Nestled in the buzzing heart of Saket’s Eldeco Center—a hotspot that also houses favourites like Latoyá and Kaméi—Manam Chocolate has finally made its Delhi debut. This is the second store from the award-winning Indian craft chocolate brand; the flagship Karkhana opened in Hyderabad in 2023. Let’s be clear: this isn’t just a chocolate shop. It’s an experience. One where officegoers brushing past in their lunch hour might just stop mid-scroll, their noses tilted toward the scent of molten cocoa in the air.
Founder Chaitanya Muppala has had a busy, busy year. In addition to launching the Delhi store, Manam also launched a specialty beverage bar in Hyderabad’s Knowledge City just two months ago. Over a conversation about the Delhi store launch, Muppala cites the reason behind the decision to establish a base in Delhi: 30 to 40 per cent of the sales last year came from the capital.
At the store, chocolate literally flows through pipes in the ceiling, swirling above your head like you’ve stepped into a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Each pipe is inscribed with the chocolate that flows through it, which finally reaches chefs who then use it to prepare customer orders. Four screens beam feeds from Manam partner farms and the Hyderabad factory, which show the batch of chocolate being made, from what farm (latitude and longitude included), and flavour profile. The beverage bar is cladded with tiles that are made to look just like their tablets. Even before you reach the chocolates, you’re hooked.
The heart of Manam, though, is its farm-to-bar-and-beyond philosophy. Muppala works with over 150 farmers across 3,000 acres in the West Godavari district, and they’ve also set up India’s largest cacao fermentery in Tadikalapudi. The key to the flavour of the chocolate starts at the bean and, hence, with the famers. To pay tribute, all Manam stores are first inaugurated by the partner farmers. “For us, [they are] the most important part of our business and community. And for them, it’s validation, but it’s also dignity and respect, that it [the relationship] is not just transactional,” says Muppala.
Fourteen farmers came down to Delhi for the opening, sampled the product that’s been made with their beans, and then went on a tour of the city. During the Hyderabad store opening, they were taken to Ramoji Film City, and in Delhi the Qutb Minar and India Gate were on the agenda. It’s also a reunion of sorts; every employee of the company knows these farmers. “They spend five days at the farms when they first join the company, so they’re all friends. It’s very warm and fuzzy,” says Muppala.
Inside the Delhi store, the experience unfolds across sections: there’s a patisserie, a beverage bar, gifting station, chocolate lab, and café. Manam’s product line is massive, with over 350 items on offer. The retail section bursts with bonbons, truffles, spreads, cookies, and bars, including ones that experiment with native Indian ingredients like mango ginger, pedda rassalu mango, and chakkarakeli banana.
Their snacking collection is just as fun. There are barks, clusters, shortbreads, chocolate-coated nuts, and even savoury spiced nuts. Movie Time barks are loaded with popcorn and caramel, and a Parmesan shortbread cookie will confuse your tastebuds in the best way. Prices range between ₹400 and ₹3,000, depending on whether you’re picking up a single chocolate bar or a beautifully layered cake. Muppala says the latter is a store speciality: “In Delhi, people come in BMWs, so we have a chocolate cake that we call the DMW, which [stands for] dark milk white.” The dark, milk and white in question are 67 per cent dark single-origin West Godavari chocolate, 45 per cent milk, and a caramelised white chocolate.
The beverage selection includes 36 hot and cold drinks, right out of a kid’s (or kidult’s) fantasy, from Raspberry Brownie Fudge Shakes to vegan blueberry oat blends. With 60 seats spread across cosy indoor corners and a sunlit outdoor section, the Manam Café blends Indian-origin coffee, single-origin cacao from Andhra Pradesh, and comfort food with flair. Sip on a cold drip cacao nitro or a caramelised white chocolate mocha, and dig into plates like curry leaf prawns or jackfruit croquettes, which are a nod not just to Andhra’s regional flavours but also to nostalgia. For something sweeter, there’s chocolate-laced French toast, pancakes, and waffles made with house-baked bread. An average meal for two will cost around ₹3,000, not counting the goodies you’ll definitely take home.
