Must buy: Sweet shops make brisk business on Deepavali eve.

This Diwali, there is a huge demand for sweets from corporate and other business establishments, the effects of which have cascaded onto the premium sweet shops in twin cities forcing them to stop taking bulk customised orders.

Of course, this is not a reason for being disappointed, as retailing, which does not entail bulk orders, is going on full steam. Interestingly, despite 12 per cent increase in the prices of sweets and savouries and 15 per cent in case of dry fruits this year, there’s no semblance of impact on demand.

“Last year, orders were placed to the tune of 25 tonnes of sweets and this year it has already reached 35 tonnes. To deliver in time, we have stopped taking orders at all our branches in city since Monday,” says G. Raghava Reddy, partner of G. Pulla Reddy Sweets. Companies and organisations started placing orders from the next day of Dasara festival and sweet shops are literally burning midnight oil to deliver. “Taking further orders is tough,” adds Mr. Reddy pointing to the “Orders Closed” board at Pulla Reddy’s Begumpet branch. Another popular outlet, Almond House could not literally cope with the demand and had already sent letters to companies and their patrons asking them to place their orders by October 20, making it clear that orders would not be entertained later. “Despite this, many continue to call us. But we cannot take any more orders”, says M. Nagarjuna of Almond House.

On reasons for the demand, M. Vijay Ram of Emerald Mithai Shop explains that since Diwali festival falls on Tuesday, companies have planned to distribute sweets by Saturday, resulting in high demand since one week.

And it’s not just premium outlets, even other sweets shops are buzzing with activity. While, there is a good demand for traditional sweets like ‘Ariselu’ and ‘Putarekulu’ at Swagruha outlets, dry fruit gift packs continue to sell like hot cakes. Meanwhile, employees have already started distributing sweets to friends and relatives before this weekend. “We have planned to take leaves on Monday and make it a four-day celebration from Saturday to Tuesday. That’s why we opted for early bookings, says Sumalatha, an employee.

http://www.azom.com/news.asp?newsID=14253