"From my hand to yours" - The economics of Soan Papdi

If you received some Soan Papdi this Diwali, chances are you didn’t even bother opening it. Chances are you didn’t even think about it twice. In fact, chances are you might not even remember there’s a tasty sweet in your fridge right now that you can eat.

Love it or hate it, soan papdi has made its way into every hand over the years. 

But that’s not the only interesting part. The interesting part is that this sweet has dominated the Indian market so much that the soan papdi market in India stood at $73 million back in 2017. The market share of this infamous sweet is only expected to grow and reach more than $150 million by 2023. 

But what makes soan papdi the first gift choice for millions of people in India?

Here’s the thing.

• A pack of soan papdi is cheap, costing around ₹80 a box. Such a price for a box of sweets is very economical for a middle-class person.
• A box of soan papdi has a good shelf life. You can keep it on your shelves for weeks without it turning bad.
• A box of soan papdi is readily available. From every retail store to every major sweets outlet, you can get it almost everywhere.

Despite being such a ‘sweet’ option, why is it practically the most hated option?

Even though everybody talks about Soan Papdi, it still isn’t the most popular or most bought sweet in India. In fact, it’s not even close.

Take a look at what people in India search for the most.

That’s right, people prefer gulab jamun the most. The second sweet they prefer is the barfi, followed by kaju katli, and then comes soan papdi.

But wait, if people prefer other sweets so much, why do they hate soan papdi only?

Let’s touch upon the law of diminishing returns to understand this theory better. This law states that there comes a point where an additional contributing factor of production results in reduced output. Now let’s apply this analogy to soan papdi.

When you open a box of rasgulla or kaju katli, you have one, you like it and your hand goes to reach for another. The more you have it, the more satisfied you feel. Eventually, there comes a point when you are full and don’t ‘want’ any more of it, no matter how much you love this sweet. You love having these rasgullas or kaju katlis because they are tasty, small, and easy to consume.

Now let’s say you have to consume soan papdi. How many can you finish? One? Two? How many times would you require to drink water because of how dry it is or how much it pricks your tongue?

In fact, the more you eat it, the more dissatisfaction it brings. It’s one of those things you pass around and wish to never see again, at least not until the next Diwali!

A family that gifts five boxes of sweets to their relatives also expects the same in return. How disappointing is it when all these gifts are just boxes of soan papdis?