Inabo: The Making of a Goan Chocolatier

Chocolate is the most popular sweet treat in the world and is often associated with positive effects on mood. It has this addictive fragrance, color, and texture which evokes elegance in our minds.

Today we learn how Sharon, a mother of 2 is using her finely tuned chef’s palate and artistic sensibility to bring us some of the best-tasting chocolates from Goa. Handcrafted with the best ingredients, her super satisfying treats are to die for. And they are made right here in Goa! Lucky us! Sharon also loves bringing together the science of nutrition with beautiful flavour synergies to create exceptionally delicious healthy variants of her chocolates, calling them the Classic Mendiants Guilt-free Snacks. Her ‘Chocolate Story’, isn’t your average story of how someone got into chocolate, or became an entrepreneur, or started their own food business. Chocolate found her and she had the right support system around to kickstart her business, Inabo.

Inabos’ chocolates are delicious, gorgeous, and very popular in the state. At Goan Insider, we chatted with Sharon about her experimentation with chocolate and entrepreneurship – caramel bonbon, anyone?

Tell us a little about yourself

My name is Sharon and I am a mother of 2 kids who are crazy about chocolates.

What inspired you to start Inabo Chocolates? How did you come up with the name?

My husband has been a big influence in my life. It’s he who suggested me to try my hand at chocolate making and looking at my excitement he decided to support me in setting up Inabo.

In my dialect ‘Inabo’ means ‘sweetheart of the village’, and I couldn’t think of a better name for my brand.

Tell us a little about your journey as a chocolatier

When I started off it felt like unchartered terrains and every step was a learning process. I have gone through multiple and dynamic chocolatier’s classes, experimenting in my own little ways, understanding chocolate behavior which is as vast as our universe, and there’s still is so much yet to learn.

Could you run us through the different Bonbons and Pralines that you’ll make? How did you come up with the flavours and generate new ideas?

Tasting various combinations with chocolate, understanding what suits best helped me come up with my flavours. We tasted some of these combinations with a few people and based on their feedback, we narrowed down on the one’s below:

• Caramel Bonbon
• Strawberry Bonbon
• Orange Bonbon
• Hazelnut Bonbon
• Pineapple Bonbon
• Creamy Coconut Bonbon
• Green Apple Bonbon
• Chewy Coconut Bonbon
• Coffee Bites
• Apricot Bonbon
• Honey Cinnamon Bonbon
• Lemon Drops Bonbon
• Hazelnut Cappuccino
• Caramel Cheese cake
• Coconut Passion
• Strawberry balsamic
• Blueberry Bonbon
• Gianduja Ganache
• French Praline
• Hazelnut Praline

Could you tell us about Inabo’s health chocolate variants and the varieties?

Inabo Chocolates have a health and detox bar. This is a Belgian Chocolate bar with 54.5 % cocoa studded with chia seeds, flaxseeds, cocoa nibs, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds. We also have Classic Mendiants Guilt-free Snacks which comes in three variants – Dark, Milk, and White Chocolate studded with dry fruits and nuts.

Where is Inabo based out of?

Inabo Chocolate Shop is based in the Heart of Margao City at Costa Towers.

What are your responsibilities as a business owner?

To produce Chocolates as naturally as possible. I also work towards the empowerment of women and currently, almost all my workforce are women.

How do you advertise your business? Where can people buy your chocolates from?

We advertise on social media platforms and word of mouth also plays a big role.

Where can people buy your chocolates from?

We have an Inabo exclusive chocolate shop in Margao, and are also available at select stores in Goa. For the rest of India we have a website from where our customers can make their purchases.

What gets you excited about this company?

Every time I make chocolates I fall in love with them and the process. Every day there is something new to experiment with chocolate, and when something new turns up I can’t wait for my husband to try it. The joy of seeing my customers saying Wow! every time they try my chocolates, makes my day.

This itself gets me very excited about my business – the process, the learning, the experimentation, the production, and finally my customer’s happiness and satisfaction.

What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

Being an entrepreneur in this field, the dynamics and challenges of the chocolate industry keeps me on my toes, and I love every part of that experience.

What or who has been your biggest support system?

My husband has been my biggest support system which keeps me going.

If you had one piece of advice to someone who is interested in starting their own chocolaterie, what would it be?

Patience and Persistence is key. There is a lot to learn from the chocolates and its preparation, so, research, learn, experiment, and add your own unique flavor to the final product. Also, with taste as the utmost priority, the products should also look appealing to the eye.

What is the next plan for Inabo?

I believe that my chocolates have a lot of potential. The aim is to be available at retail stores in major metropolitan cities.

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