Ganesh Chaturthi is almost here and people are rushing to buy sweets. Big mounds of modak greet you at window displays, while other sweets like barfis, pedas struggle to be seen as the other best option, inviting people to try, and buy them.
The long queues at Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale, Shani Paar, or the Kaka Halwai bear witness to buzzing sales, albeit the only change being, that instead of the regular mithai or sweets, its the sugar-free versions that have caught attention of the customers this season.
Ghodke Sweets located at Kamala Nehru Park road is busy churning out their trademark, low on sweetness mava modak, but besides these, there is a huge demand for sugar-free modak.
“We launched sugar free modak this season as this was a specific demand from customers, hence, now concentrating on sugar-free mithai. The products are now in line with what the customer needs and is aligning to our brand value of purity. So, catering to their palate, our sugar-free mithai is made of stevia,” said Sonia Ghodke, manager at the store.
The calorie-conscious customers include elderly people, who probably are suffering from diabetes and also youngsters alike.
{{/usCountry}}The calorie-conscious customers include elderly people, who probably are suffering from diabetes and also youngsters alike.
{{/usCountry}}Ajay Jain, who has made a conscious choice said, “After my wife and I had a second child, we decided to lessen our sugar intake. Now, whenever I purchase sweets for festivals, it is always low-calorie and sugar-free.”
Similarly, Kiran Shimpi was keen to buy the newly launched sweets at Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale said, “I am diabetic and having sugar-free sweets is my way of enjoying the festivals. When well-known shops like Chitale Bandhu introduce a whole new range of sugar-free sweets, we have a variety of options to choose from. Ofcourse they are expensive but worth every bite.”
Sanjay Chitale, partner Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale said,“ We have a new brand M2 to serve sugar-free sweets, however, we have not introduced sugar-free modaks, instead we are offering different flavours like pink guava, blueberry, butterscotch. Our kaju and mava modaks are always a sell out and this year the market looks better and we are ready for it. Perhaps next year we might introduce sugar-free modak but only after looking at the market response. Prices of modak has increased to ₹600 per kg.”
Mahendra Dhamdhere runs an organic sweet shop in Baner says that they have received 170 orders of Ukadiche Modak. “ We are offering modak made with natural ingredients like jaggery which is best for today’s lifestyle, it is sweet and yet healthy in small portions. We are using brown sugar as well as raw sugar while making sweets.”
Dr Anjali Raju Jaiswal, a nutritionist said, “Currently, the sweets prepared in the sweet shops are less sweet as compared to the earlier ones. And yes according to the changing lifestyle we can demand of low sugar or no sugar sweets. We all need to enjoy the festive season, and people with diabetes and hyper tension can also celebrate with sugar-free sweets.”