A city-based startup helps train people in the art of making chocolates.
What’s it about? Cocoashala, a city-based startup, helps students become entrepreneurs to realise their chocolate-making dreams. Starting in 2016, the company has produced 118 chocolatiers globally, and 24 have their own brands. The duo behind this academy are Nitin and Poonam Chordia. Nitin is India’s first certified cacao and chocolate taster, and Poonam is India’s first certified woman chocolate taster.
- The course lasts three days and costs ₹80,000. It begins with the history of chocolate and includes handcrafting, tasting, and the economics of running a small business.
- It’s not just an academy but an incubation centre. It trains people on the financials and provides them with small grinders to begin immediately after they finish.
Accolades: For Johnson, a cacao farmer from Papua New Guinea, the training is just what he needed to begin his own chocolate brand. Among the prominent brands that came from Cocoashala is Mishti in New Jersey. Owned by Paul & Mike Craft Chocolates, they credit the training and consultation from Nitin for their success.