Inside his small factory in the outlying village of Wavtharoo in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, about 70 km from Srinagar and better known for its sprawling apple orchards and paddy fields, Majid Majeed, an engineering graduate, is busy crafting chocolates.

Sourcing cocoa beans directly from farmers in southern India, the young entrepreneur has built a chocolate enterprise that is steadily carving out a niche in the chocolate business.

What began as a small venture has grown into a homegrown brand whose products now reach consumers in India and abroad, offering people a taste of Kashmir’s manufactured premium chocolates.

Majid started his venture in 2021 when the world was caught in the throes of Covid-19 and people were losing their jobs.

Although he did not lose his job, he saw many young men struggling for the jobs which prompted him to explore entrepreneurship.

“In Kashmir we don’t have an IT park or a well-developed corporate sector. Our young graduates have limited options--they either rely on government jobs or take up farming”, said Majid.

Looking for an unconventional business idea, he turned to the internet and immersed himself in learning the art and science of chocolate-making. Extensive online research eventually led him to Kerala and Karnataka, where he met cocoa farmers and began sourcing beans directly from them.

Returning to Kashmir, Majid set up a bean-to-bar chocolate unit under the brand name Blicks, teaching himself the craft of transforming raw cocoa beans into finished chocolate through a meticulous process of roasting, grinding, tempering and molding.

Today, his chocolates are sold not only across Kashmir, but have found buyers in New Zealand, Dubai and other Gulf countries, turning what began as a pandemic-era experiment into a thriving entrepreneurial venture.

“With a team of 12 employees, I manufacture more than 4,000 bars every month”, said Majid.

Majid is now expanding his product range by introducing chocolates infused with premium ingredients such as Kashmiri saffron and hazelnuts, blending global chocolate-making techniques with local flavours.

“These ingredients are currently in the validation phase”, he said.

Published on June 14, 2026