Chocolate Brothers and Millet Engineer

Dear Reader,

When I started baking at 13, the biggest struggle was finding the right chocolate for decorations, making ganache, etc. Online shopping did not exist, and the neighbourhood grocer did not stock baking chocolates (with higher cocoa content and less or no sugar) due to a lack of demand.

My father would get them from a store in Karol Bagh, about 25 km from home. But today, online grocery stores can deliver any chocolate to your doorstep in 10 minutes. And they no longer have to be imported. India’s homegrown startups are crafting some of the world’s best chocolates from local cocoa beans and creating a global market for their products.

One of them is Kerala-based Rakkaudella. Brothers Kuriachan and Ouseppachan use Idukki’s single-origin cocoa beans to make couverture chocolates sold in India and Europe. They also empower farmers by offering higher-than-market rates for their cocoa.

Kuriachan told my colleague Chandhini that they started with a monthly production of 20 kg in 2021 and struggled to sell even that small amount. Today, they produce 3.5 tonnes (3,500 kgs) monthly and are set to expand. Their monthly revenue is Rs 52 lakh as they sell the chocolates at Rs1500 per kg. Chandhini has detailed Rakkaudella's success strategy. You can look it up here.

Last week, I spoke to a 25-year-old woman engineer who has already built a successful business of millet-based ready-to-cook foods. Palak Arora told me she began trying millet recipes during the lockdown to boost the nutritional profile of foods and increase immunity. 

She started her experiments in the kitchen and now sells 15 products including millet pasta, noodles, pancake mixes, flour, etc. under the Millium brand. Palak's Faridabad-based startup SatGuru Superfoods clocks monthly revenues of Rs8 lakh during festive seasons and she is now set to launch ready-to-eat millet foods as well. Isn’t it interesting?

My colleague Anu spoke to Kuriakose K Mathew and his wife Shybi who quit their jobs in the Gulf and returned home to Kottayam, Kerala. They began making areca palm leaf plates in 2015 and now export biodegradable plates, bowls, cutlery, footwear and boxes to the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and the Gulf under the Hanna Green Products brand. 

These entrepreneurial success stories from India’s hinterland reiterate that success does not depend on location or background. It is determined by passion, dedication and resilience.

Our Sunday story is about Tawang, the monastery above the clouds in Arunachal Pradesh. The 344-year-old monastery is breathtakingly beautiful and is a global tourist attraction.

Happy Reading!

Warmly,

Rashmi

Kerala brothers build global couverture chocolate business; produce 3500 kg monthly

How this 25-year-old engineer built a successful millet foods business

Kerala couple quits Gulf jobs to make areca palm leaf products; exports across the world

Tawang: The monastery above the clouds