Meet Chenddyna Schae
She is a Master Chocolatier and the Founder & Managing Director of Jus’Trufs Chocolatiers Company Private Ltd., which she founded in 2001 from her kitchen at home.
Jus’Trufs is was Bangalore’s first boutique homemade chocolaterie which specialised in Customised Chocolates. They were the first to use the technology for edible printing on chocolate and creating customised moulds for clients in Bangalore way back in 2001-2002. What started as a home kitchen venture in 2001 with a capital of Rs. 10,000 and 3 employees, has now grown into a 5-storey independent building spread over 7,500 sq. ft. housing a chocolate and bakery production centre, a home style café, office and event space; and employing 35-50 people. Jus’Trufs chose to grow organically, from profits reinvested into the business and capital from the founder to expand premises, vis-à-vis approaching institutional investors for debt or equity capital. At every stage of growth, they made sure to spend only on the essentials rather than frills and fancy stuff.
Jus’Trufs focus has been to create healthy food, desserts and chocolates, which are free from preservatives. For instance, since 2015 they started procuring Cocoa beans from farmers in South India and grinding it. This led to the creation of their new line of Artisanal Chocolates which are healthy and low on sugar. Consequently, they now have range of chocolates which can be consumed by diabetics, vegans or people on a keto diet and chocolates made with organic Jaggery.
Jus’Trufs sells over 500 boxes of chocolates per day both over- the- counter and online. During a busy season like Diwali or Christmas they can be seen furiously packing over 5,000 Chocolate Gift Boxes per day.
The Jus’Trufs Café which opened its doors in 2012, was a first mover in a sleepy suburb called Jakkur, North Bangalore and is now considered an important landmark. Over 200 guests walk into the Café every day and most of them are very loyal customers who are also the best word of mouth advocates for the brand. They are known for their Hot Chocolate and their Chilled Chocolate Milkshake which has fans all over the world.
In addition to its strong retail clientele, Jus’Trufs has created Corporate Gifts for over 5,000 corporates till date and ships out over 10,000 gift boxes every month. It counts top notch corporates as its loyal clientele namely, DSP Merill Lynch, DWP Interics, Montblanc, Artizen, RCI, Bosch, Pivotal, Standard Chartered Bank, Infosys, Puravankara, Mercedes, Audi, Volvo, Toyota Financial Services, Disney Hotstar, Cargill, Cognizant, Cisco, Intel, Bharatiya City and many more.
Chenddyna has over 26 years of experience in the café and chocolate business. Prior to founding Jus’Trufs – her third venture – in 2001, she founded a chocolate production & sales business in Mumbai, Maharashtra from 1986 through 1991; and a café in Manipal, Karnataka in 1983 through 1985 right after passing out of a 2-year Hotel Administration and Food Technology Program at Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai in 1983. In 2010, she trained in Belgium with a Belgian Master Chocolatier to enhance her art of chocolate making. In 2011, as a part of PUM training offered by the Netherlands Government to small businesses in developing countries, she and her team trained with a Dutch Chocolate Master who came to Bangalore and stayed with them for 2 weeks and also helped them set up the café and chocolaterie in its present avatar.
In 2009, Chenddyna was selected to be a part of the 10,000 Women program sponsored by Goldman Sachs and was awarded the Best Business Plan Award in her cohort of 30 women. Later, in 2020 she was selected for the Ambassadors Program by Goldman Sach. In 2019, she won the Times of India She UnLTD Entrepreneur Award in the food category in Bangalore.
Since its launch in 2001, Jus’Trufs has been extensively covered both in the print media in the initial years and digital media thereafter. Chenddyna’s story has also been featured in The Times of India, Femina, Food Lovers Magazine etc. Jus’Trufs has also been reviewed by TV9, LBB, several bloggers on YouTube & various blogs, for their Chocolate Tours, food and Chocolate Offerings. Their Chocolate Tour experience has been rated as a MUST DO when in Bangalore
BUT…how did she get here?
Click on the video to know more!
