Case Study: Zepto’s Mithai Wars turned Diwali mithai choices into an election-style contest

Zepto’s Mithai Wars was a Diwali-season campaign that framed India’s festive sweet preferences as an election-style contest. Launched in collaboration with Haldiram’s, the initiative positioned Soan Papdi, Kaju Katli, Chana Barfi and Peda as competing 'candidates,' inviting users to vote through the Zepto app. The rollout began with teaser content on social media, followed by outdoor activations and on-ground rallies in Delhi. Between October 10 and 14, customers received mithai boxes containing QR codes linking to the voting page. The campaign combined humour, participatory mechanics and festive distribution to drive engagement during the Diwali period.

About the Industry 

The global quick commerce (q‑comm) market is projected to reach nearly $185 billion in 2025, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between 9% and 25%, depending on region and report source. India, as a key growth driver, will contribute about $5.4 billion in 2025, growing at a 16%–22% CAGR and rapidly expanding user penetration. Grocery dominates q‑comm, accounting for around 44% of revenue, followed by fresh food and beverages.​ Demand is driven by urban consumers prioritizing convenience and time savings, with mobile applications handling over 90% of orders globally. 

About Zepto

Founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra, Zepto operates in India’s quick-commerce segment, focusing on fast delivery through a network of local fulfilment hubs. The platform listed over 50,000 products across categories including groceries, electronics, personal care, apparel and toys, and operated in more than 60 cities, with delivery timelines positioned around short turnaround windows. The company also runs Zepto Café, a separate vertical offering a menu of ready-to-eat food items, as part of its broader expansion beyond grocery-led quick commerce.

Summary of the Campaign

• Zepto launched “Mithai Wars”, a festive campaign with Haldiram’s that transformed India’s mithai preferences into a playful election-style face-off. 

• Between 10th to 14th October, customers received a mystery mithai box with its manifesto to vote for their favorite mithai among other four contenders, Soan Papdi, Kaju Katli, Chana Burfi, and Peda.

• The campaign deployed multiple touchpoints to drive awareness, starting with high-impact OOH “vandalism” that sparked early curiosity. We then scaled the narrative with a full-fledged political-style Kaju Rally, an auto rally for Soan Papdi, and real-life voting enabled through QR codes placed on mithai boxes, allowing users to participate directly in the campaign.

• Influencer collaborations, playful election-style content, and on-ground rallies were also used to generate high engagement and festive buzz

• Overall, it blended humour, nostalgia, and interactive voting to drive participation and keep audiences actively involved.
  

Objective 

Building on last year’s ‘Make Soan Papdi Great Again’campaign, Zepto this year launched the Mithai Wars campaign in collaboration with Haldiram’s. The aim was to ‘own the Diwali campaign conversation’ 

Brief

• Position diwali mithai preferences in a playful, election-style contest between iconic sweets - Soan Papdi, Kaju Katli, Chana Barfi, and Peda. 

• Designed to spark curiosity and chatter among the users, the initiative invited audiences to ‘vote’ for their favourite mithai through a dedicated page on the zepto app. 

• Voting officially launched on 5th October with the release of the campaign film.

• To drive participation, Haldiram’s mithai boxes were delivered with every order between 10th –14th  October with QR codes directing users to visit the zepto app to vote
  

Creative Idea

To launch the Mithai Wars with maximum intrigue, we started by creating curiosity on social media. Viral Bhayani and other pap pages dropped the first tease, a fun, staged video of a Kaju Katli supporter vandalising the  Soan Papdi billboard. The clip spread quickly, got people talking, and set the tone for the campaign.

After the intrigue, we released a press release to announce the official launch of the campaign with a video announcing the beginning of mithai wars. 

Soon after, the rivalry moved from the internet to the streets with rallies in Delhi for key contenders Kaju Katli and Soan Papdi. We also had elaborate influencer engagement on ground to cover the rallies in real time through reels, carousels, and stories, adding to the excitement and playful banter on social media 

In the final leg of the campaign the mithai box was packed with a fun ‘Candidate/Mithai  manifesto’ and a QR code to direct the users to vote for their favourite sweet on the Zepto app. This step-by-step rollout made the campaign feel like a real election, starting with curiosity, moving into full-blown public rallies, and ending with nationwide participation through Zepto’s mithai boxes and voting microsite.

Challenges

• Timely co-ordination of on ground activations : Auto Rally for Soan Papdi and an election rally for Kaju Katli. 

• We made the campaign feel like a real election by visualising and personifying each mithai as a political contender, complete with its own rallies and voter base. Building on the impact of our previous insight-led campaign, we tapped into India’s passionate festive mithai debates to create an election-style movement that felt culturally sharp and instantly relatable.

Result

• The Mithai Wars campaign delivered strong visibility across online media, social platforms, and influencer networks. Our outreach through online publications generated a PR value of ₹90,00,000, reaching over 350 million people, driven by high-impact stories and organic conversations sparked through early intrigue.
  

• On social media, the campaign continued to build momentum and garnered 26.68 million impressions. achieved over 14.45 million views through reels, carousels and real-time coverage by popular paparazzi pages and content creators from paparazzi, lifestyle and food.
  

• Overall, the campaign delivered a total PR value of ₹29.32 million and a combined reach of 352.5 million, making Mithai Wars one of the most widely amplified festive campaigns of the season.

Chandan Mendiratta, Chief Brand 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 — 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, it’s celebration, and it’s exactly the kind of joyful chaos that makes Diwali what it is,  only Zepto-style.”