Bean to boom

India's homegrown artisanal chocolate revolution is gaining ground

- ABHILASHA OJHA

When Manam Chocolate opened its boutique café and retail store in New Delhi's Eldeco Centre two weeks ago, it used it as an opportunity to bring customers closer to the bean-to-bar process. Through large screens inside the store, it took visitors straight to the farms of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, where they could watch the farmers harvest, ferment and dry cacao.

The beans, cultivated over 3,000 acres of cacao farms by over 150 farmers, are the ones used to craft Manam's 300-plus products across 50 categories - from rich chocolate beverages to savoury bites.

This immersive approach to chocolate-making is emblematic of a quiet but potent transformation in India's chocolate market. Indian craft chocolate brands are entering a sweet spot, powered by a blend of indigenous cacao cultivation, premiumisation, sustainable practices, and consumer appetite for indulgent, health-conscious, and experiential products.

The numbers are telling. Manam, which launched in 2021 with an investment of just over ₹80 lakh, is now clocking a 125 per cent year-on-year growth rate - a trend founder Chaitanya Muppala expects will continue for at least the next three years. "Our endeavour will be to focus on the Delhi-National Capital Region for the next 18-24 months," he says. "We are keen to expand to key cities like Mumbai and Bengaluru over the next two to three years."

The company, which has a 10,000 sq ft retail store and a chocolate factory in Hyderabad, plans to replicate the experience-led concept in other metros, alongside smaller retail formats and travel retail presence at airports.