hat happens when you custom-make sweetmeat — mithai in vernacular — the much-loved, traditional dessert in our part of the world? You get “bespoke mithai,” in the words of Rabia Abdul Razzaq, the founder of Olive.Creatives, an innovative startup based in Garden Town, Lahore, where the tradition of mithai meets modernity. Think “chocolate barfi” and “kaju barfi rose” and “cardamom-kissed laddoos” et al.

At Olive.Creatives, Razzaq is redefining the way mithai is made as well as presented and sold. It’s about customised thaals of silver and hand-painted boxes and baskets of homemade mithai prepared exclusively according to the wishes of the clients. For a Miami-based client, whose daughter wanted jasmine to be the central theme at her wedding event, “we shipped giveaways that incorporated the said floral element,” Razzaq says.

“Every individual box tailored for our clients is basically telling a story.” No wonder, she calls Olive.Creatives a “design studio.” It’s a place where she brings into good use her entrepreneurial and packaging skills that she learned at the Syracuse University.

A qualified product designer, Razzaq says she packages “my mother’s incredible culinary creations, not only showcasing the delicious food but also telling a story that resonates with people.”

“We aren’t your regular mithai shop where you’ll find the same items for everyone. We curate an experience for every individual. I don’t think anyone else is doing something like this.”

She adds, “Because all our products are handmade, people really appreciate our craftsmanship. That’s why our products are special.”

Her clientele is composed largely of the Asian diaspora: the “desi communities settled abroad. A lot of them haven’t visited Pakistan in a long time and they really miss home and crave traditional Pakistani things.”

She admits that “we are expensive. But then we aren’t your regular mithai shop where you’ll find the same items for everyone. We curate an experience for every individual. I don’t think anyone else is doing something like this.

“Obviously, those who can afford our services will come to us; they are the people who understand and appreciate design and the process behind it.

“We have common people buy [mithai] from us too,” she continues. “They like the flavours and end up being our loyal customers who’ll order items for different occasions and events.”

In response to a query, Razzaq says, “We don’t offer, let’s say, 50 items or flavours, like your regular mithai wala. We are niche. We’ve got very few flavours. But our mithai is very different — our cashew nut barfi is shaped like a rose; then we have chocolate layered barfi which also has a unique shape; coconut barfi, gulab jamun with varq, and so on. We play around a lot with the shapes.”

Talking about the service, she says, “We receive orders; it takes us around 3-4 days to prepare [the orders]. Right now, we’re doing it at a very small scale.

“The challenge was to break away from the recipes’ norm and to be able to appeal to all senses. It took us sometime to curate and develop those.”

or Razzaq, Olive.Creatives is “more than just a business; it’s a platform to celebrate heritage, craftsmanship and the joy of food.” By employing a lot of local artisans from low-income households, she has empowered them and helped them transform their lives.

“I recognised the untapped potential of Lahore’s mithai makers, and I envisioned a platform where their expertise could shine on a global stage,” she says. In order to achieve that goal, she “needed to invest not only in the products but also in the people who create them. Our packaging is proof of the artistic merit in the craftsmanship of these people.”

Razzaq makes a special mention of the underprivileged women she collaborated with: “We’ve formed a powerful alliance that transcends the traditional employer-employee relationship. At Olive.Creatives, these women have found a place to explore their creative side and earn their keep with dignity.”

Usman Ghafoor is a staff member

Faria Zeeshan is a freelance contributor