Varak Unveils a Textile-Inspired Diwali Collection, Bringing Contemporary Flavours To Its Annual Celebration Of Mithai

Some stories are not written, they are woven, and this Diwali, Varak, the Dubai-born fresh dessert and luxury gifting brand, is telling its own through a limited-edition collection of gourmet mithai, Diwali hampers and festive snacks wrapped in the textiles of India. The collection is available from Varak’s boutiques in Business Bay and Arjan, as well as their cloud kitchen located in Silicon Oasis kitchen, where guests can choose from a wide selection running from a single Mithai Box to to The Heritage Keepsake, a hamper made to be the gift people remember, with the same craft and attention to detail in each one.

Varak was founded in 2019 by husband-and-wife duo Preet and Diva, who started out baking from their home kitchen in Dubai. It has since grown to two boutiques and a cloud kitchen, with almost 4,000 orders a month, all built on one promise: every order is made for you. Diwali is the only time of year the kitchen turns to mithai, and for both founders it’s a chance to return to their South Asian roots.

The recipes start with flavours anyone who grew up celebrating the festival will recognise, before taking them somewhere unexpected. Almond Pista Lauj sits beside Coffee Cashew Katli, Chocolate Mohanthal and a Yuzu Hazelnut Mysore Pak, made with pure chocolate and fresh dairy cream, with the sweetness deliberately held back for moreish snacking. It’s a box people can keep returning to, each batch made fresh to order for the festival.

The packaging tells the other half of the story. India and the Gulf have traded fabric for centuries, and the collection celebrates that connection as an ode to the artisans behind Ikat and Patola weaving, Banarasi brocade, Jaipuri block printing and Kalamkari painting. Each box is printed with a handmade design inspired by those textiles, and is made to outlive what’s inside it, so once the mithai has gone, the box stays on a shelf as a keepsake of the season.

Around the mithai, the collection leans into the playful flavour pairings Varak’s regulars come back for, from tins of Paan Barks, Burnt Miso Chocolate Cookies and Black Garlic Palmiers to jars of Hajmola Cranberry, Tikka Masala Cashews and Black Truffle Peanuts, as well as the Haute Munching pouches of Baked Kalamata Olive Mathri. These come together in a range of beautifully designed hampers, each with its own character. The Envelope keeps things simple, pairing the Mithai Box with The Karak Candle and a jar, snack pouch or deck of playing cards. The Yarn is the fuller celebration, with the Mithai Box, two jars, a Haute Munching pouch, The Karak Candle and either Berry Butterscotch Bark or a deck of The Winning Slice playing cards. The Arabian Heirloom sets the mithai aside and looks to flavours closer to home in Dubai, with Nut Butter Dates, a Za’atar Stroopwafel and Pistachio Chewy Mochi alongside two jars of choice. For a gift that stays on the table long after Diwali, the Pital with Mithai Box pairs the mithai with handcrafted brass glasses.

Ahead of Diwali on 8 November, Varak is also taking corporate and bulk orders. The collection can be ordered online at varakedibleluxury.com or chosen in person at either boutique, where guests can sit down over coffee and taste the range before they decide.

Seven years on from those first bakes at home, Varak is still a family business, guided by the belief it started with: freshness is the new luxury.