Why Our Pickle Prices Are Changing — And the Honest Story Behind It
by Kalpana Jha on Feb 25, 2026
We make achar.
That is the simple version of what we do.
The longer version involves LPG gas, bubble wrap, plastic jars, cartons, sealing tape, and a van that drives your order from Darbhanga to your door.The longer version is why I am writing this.
Over the last few weeks, our costs have gone up. A lot.
LPG prices have risen. Packaging material has jumped anywhere from 25% to 150%. Fuel costs are moving up too.I want to explain clearly how this happened. It is not obvious why a war in the Middle East should affect a pickle kitchen in Darbhanga. But it does. And it means prices will change when you order with us next month.
Something Big Is Happening Far Away — And It's Reaching Our Kitchen
The US-Iran War and Its Ripple Effects on India
Most of us have been following the news.
The war between the US and Iran has spread across the Middle East. It has disrupted oil supply from one of the world's most important producing regions.India imports most of its crude oil. So when oil supply anywhere in the world gets disrupted, we feel it here.It shows up in the price of LPG cylinders. In packaging materials the cost of jars, bubble wrap, and cartons. In diesel for trucks.
It showed up in our kitchen.
That is what is happening to us right now.
Why Supply Chains Don't Respect Borders
A supply chain is a chain. Pull one end, the other end moves.
The Middle East ships oil to refineries. Refineries make LPG, diesel, and the raw materials for plastic the industrial materials that go into making plastic jars and packaging. Plastic becomes jars, bubble wrap, and tape. Diesel moves trucks. Trucks deliver pickles.When oil supply drops, every link in that chain gets more expensive.
That is what is happening to us right now
The LPG Story: When Gas Becomes a Problem for a Pickle Maker
Which of Our Products Are Cooked on Gas?
Most of our pickles are made with cold ingredients — raw mango, chilli, mustard oil, hand-ground spices. No heat needed.
But some of our chutneys are cooked on gas our Chatpati Imli ki Chatni, Tomato Garlic & Green Chili Chutney, and Lal Mirch Lahsun Chutney are all cooked on flame. The texture, the timing, the way the masala settles — it all depends on a consistent flame.We cannot easily switch to something else. We are not a factory. We do not have a spare industrial setup waiting in a different room.
What Dwindling LPG Supply Means in Practice
LPG supply has tightened since the conflict started.
What is available now costs more than it did a month ago. Supply went down. Demand stayed the same — homes and businesses still need gas. So prices went up.That is just how markets work. It does not make it easier to manage.
Government Directives and Prioritisation of Refineries
The Indian government responded to the shortage. They asked refineries to prioritise LPG production.
This sounds helpful. For households running on cooking gas, it is.But it created a problem we did not expect.
The same refineries that make LPG also produce the industrial feedstock that makes plastic. goes into manufacturing plastic packaging materials. When refinery capacity shifts to LPG, less capacity is left for plastic feedstock that feedstock. And almost everything we use to pack and ship your order is made from plastic. those materials
The Hidden Link: Why Packaging Costs Have Jumped
Plastic Jars, Cartons, Cellophane, Sealing Tape, Bubble Wrap
This is the part that surprises most people.
Think about what arrives at your door when you order from us.
The jar. The bubble wrap inside the box. The cellophane around the jar. The sealing tape on the carton. The carton lining.
The jar itself — plastic. The bubble wrap inside the box — plastic. The cellophane around the jar — plastic. The sealing tape on the carton — plastic. The carton lining — partly petroleum-derived.None of these feel like industrial products when you are unpacking your order. But all of them are manufactured from the same class of raw materials that refineries produce
alongside LPG. When refinery output shifts — as it has since the conflict began — the availability of these materials drops, and their cost rises.
25% to 150% Price Hike in Just a Few Weeks
Across our packaging materials, prices have gone up between 25% and 150% in just the last few weeks.
The range is wide because different materials are affected differently. Some have fewer suppliers. Some are more directly tied to crude. But across all of them, the direction is the same.
Up.
Getting the Pickles to You Is Getting More Expensive Too
India's Fuel Price Increase — What Just Happened
Fuel prices in India have been holding steady for a while.
That changed on May 15. Petrol prices went up by ₹3 per litre across major cities — from ₹94.77 to ₹97.77 in Delhi, ₹103.40 to ₹106.68 in Mumbai. Diesel rose by a similar amount. This is expected to continue as long as the conflict persists.Every litre of diesel now costs more.What Higher Fuel Costs Mean for Shipping from Darbhanga
Your order travels from Darbhanga to wherever you live.
That distance costs money. And that cost has gone up.Logistics companies do not absorb increases forever. They pass them on — through revised rates or surcharges. We are already seeing this in the quotes our shipping partners send us.
What This Means for You
Individual Jars (250g and 500g) — Slight Reduction in Discount
Our individual pickle jars — including Jackfruit Pickle, Oal (Suran) Pickle, Karonda Pickle, Amla Pickle, and others — are priced below their MRP. That discount reduces slightly from today.
Jar prices move from ₹224–₹425 to ₹235–₹449, depending on the product. With the ₹65 shipping charge that applies to these orders, the actual increase a customer sees at checkout is between 3.8% and 5.5% — a difference of ₹10 to ₹25 per jar.
Sample Packs — Least Affected, Still Free Shipping
Our sample packs — the 5 Traditional Pickles Sample Pack, the No Garlic Sample Pack, and the Mixed Pickles Sample Pack — move from ₹625 to ₹699.
If you have been ordering sample packs, the effective change is less than 2%. Sample packs have always shipped free. A customer who was previously paying ₹625 with no shipping is now paying ₹699 with no shipping — a difference of ₹74 spread across five jars. That works out to roughly ₹15 per jar.
If you have been thinking about trying JhaJi for the first time, the sample pack remains the most value-for-money entry point.
Which Prices Will Change and How?
From April, prices on our plastic jar products will go up.
We have worked to keep the increase as small as possible. You can expect an increase of up to 10% on the affected products.The full details — which products exactly, and what the new prices are — will reach you separately within the week.This is not a large jump. But it is a real one. We are not making more money from this. We are passing on a small part of what we are absorbing.
What We Are Doing to Keep Costs as Low as Possible
We have been going through every part of our packaging and logistics to find savings.
We are renegotiating with suppliers. We are looking at order quantities to reduce per-unit costs. We are keeping the increase to only the products where we have no other option.What Is NOT Changing: Our Recipe, Our Hands, Our Promise
This is the part I want to be clear about.
The achar is not changing.
The mustard oil is still the same cold-pressed sarson ka tel we have always used. The spices are still hand-ground. The sun-drying still takes as long as it needs to — days, not hours.When a batch does not meet our standard, we throw it away. We have discarded over ₹41 lakh worth of product over the years because something was not right.
That does not change because our packaging costs went up.
What goes into the jar, and how it gets there — that part is not negotiable.
If You Want to Order at Current Prices — This Is the Window
Current prices hold until the end of March.
From April, the new prices take effect.
If you have been thinking about restocking — or trying the Sample Pack for the first time — now is the time to do it at the prices you know.The pickle is unchanged. The price, in April, will not be.
A Note of Gratitude — And a Promise to Stay Honest With You
We are a small business.
We do not have a communications team. We have Kalpana Ji, Uma Ji, and a small group of people who help make, pack, and ship orders from Darbhanga.When something changes, I would rather explain it than just send a new price list and say nothing.
You have trusted us with your kitchen. The least we can do is tell you what is happening in ours.
The war will end. Supply chains will settle. Prices may come back down — or they may not, and we will adjust again when they do.Either way, the achar will still be made the way it has always been made.
That part is not changing
Reference
The price pressures described in this post are linked to the following factors:
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LPG supply tightening following the Iran-US conflict and its impact on Middle East oil output
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Indian government directive to prioritise LPG in refinery output, reducing capacity for plastic feedstock
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Petroleum-derived packaging materials — jars, bubble wrap, cellophane, tape, carton linings — all affected by the same supply shift
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India fuel price revision — diesel costs rising for the first time in several months, increasing logistics rates
PM Modi on LPG Supply Stability Amid Hormuz Strait Tensions
In this address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlights India’s strategy to ensure uninterrupted LPG supply despite rising tensions around the Hormuz Strait.
He explains how the government is strengthening energy security through diversified sourcing, strategic reserves, and proactive planning to protect citizens from global disruptions.FAQ
How has the LPG price increase affected small food businesses in India?
It’s firm, fibrous, and sour. It holds shape and flavor over time.
Why are plastic packaging prices rising in India in 2026?
Plastic packaging comes from petroleum feedstocks. When Indian refineries were asked to prioritise LPG production, less capacity was left for making plastic raw materials. This pushed up the cost of jars, bubble wrap, cellophane, cartons, and sealing tape. At JhaJi Store, we have seen price increases of 25% to over 150% across our packaging materials in just a few weeks.
Will food prices increase in India due to the Iran war?
Food businesses that use LPG for cooking, rely on plastic packaging, or ship by road are all exposed to the cost increases flowing from the Iran conflict. Whether and how much gets passed to customers depends on each business. At JhaJi Store, we are passing on up to 10% on our plastic jar products from April 2026. We have absorbed as much as we can before making this change.
Are JhaJi Store's pickles changing in quality?
No. The ingredients and the process — sun-drying, hand-ground spices, pure mustard oil, no preservatives — are unchanged. The price change from April reflects the cost of packing and shipping the product to you, not what goes into making it.
Kalpana Jha
Meet Darbhanga Ki Famous Nanad-Bhabhi Ki Jodi - Kalpana Jha and Uma Jha, owner of the business of JhaJi Store.