Fine chocolate boom has idli-grinder to thank

A power outage on a sweltering summer afternoon left the residents of Chennai’s Royapettah area fuming. But 39-year-old L Nitin Chordia’s concern was only about keeping his stone-based wet grinders running for the next 24 hours.

“These machines are helping India achieve a revolution in the global bean-to-bar chocolate-making industry,” says Chordia, pointing to the white table-top wet-grinders in his living room, which have been running non-stop for 24 hours.

Chordia and his wife Poonam operate Cocoatrait, an initiative aimed at promoting knowledge, production and consumption of fine chocolates in India. The couple also holds the record for being India’s first chocolate tasters to be certified by the International Institute of Chocolate and Cacao Tasting (IICCT), London.

“This is the most important process — when the cocoa brings out a natural flavour on its own without any external intervention,” says Chordia, adding that like wine, even fine-flavoured cocoa beans will also help the chocolate maker deliver natural flavours without any need for additives.

Unlike industrially-made premium chocolates, bean-to-bar chocolates, also known as ‘Craft’, or ‘Fine’ chocolates, are traditionally made in home kitchens or small confectioneries. They are made in small quantities using fine-flavoured cocoa beans, and are designed to deliver natural-flavoured chocolates. While they may or may not have natural ingredients, they do not contain any artificial ingredients, flavours or colours.

India’s greatest contribution to the evolution and growth of the bean-to-bar industry across the globe is the humble stone-based idli-dosa batter grinder, better known as the ‘Chocolate Melangeur’, or ‘Refiner’ among chocolate makers.

Niche segment

Although India accounts for only 1 per cent of global cocoa production, the country is poised to become a leader in the bean-to-bar chocolate-making industry, thanks to low-cost equipment and infrastructure, technical know-how and availability of raw materials, says Chordia.

“It takes more than half a million rupees to set up a complete bean-to-bar unit in India with a capacity to produce 100 kg per week, the cheapest anywhere in the world,” Nitin claims. The cost covers licensing, packaging, equipment, infrastructure and training expenses. “Even globally, there is a lateral shift across South America and Africa where cocoa farmers are increasingly forward integrating into becoming chocolate manufacturers,” says Chordia, adding that India, as an early-mover, is better-positioned to leverage this phenomenon.

Derived from Theobroma cacao trees, cocoa beans are found in abundance in the tropical regions of South America and Africa which accounts for 90 per cent of the global production. In India, only the southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu currently grow cocoa.

Traditionally, Indian cocoa do not fetch any premium but with the growth of bean to bar chocolate, demand and remuneration for fine flavoured beans are growing exponentially, Nitin says.

The bean-to-bar chocolate market in India is estimated to produce two lakh bars this year, and is likely to grow by more than 100 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The market size is expected to be worth ₹25 crore by 2022, or even earlier.

According to the India Chocolate Market Outlook — 2023, by Bonafide Research, the premium chocolate market in India was worth ₹2,754 crore at the end of FY17. The market has grown at a CAGR of over 28 per cent in the last five years.

“The expansion in the premium chocolate segment and awareness of pure foods will logically drive growth to the bean-to-bar chocolate business,” asserts Chordia.

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