In the run up to Diwali, new-age snack brands are going all out to make the most of the festive rush. From South Indian sweets to artisanal baked goods, demand for regional, clean-label, and gifting-friendly snacks is surging across both e-commerce and quick-commerce platforms.
At Sweet Karam Coffee’s buzzing 30,000 sq ft warehouse in Chennai, over a hundred team members are busy hand-packing festive orders. “This Diwali, we have gone all out to bring the taste and tales of South India to homes across the country,” Nalini Parthiban, co-founder and CEO, told Fe. The brand’s festive lineup blends traditional sweets like Dharwad Peda, boondi laddu and Athirasam with newer creations such as rose milk burfi and mango burfi.
The results are showing. The company has seen a threefold spike in orders this past week, clocking nearly 4,000 daily orders on its own app and website despite being widely available on platforms such as Blinkit, Instamart and Zepto. Everyday snacks such as murukku, banana chips and mixture have seen a 30–35% uplift, while gifting revenues have quadrupled. Sweet Karam Coffee is now developing gifting as a dedicated vertical, with overall sales expected to grow threefold by week’s end.
Sweet Karam Coffee is not alone in the festive rush. Brands such as Go Desi, Beyond Snack, VS Mani & Co, Patil Kaki, Daadi’s, and The Filling Station are all capitalising on Diwali demand, differentiating themselves from legacy players through healthier ingredients, modern branding and strong regional identities. The focus this season, industry insiders say, is on traditional flavours with a modern twist like millet-based sweets, clean-label offerings, and instant gifting through q-commerce platforms.
Premium coffee brand Araku Coffee is also seeing robust traction. Its limited-edition “Festive Edit” is selling briskly across cafes, online stores and e-commerce platforms, with sales of its core coffee blends up 30%. “We have already sold over 125 units of The Festive Edit within days of launch, and expect to be sold out before the end of the season,” said a company spokesperson. The brand, backed by Naandi Foundation, a non-profit organisation backed by Anand Mahindra and other philanthropists, continues to position itself at the intersection of sustainability and thoughtful gifting.
At VS Mani & Co, the festive buzz is about reconnecting rather than reinventing. “Every year before Diwali, we ask what’s new. This time, we realised it’s not always about new products, maybe it’s about new people discovering us,” founder GD Prasad wrote on LinkedIn. The filter coffee and snack brand, which has raised $1.44 million across four funding rounds and recently onboarded music composer Anirudh Ravichander as co-founder, is leveraging nostalgia and authenticity as its biggest draws.
Baked goods, too, are riding the Diwali wave. The Baker’s Dozen, an artisanal brand backed by Wipro Consumer Care Ventures and Fireside Ventures, expects festive season sales to grow two- to threefold. “Nearly 70–80% of our sales come from e-commerce and quick commerce platforms,” co-founder and head chef Aditi Handa, said. “Our festive hampers are driving the bulk of growth, but even regular items like breads and cookies are seeing double the demand.”
According to Datum Intelligence, the sweets and savouries market, valued at $17.5 billion in 2022, is projected to touch $25 billion by 2026, driven by higher disposable incomes. The organised segment alone could reach $10 billion by 2025. Globally, the confectionery market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 3.36%, from $213.7 billion in 2024 to $278.4 billion by 2032.
