Bombay Sweet Shop

Hunger Inc.

2024 | 2024 | 2025 | 2025 | 2026 | 2026

At Kala Ghoda, the design leans into nostalgia with restraint. Inspired by neighbourhood bakeries and cinema snack stalls, the Mithai Bar becomes a direct nod to historical concession counters. Glazed tiles, antique Art Deco light fixtures, and teak wood panelling reference the heritage of the precinct.

The old-world warmth is offset by a fresh, whimsical colour palette. Flooring unfolds as a playful checkerboard of green, pink, terracotta, and ivory tiles. Subtle graphic moments are embedded throughout the space: a brass-inlay ladoo in the floor, 200-gram weights embedded into café tables, hand-painted messages on walls, and even a sculpted and painted Ghoda quietly watching over the café.

A mezzanine balcony offers a favourite perch—overlooking the café below—while curated products are displayed in a handcrafted timber library. A vinyl record station is discreetly tucked between the shop and café, reinforcing the sense that this is a place to linger, not rush.

If Kala Ghoda is nostalgic and intimate, Oshiwara is cinematic, theatrical, and exuberant—a full-blown carnival of Bombay Sweet Shop.

Set within a neighbourhood known for its energy and informality, the Oshiwara store amplifies colour, scale, and movement. As you enter, you are greeted by the familiar Mithai Library, now joined by a self-service fridge stocked with everyone’s favourite barks—introducing immediacy and informality into the experience.

A chaat bar anchors the entry, conceived as a tasting counter where small plates can be sampled at dedicated tasting tables. This gives way to a café zone organised around a long communal table, encouraging group gatherings, while cosy booths along the edges offer more intimate settings.

The palette here is deliberately dialled up—vibrant, cinematic, and energetic. A bold, colourful mural pays tribute to the surrounding neighbourhood, while period-style light fixtures, reminiscent of Bombay Talkies-era confectionery stalls, layer nostalgia into the spectacle.

Oshiwara embraces excess without apology. It is loud, playful, and immersive—designed to feel like stepping into a moving set rather than a store. The architecture leans into joy, performance, and collective experience, making the act of eating sweets feel celebratory, public, and delightfully indulgent.

The thrill of the snack stalls at Intermission at a Bombay talkie theater.

Bombay Sweet Shop

Hunger Inc.

2024 | 2024 | 2025 | 2025 | 2026 | 2026

PROJECT OVERVIEW

For an evolved Indian confectionery brand, LAB set out to literally evoke the cliché of being “a kid in a candy shop.” Bombay Sweet Shop is imagined as a place where making, tasting, gifting, and spectacle collide; drawing inspiration from the fantastical concession stalls of Bombay’s 1950s Art Deco cinema theatres.

The old-world warmth is offset by a fresh, whimsical colour palette. Flooring unfolds as a playful checkerboard of green, pink, terracotta, and ivory tiles. Subtle graphic moments are embedded throughout the space: a brass-inlay ladoo in the floor, 200-gram weights embedded into café tables, hand-painted messages on walls, and even a sculpted and painted Ghoda quietly watching over the café.

As you enter, you are greeted by the familiar Mithai Library, now joined by a self-service fridge stocked with everyone’s favourite barks; introducing immediacy and informality into the experience.