About Us & The Last 7 Years With Ditch The Guilt

A Conversation with the Founders

1. What first inspired the idea of starting this brand?

Answered by: Abhishek
Food was always part of our life, not just business. My family owned a farm, and growing up, we worked with real ingredients—cocoa beans, coffee beans, things you roast, grind, and understand from the ground up. Chocolate wasn’t something we discovered later; it was something we grew up making and experimenting with at home.

2. So chocolate and coffee were already part of your world before the brand?

Answered by: Abhishek
Absolutely. We roasted our own coffee, experimented with cocoa, and understood flavors naturally. That exposure teaches you patience and respect for ingredients—skills that no textbook can replace.

3. How did your experience in Melbourne influence the brand?

Answered by: Abhishek
Living in Melbourne between 2011 and 2015 and owning multiple restaurants there changed how I viewed food. Australia has a very evolved café and health-conscious culture. Clean ingredients, honest menus, and quality over gimmicks—that mindset deeply influenced what we’re building today.

4. Lipika, your background is very different. How do you fit into this story?

Answered by: Lipika
Very different, but very complementary. I come from a strong academic background—CA and MBA—which means structure, systems, and discipline are second nature to me. While Abhishek dreams in flavors, I make sure those dreams can scale responsibly.

5. Did your different backgrounds ever clash?

Answered by: Both
All the time—in a good way. One of us asks “Can we make this better?” while the other asks “Can we make this sustainable?” That tension keeps the brand grounded and ambitious at the same time.

6. You’re known for being extremely health-conscious—yet you make indulgent products. How does that work?

Answered by: Lipika
That’s the irony—we’re very health-conscious and we have a massive sweet tooth. We didn’t want to choose between the two. The brand exists because we refused to give up dessert just to be healthy.

7. Why sugar-free specifically?

Answered by: Abhishek
Because sugar is the easiest shortcut in food—and we hate shortcuts. Removing sugar forces you to understand ingredients better, work harder on formulation, and respect the consumer more.

8. Was it difficult to balance taste and health?

Answered by: Lipika
Extremely. Sugar-free doesn’t forgive mistakes. We failed many times before getting it right. But when something finally tastes indulgent without sugar, it feels like a real achievement.

9. What role does your farming background play even today?

Answered by: Abhishek
It keeps us honest. When you’ve seen ingredients at their source, you don’t treat them casually. Sourcing, seasonality, and traceability still guide our decisions.

10. How would you describe your approach to building products?

Answered by: Lipika
Thoughtful and obsessive. Every product must answer three questions:
Is it clean?
Is it scalable?
Would we eat it ourselves every day?

11. What makes your chocolate different from other “healthy” brands?

Answered by: Abhishek
We don’t build products to sound healthy—we build them to be healthy. Taste comes first, labels come later. If it doesn’t pass our own kitchen-table test, it doesn’t go out.

12. Do you still get involved in day-to-day decisions?

Answered by: Both
Very much so. From sourcing beans to tweaking recipes to reviewing operations—we’re hands-on. That’s how the brand stays personal.

13. What lessons from your early days still guide you?

Answered by: Lipika
Discipline and patience. Whether it’s finance, operations, or food—cutting corners always shows up later.

14. How do you want customers to feel when they eat your products?

Answered by: Abhishek
Satisfied, not guilty. Included, not restricted. Like they’ve found something that understands both their cravings and their lifestyle.

15. If you had to sum up the brand in one sentence?

Answered by: Both
Indulgence built with intention.