As Indian consumers grow more discerning, chocolate is evolving from a simple indulgence into a craft-driven luxury. Subash Balar, vice-president and business head, chocolates, coffee and confectionery, ITC, discusses with FE the rise of fine chocolate and its ‘Arc of Love’ offering for Valentine’s Day. Edited excerpts:
India’s relationship with chocolate is evolving from everyday indulgence to considered luxury. What’s driving this shift?
Indian consumers today are no longer engaging with chocolate purely as a casual indulgence. There is a growing curiosity about where the cocoa comes from, how it is crafted, and the story behind each creation.
Palates are evolving too, with a noticeable move from purely sweet profiles to cocoa-forward flavours, dark chocolates, and layered tasting experiences. Greater exposure to global cuisines, fine dining and travel has played a significant role in shaping this evolution.
Importantly, fine chocolate is no longer limited to festive gifting. It has become a form of self-indulgence and everyday celebration, whether it’s pairing dark chocolate with coffee or choosing a thoughtfully crafted praline to mark a personal moment. Chocolate today is being appreciated much like fine wine or couture, slowly, sensorially and with discernment.
At Fabelle, we recognised this shift early. Therefore, our focus has consistently been on nuanced flavour architecture and cocoa-led craftsmanship, from single-origin and dark chocolate innovations to creations like Fabelle Arc of Love.
How was Fabelle born?
Fabelle was born in the kitchens of ITC Hotels, crafted by master chocolatiers before entering retail. How did this hospitality-led origin influence the brand’s philosophy of luxury and craftsmanship?
Hospitality demands perfection in flavour, texture, presentation, and timing. This discipline shaped Fabelle’s philosophy. Being born in ITC Hotels’ kitchens meant inheriting a culture of uncompromising excellence. The brand draws from the collective expertise of chefs and chocolatiers, allowing bold innovation while maintaining rigorous quality standards.
For Valentine’s Day, Fabelle has tied up with ITC Hotels to bring ‘Arc of Love’, a seven-course luxury dining experience where cocoa is the dominant flavour. The experience is available exclusively on February 14 at ITC Hotels in Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata.
Balar on Fabelle creation process
How do provenance, creativity, and technique come together in shaping a Fabelle creation?
Every Fabelle creation begins with cocoa, its origin, character and potential. Single-origin cacaos from regions like Ghana, Madagascar, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Sao Tome, Venezuela or Colombia offer distinct intensity and flavour profiles, and understanding these nuances allows us to decide how best to express them.
Whether we are reimagining globally loved desserts like a key lime pie from Florida, cannoli from Italy or rasmalai from India, into a chocolate praline, or translating an abstract idea like the ‘Five Elements of the Earth’ or the ‘Stages of Love’ into chocolates, the goal is to capture an emotion or memory in an artistic, unexpected and indulgent way.
Technique and craft are what brings this together. From bean-to-bar control and ultra-fine milling to precise tempering and layering, it is a technical discipline that ensures consistency, balance and elegance.
Behind the romance of chocolate lies deep science and precision—especially in a climate like India’s. What are the most critical technical challenges in fine chocolate-making here, and how has ITC addressed them?
India’s climate poses unique challenges, heat, humidity, and shelf stability being the most critical. Fine chocolate is extremely sensitive to temperature and moisture, and preserving texture, gloss and flavour integrity requires rigorous control.
At ITC, decades of experience across foods and hospitality have enabled us to build cold-chain systems, climate-controlled production environments, and specialised packaging solutions. Equally important is distribution, quick commerce and controlled delivery environments, which have become key enablers in ensuring luxury chocolate reaches consumers exactly as intended.
As Fabelle grows, scale becomes inevitable. How do you preserve the artisanal, handcrafted essence of a luxury chocolate brand while expanding its footprint?
Our philosophy is simple: we don’t industrialise craft, we institutionalise it. Each Fabelle chocolate is meticulously designed, carefully layered, and finished with precision. Our growth is also measured and deliberate, expanding boutiques, formats and channels only where we can maintain full control over experience and quality.
What role does the luxury segment play in ITC’s broader confectionery and chocolate strategy?
The luxury and premium segment play a strategic role within ITC’s confectionery and chocolate portfolio. It allows us to showcase the full depth of our capabilities.
Luxury is where the future of the category is being written. It allows us to experiment, anticipate trends, and build differentiated capabilities. The learnings often cascade across the portfolio, helping us stay ahead of the curve as India’s chocolate market becomes more sophisticated.
Insights from Fabelle, on flavour trends, dark chocolate preference, provenance and format innovation, often inform our broader chocolate strategy. In many ways, Fabelle is our innovation lighthouse, shaping how we think about the future of chocolate in India.
What excites you most about the future of fine chocolate in India?
What excites me most is that Indian consumers are just beginning to discover the depth and diversity of fine chocolate. There is growing appreciation for fine craft chocolates, dark chocolate, origin stories, cleaner labels and mindful indulgence. Fabelle aims to shape this journey through concept-led collections, immersive experiences, and innovations that blend global craftsmanship with Indian sensibilities.
Our ambition is to make luxury chocolate not intimidating, but emotionally resonant and culturally relevant. We believe the future of fine chocolate in India lies in storytelling, sensorial depth and authenticity, and that is the journey Fabelle is committed to leading.