|
|
|
You can get e-magazine links on WhatsApp. Click here
|
|
|
|
|
|
India’s mithai industry is one of the oldest thriving businesses
|
|
Tuesday, 13 April, 2021, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
|
|
Bharti Sanghi
|
Mithai industry is the oldest industry in our country, it continues to sold in vast quantities in our country. This industry has been existing over centuries and it has been thriving like never before, it has also changed itself to modern times complementing with the sweet toothed India's taste buds, sweet marts and mithai shops are offering a myriad of delectable mithais that instantly release an opus of umbilicus flavours as they melt in the mouth.
India is known to be the land of festivals so during these times the sales grow rapidly because for Indians mithai plays a major part when it comes to festivals or on any auspicious occasion. But now the mithai industry is not only focusing on festivals they want to make mithai non-festive too. The industry is focusing to increase the consumption, it has seen a positive growth over the years if compared to what it was in the past.
In olden times there was no proper mithai shops as compared to today. Earlier the sweets used to be kept openly in the front of the mithai shops. But as time changed the way of presenting the mithai also changed. Now consumers prefer it differently. As the Indian market gears up to meet the demand of the festive season that will start with Durga Pooja/Navratari, we embarked on a journey to know how has the industry transformed in recent years and what is its potential in both domestic and the international market.
This upcoming sweet industry has changed over the years according to needs of the consumers. As consumers are more aware about their health now so the industry has also adapted themselves accordingly. There are so many options for the consumers like sugar-free mithai’s, low calorie mithai’s etc. Now the industry has started focusing more on what the consumers demands. One may wonder why Mithai shops are conspicuous by their absence in malls, and if they are being dwarfed by chocolate stores that are grandly entering the market? The answer lies in special marketing devises to take over sweet market in festivals with unique advertisements, marketing and packaging strategies, applied by FMCG companies resulting in a major chunk of the sweet eaters switching over to chocolates; other reason being short shelf life of the sweets.
Mithai industry has developed itself over the years and now consumers have so many various types, various shapes, various colours of mithai. Also every region in our country has their speciality of mithai.
Earlier mithai had low shelf life but due to technology change now even the mithai’s can sustain for a longer period. Not only they can sustain but its being sent to different places through online medium. Not only people just send mithai’s but they customize it in their way, they want mithai to look they way they want it. Not the just mithai people customize the packaging also accordingly. All of this is possible because of the huge technology change.
Many brands in mithai industry have made their place in market and also in the minds of the consumers. People know what they have to buy and from where because when it comes to mithai’s people do not compromise they need the best quality and from the best place.
Talking about the pandemic it has hit this industry like every other. Though there are many start-ups and small sweet shops which has been suffered due to lockdown but still the pandemic has brought new players in the market. Many brands have started selling their own sweet based dish. Milk items like Rasagullas, Gulab Jamuns are a rage everywhere and even white Caucasians in Europe have succumbed to the irresistible Bengali sweets. Thanks to the innovative packaging, now they are walking the export route. Petha is another item of export. Ruling the roost in domestic market are also Khoya items like Barfi, made with Almond, Pistachio and Cashew, the last one called Kaju katli.
Mithai industry has been flourishing and it will be more in the coming years. And we will get to see more difference from now in the future. And the industry will always have something exceptional to give to it’s consumers like always. Hopefully in coming years mithai industry gets more success and India gets more varieties of mithai. The market for traditional Indian milk-based sweets alone is estimated at $500m. A major push in this direction of turning out bigger volumes of strictly quality controlled traditional sweets for commercial sales both domestically and abroad is needed. Entrepreneurs in Europe, North America and Australia are looking into the prospects of manufacturing traditional Indian sweets. Hopefully, the coming years will witness taste of Indian sweets spreading far and wide.
(The author is founder of Life Artisanal Food)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|