IFEA Editorial Team
Krina Desai enjoyed making confectionery using chocolates. “While I was a school girl I did it for fun in Ahmedabad. During a visit to Mumbai I did join classes to hone my skills. But even in 2001 when I started selling some of the chocolates I made I did not know it would grow into a lucrative business’’. Today, Desai owns a firm called Devu’s Homemade Chocolates with her own registered workshop.
The popularity of chocolates is on an ascendancy, she says, “firstly, giving chocolates has become fashionable compared to traditional gifts, it makes a trendy statement. Secondly, chocolates have a longer shelf life than most Indian sweets – they travel better than most `mithais’ and keep for six months or even a year if kept in cool conditions’’. This, she says, has resulted in a greater demand for chocolates as a gift. “However, with the increasing demand for chocolates, the competition has multiplied even faster. I have maintained high standards of quality, service and hygiene, my USPs for customers’’, she explains.
Devu’s is specially known for its chocolates made using fresh seasonal fruits. They also make chocolates with nuts and dry fruits. ‘’These days, the awareness of the health benefits of chocolate also attracts people to buying chocolate based confectionery. For children, I make chocolates that have a very thin film of chocolate over dates and nuts. This is a good way to encourage them to have these healthy foods and reduces their intake of sugar and chocolate which is believed to make them hyper-active’’, Desai explains. She says that chocolates have become popular for almost every occasion – weddings, parties, birthday treats, baby showers, Diwali – and most of all for corporate gifting.
‘’I have large orders from the automobile dealerships in Ahmedabad, pharma companies and corporate offices’’, she says, adding, ‘’ Devu’s has been an integral part of boosting my self-esteem and confidence’’.
During the Lockdown and the Second Wave, she says she started experimenting with baked goods. “I experimented with different ingredients daily, till I was satisfied with the products. I sent them to friends and family for feedback. Now, I have added focaccia, brownies and muffins to my product range, with Yaani’s as the brand’’.
Krina also uses social media handles to promote her products. `Most of my business is the result of organic growth through word-of-mouth publicity by my loyal clients, but `I would like to supply to cafes and other eateries too in the future’’, she concludes.
About the Author
Krina Desai has been selling her homemade chocolates from 20 years with the brand name Devu’s. She has now also launched her baked goods range labeled Yaani’s.
Her Instagram handle @yaanis_by_krinadesai
