A mithai priced at Rs 22,000 a kg!
Exotica acquired quite a wealth tag this Diwali when a leading mithaiwallah of small town Lucknow decided to make “millions” by selling a particular sweetmeat for no less than Rs 22,000 (this is not a misprint) a kg.
Named “Exotica”, this newest vehicle of innovation in the mithai sector is a festival-time brainchild of the owners of the much-acclaimed sweetmeat chain Chhappan Bhog which operates from a small establishment in the bylane of a crowed Sadar Bazaar in UP’s Capital. “We conceived this unique mithai to let our customers show their near and dear ones how much they care. Otherwise, who would buy a mithaiso expensive,” said managing partner of Chhappan Bhog Ravindra Gupta.
Exactly. Who would waste so much money on a perishable item? Gupta says, he made millions on this particular mithai but no exact figures were possible before auditing. Orders came not just from individuals in Lucknow but also from corporates and people all over the globe where the shop couriered this mithai on advance orders, some of them going as far as America and Australia.
So, what makes Exotica so expensive? “The contents actually. We have used the best available pinenuts, saffron and 24 carat gold foils in two layers — in between the mithai piece and as topping (virk). While pinenuts came for Rs 1,800 a kg, we bought the best available saffron (Baby brand) at Rs 1.75 lakh per kg. Gold as you all know has bigtime value,” Gupta explained.
Incidentally, this unbelievably wanton product has a Delhi connection with all the raw material being commissioned from wholesalers in Khari Bawli, Old Delhi.
And when you have such an Exotica at hand, there can’t be a lesser packing. “The packaging itself cost us big. We designed a kind of traditional treasure box, a sandook in Hindi, to give that befitting royal touch to our creation,” said Gupta.
These sandooks were of all sizes — from ones housing two pieces of 12 grams priced at Rs 500 to 250 gram packs to half-kg to one-kg packs “so that even people with moderate pockets could buy and gift it.”
Any exact figures of the money made on Exotica? No one is telling, for income tax is watching.
Named “Exotica”, this newest vehicle of innovation in the mithai sector is a festival-time brainchild of the owners of the much-acclaimed sweetmeat chain Chhappan Bhog which operates from a small establishment in the bylane of a crowed Sadar Bazaar in UP’s Capital. “We conceived this unique mithai to let our customers show their near and dear ones how much they care. Otherwise, who would buy a mithaiso expensive,” said managing partner of Chhappan Bhog Ravindra Gupta.
Exactly. Who would waste so much money on a perishable item? Gupta says, he made millions on this particular mithai but no exact figures were possible before auditing. Orders came not just from individuals in Lucknow but also from corporates and people all over the globe where the shop couriered this mithai on advance orders, some of them going as far as America and Australia.
So, what makes Exotica so expensive? “The contents actually. We have used the best available pinenuts, saffron and 24 carat gold foils in two layers — in between the mithai piece and as topping (virk). While pinenuts came for Rs 1,800 a kg, we bought the best available saffron (Baby brand) at Rs 1.75 lakh per kg. Gold as you all know has bigtime value,” Gupta explained.
Incidentally, this unbelievably wanton product has a Delhi connection with all the raw material being commissioned from wholesalers in Khari Bawli, Old Delhi.
And when you have such an Exotica at hand, there can’t be a lesser packing. “The packaging itself cost us big. We designed a kind of traditional treasure box, a sandook in Hindi, to give that befitting royal touch to our creation,” said Gupta.
These sandooks were of all sizes — from ones housing two pieces of 12 grams priced at Rs 500 to 250 gram packs to half-kg to one-kg packs “so that even people with moderate pockets could buy and gift it.”
Any exact figures of the money made on Exotica? No one is telling, for income tax is watching.
Published in The Sunday Pioneer, November 2, 2008, http://www.dailypioneer.com/131740/A-mithai-priced-at-Rs-22000-a-kg!.html
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