In cacao we trust: Inside India’s experimental chocolate boom

Salted capers, bhut jolokia chillies, spicy South Indian idli milaga podi covered in rich, dark chocolate—the peak of innovation in Indian artisanal chocolate offers exotic and exciting fillings and additions, enticing the taste buds of curious chocolate lovers. Both small and big craft chocolate manufacturers are vying for the market for artisanal chocolates, as farm-to-bar and bean-to-bar makers witness significant growth. India's overall chocolate market was estimated at $3 billion in 2024. 

Devansh Ashar, partner at Pascati Foods India LLP—India's first USDA Organic and Fair-Trade certified bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer from Mumbai—attributes the sudden spurt to the buzz in the media and the curiosity it has raised among the public. “The readily available know-how of making chocolate (post-harvest practices on farms and at factory level) and the awareness it has created among consumers is spurring the growth,” he says.

The “emerging” industry in structure and intent has diversity not only in flavour but also in terms of origin, fermentation, ethical sourcing, branding, and storytelling. “From curiosity-driven brands, we have already moved to purpose-driven ones,” says Patricia Cosma, co-founder of The Indian Cacao & Craft Chocolate Festival, an initiative to bring the industry together.

Drawing in customers

In craft chocolate, an interesting backstory does the trick to captivate consumers. Brand relatability also gains significance as the consumer’s quest has shifted from what craft chocolate is to how it is made and why.

Only true love for the products and the taste of cacao makes consumers go the extra mile to find their favourite artisanal chocolates. It makes them come looking for the brand. This awareness and choice motivate brands to innovate, push for disruption in products, improve transparency in pricing, ethics in business, sourcing models and handle any kind of challenge to reach their loyal consumers. “This collective rise in confidence is the hallmark of the current times,” says Cosma.

In a chocolate bar, cacao is the hero, making up 95% of the ingredients and taste. The flavourings and additions account for only 5%. For any artisanal brand, the cacao—grown in mixed farming alongside arecanut, coconut, and nutmeg, among others—determines the brand differentiation, depending on the region and terrain.

“Our chocolate has very minimal additions; non-alkalised with no emulsifiers at all. Our consumers love the original bitterness and good mouth-feel of our Dakshina Karnataka cacao,” says Balasubrahmanya P.S., cacao farmer, co-founder and director, Anuttama Products. Anuttama doesn’t grow but sources cacao from different growers in the region, but ferments the beans and makes the chocolate in-house at Bettampady, a rural suburb in Karnataka. One of Anuttama’s consumers came down from Dubai to get her favourite Bella Tharai—a coconut milk and jaggery-sweetened bar—for herself and friends. 

“Raspberry Hibiscus, Orange Cinnamon Hazelnut, and Mango Dark are the most appreciated from Pascati,” says Ashar.

Shelf space and market accessibility

These artisanal chocolates are not on supermarket shelves. Harish Manoj Kumar, co-founder, Soklet, a tree-to-bar artisanal brand from Coimbatore, tells us why. “It is because we can’t afford the hefty fee that is charged. Most of us are farmers, and unlike other products on the shelves, our brands are non-commercial with a small percentage of strong yet niche consumers,” he explains. Soklet’s Filter Kaapi and Ginger Candy chocolates are the fast-movers on their website. Most brands rely on sales from their websites even for their best-sellers. Some also find shelf space in gourmet retail shops, cafés, and patisseries where health-conscious consumers shop for guilt-free, feel-good products.

Among other things, packaging is the most important medium to connect with the consumer and make an impression. “It is a visual identity. Customers eat with their eyes first,” Ashar explains. “All the detailing and storytelling sets a brand apart,” says Balasubrahmanian. “Good packaging isn’t about luxury; it’s about clarity, honesty, and cultural relevance. It should reflect the brand’s values and the product’s integrity, not mask it,” says Cosma. 

Recognition and value-adds

National and international awards set the benchmarks for brands to strive for. In 2017, Soklet won the ICE gold award for being the best cacao grower in India. For all their consistent work on the farm, that’s an exclusivity the brand wants to be identified with. Anuttama received the Global International Award at the Asia Pacific Awards for Spicy Tang, an infusion of chocolate with spices such as ginger and pepper. An Amararaja award for establishing livelihoods for rural women is another feather on Anuttama’s cap.

Collaborations bring visibility, while an entry into the global markets adds to the brand value, helping in the standardisation of processes and responsible scaling.

But real D2C reach happens through fairs and exhibitions. Brands look beyond showcasing at these events to meeting their consumers in person, educating them about the brand, building trust, and receiving validation. This is also where makers, suppliers, chefs, and media come close to having a real-time interaction.

Cacao farm residencies are also gaining a lot of interest. This helps chocolate lovers understand up close the history of the farm, the sustainable farming practices, fermentation innovation, workforce empowerment, logistics, carbon footprint, and marketing principles of their favourite brands.

The market is indeed growing, with artisanal chocolates finding use beyond traditional bars. In fact, the buzz at The Indian Cacao and Craft Chocolate Festival, held in Bengaluru in December, was all about business sustainability and expansion into non-traditional formats—spreads, drinking chocolates, and culinary applications.

Growing the ecosystem

The Indian market for craft chocolates is still young. Though many brands support each other at the back end with raw material supply and supply-chain networking, there is still fragmentation because brands work in isolation to fight the challenges at their ends. “Mass market availability should be facilitated,” says Kumar of Soklet. 

At the farm level, climate change is wreaking havoc with pest attacks and produce loss. Unseasonal and prolonged rains have increased the fruit rot and wilting disease rampancy, and organic cacao farmers require subsidies for manures, bio-fertilisers and pesticides. Carbon credits, expected to be established in India formally, could help these farmers in a big way.

At the business level, the craft chocolate industry still lacks government and policymakers’ recognition as a business vertical. Craft chocolate sits in a grey zone—between FMCG, luxury, and agriculture. It is important for the industry to join hands and work with a singularity of purpose to solve the issues. “The fragmentation is especially challenging since we have to ship by air and logistics costs keep increasing year on year,” says Pascati’s Ashar. To gain more recognition and create a long-lasting presence in the market, a structured approach to building an ecosystem with shared standards and industry-level data documentation is the need of the hour.

Cosma says support programmes should be organised to create a real difference in the industry. “It can range from easier small-batch manufacturing compliance, export facilitation, access to quality cacao research, and farmer-maker programmes.” The industry is reflecting its readiness with a slow but steady shift from competition to co-creation. “This, in my opinion, is the most promising sign of growth,” says Cosma.