Shanti Bhandari of Jaipur was a housewife before the idea to become a chocolatier struck her. Her company is called “Curly Wurly Chocolatier” and is supported by her two kids and a loving husband.

Let’s learn more about the dreams of this simple woman who runs a home-made chocolate business that she started with a small amount of money at a small corner of her home.

The beginning.

Over the years, I realized how the income of a wife could do wonders with one’s home budgets. I decided to earn to lessen the burden from my husband’s shoulders. My first stint at entrepreneurship was that of a landlady. I earned money by renting our home space to students from other cities. The money that I earned out of that instilled confidence in me.

 ‘Curly Wurly Chocolatier’ happened by chance.

One day I received a call from the mother of one of my tenants. It was her son’s birthday the next day, and she asked me to get him some chocolates on her behalf. It was already late to go to the market and I didn’t want to disappoint the mother so I  prepared chocolates in my kitchen and surprised him the next day!

I learned chocolate making 20 years ago and today was the time I had to showcase my talent. I quickly started the work and tada…in 2 hours I had many chocolate pieces made for him. The boy was extremely happy, and so was his mother. After that, I knew what I wanted to do in my life.

Obstacles faced.

I started getting orders from neighbors, relatives and slowly from strangers, too. I used the savings from the accommodation business to nurture this new venture. Since I didn’t want to put money into renting a shop, I made use of my kingdom – the home kitchen! Another difficulty was lack of manpower that emerged along with the increase in orders. My two kids were my support during that time. My daughter Preetika still helps me with quickly wrapping the chocolates. This is how I saved from spending too much at the initial stage.

Quality check.

I am very particular about the quality I sell. I don’t trade what I don’t eat and this is the reason why I don’t put my chocolates at market outlets for sale. They can taste bad if not sold fresh and I absolutely don’t want people to start disliking foiled chocolates. I always take personal orders and deliver fresh sweets.

Business tips.

• You can start your business in just less than Rs. 5,000.
• If you can’t think of anything to begin with, recognize your ability to cook. A food business can never fail. Never.
• Start from home.
• Don’t look for a team; let your family be the one. It’s fun to work together. The family members can look after budgeting, shopping of the raw materials from market, packaging, delivering and even marketing (word of mouth).

If you want to taste Shanti’s home-made delicious chocolates and desire to place an order, feel free to call her at 09314252567. She is famous for her Chocolate-bouquets decorated with dry flowers with prices starting from just Rs. 500/-. She delivers for parties and weddings, as well!