May 28, 2021
Gourmet chocolate startup Smoor is now closing a Rs. 50 crore Series A round in the next six months and it also be launching a one-of-a-kind experience centre in Bengaluru at a cost of Rs 12 crore where visitors would be able to experience the craft of exquisite chocolate making.
The centre will be a 30,000 square feet facility which will bring the best of global practices for luxury chocolate manufacturing. It will also allow customers to see how chocolates are made.
Vimal Sharma, CEO of Smoor said that 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 launching a range of chocolates infused 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,” said Sharma.
The company, which has been bootstrapped, is also planning to scale up from the present 20 outlets to 130 in the next five years. The outlets will include cafes, lounges and kiosks at malls and airports. While the sales of their gourmet chocolates took a beating because of the lockdowns, the e-commerce segment has seen over 390 per cent growth. “We will be launching soon on Amazon, Flipkart, BigBasket and Grofers,” said Sharma. The startup achieved single-digit growth in FY21 and is looking to close FY22 with Rs. 100 crore in revenue. The startup competes with brands such as ITC’s Fabelle in the premium chocolates segment.
Currently a Rs. 3,000 crore opportunity in India, the luxury chocolates market is growing at 32 per cent which is much higher than the 13 per cent growth rate of the overall chocolates segment.