Zepto’s Mithai Wars turns festive fandom into full-blown election fever

After turning Soan Papdi into a national comeback story last Diwali, Zepto is back to sweeten the festive season once again, this time with an election like no other. In partnership with Haldiram’s, the quick commerce platform presents Mithai Wars 2025. This is India’s first-ever mithai election, where the country’s favourite sweets battle it out for the ultimate crown, ‘India’s favourite mithai’.

From October 10th to 14th, every eligible Zepto delivery turns into a mini polling booth. Users will receive a mystery mithai box from Haldiram’s, with no clue which sweet candidate lies inside until they open it. Each mithai arrives with its own cheeky manifesto, urging voters to ‘taste before they decide.’

Once the sweet moment is over, patrons can head to the Zepto app to cast their vote, deciding which contender wins India’s sweetest election. The ballot is full of flavour, with four strong personalities competing for the crown:

1. Soan Papdi is the comeback king—underestimated but unstoppable, riding last year’s redemption wave.
2. Kaju Katli is the incumbent leader—
   refined, trusted, and polished to perfection.
3. Chana Burfi is the people pleaser humble, accessible, and winning hearts with simplicity.
4. Peda is the traditionalist: timeless, rooted, and respected across generations.

At the centre of Mithai Wars 2025 is a high-energy hero film that reimagines election frenzy through the lens of mithais on the campaign trail. With rallies, posters, and promises flying thick and fast, the film brings together satire, nostalgia, and pure festive fun, setting the tone for a campaign that’s impossible to ignore.

Chandan Mendiratta, chief brand officer and chief culture officer, Zepto, said, “Festivals in India are defined as much by shared memories as by traditions. With Mithai Wars, we’ve taken something every Indian relates to, which is mithai, and added a fun, participative twist. We thank our sellers for enabling this. After Soan Papdi’s redemption arc last year, we wanted to go bigger: four mithais, one crown, and a country full of voters. It’s satire, celebration, and exactly the kind of joyful chaos that makes Diwali what it is, only Zepto-style.”

Campaign’s take: After turning Soan Papdi from a regifted meme into a national talking point last Diwali, Zepto is back with a bigger sugar rush. Its 2025 campaign, Mithai Wars, created in partnership with Haldiram’s, transforms the festive dessert debate into India’s first “mithai election.”

The idea is both clever and culturally tuned. Zepto knows that Diwali in India is equal parts nostalgia and noise, and this campaign manages to harness both. It builds on last year’s Make Soan Papdi Great Again movement, which turned a running joke into a redemption story. This year’s sequel raises the stakes, treating mithai as political candidates and consumers as an electorate.

In a marketplace where festive campaigns often blur into sentimentality, Zepto’s take stands out for its irreverence and timing. The format taps directly into India’s election obsession—turning Diwali’s social chatter into a democratic dessert showdown. The sweet spot? It doesn’t feel like advertising; it feels like cultural participation.

By inviting users to ‘vote’ through real purchases, Zepto fuses digital marketing, experiential engagement, and humour with quick-commerce agility. The result: a campaign that’s part entertainment, part consumer insight, and entirely self-aware.

Ultimately, Mithai Wars 2025 is more than a festive gimmick. It’s a cultural play that understands India’s two great passions—sweets and elections—and serves them up in one clickable, shippable, and snackable format. Conversations, much like the desserts, are bound to be impossible to resist.