Our story
a note from the kitchen
"I wanted something sweet I didn't have to explain away."
the founder
naureen fathima
Some ideas become code. Some become poetry. This one became alara.
I'm Naureen Fathima, an engineer by mind, an artist by heart, and the founder of alara cacao.
By day, I build programs. By night, I bring ideas to life. My love for words became a published poetry collection, Version One: Humanity. My love for sweets took a different shape.
After a diagnosis prompted me to rethink my eating habits, I began paying closer attention to ingredients and sugar. My sweet tooth, however, had no intention of leaving.
Around me, I heard similar stories. People navigating hormonal health, insulin resistance, and the everyday question: where does dessert fit in?
That question became the seed of alara.
The engineer in me was curious about why sweetness means so much to us. Even anticipating a pleasant sweet taste can engage the brain's reward circuitry. The poet in me thought of everything a small treat can hold: comfort, celebration, a moment to yourself.
With alara, I'm bringing that curiosity and care to chocolate, thinking thoughtfully about ingredients while keeping the pleasure of every bite at the heart of it.
From an idea that kept me awake,
to a little sweetness worth pausing for.
With love,
Naureen Fathima
Founder, alara cacao
the first tasters
one person's idea. many willing taste buds.
intentional . honest . indulgent.
alara began at Naureen's kitchen counter, with a bowl of tempered chocolate and a plate of medjool dates. But it found its flavours through the people who kept coming back to taste.
We were alara's first tasters, the friends and family who tried each batch, debated the fillings, asked for a little more crunch or a little less sweetness, and happily volunteered for another round.
Between shared bites and honest opinions, an idea became something we couldn't wait to share.
Every flavour carries a little of those conversations. Every box carries the joy of watching something we helped shape find its way to someone new.
We had the first bites.
We hope you love yours.
With love,
the alara team
the people behind the first "let me try one more."
sourcing
Direct from growers and millers wherever we can, so we know the harvest and the hands behind it.
craft
Tempered in small batches, dipped one at a time, set on marble. No moulds, no machines.
packing
Rigid boxes in forest green and gold foil, lined and sealed by hand, dispatched within the week.