Noida’s very own chocolate queen

She goes by the maxim, If you love your work and enjoy it, you’re already a success. Rightly so. Why wait for someone else’s validation for you work? 

Well, our lady from Sector 45, Noida, Garima Mittal, 29, certainly thinks so. Since the very beginning, this chocolatier was very clear about what she wanted to do – to be financially independent but NOT work under anyone else. She wanted to be her own boss, and  eventually made that happen. 

Mittal runs her own home-based business, Chocolicks. Her chocolates are quite a hit not just at the apartment complex she lives in, but also in the entire neighbourhood. 

Before her marriage, Mittal, a self-confessed chocolate-lover, went for classes to learn the basic chocolate-making techniques. Turning this skill into a business was not on her mind then.

Even now, she isn’t clear as to why she began this business.  “Things just happened. I love all kinds of food, especially bakery items. I love making chocolates and have been doing so for the last 8-9 years. Few days before Rakhi in August 2019, I went to buy chocolates for my brother. While waiting at the counter, it struck me – ‘Why am I buying chocolates that I know how to make? Why not make them at home.’ And Chocolicks happened,” she says. 

But even in today’s age of women empowerment, she says it’s not easy for a woman to run a business without the support of her family. “So is the case with me. While my mother-in-law and father-in-law take turns to take care of my one-year-old son, my brother does all the market work for me. Be it buying ingredients and packing material or packaging chocolates and delivering those to the clients, he does it all,” she says.

For instance, Diwali 2019 was extremely choc-o-bloc for her. “And if I could manage to satisfy all my clients it is all thanks to my in-laws as they took full charge of my son,” she says.

So far, business is going smooth. “I have been getting new clients. But it is all word-by-mouth publicity.”

Any downsides? “As such, I faced no problems in setting up my business, but the fact is that there’s a huge competition. One in every five people is making chocolate at home. So it is tough to make a mark for yourself. You really need to stand out.” Recently Mittal also forayed into bakery – making cakes and teaching baking to kids.

“I want to grow in life. I want to have my own home bakery with a workshop area where I can teach children this art. Maybe in some years, you will see me behind one of the bakery counters,” she smiles, letting out these affirmations with a lot of hope.