Diwali Special: A never-ending box of treats

The gourmet diet-makers

Mumbai-based online food delivery service POD Supply combines gourmet food with very specific requirements, from a macrobiotic diet to weight management and therapeutic nutrition. POD Supply offers weekly or monthly subscriptions for four-six meals per day featuring everything from a Kerala-style salmon stew, a Buddha bowl of greens and chickpeas and vegetables, artisanal cereal and protein cookies. With actors, fitness enthusiasts and corporate bigwigs on board, POD Supply is your personal nutritionist and celebrity chef rolled into one.

Podsupply.in; subscriptions start at ₹ 25,000 for a four-six meals a day weekly subscription.

Your daily bread

The Delhi-based Bread Company is a new start-up that delivers organic loaves to your doorstep every morning. The dough uses organic honey and sugar with a stress on alternative grains like ragi and bajra.

Thebreadcompanyindia.com; all breads are priced at ₹ 110 and subscriptions can be customized as per requirement.

Gifts of granola

Organic gluten-free and gourmet granola forms the bulk of Mumbai-based start-up Sustenance’s menu. Breakfast cereal becomes a luxurious affair with these delicious mixes in flavours like chocolate and hazelnut, fig and walnut, cranberry and pistachio. Their boxes also feature organic honey and artisanal preserves.

Sustenancefood.com; ₹ 1,150 for three granola bags of 300g each.

Bean to bar

Founded by chocolate taster L. Nitin Chordia, Chennai-based Cocoatrait is both a chocolate consultancy as well as an online marketplace that curates artisanal chocolates, cacao beans, nibs and cocoa powder from India and beyond. It features brands like Vietnam-based Marou chocolates, Pacari, Earth Loaf and more. The monthly boxes aim to introduce people to some of the finest chocolates in the country.

Cocoatrait.com; subscriptions start at ₹ 1,299 per month for three 50g bars.

Lovers of chai

With a range of seasonal Darjeeling teas handpicked from boutique estates to blue floral infusions extracted from the butterfly pea flower, Teabox curates teas for connoisseurs and those curious about teas. There are fruity, spiced and floral tea mixes, premium loose leaf teas from Assam, Darjeeling and Nilgiris as well as special festive boxes. The Teabox subscription offers five premium teas of 30g each in a range of flavours and monthly themed boxes and ships worldwide.

In.teabox.com; ₹ 999 per month.

The gourmet diet-makers

Mumbai-based online food delivery service POD Supply combines gourmet food with very specific requirements, from a macrobiotic diet to weight management and therapeutic nutrition. POD Supply offers weekly or monthly subscriptions for four-six meals per day featuring everything from a Kerala-style salmon stew, a Buddha bowl of greens and chickpeas and vegetables, artisanal cereal and protein cookies. With actors, fitness enthusiasts and corporate bigwigs on board, POD Supply is your personal nutritionist and celebrity chef rolled into one.

Podsupply.in; subscriptions start at ₹ 25,000 for a four-six meals a day weekly subscription.

A juice a day keeps the doctor away

Delhi-based Antidote cold presses organic fruits, vegetables and exotics like algae and moringa in their juices. Packaged in vintage bottles with old-fashioned labels, the juices are as easy on the eye as they are beneficial for your waistline and gut. Unusual blends like The Pumper combine pear, spinach, wheatgrass and moringa, while others like The Polisher promise to rejuvenate and promote youthful skin with its mix of pineapple, pear, arugula, green tea, peppermint, cinnamon, ginger and ashwagandha extract. Antidote also does a selection of superfood shots, almond milks and chia seed lemonades.

Antidote.co.in; the juice-a-day subscription costs ₹ 6,000 for a month.

India in a box

Eatelish is a food start-up that aims to create access to local ingredients and traditional cooking methods across the country by curating collections of snacks, chutneys, pickles and spices from different regional cuisines. From a Bihari box which offers a selection of spice blends like Bihari Bhuna Masala, Sattu Ka Ghol and Lal Mirch Achaar to a Tamil lunch box with five rice mixes, including Thengai Sadam (coconut rice) and Karuvepillai Sadam (curry leaf rice), there are surprises galore.

Eatelish.com; subscriptions cost ₹ 1,499 for three boxes.

Sugar, sugar

This one is for lovers of candy with a twist. Japan Candy Box is a subscription service that offers a mind-boggling variety of candy curated from across Japan.

Japancandybox.com; subscriptions start at $19.90 (around ₹ 1,450).

A matter of roasts

In the six years since they launched Blue Tokai, coffee enthusiasts Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana have, in their own small way, changed the coffee-drinking culture in India. The “plantation-to cup" coffee experience that they offer has opened up the diverse world of Indian coffee and its terroir. Their subscription offers coffees from Coorg, Chikmagalur and the Nilgiris, and comes in options of 6, 12 or 24 packets of 250g each.

Bluetokaicoffee.com; subscriptions start at ₹ 2,200.

Pancakes and paninis

Gurugram-based Fig is a food delivery service that offers healthy, wholesome fare including a range of pancakes—from buttermilk pancakes and eggs for breakfast to whole-wheat pancakes with honey mascarpone and berries for tea. Bagels, paninis, healthy calorie-counted bowls and wraps are some of the other things on offer and subscriptions can be designed according to preferences, like keto and high protein, low carb options.

Fig.delivery; subscriptions start at ₹ 7,380 for a four-week lunch plan.