a chef. Although he worked for several respected local and international food brands, he often felt there was no place where his values and approach truly belonged.
Everything changed in 2013, when a friend returned from Mexico with a chocolate bar unlike anything he had ever tasted. Bursting with spices, floral notes, and remarkable complexity, it completely changed hid perception of what chocolate could be. In that moment, he realised he knew very little about it, and a whole new world opened up to him.
At the time, information about craft chocolate was scarce. After reaching out to several established chocolate makers, he was eventually introduced to the Chocolate Alchemy forum, where he built the foundation of his knowledge and began teaching himself the art and science of bean-to-bar chocolate making.
Soon after, Justinas bought his first melangeur and a 10-kilogram bag of Ecuadorian beans. What started as curiosity quickly became an obsession, setting him on the path of becoming a chocolate maker. Over the following years, while working for other chocolate companies, he witnessed too many compromises being made in pursuit of efficiency and profit, and so Justinas made a promise to himself that if he ever built his own chocolate brand, it would be founded on craftsmanship, transparency, and uncompromising quality.
For Justinas, making chocolate is more than a profession – it’s a commitment to doing things the right way, or not doing them at all.
Beaningful’s Sourcing
Beaningful sources their beans from multiple origins, including Peru and the Dominican Republic. They use a Giesen roaster, winnower, and stone melangeur from Herufek and a tempering unit from Selmi. They roast for 15-17 minutes a batch and conche for 3-4 days before tempering their bars.
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