Remember Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? In Hyderabad’s Banjara Hills, that fantastical vision has come to life. Chaitanya Muppala has brought the imagination of an immersive chocolate factory to reality with Manam Chocolate Karkhana, an Indian craft chocolate brand producing confections directly from cacao pods, in Hyderabad. Established in 2023, Manam Chocolates is celebrating its first anniversary with a prestigious feature in TIME’s annual list of the ‘World’s Greatest Places 2024’. To explore the world of Manam’s chocolatey magic, My Kolkata spoke with founder Chaitanya Muppala.
From sweets to chocolate
Manam Chocolates; (right) Manam Chocolate Karkhana in Hyderabad
Chaitanya Muppala’s family has been delighting taste buds with their popular gourmet sweet and snack brand, Almond House, for the past 30 years. Chaitanya joined the family business at 24, infusing it with fresh ideas. An alumnus of the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, and a graduate of the Stanford Seed Program from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, Chaitanya had a passion for advancing the food industry. “In 2018, I started studying the quality of Indian chocolate. I realised the difference between industrial and craft chocolate. There were hardly any craft chocolate players in the market. Moreover, the craft chocolates available in the market were mostly expensive. When talking about good quality chocolates, people hardly speak about the Indian brands. It is often international chocolates that are popular. That’s when I realised we needed a business model for fine-flavoured Indian craft chocolate,” recalled Muppala.
Farm to fermentary
Following this, in 2021, he incorporated Distinct Origins Private Limited to establish the West Godavari region as a place of origin from where potential global craft chocolate makers could import best cacao beans. To achieve this, he recruited over 100 cacao farmers to cultivate 1,500 acres of land. Then, Muppala embarked on building India’s largest fine-flavour cocoa fermentary in Tadikalapudi, Andhra Pradesh. His vision was to create a transparent and equitably traded source of fine-flavour cocoa from India.
“During this time, I realised that our Indian cacao has great potential. The chocolates we make here can be of international standard like Swiss and Belgian chocolates,” said Muppala.
At the fermentary, top-notch scientific fermentation and drying techniques are employed to extract the unique flavours of Indian cacao beans. “Our approach isn’t bean-to-bar like many chocolate makers in the country. We start much earlier, focusing on cultivating cacao pods with the desired characteristics,” explained Muppala.
Once processed, the beans are sent to Manam Chocolate Karkhana in Hyderabad, where they are crafted into exquisite chocolate confections by the in-house team of chocolate makers and chocolatiers. “Our chocolate makers push the boundaries of Indian cacao,” said Muppala, adding, “Manam Chocolate features a diverse collection, including single-farm series, single origin series, creative fermentation series, signature blends — and an array of exciting infusions and inclusions. We make chocolate for bakers and enthusiasts alike.”
Manam Chocolate Karkhana
At the factory, visitors can witness the entire process of chocolate production at the live chocolate-making section
Once the fermentary was set up, Muppala wanted to offer his customers a unique retail experience. “We did not want a regular retail outlet. We wanted our customers to understand how their chocolate is made. We aimed to educate people about Indian cacao and its potential. That’s why the Karkhana was built as an immersive chocolate factory spread over 10,000 sq ft, where visitors can come, learn, watch their chocolate being made, create their own flavours, and purchase,” said the Level-3 certified chocolate taster.
At the factory or karkhana, visitors can witness the entire process of chocolate production at the live chocolate-making section. The chocolate makers craft a range of signature couvertures, where raw cacao beans go through roasting, winnowing, grinding, refining, conching, tempering and moulding to become smooth, luscious chocolate.
Visitors can also see Manam’s chocolatiers artfully creating a world of unique confections, from indulgent bonbons, truffles to snackable barks and clusters, as well as Manam’s range of cakes and entremets. You can taste these delish treats too.
The chocolate lab at the karkhana is a delightful place where visitors can use their creativity to create flavours and make their own chocolate tablets. Visitors can choose from a range of flowing origin chocolates on tap and add their favourite toppings. You can even take home your creation.
Manam Cafe, also part of the factory, is an all-day casual dining space where chocolate meets specialty coffees made with signature blends from Indian coffee beans
In the Manam classroom, knowledge is imparted on fine-flavoured Indian cacao and craft chocolate through short knowledge programmes and workshops. Chocolate lovers can engage with other enthusiasts, experience tastings and enjoy more nuanced experiences with chocolate.
Manam Cafe, also part of the factory, is an all-day casual dining space where chocolate meets specialty coffees made with signature blends from Indian coffee beans! The cafe features cacao trees planted throughout to connect people with the origin of their favourite chocolate.
This immersive experience at the factory earned Manam Chocolate Karkhana a spot on TIME’s annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, highlighting 100 extraordinary destinations to visit and stay.
Recalling the day of the Karkhana’s opening last year, the founder said, “When we opened, people came from all over the city. Soon there was a traffic disruption in front of the road, and we had to close visitations and limit entry. It was such an overwhelming experience for us.”
One ingredients, countless possibilities
Chef Ruby Islam, head chef of Manam Chocolate
Manam Chocolate offers more than 300 products across 50 categories. These categories include the Manam Signature Tablet Collection, which features 43 types of chocolate bars, the Chocolate Maker’s Single Origin International Series, the Creative Fermentation Series, the Chocolate Maker’s Single Farm Series, and the Chocolate Maker’s Single Origin India Series, among other curated bars. There are dairy-free and sugar-free options as well.
The Chocolatier’s Indulgence Collection includes Manam’s signature items, like bonbons, truffles, fudge, brownies and more — all crafted with single-origin chocolates. The Chocolatier’s Snacking Collection offers treats like macarons, cookies, barks, spreads and more.
The Baker’s Collection features baking cacao nibs, chocolate baking tablets and pods, cacao butter baking tablets and pods, and baking cacao powder. There are also products for making drinking chocolate.
This is how chocolates are made in the factory
Speaking about the diverse range of products, Muppala said, “We are not only providing craft chocolates to consumers, but we are also looking forward to partnering with chefs to create unique confections. We have already collaborated with several cafes. One of our recent collaborations is with Burma Burma India, where we made chocolate bubble tea together.”
When quizzed what are the founder's favourite chocolates from his brand, he said, “The 100 per cent dark single-origin chocolate from West Godavari, Almond Praline Clusters and Pecan Caramel Entremet.”
What’s next for Manam?
Manam Chocolate is celebrating its one-year anniversary this August with a mission to revolutionise the Indian chocolate industry
In Telugu, manam means ‘we’ or ‘us’, and fittingly, Manam Chocolate is celebrating its one-year anniversary this August with a mission to revolutionise the Indian chocolate industry. Sharing plans for the brand, Chaitanya Muppala said, “We are planning to expand to other cities in India. While it won’t be the full-fledged karkhana, we will have retail stores in cities like Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai. Kolkata is not yet on the list, but we would love to start operations there too. We are also looking forward to working with chefs to create more confections.”
