Chocolate is a healthy food

Not many would know that the chocolate market in India reached a value of US$ 1.9 billion in 2020 with the country currently representing one of the world's fastest-growing markets for chocolates. And that looking forward, market research firm IMARC Group expects the market to grow at a CAGR of 11.3 per cent during 2021-2026. All this and more came to light in the report, India Chocolate Market: Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2021-2026. To contribute to this growth, entrepreneurs are coming up with interesting options. 

On World Chocolate Day, BW HOTELIER interacts with two such entrepreneurs to look at the business of chocolates.

Rushdah Humaira, Founder, RUSHK

By launching RUSHK in December 2020, Rushdah Humaira became Bengal’s first bean-to-bar chocolate maker. Bean-to-bar chocolates do not include chemicals, preservatives, or artificial flavours, unlike commercial chocolates. Humaira was already into chocolate-making, and on launching the brand, she says, “Chocolate is a healthy food. The lesser the ingredients, the purer it is. Our chocolate has no extra ingredient except nibs, sugar and natural inclusions.”

As pandemic halted momentum of most lives and businesses, Humaira shares, “RUSHK was launched in December 2020, and we are still trying to spread awareness about our brand. Pandemic does impact small businesses, especially ones in growing mode."

Despite all the setbacks, RUSHK has received a positive response from consumers. According to Humaira, “Chocolate is something consumers need to be educated about, so we are trying to do it gradually. Since it is food product, we have to maintain 24x7 hygiene, be it during the outbreak of coronavirus or in a normal situation.” The brand is planning to roll out new inclusions and products in future.

As part of her preparedness in case of a future lockdown, Humaira shares, “We have our production limited, and we would ensure nothing goes waste due to the third wave or if there's any lockdown. We would make sure that people involved in the process work only following the safety protocols.”

On what differentiates RUSHK from other chocolate brands, she elaborates, “In the process of chocolate making, chocolate makers are involved at every step. Our chocolates are more expensive than the mass-produced chocolates but the price ensures better quality made with superior ingredients and from the most transparent supply chain."

For entrepreneurs, she says, “No work is difficult if you have passion for doing it. Believe in your products and what you do.”

Vimal Sharma, Founder, Smoor 

Created by Vimal Sharma in March 2015, Smoor is a luxury chocolate brand that opened its first flagship store in August 2016 in Bangalore. With growing demand for healthy products due to the pandemic, the brand adapted to the trend by launching 'Smoor Wellness Barks' that aids in supporting the immune system. “These barks are made with 82 per cent dark chocolate and enriched with herbs like giloy, ashwagandha, tulsi  and amla. The response to this range has been encouraging,” he says.

Commenting on the impact of Covid on business, he shares, “Pre-pandemic, we were a brick-n-mortar anchored business. Once the pandemic set in and we realised the lockdowns and restrictions would be long-term, we quickly pivoted to being a digitally anchored company. We upped our presence on food aggregator platforms. Simultaneously, we reached out to our customers through community reach programmes. Our Direct to Customer (D2C) website was upgraded to offer better and faster browsing and a checkout experience.” 

He puts in that all these efforts ensured that in the first four months, Smoor achieved 80 per cent sales as compared to pre-pandemic ones. Since then, their digital channels have continued to grow aggressively and given us a 10x growth in a year’s time. Today, Smoor is an omnichannel company having a strong offline presence through its Signature Lounges and stores, a D2C website that grows in double digits month on month, as well as presence on key online aggregators and marketplaces like Swiggy, Zomato, Amazon, Flipkart & BigBasket.

Chef Avijit Ghosh, Chief Product Development and Operation Officer who comes with over 20 years of experience from the Oberoi and Leela Group, is leading them to create new flavour combinations, textures, and formats chocolates, cakes, and macarons. Talking about their USP, he shares, “While the obvious answer is the quality of our ingredients and the recipes we work hard on. However, in my opinion, the difference is brought by our team. We are a bunch of passionate people who are committed to the brand and its customer. This is what drives us every single day and helps us achieve more, do more and innovate more,” he says. 

For future entrepreneurs, Sharma says, “It's not going to be easy. You have to work hard every single day as if it's the day you have started your business. More importantly, build a team you can rely on and who will run your business like their own.”