The science of chocolate: One LSU student’s passion turned small business

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) – Chocolate and science come together in a unique way through one local small business run by an LSU student and her mother.

Maram Khalaf is a biological science major at LSU. She uses her research measuring growth rates of organic food components for her food micro lab for more than just class assignments.

“My mom loves chocolate so much to the point where during COVID when she ran out of her stash, she just started watching videos and she was like, ‘Maram, look at this, look at how they are making chocolate,’” Maram said. “Eventually, she started getting into it, and when I saw she really liked it a lot, I also started getting into it.”

Maram began sharing these chocolates with her friends who then encouraged her to open a business called Chocolate Bijoux with the help of her mom, Aliaa. Maram, a busy student, and Aliaa, a busy mother, both pitch in to keep the business running.

“I was like, ‘yknow what, let me start a business and do it like me and her together, that way she can fill out what I can’t do and I can do, vice versa,’” Maram said.

The duo make around 100-200 chocolates per batch.

“There’s no way I could run this without her,” Maram said.

From the lab to the kitchen, Maram has honed her skills in every facet of her life.

“I realized there’s a lot of mesh between lab work and the actual chocolate making. Its very precise, there’s different steps,” Maram said.

Maram says her passion is worth more than any profit.

“In our culture, we’re really generous people. Up until now, everything that we’re making is going straight back into the business,” Maram said.

What started as a COVID hobby is now like a full-time job for Maram, and she hopes to dedicate more time to growing her business after she graduates.

To place an order, visit chocolatebijoux.com or message @chocolatebijoux on Instagram.

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