What if a bite of chocolate was work?

Read the story about home-made chocolates...

She is a one woman army, but is going great guns! Meet Madhumita Upadhyay from Kolkata, a lady chocoletier, who sells exquisite handmade chocolates. Leaving her job as a communications specialist, Upadhyay ventured into the realm of entrepreneurship solely to follow her passion. From a home based entity, she now has an outlet in Spencers Retail, a chain of retail stores headquartered in Kolkata, with presence in over 35 cities in India.

She reveals hers journey to Baishali Mukherjee....

The change of course

My startup, Mad Chocolates, begins and ends with chocolate. It all started on 31st January, 2015 and has since been an interesting journey. While working as a communication specialist, I randomly went for a professional baking course and did a chocolate making class which was a complimentary addition with the main curriculum. Came back and made a batch of chocolates and posted the pictures on FB. One friend was extremely impressed and wanted to taste them. I sent a box to her and she was very happy.  It was a big moment for me as she is a connoisseur of gourmet chocolates.  She also asked me to prepare 50 boxes for her son's birthday which was just four days away. I said no because I was still a green horn.  But destiny had a different story in store. My friend was importunate and I finally gave in. My first delivery happened on 31st January 2015. Before I knew my entrepreneurial journey got initiated and within days everything started falling in place.

Making passion profession

I always had the passion for baking but never knew that I will turn into a chocolatier. Everyone in my family is a foodie and great cooks but chocolate? No! However, once I started my cousin sister, uncle and my elder brother have been my constant source of inspiration.

Madhumita, with her display of delicacies

I started with a very low capital but gradually the venture needed around Rs 4 lakh to get everything going. My brother and cousin sister helped me with the funding as they saw my passion and hard work and wanted the venture to be a success. At present I have only one outlet and am a one woman army, but my dream is to make it big and with my passion and hard work will surely reach there soon. My USP is the quantity which is endorsed by all of my customers and I intend to make my quality build my brand.

Crafting a niche

Today everyone is looking for something different and I offer which hardly anyone in Kolkata does and that too at a reasonable rate and with good quality. I also have a huge range to choose with nearly 50 products in my treasure. Anyone who has tasted my product has become my loyal customer and has come back over and over again.

The journey gets more and more interesting with wide customer bases that are visibly happy with my goodies. From a two year old saying ‘Good Good’ with a thumps up sign to a lady from Bangladesh in tears of joy on hearing my journey as a woman entrepreneur, my life gets enriched with every passing day, making me happy and confident while imbibing the zeal to do it better.

The soul talk

Women have curtailed their dreams and desires for long and it’s time for us to do whatever we want to and go for it with full dedication and sincerity. Once we start walking we will get people out there to help us. I am the living example of witnessing this.  It was with undeterred support of people that I have reached where I am today. There will be times when you will feel like quitting but don't give up, stay put and things will change the way you want it!

How does the idea of a chocolate business resonate with you? Please share your views.