Bengaluru: Dry-fruit sweets & baklavas sell like hotcakes ahead of Deepavali

BENGALURU: It is that time of the year when friends, families, neighbours and acquaintances visit one another, spreading love and extending warm wishes. The common item they carry are boxes containing sweets made of ghee, dry fruits or milk.
After two years of Covid-19, the city is ready to celebrate Deepavali with fervour this time round. Owners and managers of some of Bengaluru's famous sweet meat shops say dry fruit-based sweets and exotic ones like baklava are much in demand. For the past two weeks, sweet shops have been seeing a rise in sales and are elated at finally making good business after a two-year lull.

"Ghee-based sweets are not as much in demand right now. Kaju katli and dry-fruit mithais are flying off the shelves," said Rajesh Prasad Singh, store manager of Kanti Sweets, Brigade Road branch. The shops are also busy preparing for corporate orders that come in huge numbers during the festive season.
Rain plays spoilsport; counter sales dip
However, the unseasonal October rain is affecting counter sales. M Suresh, manager of the city outlets of KC Das, told TOI weekday sales have dropped 20% due to infrastructural problems caused by rain. Anand Dayal Dadu, founder of Anand Sweets and Savouries, said his main branch on Commercial Street has also seen a slight reduction in counter sales. "But online delivery apps are helping us make up for the loss of counter sales due to rain," Dadu mentioned.
Anand Sweets and Savouries had prepared 30,000-40,000 baklava pieces ahead of Deepavali, and Dadu said orders pertaining to that large batch were received within just a week. "There is massive demand for exotic and premium sweets this year. Baklava has a longer shelf life and can last more than a month. So can dry fruit-based sweets, which is why they are much wanted at the moment," Dadu stated.
Sweet shop owners said premium packages are more sought-after this year. "For boxes that are priced at Rs 1,000, customers request packaging styles that cost another Rs 300. We have also seen a rise in demand for sweets that are customised to look exotic. For example, rose-coloured ladoos are selling rapidly," said Niranjan Parikh, owner of the Bhartiya Jalpan chain.
Parikh said business in 2022 was better than 2020-2021, but incessant rain since September has affected the 'normal quantum of sales' they have seen since the chain was founded in 2017.
"Despite September being a month of festivities, the inundation of HSR Layout majorly affected sales in the area. Absence of online delivery options during that phase was a double blow," he said.