A Quick Trip to the 90s

It’s the late 90s/early ‘00s, summer holidays are about to end and we are on our way back to Agra. Aboard the Howrah-Delhi-Kalka mail, we are almost done with dinner when the train makes a halt at Barddhamaan station, and a slew of hawkers come in with different offerings. And then, walking through the coach’s aisle under the yellow halogen lights comes the person with his ware that’d capture the essence of my vacations in my last few hours in Bengal- The JhaalMuri waala.

I can still vividly recall the man heaving a specially made canister across his waist, that contained the ingredients- Muri, Chanachur, Sorso tel, chopped chili, tomatoes, onion and potatoes, and spices. Ohh those beautiful spices. Announcing JhaalMuri-JhaalMuri, he would pass from one compartment to another. Occasionally stopping, finally, he would make his way to us. Taking consensus with mummy and me, Papa would ask him to make some for the family. As if in a trance, I’d watch the man’s expert hands create magic, like the thousand times they’ve done before. Within a minute, through the clinking and clanking of utensils, we’ll have the snack ready in our hands in a neatly made paper pouch.

Lai/Bhel/Pori/Muri- Puffed rice is known by a lot of names in India. Thanks to my experience of living in multiple parts of the country, I got to experience the variety of ways it could be consumed. I am sure you have as well. So, yesterday, when Raksha brought a pack of New Tree Muri (Peri-Peri), I was pleasantly surprised to find a consumer goods company selling a Bengali street snack in Gurgaon. Taking a good look at the packaging, I was thoroughly impressed. Modeling on how the snack is sold traditionally, they not only emulated the conical-shaped paper wraps, but the brand went the extra mile by having the pack’s central part imitate a newspaper. They could’ve very well gone with standard rectangular pouches or ladi packs but the brand decided to invest in a differentiated shelf appeal.

A regional street snack going mainstream is not new. Chana Jor Garam, Salted peanuts all were street snacks before they became go-to packaged products available across most of the country. In the rich tapestry that is the Indian culture, food in different forms binds us together. With improvement in packaging technology, growth in income, and reduction in disposable time, I believe the portfolio of Indian snacks with pan-India appeal would move even more quickly than it has in the past. The challenge would be to keep consistent quality and also to differentiate oneself on the shelf.

With so many of us millennial consumers out there, who occasionally think of simpler times, nostalgia could turn out to be a big business for brands. Some have even seized it with excellent brand communication. It’s not every day that a packaged product can invoke such detailed recollection from a quarter of a century ago. Looking for moments of comfort and familiarity in an ever-evolving world, innovations like these can bridge the past and the present. Subtly, reminding us that sometimes, the simplest pleasures are the ones that leave the most lasting impressions.