Tirumala temple visible here with an inset image showing a laddu.
Credit: iStock Photos
Hyderabad: The sale of the famed Tirumala 'Srivari Laddu' prasadam reached a record high in 2025, marking the highest sales in a decade.
Compared to 2024, laddu sales rose by 10 per cent. While 12.15 crore laddus were sold to devotees in 2024, the number climbed to 13.52 crore in 2025 an increase of 1.37 crore laddus.
The milestone comes amid a controversy surrounding the quality of cow ghee used in preparing the revered Tirumala Laddu Prasadam. The Supreme Court recently ordered a probe into allegations of adulteration in the ghee supplied for laddu preparation.
The Srivari Laddu is not just a sweet it is considered a divine blessing from Lord Venkateswara and a symbol of faith for the more than 2.5 crore pilgrims who visit the Tirumala hill shrine every year.
The Tirupati Laddu received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2009. Its preparation follows a traditional formula called Dittam, which specifies the ingredients and their proportions.
The offering of laddus to Lord Venkateswara dates back to 1715. Today, around 700 cooks known as Potu Karmikulu work in the Laddu Potu, the temple kitchen, to prepare the prasadam. According to Dittam, the recipe includes gram flour, ghee, sugar, sugar candy, cashew nuts, raisins, and cardamom. A trip to Tirumala is considered incomplete without tasting this laddu, renowned for its distinct flavor and aroma.
The Laddu Potu kitchen can produce up to eight lakh laddus a day and features three conveyor belts that transport both raw ingredients and finished laddus.
In a record single-day sale, devotees purchased 5.13 lakh laddus on December 27, 2025 the highest in over a decade.
On regular days, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) prepares around four lakh laddus, scaling up production to between eight and ten lakh including buffer stock—on special occasions.
Around 700 Sri Vaishnava Brahmins work in two shifts, round the clock, maintaining strict adherence to religious customs and traditional methods in preparing the prasadam at the Srivari Potu.