A quick look at the sweet market reveals that the increased cost of ghee, milk, dry fruits and sugar has resulted in an increase in the price of sweets by up to 10 per cent.
The festival of sweets is here, yet its sweetness may not be the same as pervious years. Reason: sweets have become costlier. A quick look at the sweet market reveals that the increased cost of ghee, milk, dry fruits and sugar has resulted in an increase in the price of sweets by up to 10 %.
“Even sales have seen a negative impact and gone down by about 30%,” said Murli Agrawal,
president of the Mithai, Farsan, Dudh and Mava Vepari Mahajan.
While sweet makers are complaining about the increased cost of raw materials, it has not stopped them from creating newer varieties of those yummy mouth-watering confections.
Says Agarwal, “Though the sales have been slower, we can’t compromise on quality or variety. So this year, we have brought new varieties in cashew-made sweets which comprise kaju jalebi, kaju tarbuj, kaju pan, chocolate kaju rolls, and sugar-free kaju rolls. Prices of these exotic varieties range between Rs600 and Rs700. Our special Diwali basket which includes chocolates, dry fruits, ras gulla or gulab jamun packet, sweets packet, and namkeen costs between Rs1,100-4,000.”
Mukesh Nehra, manager of Gwalia sweets, said, “An increase in price might affect the quantity of what people buy but not the mood of celebration.” About new varieties of sweets, he said, “We have also added new dry fruit sweets to the menu which include anjeer bahar, anjeer kasatta, butterscotch ladoo, kaju strawberry keri, dry fruit kasatta, kashmiri handi, baked almond apricot basket and more. These sweets fall in the price range of Rs650-750.”
Moreover, Gwalia sweets has also come up with special Diwali baskets which have a combination of chocolates, dry fruits, namkeen, biscuits and sweets. “The minimum cost is Rs1,050 and it can go up to Rs3,000-4,000 depending upon the number of varieties included,” added Nehra.
Jaimin Patel, director of Jai Hind sweets, has seen a 10 per cent decrease in sweet sales this year. “We have observed that people are cutting down on quantity to compensate for the increase in price.” He added, “People prefer chocolates over sweets as they have a longer shelf-life and cocoa is also said to be good for health. So, we have introduced 20 flavours in chocolate where the chocolate base is made from Ghana cocoa and with a variety of fillings inside made up of fruit pulp.”
“We also have a special type of sweet named ‘dohetia’ which is made from dry fruits and instead of sugar, we have used Australian golden syrup in this variety.”
However, Nitin Kandoi, director of Kandoi sweets believes that in spite of the 10% increase in price, sales are good. He said, “Quality demands money and Diwali is a festival which traditionally involves the exchange of sweets. I have not observed any distinct decrease in sales.
Generally, sales pick up around the festival day. As a special offering for Diwali, we have introduced bite boxes this year that come in different sizes and varieties. These boxes include sweets, dry fruits and namkeen and cost anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs1,000.”
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