Devansh Ashar, a graduate in Hospitality Management from Cal Poly Pomona, USA, had a career in hospitality since 2009. Then in 2014 his life took a completely different turn.
When Devansh, a trained and certified Level I from Court of Master Sommeliers, USA, saw his young nephew snacking a bar of compound, he noticed how chewy it was and questioned why it was so different from a bar of Lindt, which was much smoother and melted on the palate easily. Devansh is also an avid coffee enthusiast. His interest in the production of chocolate prompted him to look up the process on Google, where he learned how chocolate is created from bean to bar. Although craft or bean-to-bar chocolates were becoming more and more popular in the US, India had very few producers.
Truly Indian
He made an idli grinder work so that he could manufacture chocolate in his bedroom while enrolling in an online chocolate-making school through Ecole Chocolat Canada.
He began by distributing his delicacies to family and friends before starting to sell them at the nearby weekend markets. As encouraging comments came in, he established a 400 square foot unit in Daman (U.T.). Devansh started out as Mumbai’s first and the nation’s third bean-to-bar chocolatier. That’s how Pascati was born.
“Pascati,” is derived from the Sanskrit word Pascat Parivesya, which means a sweet meal..
The प and P in the brand’s logo represents its goal of being truly Indian.
In order to distinguish itself from rivals and gain greater quality recognition, Ashar obtained USDA certification in 2017. Pascati is India’s first USDA Organic & Fairtrade certified chocolate maker.
Federal regulations governing issues including soil quality, animal husbandry methods, weed and pest control, and the use of additives are all part of the USDA’s organic designation.
