Our Story

"Our mission is to indulge your senses of sight, smell, and taste with a tantalizing new experience that comes from just a single bite into an Amella Caramel. Please join us as we begin our great Amella adventure in exploring new ways to blend unique ingredients and bring exceptional taste sensations to the world."

-Emir and Elena

Love is Sweet: The Story of Amella

The perfect recipe is a combination of the right ingredients, especially when it comes to luscious chocolate caramel confections. The same can be said for the right couple. Emir Kiamilev was born with a mind for business. Elena Kiamilev had an innate passion for the culinary arts. Growing up on different continents but from similar cultures, their lives didn’t merge until 1992 – and it was from this union that a distinct artisan company was formed and the unique “Amella” cocoa butter caramels were born.

Elena was born and raised in communist Tashkent, Uzbekistan. When the Soviet Union fell, life became undeniably challenging for Elena and her family. Elena found solace in baking and, early on, her delicious cakes became enormously popular in her neighborhood… so popular that she was soon able to care for her young daughter and her grandparents.

In a parallel story, Emir’s family left Moscow for the U.S. in 1979. In San Diego, CA, Emir experienced a vastly different upbringing than Elena. But like Elena, he developed his skills and interests, and earned his Bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University. In 1992, he embarked on a focused international business career that took him to over 30 countries. He ended up in the Republic of Uzbekistan, where he built a successful consumer products company and, as luck would have it, met Elena.

In 1997, with Elena by his side, Emir founded a distribution company in Tashkent. It began as a small tea supplier, distributing established tea brands from Sri Lanka, India, and China. As the distribution grew, along with its product offerings, the company became the official exclusive distributors of confectionary lines from Nestle and Cadbury. However, life in Uzbekistan was filled with challenges that impacted their business and their lives - but the couple stuck out the obstacles together. In 2004, when Emir was accepted into the highly regarded Wharton School MBA Program, he was inspired by the artisan confectionary arena based on his past experience and the couples’ love for refined chocolate of all types. Being the business mind, he began to identify opportunities in the U.S.

In 2007, with fresh inspiration and encouraged by Elena’s love for baking, the couple enrolled in Ecole Chocolat’s Professional Chocolatier Program, where they learned the basics of candy making. Then, it was off to Paris to visit the legendary Valhrona Chocolate Factory, followed by priceless lessons in artisan chocolates from renowned Valhrona chef, Philippe Givre. Emir and Elena worked tirelessly to create artisanal candies on their own. They became seduced by caramel, and it soon became their focus. Elena, the creative half with her history of cake recipes, introduced amazing and unusual flavor combinations – cocoa, creams, fruits, nuts, vegetables, and more. The magic moment hit when Elena decided to try a new take on an old favorite - carrot cake… Her “secret” carrot cake caramel recipe gave birth to the first Amella!

Amella is the world’s first artisan cocoa butter caramel. All natural, with 0% trans fat and made with pure cocoa butter, Amella Caramels are preservative free and kosher. With three exclusive flavors—carrot cake, black forest and passion fruit—all made with fresh, real fruits and vegetables, Amella Caramels are impressing sweets lovers and gourmet connoisseurs alike. With a flourishing fan base, the Kiamilevs prove that the sweetest part of any confection recipe is the right ingredients…and the right couple behind it.