Ankush Dadu: Sweetening India’s Legacy with a Billion-Dollar Vision

At the intersection of tradition and modern luxury, Ankush Dadu, Partner, Anand Sweets & Savouries, Anand Sweets & Savouries is turning mithai into a premium global experience—and Anand Sweets into a billion-rupee culinary empire.

By The Cover Story | Fastest Growing Leaders in the World, 2025 Edition

In a world obsessed with disruptive tech and digital scale, Ankush Dadu chose a different path: he built a revolution using ghee, saffron, and silver leaf.

As Partner at Anand Sweets & Savouries, the Bengaluru-born brand with decades of heritage, Dadu isn’t just leading a food company—he’s crafting a global narrative of Indian luxury through sweets. In 2025, The Cover Story names him among the Fastest Growing Leaders in the World, not just for scaling a legacy, but for reimagining what “premium” means in the most crowded consumer market on Earth.

From Halwai to Haute

Walk into any Anand Sweets flagship store in 2025, and you’ll see what Dadu has created: not a mithai shop—but a multi-sensory luxury experience.

Marble counters, curated gift hampers, branded packaging, and the aroma of saffron-laced khoya meet you like you’ve entered an Indian Hermès of mithai. Under Dadu’s leadership, Anand Sweets has transitioned from a traditional sweets manufacturer into a modern, experiential Indian F&B brand—with an expanding footprint across India, Dubai, Singapore, and soon, London.

Disrupting Taste, One Innovation at a Time

Dadu didn’t just inherit a family business—he rewired it. His approach fuses culinary R&D, brand storytelling, and modern retail design to elevate every aspect of the Anand experience.

Sweets as souvenirs: Dadu was among the first to champion Indian mithai as a gifting category, creating hampers that compete with Swiss chocolate boxes and French macarons.

Tech meets tradition: He’s introduced AI-driven inventory forecasting to ensure zero-waste perishable logistics across 40+ stores.

Design-first packaging: Anand’s festive boxes are now designed in collaboration with Indian artists and fashion houses—making mithai Instagrammable and collectible.

Chef-powered labs: Dadu has brought in award-winning chefs to co-create seasonal products like kesar-pistachio energy bars, masala truffle laddoos, and sugar-free gulab jamun popsicles.

Branding India’s Sweet Power to the World

For Dadu, this isn’t about just sweets—it’s about soft power. He believes India’s culinary identity, especially in the festive and luxury food segment, has global potential.

Under his watch, Anand Sweets has entered airport retail, partnered with luxury hotels, and now serves curated mithai at international weddings, corporate gifting programs, and even Michelin-style tasting menus.

And the numbers back him: annual revenue has grown 4X in five years, with direct-to-consumer online sales now making up 30% of the business, thanks to a stunning Shopify-powered global storefront.

The Culture-First Leadership Mindset

What makes Ankush Dadu different isn’t just innovation—it’s respect for legacy. He has preserved Anand’s iconic recipes while modernizing everything around them. He invests in training artisans, digitizing recipe archives, and documenting culinary heritage that’s often lost in generational transitions.

He’s not just building a brand—he’s preserving a craft, and doing it at scale.

Interesting Facts About Ankush Dadu & Anand Sweets:

• Started working in the kitchen at age 16, shadowing his grandfather’s master halwai.

• Anand Sweets products are now available in 11 countries through curated export boxes.

• Launched India’s first luxury mithai bar—a 10-course plated experience blending molecular gastronomy with Indian classics.

• Grew Anand’s festive season sales by 300% in 2023 through experiential marketing and influencer campaigns.

• Building a culinary school for Indian sweets artisans, opening in 2026.

The Mithai Mogul of Modern India

Ankush Dadu is part of a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs who don’t just build businesses—they build narratives, break molds, and export culture.

In his hands, mithai has become movement. And Anand Sweets isn’t just a heritage brand—it’s a symbol of how old-world legacy can lead the new-world order.

He isn’t chasing disruption. He’s sweetly engineering it.

Ankush Dadu is taking the soul of India’s sweet legacy global—combining culinary innovation, luxury branding, and digitized heritage to transform Anand Sweets into a billion-rupee powerhouse.

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