Are people buying nuts and seeds? Festive demand to set the tone for small businesses

For Jayati Jain, August-February is an extremely crucial period. Her company, Manik Mercantile, a Panipat-based wholesaler of dry fruits, has been getting 70-80 orders in a day since the onset of the festive season in August this year. This is a far cry from how the situation unfolded last year for the 30-year-old entrepreneur. “During Covid, there were days when I did not have even a single order and that was very disappointing,” Jain recalls