Size matters for Diwali shoppers this season

MUMBAI: Remember the size of the dry-fruit box that your friend gifted you last Diwali. Don't be surprised if the same friend greets you with a smaller box this year. He is not acting stingy, but thanks to the economic slowdown, dry fruit dealers as well as sweet makers in the city have made the gift boxes smaller to counter the effects of high prices.
There has been a 15% increase in the prices of dry fruits as well as other ingredients but sweet-sellers have not hiked the costs of the gift hampers ��� they have stuck to last year's price tags to keep the clientele hooked to them, even if it requires cutting down on the size."Gifts have a certain budget. Customers have a particular price tags fixed in their mind and we can't play with them. We have reduced the weight of a few of the boxes by up to 5% to maintain the same rates,'' said B R Yadav, an area manager at Haldiram's.
Breachcandy-based Vithaldas Mewawala, a dry fruit retailer and sweet manufacturer, have also compromised on the size of the boxes to make their products affordable to the festive buyers. "As the costs of raw material and ingredients have almost doubled, it's obvious that less will be available at the given price. However, we will not compromise with the quality at any cost,'' said Dinesh Bhanushali, manager of the shop.
The dealers are not only cutting down on the size of the boxes, they are also coming up with innovative ways of packaging. While Yadav says he has introduced the `cane packaging', in which customers can preserve the sweets for up to three months, Bhanushali has been using colourful thermocol boxes to minimise the packaging expenditure.
Sajjad Bhayani, owner of the Asiatic Dry Fruits at Crawford market, attributes these extra efforts to inflation and economic slowdown. "The rate of cashews has gone up by Rs 100-150 per kg from that of last year. Similarly, almond prices have also risen by almost Rs 200. The prices of milk and other ingredients have also become double. Moreover, thanks to the economic slowdowm, customers do not seem as excited as they used to be. Though the festive rush is there, most of them are going for less quantity,'' Bhayani added.
Echoing him, Sameer Thakkar of American Dry Fruits, a leading supplier in corporate gifts, said the small-size boxes are highly in demand. However, he added that the market has picked up the momentum. "Initially the market was slow, but now it's high on octane. However, the small gift packs are still in demand because of their low costs,'' Thakkar said.