Inside Pistabarfi’s desi-core Instagram strategy

In the crowded streets of Elphinstone Road, Mumbai, there once stood a small sweet shop called Janta Dairy. Started in the 1940s by a family of mithai makers, it was the kind of place where people didn’t just come for sweets, but for the comfort and familiarity they carried. But as times changed and traditional mithai started losing its charm among younger audiences and, then came the pandemic. The shop shut down due to mounting economic pressures. 

But that pause led to a quiet revival. In 2021, brothers Harshit and Tanay Agrawal stepped in to reimagine their grandfather’s legacy, not by turning away from tradition, but by leaning into it. They launched Pistabarfi, a brand rooted in memory, right down to the packaging. One of their earliest design choices was to wrap mithai boxes in muslin cloth, inspired by childhood summers and long train rides back from their Nani’s house in Dhanbad, where sweets were packed in cloth-wrapped boxes. That memory became a small but meaningful part of the brand. Today, with handwritten notes, steel dabbas, and Indian prints, Pistabarfi carries a look and feel that is desi, and this shows up on their Instagram, too.

The brand’s social media doesn’t just highlight products; it reflects a mood and a mindset. Their desi core approach shapes everything from the colour palette to the captions. In this article, we take a closer look at how Pistabarfi uses its Instagram to build its world, one that’s warm, familiar, and deeply rooted in tradition.

Campaigns that centre around storytelling

When Pistabarfi launches a new product or announces a service, they don’t just post about the offering; they build a story around it. Their campaigns usually centre on real-life moments, cultural traditions, or memories. Each one is designed to go beyond the product and make it about something people relate to emotionally.

  • Birth - Turning a mithai box into a personal memory

For the birth campaign, Pistabarfi launched a mithai box that could be customised as a birth announcement. Parents could add their child’s name, birth date, or any other special detail to the sleeve of the box. It was wrapped in their usual muslin cloth, turning the product into a keepsake.

In one of its posts, the design of the sleeve is shown clearly, and this post explains the thought behind the idea that a mithai box can carry emotion and memory, not just sweets.

This campaign helped Pistabarfi position itself as a thoughtful gifting option for important life moments. Instead of being one of many mithai brands, they became a brand people could associate with emotional milestones. The use of personalisation also tapped into a growing demand for unique, meaningful gifting experiences.

 

  • घर | Home – Using real stories to enter the wedding market

When Pistabarfi wanted to enter the wedding market, they didn’t just post an announcement. They created a campaign called घर (Home), built around real wedding stories from couples across India. The posts featured vintage-style wedding photos and short love stories, told in a warm, nostalgic tone.

In one of its posts, one couple’s story is shared with soft-toned visuals. Another one formally shares the news that the brand is now taking wedding orders.

This campaign helped Pistabarfi enter a new customer segment without losing their core identity. Instead of showing staged photoshoots or catalogue-style content, they used real stories to create trust and connection.

 

 

 

 

Branded collabs 

Pistabarfi doesn’t do brand collaborations just for visibility; they use them as a way to stay in tune with what their younger audience is already engaging with. Instead of trying to make mithai feel ‘cool’, they place it right in the middle of a larger cultural moment. These collaborations allow the brand to borrow relevance from fashion, design, or pop culture while staying true to its core.

Pistabarfi’s collaboration with Puma for the launch of their Palermo sneakers shows how the brand uses partnerships to stay culturally relevant. For this collab, Pistabarfi created custom mithai boxes that matched the colours of the sneakers. The Mysore Pak came in a cobalt blue box that mirrored one pair, while the Aam Papdi was packed in a teal cardboard box to match another.

The aim here was to introduce Pistabarfi to a younger, style-conscious audience who may not usually engage with traditional mithai. By aligning with a global brand like Puma, Pistabarfi positioned itself in a more contemporary space. The matching packaging made the product part of the collab story, increasing its chances of being shared online and picked up in pop culture conversations.

 

 

Turning products into tiny stories

Even when they’re not launching a campaign or collaborating with another brand, Pistabarfi treats every post as an opportunity to tell a story. Their feed is full of soft, carefully composed visuals, but what stands out is how they use captions. Instead of just listing ingredients or talking about taste, they share the inspiration behind a product, the feeling it evokes, or how it connects to memory.

In one post, the brand might explain why they paired a certain ingredient with mawa and what that flavour combination reminds them of. Another might read like a quiet journal entry, evoking a specific mood or time of year. Sometimes the post is just a straightforward description of a sweet, but it’s written in a way that feels rooted and familiar, like something passed down in a household, not created in a factory.

The goal here is to build a consistent mood and tone that becomes recognisable. Over time, this helps the audience connect with the brand emotionally. It also positions Pistabarfi as a brand that pays attention to detail, values storytelling, and cares about how things are presented — all of which contribute to long-term brand loyalty.

 

 

Pistabarfi’s social media isn’t trying to shout louder than everyone else. Instead, it stays consistent, subtle, rooted, and personal. Whether it’s a campaign, a collab, or a simple product post, the brand uses Instagram to build a visual and emotional language that feels familiar yet fresh. It’s less about performance and more about presence,  showing up with small stories, carefully considered design, and a clear sense of identity.

With around 13.9k followers on Instagram, the brand’s presence is about building a community that relates to the mood and meaning behind each box of sweets. 

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