This Diwali, don’t burst crackers, just eat them as Lucknow bakeries bring designer snacks

Crackers, rockets and Sutli bombs that
you can eat and not ignite, cash notes that you can give but not preserve and
playing cards that you can snack on but not play.

Bakers, sweet shops and even
private entrepreneurs have come up with a new range of designer snacks and
sweets that are healthy and low on calories apart from being attractive.

“We have tried to innovate
with our designs this year. The ‘sutli bomb’, made with white chocolate is
filled with toffees and looks amazingly real. In fact, a few of our customers
thought that we have started selling crackers in our shop too. The ‘phuljhari’
is also made of chocolate and wrapped in silver foil,” said Krishna
Ahirwar who makes sweets and bakery items on order.

These edible crackers are a favourite
with the children and are selling at a premium. The sutli bombs are priced at
Rs 85 each and the phuljhari comes at Rs 40 per piece. Some bakers have even
come up with cookies that look like counters used in casinos and poker chips.

These edible crackers are now
being used for corporate gifting.

“Instead of gifting the usual
‘Kaju katli’, we felt that this would be more attractive and also has a longer
shelf life,” said the head of a communication company.

More than the edible items, it is
the attractive packing that is bringing in customers. ‘Phuljharis’ and rockets
are available in designer bottles while cookies are available in stained glass
jars. Tiny teddy bears are perched on the packing to attract children.

The sellers have also made sure
that they cater to the demands of health conscious customers.

“We have a whole range of
goodies made with sugar free chocolate and even those that have low sugar
content. This has been done on the specific request of some customers who are
health conscious and/or suffer from diabetes,” said Mannu Agarwal who runs
a bakery.