This festive season to be testy for sweets makers

Brands such as Khoya Mithai, Ghantewala, Heritage Foods are tightening scrutiny in face of stricter regulatory focus on adulteration, hygiene and food safety by State Food and Drug Administrations (FDAs) and the national regulator, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

Expecting festive sales to grow 15-20%, driven by premium mithai, festive gifting and corporate orders, sweet brand Khoya Mithai has strengthened checks on raw-material sourcing and suppliers, batch-level quality checks, storage and temperature monitoring, and sanitation and hygiene audits ahead of the festive season.

“Our teams are regularly trained on food safety and handling protocols. Festive demand can increase production volumes, but our benchmarks remain strong. Every ingredient that goes into our mithai has to meet quality standards throughout the year so that consumers do not worry about the safety of what they are eating,” said Sid Mathur, co-founder, Khoya Mithai, which is available across India and Dubai.

At Delhi-based Ghantewala, which is also available online, the emphasis is on controlling the quality of core ingredients. “We are closely monitoring consumer preferences and market trends ahead of the festive season,” said Pari Jain, creative director, Ghantewala. “We strictly adhere to FSSAI guidelines and update our processes to align with the latest regulatory requirements. We are paying particular attention to khoya, milk, dry fruits and other raw materials while managing production in controlled batches. This is significant because festive demand can put pressure on both manufacturing capacity and cold-chain infrastructure,” added Jain.

Leading sweets and namkeen chain Haldiram’s, which holds an estimated 33% market share in India’s organised traditional sweets (mithai) market, is depending on standardised production and packaging to maintain standards and quality control. “We are confident of delivering a strong percentage growth in festive sales over last year as we balance tradition and evolving tastes,” said Mohit Upadhyay, marketing lead, Haldiram’s, which is now expanding its business in the US, the Middle East and Europe.

Hyderabad-based Heritage Foods, which offers festive products such as doodh peda and laddoos, is preparing for higher festive demand by ramping up ghee production and adding new facilities. “We are careful about the quality of ingredients, supplier controls, testing, hygiene and storage conditions of our khoya-based products. We see increased regulatory scrutiny from FSSAI and authorities like the Maharashtra FDA as a positive development for the industry. Stronger enforcement and greater adherence to standards improve quality, while giving consumers greater confidence in the products they purchase. For an organised dairy company, maintaining proper sourcing, cold-chain practices, testing and handling becomes even more important when demand for milk and dairy ingredients rises sharply during festivals,” said Srideep Kesavan, CEO, Heritage Foods.

Rising milk prices and shortage during high demand season is another challenge, with prices of khoya, milk, ghee, dry fruits and other key ingredients putting pressure on margins. “Higher raw material costs do put pressure on margins and may require selective price revisions, which we try and absorb as much as possible,” said Meerra Singh, co-founder, Delhi and Gurugram-based Akhand Sweets. The impact can be significant. “One kg of khoya-based mithai uses approximately 700g khoya, 200g sugar, 50-80g ghee and 80-100g dry fruits. Even a moderate increase in price can push costs up by 10-15%,” said Singh, adding that festive packaging and gifting adds to costs further.

“If prices of raw materials go up, we will be forced to revise prices rather than compromising on the quality of ingredients,” said Jain of Ghantewala, whose sweet shop is famous for sohan halwa. For Heritage Foods, the broader dairy inflationary environment is being managed through operational efficiency and tighter cost controls. “For an organised dairy company, maintaining robust sourcing, cold-chain, testing and handling practices becomes more critical when demand for milk and dairy ingredients rises sharply during festivals. This becomes important in the current environment, with average milk procurement costs increasing 7.2% YoY to Rs 46.61 per litre in Q1 FY27, reflecting continued industry-wide milk inflation,” said Kesavan.

In Maharashtra, cow and buffalo milk prices rose by Rs 2 per litre this month, taking buffalo milk to Rs 78 per litre. The Milk Producers and Processors Welfare Association attributed the increase to higher procurement costs, a Rs 10-per-litre rise in diesel prices and an estimated 30% increase in packaging costs. Dairy product prices are expected to further rise by up to 10%. In May, Amul and Mother Dairy raised milk prices by Rs 2 per litre across Delhi-NCR and north India.

“Dairy prices affect us significantly as butter, cream and milk are integral to a large part of our production. Even a relatively small increase has an impact when you are working at festive volumes,” said Natasha Pereira, co-owner and marketing head, Toujours, a Mumbai-based online-first patisserie.

Even as there is an ongoing crackdown on food safety, with even five-star establishments under fire, the enforcement only intensifies ahead of the festive season, when concerns around food adulteration increase. FSSAI has already taken action against food businesses across several states, including prohibition orders against Shree Shyam Foods, Bharat Food Products and KDP Food Industry in Rajasthan. Penalties were imposed on Dharwad Mishra Pedha and Food Processing Industry in Karnataka.

Bikanervala and Param Dairy have received notices following consumer complaints. Param Dairy was asked to respond to allegations of fungal contamination in dahi and rabri supplied through IRCTC catering services, while Bikanervala was asked to provide details of its investigation, SOPs and corrective measures following a hygiene-related complaint.

In Maharashtra, the FDA has stepped up enforcement across the milk and food supply chain, including suppliers, dairies, transporters, distributors, retailers and sweet makers, citing issues such as alleged unhygienic conditions, pest infestation, cold-chain lapses and adulteration. Authorities have also acted against the alleged sale of analogue or artificial cheese as dairy paneer in Shirdi.