Meet Sarabjit Mundae, the man who is empowering women chocolatiers
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| Sarabjit Mundae, Co-Founder of ChocoIndulge |
The son of a successful businessman, Sarabjit Mundae is no stranger to the entrepreneurial spirit. He started his own venture, ChocoIndulge, in 2017 with the aim of empowering the women in his life. The Mumbai-based company specialises in customised chocolates and won’t say no to even your wildest requests. They serve up green chilli chocolates and ginger chocolates without a flinch!
The idea took shape when Sarabjit noticed that the women in his father’s company were struggling to make ends meet. ChocoIndulge began as an initiative to provide them with a secondary income. His sister helped co-found the company and they currently employ eight other women. “The company was self-funded but I don’t take any money from the profits. Everything goes back to the employees,” Sarabjit says proudly.
On what prompted him to venture into the confectionery industry, he says with near certainty that the demand for Indian sweets will soon die out. “Very few people are interested in sweets anymore. In the next ten years, there will be more chocolate, cookie and cake businesses than sweet shops.” On recognising this trend, he was able to zero-in on the idea of making chocolates.
He attributes his biggest challenge to trying to convince his sister to join his start-up. Having prior business experience, Sarabjit was used to an uncertain environment fraught with highs and lows. His sister, who wasn’t an entrepreneur, was sceptical at first. He successfully convinced her to be his co-founder by explaining to her the practical benefits of having a second income. Fortunately, the company broke even in a mere six months and she is even considering making it a full-time career!
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| Sarabjit's mother and sister with actor Krishna Bhardwaj |
The next obstacle was in terms of finding clients. There were several players in the market and making chocolates isn’t revolutionary. What sets ChocoIndulge apart is that they create chocolates fine-tuned to their clients’ liking. “After working in the corporate sector for four years, I have realised that the best approach is customer-centric. We ask clients if they have any special preference and 90% of the time they do. That is why we have such a large number of orders coming in,” Sarabjit explains. Their first bulk order came from restaurants looking to replace their mouth fresheners with minty chocolates. Today, ChocoIndulge boasts an impressive clientele that includes Barbeque Nation, Four Points by Sheraton and actor Krishna Bhardwaj.
Sarabjit credits his rapid success to what he considers his two most valuable skills: the ability to take on multiple roles and sharp focus. “An entrepreneur needs to be able to do multiple things at the same time,” he says. Additionally, each task should be given proper attention.
He leaves aspiring entrepreneurs with a single word of advice: courage. Courage and risk-taking go hand in hand. Signing off he says, “If you have the courage to start a business you should be prepared to take risks. Above everything, enjoy what you do.”
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