Dubai: What get sold like hot cakes in Dubai this week are not cakes, but Indian sweets. Thanks to the festival of Diwali, the sale of traditional Indian delicacies has gone up over 300 per cent compared to other seasons, shop owners said.
Diwali is an occasion when almost everyone in the community develops a sweet tooth as buying and gifting sweet boxes is an integral part of the celebrations. Traditionally, a variety of sweets are made to offer during the prayers and to share with relatives and friends.
However, the majority of Indian expats here resort to buying sweets from popular Indian shops. With Indians being one of the largest expat communities here, the ritual of exchanging Diwali sweets has become a common thing at homes and workplaces too.
Anjeer (fig) burfi, pista burfi, kaju (cashewnut) burfi, motichoor boondi ladoo, rasmalai etc are flying off the shelves this Diwali season, said owners of popular Indian sweet outlets. Around 50 to 60 tonnes of Indian sweets are sold across Dubai during this season, they said.
Abhay Agarwal, managing director of Puranmal Group, said Dubai witnesses an enormous sale of Indian sweets not only because of the high number of Indian expats here. “There are thousands of people who visit Dubai during Diwali holidays. Their hosts buy sweets for them and they also buy sweets for their friends and families as gifts from Dubai,” he observed.
Customers, especially corporate groups, started pre-booking their orders for gift hampers nearly a month ago, said Pankaj Agarwal, director at Bikanervala.
“The orders for gift hampers have been going up over the years. We have recorded an increase of 20 per cent in overall sale compared to the last Diwali season.”
Both the Agarwals said Indian sweets have become a premium product with high-quality packaging upping their aesthetic appearance.
“Indians are proudly presenting them to Arabs and Westerners while other nationalities are also buying them for themselves and for gifting. Their taste has been the same … we are trying to glorify the taste and elevate the name of Indian sweets by giving them in top-quality packaging,” said Abhay.
Considering the trend towards healthy eating among many residents, sweet shops are also coming up with innovative recipes that offer less sugary content, he said.
“We are making sweets out of honey and nuts. In some desserts, we are not using refined sugar. They are good even for diabetics.”
However, Pankaj noted that Diwali is not an occasion when people would want to stay away from traditional sweets.
“These are very much an integral part of Diwali celebrations. You can’t do prayers with chocolates. You need the traditional sweets for that. Also, when you compare our sweets with other confectionery items like candies and cakes, these have very less sugar content. Instead, they have several other healthy ingredients like wheat flour, milk and cheese.”
Recalling the adage ‘the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,’ he said the same philosophy is applicable when companies give these sweets to their customers. “There is a sentimental element attached to these delicacies and people tend be emotionally connected through them,” he noted.
