Which sweet was sold most during Navratri?:Prices increase by up to 10%; West Bengal’s Durga Puja economy projected to increase to nearly ₹65,000 crore

The recently concluded nine days festive celebrations of West Bengal’s most celebrated festival Durga Puja are estimated to contribute over ₹65,000 crore to the state’s economy, stated a Times Of India (TOI) report. Durga Puja economy size to double from pre-Covid levels: The same report quotes an earlier official study of British Council stating that the Durga Puja economy’s size back in 2019 was ₹33,000 crore. While, this time in 2025, it is estimated to nearly double to ₹65,000 crore. While, last year, the puja business was worth ₹55,000-57,000 crore. So, it has continuously grown in the last few years. The nine days festival is celebrated with a lot of zeal and enthusiasm across the state. People offer ‘prasad’ to the deity goddess Durga. Generally, the ‘sandesh’ sweet is mostly sold during this festival. And this time too, there was no difference. The melt in the mouth sweet was in high demand! Rahul Chaurasia, owner of Ganguram Sweets (which has a chain of stores in West Bengal) says, “Generally, the demand is robust for sandesh, dahi and rasgulla during the festive season.” Varieties of Sandesh: Chaurasia says there are a variety of sandesh sweets. The prices range from ₹15 a piece to ₹70 per piece, depending on the variety. But people mostly buy the varieties which come in the range of ₹25-30 apiece. Sweet prices surge up to 10% during festive season: Chaurasia and owners of other sweet shops in West Bengal admitted that this time around, the price of Sandesh surged by up to 10% How big is India’s mithai market? According to the a market research store, Research and Markets, India’s packaged sweet industry commanded a size of ₹7,268.0 crore in 2024. By 2033, the research store projects this industry to grow nearly four times in size to ₹27,647.5 crore by 2033. This translates to Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16% in a nine year period.