The sweet spread at Nakur. Picture by Sanat Kumar Sinha

Nakur, the last word in sandesh for the discerning Calcuttan, has broken its 163-year tradition of exclusivity to jump into the lap of the modern-day mall. Never having deigned to make sugar-syrup sweets like the rosogolla in all these years, it is now promising such innovations as the liquor-filled sandesh.

Girishchandra Dey-Nakur Chandra Nandy, so far rooted to 56 Ramdulal Sarkar Street (formerly Manicktalla Street), has tied up with RPG Enterprises to set up shop in the Spencer’s hypermart on Rashbehari Avenue. The Spencer’s stores in South City and Mani Square, on the EM Bypass, will house the next two Nakur outlets.

“We have felt the need to expand for quite some time, and now there is enough manpower to go full steam ahead, with my nephews joining the family business,” said Prasanta Nandy, who runs the business with siblings Pratip and Pranob.

The brothers, great grandsons of Nakur Chandra Nandy, had opened a stall at the Mahalaxmi temple on Diamond Harbour Road three years ago, but the move to Rashbehari is their “first organised foray” outside Ramdulal Sarkar Street. Now that they have taken the leap, even Delhi and Bangalore aren’t out of reach.

Nakur’s creations famously made the journey to Mumbai for the Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai marriage.

Apart from reaching out to its consumer base for the first time, Nakur is planning to woo GeNext with products like wine sandesh filled with whisky or brandy. “This range will be retailed specifically from Spencer’s outlets. It should be a hit with some of our younger customers,” Prasanta said.

The traditional Nakur favourites include the Golapi Pada, Jalbhora Talshaash, Kora Golla and Madhuja and Mohini sandesh.

Sumantra Banerjee, the president & chief executive of RPG Enterprises’s retail business, said Spencer’s was “delighted” to have Nakur on board and would provide marketing and brand-building support. “After South City and Mani Square, there will be Nakur counters at The Terminus mall in Rajarhat and the RPG Mall on Syed Amir Ali Avenue.”

Spencer’s will also provide Nakur space in the other hypermarts coming up across the country. The same retail chain had tied up with Flurys last year when the confectionery brand decided to step beyond its Park Street haunt after five decades.