Chocolate Startup “Smoor” To Open 100+ outlets

Gourmet chocolate startup Smoor is now opening a Rs. 50 crore Series round in the next six months and it also be introducing a one-of-a-kind experience centre in Bengaluru costing Rs 12 crore where visitors would be able to experience the craft of magnificent chocolate making.

The centre will be a 30,000 square feet facility which will bring the finest of the global practices for exquisite chocolate manufacturing. It will also permit customers to witness how chocolates are prepared.

Vimal Sharma, CEO of Smoor apprised that the Chocolates will also be produced for export at the centre. Sharma has over two decades of experience in the food industry. The startup is looking at entering West Asia next year.

Smoor is betting big on snacking of chocolates for its next phase of growth and will be unveiling an array of chocolates enriched with super foods and energy bars for the health conscious consumers. “There will be a health story associated with chocolates so we are also zeroing in on 70-85 per cent cocoa in our range,” added Sharma.

The company, which has been bootstrapped, is also planning to ramp up from the present 20 outlets to 130 in the coming five years. The outlets will include cafes, lounges and kiosks at malls and airports. While the sales of their gourmet chocolates took a beating since the announcement of the lockdowns in view of the ongoing pandemic, the e-commerce segment has seen more than 390% growth.

“We will be launching soon on Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket and Grofers,” informed Sharma.

The startup achieved single-digit growth in FY21 and is anticipating concluding FY22 with Rs. 100 crore in revenue. The startup is in competition with brands such as ITC’s Fabelle in the premium chocolates segment.

At present, as a Rs. 3,000 crore opportunities in India the luxury chocolates market is growing at 32% which is much higher than the 13% growth rate of the overall segment of chocolates.