When you think of India and chocolate, chances are you picture mass-produced, sugar-heavy bars. But that’s changing, thanks to one bold brand that’s leading the country’s craft chocolate movement: Manam Chocolate. Born in Hyderabad, Manam is not just a chocolate brand. It’s a journey that begins in the soil, travels through the hands of cacao farmers, and ends in a beautifully crafted bar, bonbon, or scoop of gelato. And now, for the first time ever, Manam has opened its doors in Delhi, bringing its unique approach to chocolate to the capital.
The Manam Chocolates Delhi Store Is A New Home For Craft Chocolate Lovers
Tucked in one of Delhi’s vibrant neighbourhoods, the new Manam store is more than just a place to buy chocolate. From fresh pastries made only for Delhi to a full-scale chocolate beverage bar with over 30 creative drinks like hot chocolates (that I personally vouch for), iced shakes, plant-based blends, and more, there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re seeking indulgence, a thoughtful gift, or simply a space to explore Indian cacao, the Delhi store promises to be a delicious destination.
But what truly sets it apart? Traceability. Each bar bears a QR code that takes you on a journey to the farm it came from, down to the date of harvest and the farmer’s name. As Chaitanya Chitta, Manam’s CEO and co-founder, puts it, “This is world-class, global standard chocolate—but it’s grown in India, made in India, and made for Indians… and the world.”
To learn more about this milestone and the journey behind it, I had the chance to sit down with Chaitanya Chinni, the driving force behind Manam.
A Conversation with Chaitanya Muppala
1. What Inspired You To Start Manam Chocolate And Dive Into Craft Chocolate In A Market Ruled By Industrial Giants?
“I always say this: you don’t wake up and say, ‘Look, I’m going to start a craft chocolate brand today.’ You wake up and you do some work, and that work leads to something, and then you do some more work, and it leads to something else, and you know, it accrues and finds direction.” Their initial idea was simple: do something with chocolate. But what set Manam apart from the start was a refusal to play it safe. “We quickly realised that anybody who’s doing anything in chocolate is buying chocolate… which didn’t seem like a differentiated enough venture to get into,” he says. “We built this very large fermentory and a lot of technology that’s unique and proprietary to us. All of this took five years.”
2. You Invested In A Long Journey Of Research And Investment. What Kept You Going Through Those Five Years?
“You have to be foolish.” He laughs, but there’s truth in that lighthearted answer. “It’s not five years in time alone, right? It’s a tremendous amount of money and resources. And before you know it, you’ve spent so much time and put so much money in it that you have to make it work.” He admits the project grew larger than he could have imagined, but walking away was never an option. “If we were people who would have said, ‘No, we don’t need to do this,’ then we wouldn’t have done it to begin with.”
3. Manam Is Often Credited With Leading India’s Craft Chocolate Movement. Would You Say You’ve Created A New Category?
“We’re most definitely the largest in the country… but a leader is not somebody who has the most number of stores or the largest size of business, which we do, but a leader is somebody who sets standards for the rest of the industry.” He adds, “That’s what we are trying to do, interpret the category in a complex and interesting enough way that makes a mark for Indian chocolate.”
4. Unlike Most Chocolate Brands, Manam Starts With The Fruit, Not Just The Bean. Why Is This Significant?
“Everybody in the world buys dried beans. We start from fruit.” Manam built one of the world’s largest fine flavour cacao fermentories in Andhra Pradesh. And for the first time, India has begun exporting cacao to a major Swiss chocolate brand to make a Single Origin India bar. But the journey from fruit to chocolate is an intricate one. Chaitanya says, “You take that bean, you roast it, crack it, and winnow it. You make chocolate through various techniques to express what that bean has to offer. That’s what craft chocolate is.”
5. Why Hasn’t Anyone Else In India Attempted This “Fruit To Chocolate” Model?
“It’s very challenging. You know, a lot of people ask, ‘Where did you get this idea from?’ As if our only potential as Indians is to go somewhere and see someone else do it in some other country and copy or mimic it. That’s not the case with this project.”
Manam is proof that innovation doesn’t have to be borrowed. It can be built right here, from the ground up. He says, “We’re not hipsters from Bandra going to a village and taking photos with farmers. We’re building a sizeable business that relies on innovation at the supply chain level and innovation in the business model.”
6. What Was It Like Working With Cacao Farmers In Andhra Pradesh?
“It was very challenging for the first two or three years. Nobody takes a boy from the city seriously.” But with time, persistence, and a sustainable economic model, things began to shift. “Now our farmer network is our strength, but it wasn’t easy to begin with… most consumer businesses don’t build back into the supply chain or the agri side of things,” he added.
7. Can You Walk Us Through A Day At Your Fermentery?
“During harvest season, we process about 30,000 to 40,000 fruits a day. Farmers notify us, we send trucks, the fruit is quality-checked and brought in, and women on our team break open the pods manually.” Then begins a complex 6–8 day fermentation process, followed by slow, careful drying and cut tests to ensure top quality. Chaitanya revealed, “We smell these beans, taste them, study their colour… everything is sensorial. The drying itself takes 9–14 days, and ageing the beans can take up to six months before we even start making chocolate.”
8. Do You Think Terroir Plays A Role In Chocolate As It Does In Wine?
Absolutely it does and that’s the whole basis of what we’re trying to do. The soil, genetics, provenance, origin, and terroir make a huge difference in what that bean can offer. Now you can take that bean and you can make brown paste, or you can take that bean and delicately craft it into a very complex chocolate that reflects the terroir. And the latter is our approach.
9. What Has Been The Most Surprising Hit Product At Your Hyderabad Flagship?
“The biggest surprise is the 100% dark… I didn’t think so many people were after finding a good 100% dark.” He’s even managed to convert dark chocolate sceptics with Manam. “Our association with dark chocolate has been poor because it’s always been poor-quality industrial chocolate. But now, somebody who would be repulsed by 70% dark is eating 100% dark with no sugar from us.”
10. As Manam Comes To Delhi, What Can People Expect From This Experiential Space That Is Completely New And Not Available In Hyderabad?
“We’ve brought the beverage bar to the Delhi store, which isn’t in Hyderabad, as part of the experience.” Expect 30+ signature beverages (hot, cold, shakes, plant-based), alongside new cakes and pastries made just for the capital. “It’s the experience—how the whole store is laid out and how people can immerse themselves in chocolate for self-indulgence, but also for gifting when the season is upon us.”
11. Will Surprise Even Seasoned Chocolate Lovers At The Delhi Store?
“I think for them it’s going to be the connection to the farmers.” Each bar at Manam comes with a QR code that takes you to the exact farm where the cacao was grown. “It tells you the date the cacao was harvested and walks you through that journey from fruit to tablet… this is world-class, global-standard chocolate, but it’s grown in India, it’s made in India, and it’s made for Indians—but also for the world.”
12. What’s Your Current Favourite Manam Product?
“I have a rotating favourite, but right now what I’ve really been sneaking indulgence of is the 60% dark chocolate gelato topped with caramelised cacao nibs and sea salt. It’s really good.”
As Chaitanya says, “We start much before the bean… with soil, genetics, and farming practices. And we go much beyond the bar—into cake, ice cream, viennoiserie, and beverages.” Manam Chocolate is a movement that celebrates the soul of chocolate, the hands that grow it, and the craft that turns it into joy.
Delhi, you’re in for something extraordinary!
Cover Image Courtesy: Supplied
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