No matter the occasion—a festival, a new addition to the family, or even a good report card—Indians always marked celebrations with sweets. But the way the country enjoys its mithai is evolving faster than ever. To capture this shift, Scandalous Foods, a fast-growing B2B brand known for its frozen Indian sweets, has released India’s Dessert Index 2025. The study tracks how Indians choose, eat, and think about mithai in the modern day. Scroll down for more details.
How India Is Indulging In Sweets These Days
According to Scandalous Foods’ India Dessert Index 2025, a total of 684 respondents from various age groups, regions and social backgrounds participated in the survey. The results show that while Indian sweets remain strongly rooted in tradition, they are quickly adapting to the tastes of younger consumers who value appearance, convenience, and creative formats.
The index notes that people no longer treat mithai only as prasad or festival food. Many now enjoy it as an everyday dessert—an area earlier dominated by chocolates and ice creams in India’s $30 billion dessert market. With the average Indian eating 6.5 kilograms of sweets a year, the study captures how this long-standing relationship with mithai is evolving.
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How Gen Zs And Millennials Love Their Sweet Treats
One of the biggest shifts is being driven by Gen Z Gen Z and millennials. The report says young consumers prefer desserts that look premium, feel aspirational, and photograph well. In the survey, 50% of respondents were Gen Z, 30% millennials, and 20% were Gen X, with 57% women and 43% men participating. Gen Z openly enjoys Western desserts in public while sticking to traditional sweets at home. Millennials prefer a mix of nostalgia and modern twists. Baby boomers remain loyal to classic mithai and rarely experiment.
Fusion sweets like rasmalai cheesecake, motichoor cakes and rasgulla tiramisu still attract attention, but the index notes that people now want portion-sized treats. They want full flavour but better control, instead of choosing sugar-free versions.
Understanding the demands, restaurants and brands are making changes. They are introducing premium packaging, better presentation and modern takes on traditional sweets. New-age kulfis and organised dessert offerings are also rising. However, the study says fusion sweets are only a stepping stone. The real future lies in presenting classics—like gulab jamun, rasmalai and kalakand—as hero desserts that stand on their own instead of being hidden inside Western-style dishes.
How do you like to enjoy your sweets? Tell us in the comments!
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Cover Image Courtesy: Canva Pro/ Artist (Representative Image)