Editor's note: This interview is a companion piece to the report "How India’s Craft Chocolate Makers Are Building a Category" published on Slurrp. Read it here.
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AS A BRAND operating at the premium end of India’s chocolate market, Smoor offers a useful lens on the category’s evolution—from confectionery to craft, and from product to experience. For founder and CEO Vimal Sharma, the shift was not only about improving quality, but about building a market that did not yet fully exist. In this edited conversation, he begins with the moment he realised India’s appetite for premium chocolate was more than a niche.
What made you take the premium chocolate category seriously in India? Was there a specific trigger?
What stood out early on was the gap between what chocolate could be and how it was perceived in India. It was largely treated as confectionery, not as a crafted product.
The inflection point came from consumer response. Once people experienced high-quality cou-verture, there was clear curiosity and appreciation. That signalled that this wasn’t a niche—it was an underdeveloped category with latent demand. Along with this craft-led approach the segue into education in the form of experience materialised quite strongly.
What were the biggest practical challenges when building this category?
The challenges are both operational and perceptual.
On the supply side, sourcing high-quality cacao and maintaining consistency—especially in Indian climate conditions—required significant investment in process and infrastructure. On the demand side, the bigger hurdle was consumer understanding, especially helping people understand why true couverture is different and why it commands a premium.
Bridging the gap between cost and perceived value was an ongoing challenge. Craft chocolate carries a higher price because of inputs and process, but early on, that required sustained education and consistency in positioning, although over time that conversation has become easier due to awareness.
How has customer demand evolved over time?
Early growth was driven almost entirely by awareness-building. Consumers had to be introduced to the idea that chocolate could have nuance and depth.
That has shifted. Today’s consumer is more exposed and more willing to engage with origin, ingredients, and process. There is an element of experimentation too. The conversation has moved from “what is premium chocolate?” to “what makes this chocolate distinct?”—a sign that the category is maturing beyond basic education.
How have the technical characteristics of Indian cacao shaped your approach?
Indian cacao brings variability—often more fruit-forward, less uniform—but also more expressive flavour profiles.
Instead of standardising it to match imported chocolate, the approach has been to build around those inherent characteristics. This makes process control critical, particularly in bean-to-bar production, which also allows for control over how flavours are developed.
From a commercial standpoint, it also requires reframing quality—not as similarity to imported products, but as integrity of sourcing, process, and flavour.
What would enable you to expand further into Indian-origin chocolate? What are the constraints?
The primary constraint is consistency at scale.
Craft chocolate is highly sensitive to farming and post-harvest variables, so scaling Indian-origin cacao requires a more reliable ecosystem—stronger farmer relationships, better processing infrastructure, and long-term investment, and a whole lot of patience.
The opportunity exists, but expansion is gradual rather than immediate, due to the extraordinary standards brands should be built on.
What do F&B operators or buyers most misunderstand about this category?
The biggest misconception is that premium chocolate is defined by price or a more luxurious finish.
In practice, the difference lies in how the product behaves across applications. True couverture performs differently in desserts, beverages, and retail formats, which has direct implications for consistency and final output.
Understanding that functional difference is key—because it impacts not just the ingredient, but the overall experience being delivered.
What this means for operators
The premium chocolate category in India is no longer constrained by awareness—it is con-strained by execution. For operators, the decision is less about whether the category has demand, and more about whether supply consistency, pricing strategy, and application knowledge are aligned to support it.
Nikhil Merchant is a Mumbai-based F&B consultant, lifestyle and luxury writer, and goes by Nonchalant Gourmand, where he fuses culinary storytelling with cocktail craft. His work spans national and international publications, and he also consults on restaurant menus, beverage programs, and concept design at his company Elevenses Hospitality. He can be found on Insta-gram @nonchalantgourmand.