Meet the Maker: Riddhi & Maulik from Binge Bites

The baby of couple Maulik and Riddhi Gala, Binge Bites was created eight months ago with the vision and zeal to redefine the handmade chocolate industry. Together as a duo, the couple innovates, experiments, and creates the best products, handcrafted, just for you.

“Like any food product, there is an obvious difference between fresh chocolates and packed chocolates which one can only know after experiencing it,” says Maulik. “The Indian Consumer is still at the learning curve of understanding this. However, we’re trying to hasten that process by delivering happiness through fresh handcrafted chocolates — which, incidentally, is our motto at Binge Bites!”

They’re quite the team, too. Riddhi is a qualified Chocolatier from a Belgian Institute and Maulik is a Marketing expert. Together, Maulik says, they make an ‘unmatchable’ match — and we interviewed them to learn more about the fantastic entrepreneurial duo.

What’s it like when your business partner is also the love of your life?

It has worked as a blessing in disguise, to be honest. People have apprehensions when it comes to working with their spouses, but trust me it’s a win-win situation — both for the business and the bond we share. Like any organisation, we too have divided the roles and the decision making process which benefits our business to the maximum.

As individuals, we do have our differences, which is quite natural I believe — we aren’t robots, after all! However, I really do respect my wife for putting in that effort to help us overcome such situations. Work and household matters are never merged — that’s a ground rule we follow religiously.

Another important factor which has worked in our favour is the common urge and the burning desire to make Binge Bites a huge success. And I have to admit, Riddhi has this ‘never give up’ attitude which keeps me going too!

Tell us a little about the kind of chocolates you make. What’s special about them?

Study shows that nothing satisfies the soul more than eating chocolates. Chocolates create an energy in the human body which is similar to the one when you fall in love. And thus, we believe our chocolates are just another word for happiness. As we’ve mentioned already, our chocolates are both fresh and handcrafted — and we take pride in that!

Since we do a lot of Corporate Gifting and bulk orders such as Weddings, Birth Announcements, and other celebratory events, we offer tons of customised options to the consumer in terms of taste, design, packaging, and so on. It’s a lot like having a chocolate the way you want, the way you like.

What varieties of chocolates do you offer?

Oh, plenty! Let’s see… we have seasonal favourites such as Dates Pops, exotic chocolates like Almond Nutella Sticks and Hazelnut Bars, and of course, all time hits such as Saffron Pistachio and Butterscotch Coated Chocolates. These are our own ‘creations’, by the way. We go through endless trial and error processes before we actually come up with a final product — so there’s a lot of hard work involved! We also advise our customers to keep a constant eye out for us, as we’re perpetually innovating and creating new delicacies to satiate the taste buds.

What some of the issues you face while running a business that’s unique in its own way?

For starters, we differentiate ourselves from the title of a ‘Home-Made’ Chocolatier. We are ‘Handcrafted’ Chocolatiers. We have a better infrastructure and a professional set-up required to meet larger demands in shorter time constraints, which you would agree if you visited our kitchen and workshop.

Like any other start-up we began with very limited resources (read:funding), which restricts your buying power and keeps you on your toes every second. Having said that, I feel that it has actually worked in our favour and has had a positive impact on the business. Other than that, I don’t see any ‘issues or challenges’ as problems, they are just opportunities which haven’t been explored.

What plans do you have for the future?

We are focused and we have a vision: to make Binge Bites a global player in the handcrafted chocolate segment.

How, you ask?

Well, I don’t know. What we are sure of is the destination, and we know handwork, effort, and dedication will lead us there.

Picture this: You are driving a car in complete darkness, and all you can see is the 200 metres ahead of you because of the headlights. Once you complete those 200 meters, you can see the next 200 meters and so on. That’s how we prefer to look at it, 200 metres at a time — cover small distances, and ultimately we’ll reach your destination!

Lastly, I’d like to say that it’s often said that God could not be present for every child personally, hence he created parents. Both Riddhi and I have been extremely fortunate, for we have God in the form of our parents. We are extremely thankful to them for their support and confidence, without which Binge Bites would just have been a distant dream. So more than anything else, for our future plans, we truly hope we can repay their trust and support and make them proud someday.