Q&A with Kushal Choksi and Alak Vasa, Founders of Elements Truffles

Kushal M. Choksi and Alak Vasa are the Founders of Elements Truffles, a chocolate company inspired by Ayurveda, the ancient Indian practice of holistic and natural well-being. Kushal worked at Goldman Sachs between 2000 and 2005 in the firm’s Engineering Division in New York. Alak worked at Goldman Sachs between 2005 and 2011 in the firm’s Engineering and Consumer and Wealth Management Divisions in New York.

How have your culinary experiences inspired your journey to becoming chocolatiers and launching Elements Truffles in 2016. When did your passion for sweets and the healthy lifestyle begin?
Kushal and Alak: We both grew up in India and food was central to everything we did. Our lives revolved around food and it has played a major role in who we are today. The most important conversation at the breakfast table would be what we were going to have for lunch and dinner. And, the kitchen would be buzzing non-stop from the early morning aroma of masala chai brewing to the rattling sound of the last dinner plate being hand washed - for a mighty family of six. Experiencing the diverse flavors through our mother’s recipes, passed down from generations, during our formative years have contributed towards the foundation of our culinary palette.

Alak: From my childhood happy memories of my dad bringing a suitcase filled with chocolate from his European travels to exploring cacao farms during our travels to South America, my love for chocolate has always been special. Working on the trading desk at GSAM, the one constant along with my Bloomberg terminal, was a bar of chocolate in my desk drawer. The hardest thing about my afternoon coffee break would be deciding between a decadent truffle from Leonidas at Hanover Square or a petits gâteaux from Financier on Stone Street.

Kushal: About 17 years ago, we stumbled upon breath-work and meditation. And as we grew in our practice, we became more aware of our eating habits. And in there were the early beginnings of awareness towards a healthy lifestyle. As for our passion for sweets, we believe our “sweet tooth” was gifted to us as part of our inheritance!

All the ingredients you incorporate into your chocolates are inspired by Ayurveda and have a purpose– to promote health benefits. Where did you learn about these healing mechanisms, and how can these ingredients help someone improve their way of life? How have you benefitted from Ayurvedic practices in your lives?
The below should not be considered a direct view or claim of Goldman Sachs.

Kushal and Alak: As we were navigating our way to a healthier lifestyle, we noticed that we were integrating a lot of elements of the Ayurvedic lifestyle, that was naturally a part of our life growing up. Ayurveda was so naturally integrated into our lifestyle growing up - from seasonal produce to balanced meals and we were reaping the benefits without even being aware of it. Our grandmothers would passionately share the healing properties of various Ayurvedic preparations. But unfortunately, it didn’t translate for us then as we took it all for granted.

As we experienced the healing benefits of Ayurveda, we were amazed by how simple and powerful this ancient science was. Unlike various fads and diets that have a limited shelf-life, Ayurveda can be adapted as a lifestyle.

Our chocolates are made with all-natural, locally-sourced ingredients that increase Prānā (life force energy or Chi) and support the attainment of balance in mind, body, and spirit. All chocolates are made with ethically-sourced Ecuadorian Cacao and locally-sourced raw honey, along with our specially-crafted additions of pure essential oils and Ayurveda superfoods. We don’t use “natural flavors” because our flavors are truly from nature.

In most commercially available chocolates, one may find refined sugar, dairy, soy, lecithins and often ingredients that are not in our everyday vocabulary. According to the science of Ayurveda, such ingredients create imbalance in our system that eventually lead to ill-effects - think weight gain, acne, dullness, and cravings.

Ayurveda has truly helped our mental and physical well-being by listening to our body and aligning ourselves with nature through food.

What inspires your wide array of flavors? Which product is your favorite and why?
Kushal and Alak: The inspiration of our flavors comes from our childhood memories and our staple pantry spices. Our favorite is the Orange Crunch with Turmeric and the inspiration for that recipe came from Alak’s childhood memories of enjoying Terry’s Orange Chocolate. We love everything chocolate and orange, and that crunchiness from the puffed quinoa makes this our favorite sweet indulgence.

In what ways do changes in external factors – such as commercial policies, the state of the economy, and new technological developments – affect your business strategy?
Kushal: ‘Pivot’ often becomes an entrepreneur’s middle name! We are constantly evolving and shifting to keep up with ever changing landscape around us. Inflationary pressures, frayed supply chains, and a difficult job market are few of the challenges we are facing at the moment. As a precursor to these issues, the pandemic wielded another set of challenges. Almost overnight nearly 4,500 brick and mortar stores that were carrying us started seeing foot traffic disappear. Many stores shut down. Product velocity dropped and bars were expiring on store shelves. Fortunately, for us our online channels picked up and compensated for the brick and mortar slow down.

In all this, one of our early decisions finally bore fruit. Against the conventional advice, we decided to keep every part of the business in-house. From directly working with farmers without middlemen, complete product manufacturing, packaging and fulfillment logistics are all done by our team, without any dependency on a third party co-packer. This strategy paid off and insulated us against the winds of change.

What sustainability initiatives does Elements Truffles focus on?
Kushal and Alak: Sustainability is woven into our entire supply-chain. From ethical & fair-trade sourcing directly from the farmers, 100% recyclable packaging and giving back 25% of our profits back to the community.

Usually, cacao is traded through commodities exchanges, offering the farmers a ‘haircut’ on the international prices. Since we completely avoid middlemen and work directly with the farmers, we manage to pay a stable price that is far above the commodity exchange. It leaves us with happy farmers, integrous produce, and a lot of heart in the entire supply chain.

Every aspect of our packaging is bio-degradable and recyclable. From hand-stitched labels, and hand-pressed paper to biodegradable ink, our packaging is a tribute to the local artisans who pour their heart in making our products as beautiful from outside as they are inside. Our customers love the unique experience and artisanal craft thrives. Win-win!
 

Between the sustainable packaging, ethical sourcing, and pure ingredients, it’s clear that your brand cares about our community – beyond just the chocolate. Tell us how Elements Truffles gives back to children in India in partnership with Care for Children, and why you chose this non-profit organization.
Kushal and Alak: We contribute 25% of our profits towards holistic education of underprivileged children in India in partnership with Care for Children. With this contribution, we have been able to help over a thousand children with books, learning materials, food and other essentials required to educate them in a stress-free environment.

Education is a universal right that can help break the cycles of poverty, disease, and social inequity. In 2006 when we volunteered our time for Care for Children, we were impressed by the dedication of people working on the ground, their extremely low overhead costs and efficiency. 98 cents of every dollar go towards the actual cause. Both of us are very passionate about importance of education. So, when we wanted to contribute in this space, Care for Children emerged an obvious choice.

What challenges have you faced when navigating the chocolatier landscape as husband and wife?
Kushal and Alak: Moving away from spreadsheets and quant models to selling consumer packaged goods required a complete mindset shift and rewiring of our brains and definitely brought in numerous challenges with it.

And also, we are two very different people. Alak takes it measured and Kushal moves fast. Alak brings structure and Kushal brings horsepower. Alak is a perfectionist and Kushal thinks perfection is overrated. But what has really kept us going is our passion and our intention to make a difference.

To keep things simple, we have a fairly simple division of labor. Alak manages everything inside the kitchen and Kushal manages everything outside the kitchen. But almost every day these lines get blurred. We both consciously violate our boundaries in the spirit of pushing things forward and enjoy every bit of it.

What are the biggest issues your industry faces today?
Kushal: Dealing with constantly changing consumer behavior is one of the biggest challenges at this point. During the pandemic, the entire consumer purchasing trend went online and now it’s swinging back to the hybrid model. Supply chains still remain disrupted. Cost of freight has nearly tripled in the last year and there is still no sign of easing despite of normalization in energy prices. Moreover, inflationary wage pressures are directly hurting the bottom line.

Your products are currently being retailed in 3,000 stores across the world. What are your goals for Elements Truffles over the next five years?
Kushal and Alak: In addition to introducing some really unique flavors of our chocolates, we’ll be working on scaling our plant based clean protein that is getting such amazing early feedback. Inspired by the continuous feedback from many parents that these are the only chocolates that they allow their kids, we are working on launching something exciting for kids!

Most importantly, we have a goal to educate 10,000 underprivileged children in next three years.

What was one thing you each learned at Goldman Sachs that has led to your success today?
Kushal: Goldman Sachs was my first job out of college. I have drawn inspiration and sponged away many life lessons from some of the smartest people I know. Two important things I learned while working at GSAM - teamwork & multitasking - ability to keep many balls in the air without dropping any, while everyone is watching.

Alak: I worked at Goldman during the formative years of my life. Goldman gave me the best platform to learn, grow and thrive. I can say I met and worked with some of the best people in the industry and those professional encounters have turned into lifelong friendships.