For a business built on imported chocolates, the past few years have delivered almost every challenge imaginable: soaring prices, a weaker rupee and shipping disruptions caused by conflicts on key trade routes this year. Yet Cococart, the Adani-backed premium chocolate retailer, expects the country's appetite for imported confectionery to grow, driven by impulse purchases, quick-commerce sales and an expansion into international food and beverages.
The company is bringing in Belgian chocolatier Belvas, Italian chocolate and gelato chain Venchi, French bakery-café Le Pain Quotidien and Italian coffeehouse brand Caffè Pascucci.
Cococart expects to sustain a 35-40% compounded annual growth rate over the next five years, even as global cocoa shortages, currency depreciation and geopolitical disruptions continue to pressure margins, company cofounder Karan Ahuja told Mint.
“Over the last three years, cocoa prices, freight costs and currencies have all moved against us,” Ahuja said.
Ahuja said when Cococart started six years ago, the company had sales of ₹11 crore and closed FY25 with revenue of about ₹254 crore. Some part of this growth came from higher retail prices and currency devaluation. But the business will maintain its growth trajectory despite operating in one of the most disrupted periods for the global chocolate industry, he said. The company turned Ebitda positive nine months ago and expects to remain profitable this year.
The cocoa industry has been hit by unprecedented inflation, with global cocoa prices hitting a record high of $11,000 per metric tonne in 2024, JPMorgan said. Prices hovered at about $2,000 per tonne in 2021 before easing off and oscillating between $3,100-4,200 per metric tonne this year.
Inventory flows
Just as cocoa prices cooled this year, the imported chocolate industry was hit by another crisis: the West Asia war. Ahuja said freight has been impacted heavily and a weaker rupee and a sharp increase in import costs for chocolates sourced from Europe is also causing disruptions. Shipping delays and congestion at regional ports have affected inventory flows, particularly for brands such as Godiva.
"As a result, retail prices have nearly doubled for some products. For instance, a Toblerone bar that sold for ₹199 once when it launched in 2020 now retails for around ₹399, even though the company is operating at lower margins than before," Ahuja said.
According to Ahuja, high-ticket purchases above ₹10,000 fell sharply during the peak of geopolitical tensions earlier this year, although demand has since recovered. To reduce dependence on imported labels, Cococart is expanding its private-label brand, which contributes over 12% of sales and ranks as the company’s second-largest brand after Lindt.
The retailer operates 61 stores, more than 40 of which are located at airports. The company plans to add about three stores a month this year across its formats and boutique chocolate concepts over the next five years. The store count has inched up from 57 in 2023.
L Nitin Chordia, founder of Cocoashala India Incubation and a chocolate industry expert, said Cococart's model is largely built around providing access to imported chocolates, a proposition that is becoming less differentiated as premium products become widely available through modern retail and e-commerce. To unlock its full potential, he said the retailer would need to focus more on exclusivity, curation, experiences and stronger consumer engagement.
Much of Cococart’s expansion plans will be supported by the Adani Group, which acquired a majority stake in the business in late 2024. April Moon Retail, a venture backed by Adani Airport Holdings, acquired a 74% controlling stake in Cococart Ventures in a deal valued at about ₹200 crore.
Cococart retails Lindt, Godiva, Valrhona, Toblerone and Ferrero, among others. Lindt contributes about 14% of sales and Godiva 7%, he said.
Quick commerce
Quick commerce, which contributed almost nothing to the business a few years ago, now accounts for roughly 25% of Cococart’s sales as the business changes the way it operates. The company supplies imported chocolates to about 1,000 of the largest quick-commerce dark stores and expects sales through the channel to rise. Blinkit alone is expected to contribute about ₹60 crore in business this year.
The shift has also altered the company’s product strategy. While airport and mall stores focus on premium gifting and indulgence products, quick commerce demand is concentrated around smaller packs priced from ₹150 to ₹400.
“We are seeing strong demand for bite-sized premium products rather than large gifting formats on quick commerce,” Ahuja said.
The company sees imported chocolates as part of a broader affordable luxury trend among affluent Indian consumers. According to Ahuja, India’s chocolate market has doubled to about ₹25,000 crore in six years. Premium chocolates account for less than 5% of the market and he expects it to double over the next decade.
The company is also counting on India’s recently signed free trade agreements with the UK and Switzerland to gradually lower import duties and narrow the price gap.
