[3] Awfully Chocolate was founded by Lyn Lee, who left her job as an attorney to start the business in 1998.

The store had an unusual minimalist design in dark brown and white, with the cakes not on display.

[4] It received early attention for not looking like a typical cake store and for its similarly minimalist-looking single product.

[4][6] By 2007 there were 17 franchise locations in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong.

[11] They were served in containers that resemble American Chinese take-out food boxes, with the Chinese character "hei" that means "dark".