GUWAHATI: With Diwali around the corner, the city comes to life with Guwahatians rushing to the nearest sweet shops to buy their Diwali goodies every year. From dry sweets to milk-based sweets and of course mouthwatering desserts – a walk by Fancy Bazar and the aroma of sweets fill the air.
However, with the Diwali spirit already consuming the city and right ahead of the last weekend before the end of the festival, Fancy Bazar - the city's central trade hub - has been witnessing a slump in the sales this year. The sweet shop owners have claimed that they are not making as much profit this year as compared to the previous years.
“This year, neither Durga Puja went well for us shopkeepers nor has the Diwali spirit begun to show,” expressed Parmeshwar Sharma, the owner of Sharma Sweets in Fancy Bazaar.
The owners of other sweet shops in the area also informed G Plus that the footfall of customers has decreased and the sales have also been hit drastically this year. They’ve claimed that the availability of a large variety of dry fruits and bakery items in the market has taken away the market share of traditional sweets.
Pradeep Pareek, the owner of Bhartiya Jalpan which is one of the oldest sweet shops in the city, told G Plus, “While the market has witnessed a slight hike in the demand for sweets compared to previous months, sales are expected to pick up the pace from Dhanteras (November 5) onwards. Presently, sales are only coming mostly from corporate houses and customers who’ve come from outside of the city to fulfill their festive requirements.”
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In the same vein, Yogesh Sharma, the owner of another famed sweet shop, Rookman Sweets said, “The market has just started picking up the pace. With Diwali around the corner, the demand for sweets is increasing by the day. Usually, the sale of sweets used to begin well in advance but the trend has changed in the past couple of years.”
Though the festival of lights is synonymous with sweets, the fear of spurious ingredients being used in their preparation to meet the festive demand seems to be keeping consumers at bay. If trends are to go by, there is a considerable rise in the demand for dry fruits, assorted cookies, and bakery products this Diwali.
In a continuous/massive drive against adulterated food products, government officials have been carrying out raids in various parts of the city. While milk, sweets, and fruits worth lakhs of rupees have been destroyed in the process, cases have also been initiated against certain traders for selling sub-standard products. Food checks have also been conducted at various eateries across the city and improvement notices have been issued to various hotels and sweet shops.
Since a large number of customers are becoming health conscious, there has been a change in the pattern of sweet consumption. With traditional sweets having a low shelf life, the sale of substitute items has witnessed a surge.
It should be noted that the sweet shops that have been able to keep up with the market trends are the ones that have not witnessed low sales this year. One such place is Kiranshree Sweets. Vikash Jain, the general manager of Kiranshree Sweets, informed G Plus that they have received a fair share of the footfall this festive season.
“We sell a wide variety of sweets, dry fruits, and bakery products. During the festive season, we incorporate a lot of fancy items and packaged gift items into our product line to meet the market demand. So, even when other sweet shops in the city witness a dip, we do not,” he added.
Additionally, home bakers and other bakeries have also seen a surge in the sales this Diwali. The demand for customised desserts and packages has increased, compared to previous years and bakeries are seen delivering hundreds of orders every day ahead of the festival.
