Launching Vedika's Chocolates - Ghar ki Mithas
She grew up in the world of chess! Although she doesn't play much chess herself, Vedika Gujrathi travelled all across the country with her elder brother Vidit Gujrathi and has been a huge support to his chess career. While Vedika is a girl of many talents - she is studying physiotherapy, is an excellent dancer and also a wonderful chef, one of her qualities has been admired by a lot of people - the art of making chocolates! Joining hands with ChessBase India, Vedika has launched her home-made chocolates for the chess community to enjoy. It can be perfect companion to take along with you for your next chess tournament, or use it to celebrate your success with your loved ones!
The story of how it all began
It was the Tata Steel Chess India Championship 2019 and Amruta and I travelled to Kolkata along with our good friends Super GM Vidit Gujrathi and his sister Vedika.
Vidit and Vedika were hosted at the official hotel, while Amruta and I got a room a little farther away. After reaching Kolkata, while we were parting ways, Vedika gave me a box of chocolates. I cannot remember exactly how many chocolates were there in the box, but it could somewhere around 75 to 100 pieces! That's a lot, I thought to myself! The tournament was going to last five days and even if I ate 15 each day, I wouldn't be able to finish them! Never mind! I graciously accepted Vedika's gift and got ready for the Tata Steel Chess India Rapid and Blitz.
The tournament began and at the end of the day, Amruta and I would retire to our rooms and I would begin with my report writing and video editing work. With such a huge event happening in India, the workload was immense and I would be awake until 4 a.m. finishing off the journalistic work. On the first night when I felt hungry, I opened Vedika's box of chocolates and ate the first one! And then another one, and then another one! The tag line of Lays came to my mind - "No one can eat just one!" I ate one after another and by the time I finished my work, half of the box was empty! I had eaten close to 35-40 chocolates that night! With a guilty feeling, I retired to bed, clearly knowing that my stomach wasn't going to be kind the next morning when I woke up! To my great amazement, everything was absolutely fine and I didn't even feel heavy having eaten so many chocolates. It was the first time that I had eaten so many chocolates and yet felt so "normal".
Very soon Vedika had a small fan following for her chocolates. It included me, Anish Giri, Erwin l'Ami and of course Vidit! We all would wait to get our hands on the chocolates and finish them off. In December 2020, when I met Vedika in Pune (Vidit and I were doing stand-up comedy along with Samay), we discussed the idea of Vedika's chocolates seriously. Vedika was always a bit worried as she would have to manage her education (physiotherapy) and selling chocolates, but she decided to take a plunge into the world of chocolate making and entrepreneurship. As I truly believed in Vedika and her products we decided to host it on the ChessBase India store. The next six months were spent in doing research about the legal requirements to launch the chocolates and on 10th of June 2021, we launched Vedika's Chocolates!
It's a brave attempt from a 20-year-old girl to launch her chocolates to the chess community at large! If you enjoy eating chocolates, I would urge you to place an order. You will surely enjoy it. And we look forward to your feedback!
A short interview with Vedika Gujrathi
Q: How did your interest in making chocolates begin?
Vedika Gujrathi (VG): This all happened accidentally, I used to love making cakes and cookies at home for my friends and family. As they enjoy it, I thought why not to try making chocolates? .Their response was amazing and I kept making them occasionally.
Q: Why did you think about launching Vedika's chocolates?
VG: Honestly, I never thought that I would be answering this question. Chess players during their games consume a lot of chocolates for energy. That's why when Vidit bhai used to travel I used to make it for him. Also, in Indian culture, we send sweets to our loved ones. So, I thought why not to gift home made chocolates. I presented it to Anish Giri and Erwin l'Ami and they loved it completely. Anish in his usual humour used to tell that why aren't you selling this? This is amazing. He in fact also told that whenever you decide to sell, I would be the brand Ambassador of it! All of us just laughed it off. But Sagarbhai took it seriously because he thought the chocolates are really unique and people should try it. Due to his constant encouragement things started moving and one thing led to another and here we are today with the chocolates already launched!
Q: What are the unique features of Vedika's chocolates (taste, ingredients) etc
VG: Once Vidit bhai had asked Anish why do you like this chocolate so much and Anish replied, "Some chocolates in the market feel too sweet and chocolatey which you cannot consume beyond a limit but I can eat as many of Vedika's chocolates without a problem. I I feel his answer perfectly summarizes what is unique about the product. Also people told me that it is perfect for hunger craving and instant energy.
Q: Is there any chess element in it?
VG: The product itself doesn't has any chess element but the packaging and design has a lot to do with Chess for example they come in two quantities 16 and 32 which indicates the chess pieces. Also I love the game of chess and the whole journey of launching started due to the chess community.
Q: Do you think this will become your full time career?
I think it's to early to think about it. Right now, I am just very excited to serve my creation I hope people love and enjoy it as much as the chess players whom I have shared it with did!
Types of chocolates
These are the best features of the chocolates:
1. Prepared using only the finest quality ingredients
2. Vegetarian product
3. After you place the order you will receive it within 8-10 days. This is because every chocolate pack is freshly prepared after the order is received
4. Once you receive the product, store it away from direct sunlight and moisture
5.Best before 30 days from the date of manufacture
6. After receiving the package, 1st freeze it and then consume the chocolates - Keep it in cool and a dry place (preferably 2 to - 8°C)
7. All those who are lactose intolerant/allergic to lactose products, please avoid buying these chocolates.
Ingredients: Refined Wheat Extract (Maida), Cereal Extract, Corn grits, Iodized Salt, Calcium Salt, Milk Solids, Sugar, Potassium IOdate, Vitamin and Minerals, Antioxidants, Edible Vegetables Fat, Cocoa Solids and Emulsifiers ( Contain soy) Note: Contain Gluten
There are two packs that we have created for the chocolates - the regular pack (16 pieces) and the premium pack (32 pieces) that you can order from:
After the launch
Vedika's chocolates is dependent on a lot of feedback that we receive from the customers. We have fulfilled close to 500 orders in the last couple of months.
After we received some feedback some improvements were made:
We have received quite some feedback from our customers which we have put below. You can go through it. If you do order Vedika's chocolates, then please do send us your feedback on chessbaseindia@gmail.com. It will help us get better.
Feedback for Vedika's chocolates
The chocolates were really delicious. I am not much of a sweet person, so these chocolates were apt for me as it has just the right amount of sugar. Quality is really great. And the amount of chocolates sent were reasonable for the price. Thanks. - Uddhav Raj
They have a very unique taste. Quite different from the ones I tried over several years. Additionally, it does not feel like I have eaten chocolate from the after taste. It feels like I have eaten a unique Indian sweet. The nougat inside was dry and more grainy than gooey. Overall, as I mentioned earlier, it has a very unique Indian sweet taste rather than a chocolaty after taste, and does not feel sugary at all! Perhaps that could be the USP of this product. I hope Vedika continues to experiment and innovate to bring out more unique tastes through her chocolate making skills. - Harsha Tadikonda
The chocolates were amazing. The whole box was finished in 2 days. The problem was that the portion was too small :p jk. Everyone in the family enjoyed a lot. Would like to buy again when restock. - Shubham Behal
I will rate it as 3/5. It can be improved too much but taking into consideration the fact that orders get huge & Vedika has just started this business, I will give a 4/5 rating. - Ravi
They're good. I kept it in the freezer and I started eating it while talking to mom so I didn't notice the paper wrap the first time. Thanks to Sagar for suggesting it :) - Harsh Thakur
The chocolates are finished !! So they were too good !! They were Slightly different from the usual chocolates !! Not too sweet, which was very good to have. - Pruthvi P
Taste 9/10 (glad I ordered), Packaging 7/10 (got a bit squashed), Pricing 8/10 (I understand it takes effort to make them), Delivery speed 9/10 (faster than I was expecting) - Gaurav Aidasani
I liked the chocolates very much. They are fresh and tastes great. Its always a pleasure support new ventures. - Sayantan Ghosh
Yes, My whole family members really like the chocolates. It was really good. - Shubham Chand
First of all, me and my family like the chocolates, but I think there is scope of improvement. As always i like you guys. Thank you for promoting Vedika's chocolates - Srikanth
Yes, they were awesome. Ordered premium pack and it is almost over. Would love to order again some day. - Kapil Choudhary
Awesome....Ordered as a b'day gift and everything was fine. Have a little bit extra care on packing. - Amal Raj
The taste and quality of chocolate is as good as Sagar Shah's commentary and Vedika's dedication is also head to head as Sagar Shah. So it is perfect decision to sell this on Chessbase portal. I loved the chocolate and also I was fearless to give the chocolates to my little nephews just because its made by the true love and dedication of Vedika. And its difficult to find hygienic stuff in this covid situation.- Dhruv Bhatt
The chocolates tasted really good. Everyone in my family loved it. My father is a diabetic, even he couldn't control himself from taking one more.We had to take the chocolates away from him :D - Prashant Singh
And it had arrived by courier at my house. It was a surprise to my spouse on our 25th Marriage Anniversay (from April 2021 till March 2022 every 20th of the month, we celebrate). One of the best quality chocolates we got and thanks to Vedika for such a fantabulous and nutritious Chocolates. Value for money. Would be happy, if I could get these types of beautifully wrapped boxes with satin ribbon to be sent my clients as Diwali Gift. - Santosh Nene
Thanks for the early delivery and i absolutely loved the choclates... I infact finding a source to get back to you for saying thank you. My mom loved the chocolates very much - Sairam
Thanks for such awesome chocolates. Delivery was quick, packaging was on point. And quality and taste was superb. Overall a great experience. - Nadir
People who have worked behind the scenes to make this happen
