Sweet revolution: Mithai gets a gourmet twist with luxury ingredients

Champagne-infused laddoos to gold-foiled barfi, artisanal brands are transforming traditional Indian sweets into high-end delicacies

Barfi has been reinvented, laddoo reimagined, and gulab jamun given a Spanish twist. Infused with innovative flavours, these traditional Indian delicacies are now being marketed as “gourmet mithai,” with some of them costing up to Rs 56,000 for a 100-piece box.

Driving this “sweet couture” industry is a handful of artisanal brands. Their offerings range from Jägerbomb laddoo and Nutella peda to Bavarian chocolate barfi and gulab jamun churros. Other creations include Biscoff gujia, kaju katli bonbon, and motichoor and kalakand cheesecakes, among others. The festival season is keeping them busy.

Gurugram-based Nihira Sweets, launched in 2018, offers laddoos infused with spirits such as champagne, whiskey, red wine, and gin. “You won’t get drunk,” clarifies its co-founder, Arshya Aggarwal. “The cooking process ensures that you only taste the spirit in the sweets.” Nihira counts Chanel, Gucci, Christian Dior, and Burberry among its clients.

Traditional sweets typically cost around Rs 1,000 per kg, but a one-kg box of these handcrafted varieties starts at Rs 4,500 and then sky’s the limit. For instance, Lucknow-based Chhappan Bhog’s “Exotica” range of sweets can cost up to Rs 56,000 for 100 pieces. It features ingredients like pine nuts from Kinnaur, Mamra almonds from Iran, pistachios from Afghanistan, macadamia from South Africa, and hazelnut from Turkey — all wrapped in gold foil.

Bigger platter

For those wondering who’d buy these sweets, the Godrej Food Trends Report 2024 has the answer: 75 per cent of the experts the report featured predicted an uptake in gourmet mithai, “enriched with premium ingredients, exquisite packaging, and unique flavour combinations”. 

The target consumer is the health-conscious, well-travelled Indian who is selective about ingredients.

This trend has prompted Kshir and Canelé, a two-year-old Indian patisserie brand, to expand. Co-founded by chef Ajay Chopra and his brother Vijay Chopra, the fusion mithai brand has a 15,000 sq ft kitchen in Manesar and is set to open a new unit in Gujarat next month to meet festive demand. Kshir and Canelé serves companies in the aviation, IT, apparel, and consumer durables sectors. 

Its six-layered mango barfi, made with ingredients sourced from across India, is a bestseller. It also offers a range for diabetics, using millets, jaggery, and sugar substitutes.

Though a niche industry, it is beginning to attract serious money. 

Last year, the brand Khoya Mithai, launched in 2016, raised over Rs 6 crore in seed funding from hotelier Priya Paul and Ritu Dalmia’s Riga Foods, among others. Khoya Mithai, which counts Cartier and Burberry among its clients, gained wide attention for its gift hamper in Koffee With Karan. Coinciding with the release of Johar’s film, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, it curated a special edition of motichoor laddoo in a hat tip to the film’s matriarch who runs a sweet shop.

Year-round affair

Gourmet mithai isn’t just a seasonal indulgence. “There’s never a dull phase,” says Tuba Mirza, who co-founded Meethi with Sejal Gujral. Their hampers and sweet boxes are popular at satsangs, corporate events, weddings, and even prayer meetings. With packaging designs updated every quarter, Meethi has catered to luxury brands like Bentley and Louis Vuitton, as well as Dubai Tourism.

As purchasing power grows, sales are thriving both offline and online. Customers are willing to spend up to Rs 25,000 for sweets served on silver trays. With stores in Delhi’s Malcha Marg and the Hyatt hotel, Meethi plans to expand internationally within the next two years, opening physical stores abroad and partnering with third-party vendors for prompt delivery.

Bombay Sweet Shop, launched in 2020 by the late Floyd Cardoz, Sameer Seth and Yash Bhanage, also exemplifies the reinvention of traditional sweets. Promoters of restaurants like O Pedro and Bombay Canteen, the trio spent two years studying regional Indian mithais before introducing fusion sweets like 54.5 per cent dark chocolate kaju katli and chocolate hazelnut modak. 

Their creations, like the coconut caramel patisa, can take nearly a year to perfect. Their Bandra store, likened to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, has been a success, and a new store in south Mumbai is set to open soon.

Tradition meets innovation

As mithai undergoes a makeover, traditional brands are also adapting. 

Bikanervala launched its premium mithai vertical, Saugaat, four years ago. Meanwhile, the iconic Ghantewala, a two-century-old brand from Old Delhi, recently reopened after shutting down in 2015.

Sushant Jain, Ghantewala’s seventh-generation custodian, resists fusion mithai with artificial colours and preservatives but has introduced healthier options like honey-based sweets and millet-based treats. Their new range includes honey-dry fruit laddoos, barfis sweetened with dates, and millet sweets made with amaranth and ragi. Jain, who has specialised in patisserie, baklava, and chocolate from Richmond Masterbaker in Dubai, emphasises quality, using premium organic honey, ghee, saffron, and natural colouring from beetroot.

The sweet tooth is spoilt for choice.