This young entrepreneur failed in textile business and is now enjoying sweet success in chocolates.

Diksha Poudel of Basundhara, Kathmandu, is only 23 years old. Many people of her age spend hours on the Internet. While studying BBA, she too used to spend many hours on the Internet. But she did not limit the Internet to entertainment. She watched plenty of DIY videos on YouTube and tried to make chocolates on her own. Eventually, she succeeded in producing high-quality chocolates. Her chocolates are not only consumed in the domestic market. She has begun exporting chocolates abroad as well.

Chocolates of different international brands and tastes are easily available in the Nepali market. But good quality chocolates produced locally are rarely found. Poudel has brought Yummyistic brand of chocolates realising that there are only a few local brands in the market.

Yummyistic Chocolate is a brand of bar chocolate currently being produced in Nepal. Poudel, the manager of Yummyistic Chocolate, said that they also make healthy dark chocolate by roasting beans here itself. She also said that the chocolate produced here has become very popular among the local youth. Poudel has been in this business for nearly two years now. The business, which she started by investing Rs 70,000, is now worth Rs 600,000. The young entrepreneur says she has been saving around Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 every month.

Poudel, who holds a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Padmakanya Campus, started this business in the second semester. Yummyistic is not her first business venture though. Determined to do something on her own, she had started a small business in her high school itself. But her textile business failed to take off. She says that failure taught her many things. Learning from the experience of her first business venture, Poudel has been leading her new business towards success.

“Big investment alone doesn’t guarantee your success. With good business knowledge and ideas, we can be successful even with a small investment,” Poudel shared. Poudel, a chocolate connoisseur herself, used to make chocolates for her family members before starting her business venture. After tasting the chocolates, the family member suggested her chocolates could be produced commercially by enhancing the quality, she added.

After learning a lot from YouTube, she started making chocolates in Nepal that look and taste like chocolates from foreign brands. She has been making chocolates of different tastes and selling her products through different social platforms. Of late, she has also been sending Yummyistic chocolates out of the country too. The orders mostly come from Nepalis living abroad, Poudel shared.

Poudel presently is producing and selling more than 20 flavoured chocolate varieties. She is getting the support of her brother and mother in the business. Yummyistic is currently available in 20 flavours including Dark Chocolate, Special Chocolate, Dual Chocolate, Customised Chocolate Bar, Dark, White, Strawberry and Milk etc. The price of these chocolates varies from Rs 125 to Rs 1,000.

According to Poudel, dark, white and boxed chocolates are the most popular among consumers in Nepal. She added that gift packages customised with photos of customers’ choices are very popular during festivals. Yummyistic has been receiving orders worth as much as Rs 300,000 per week during occasions like Mother’s Day, Valentine’s Day and Raksha Bandhan, etc.

Encouraged by the success of the startup, Poudel is now devoted full-time to the business. She claimed that Yummyistic chocolates have reached all 77 districts of the country. “But we get orders from customers in Kathmandu, Pokhara and Chitwan,” she added.

Stating that 80% of her customers are repeat customers, she claims that they are satisfied with her products. According to Poudel, Yummyistic chocolates are available on e-commerce platforms like Daraz, Gyapu and Sathi Mart, as well as several department stores. “People abroad are ordering our chocolates for their friends and families back home,” she added.

According to Poudel, Yummyistic is planning to open a website to reach more customers and also enter into collaborations with store chains like Salesberry and Bhat-Bhateni.