Uzma Sharif discovered her passion for cooking by combining her natural creativity with the ingredients of her Pakistani heritage. A first generation American, Uzma grew up in Chicago before moving to Colorado for culinary school. After graduating, Uzma returned to Chicago to attend the famous French Pastry School. While there, she fell in love with the versatility of chocolate and her love of chocolate led her to entrepreneurship.
In 2011, Uzma founded Chocolat Uzma, a luxury chocolate brand inspired by South Asian flavors and reimagined through a modern lens. In 2012, she opened a storefront in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood and has been building a career centered on craftsmanship, flavor, and cultural storytelling.
“What inspired me was the ability to create and do what I wanted on my own terms,” said Uzma. “Chocolate gave me that freedom and I just ran with it.”
However, growing a business around specialty ingredients comes with challenges. Since 2021 Uzma received two grants via programs that A4CB administered. Her first grant was from West Side United’s Small Business Grant Program, a program A4CB administered that supports West Side entrepreneurs. These grants allowed Uzma to keep up with the rising cost of ingredients while covering the labor costs associated with hiring new employees.
In 2019, Uzma collaborated with the world’s largest Starbucks, the Starbucks Reserve Roastery on Michigan Avenue, on a collection of chocolates inspired by the City of Chicago. The partnership allowed her to bring cultural storytelling to her craft by selecting underrepresented areas of the city like Pilsen and Devon Avenue to highlight in the collaboration.
In 2024, Uzma graduated from A4CB’s Neighborhood Entrepreneurship Lab (NEL), a 3-month cohort-based accelerator program that pairs community business owners with strategists and advisors who provide intensive support for a business growth initiative. Each entrepreneur also receives a $20,000 grant to help execute their growth plan. The program taught Uzma about wholesale opportunities for her business. NEL also connected her with other businesses owners, providing her with a real community.
“I met many wonderful and talented folks,” Uzma said. “I learned so much from the classes and from each individual owner and some of us are still in touch. We support each other by buying or by meeting and feeding off the energy we each have. It can be contagious and much needed in tough times.”
The same year, Uzma received a grant from the City of Chicago’s Good Food Fund. In partnership with the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, A4CB managed the Good Food Fund, a program that supported Chicago businesses across the food ecosystem in communities with inequitable food access. The grant funding allowed Uzma to hire new staff as well as design and print wholesale packaging which is available in-store and in some hotels.
Today, Uzma leads a team of 10, in house and out, though the number can double to 20 during the holidays. After more than a decade of business, Uzma’s next plan is to own her own space. Rather than adapting to lease changes, ownership would provide Uzma with the stability to grow Chocolat Uzma with intention. Once that foundation is secured, Uzma would receive the operational control to properly expand into the world of consumer-packaged goods, allowing her to continue sharing her passion for sweets and the heritage that inspires them.
