KAVYASHREENEHA UPADHYAYSHARAD SHARMASAHILSUDARSHAN JAIN

INCENSE INDUSTRY : AGARBATTIS

Current Scenario and Opportunities

Industry• The size of the incense stick industry in India about Rs 1000 crores a year

growing at 7% p.a Exports- Rs 300 crores . Source: http://www.itcportal.com/newsroom/press_sept30_04.htm

• Current industry consumer spend estimated at over Rs. 900 crores p.a.

• Use of Incense : India – Worship , Overseas – Ambience creation/Aromatherapy

• Fragmented supply base arising from small scale industry; highly disorganized

sector

• The Indian incense industry, supplies up to 60% of the world incense market.

• Assam, Tripura and Eastern India presently supply incense sticks to the rest of the country. Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh also have plenty of bamboo so ideally these areas could also be prospective centers of agarbatti production.

• The "industrialization" of the incense production process since 1990, have resulted in a legion of commercial Incense brands that are made in India and now even in China.

Companies/ Key playersITC ‘ s MANGALDEEP

– Superior fragrance experience based on research.– Fragrances approved by IFRA , Geneva.– Consistently superior product experience

• Systematic quality management approach• ISO 9001:2000 Certified Vendors.• IFAT-certification.

– Attractive & functional packaging• Special fragrance locked packaging• ‘Mangaldeep’ : the only National brand in the

country

• “ASHA” Assistance in Social Habilitation through Agarbatti

Sudarshan Dhoop

• was founded by Mr. K. N. Kesri way back in the year 1952

• The company’s Managing Director Mr. Manoj Kesri and Joint Director Ms. Jyoti Kesri are responsible for marketing and export business.

• 300 fragrances. Products - Incense sticks, coils, cones, natural agarbatti & garden sticks & magical charcoal tablets.

• clubbed with a wide range of metal, glass and ceramic handcrafted accessories that include ash catchers, stick holders and lamp rings

• Production - 3 million sticks per day• A special R & D department • Designing, printing and packaging - All under one roof• Annual Turnover- Rs 5 Crores, 50 employees• Mainly Exporter

N Ranga Rao & Sons• Cycle Agarbatti is one of the world’s

largest manufacturer of devotional incense sticks. Many people in India are illiterate, they recognize the brand via the bicycle picture

• Mysore based company.• Only incense stick company whose

advertisement campaigns feature in www.adsoftheworld.com website• Mr Arjun Ranga, CEO and Managing

Partner of the Rs 160-crore NR Group• Five-decade-old ISO-9001-2000 Certified

Enterprise.• Cycle brands currently have a 30 per

cent market share in the organized agarbatti market with around 58 product variants ranging from Rs five to Rs 100 per pack.

Mahendra Perfumery Works

• Year of Establishment - 1961• Export Markets - South East & Middle East• Export Percentage - 20%• Production Type - Manual• Memberships - Export Promotion Council For Handicrafts

(EPCH) , Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI)

• Product Range– Arali Flower Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)– Mogra Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)– Rose Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)– Bouquet Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)– Sandal Incense Sticks (Agarbatti)– Champa Agarbatti (Incense Sticks)– Chinar Incense Sticks (Agarbatti), etc.

Hari Darshan Sevashram Pvt. Ltd• Incorporation :1980 • x Export Markets :US, Europe, Gulf and Middle East Asia, China, Singapore• Largest manufacturing infrastructure and installed capacities• In House full time Research and Development and dedicated technical team.• Only Incense manufacturer in India to have manufacturing units in North, Central

and South India to capitalize on regional natural resources and competencies.• In house fragrance development capability.• In house packaging development and design capability.• No. of professional staff : 160• No of manufacturing units :12• Membership :EPCH, CHEMIXCIL, FICCI, PHDCCI, AIMA, PFW

Hurdles to Growth

• Disorganized Sector• Inefficient Capital• No Big Players• Low Profitability• No automation• Successful companies mainly target exports• Improper Distribution• Lack of government support • Less Promotion as compared to handicrafts

Strategies for a better Tomorrow1. ITC ‘s ASHA(Assistance in Social Habilitation through Agarbatti):•Start up support provided by ITC

Training to workersStipend during training period

•Use of IT infrastructure to monitor the progress. •Over 1500 women trained in rolling of incense sticks•Initiatives by NGOs- SEWA, AOL, n-logue etc

2.Financial assistance – banks3.Building quality in the supply Chain.4.Export houses5.Govt Assistance

• State Sponsored Melas / Promotions/ emporium . E.g.- Ganesh Chaturthi- Cycle BrandEmporium- Kaveri Emporium – known for Sandalwood incenses

• Understanding Consumer needs.• Patent new fragrances for capturing global market – R & D• Establishing product specifications.• Partnership with NGOs/SHGs• Brand Building• Distribution

11

SSIsCorporate

SHGs

The Incense Triangle

Employment generation Fair practices

Women’s empowerment

Consumer Needs.Brand building

Distribution

Domain knowledgeEntrepreneurship

Quality Fair practices

SHG’s Self Help Groups

•Essentially Groups of the Poor•A community organizing mechanism•Helping communities understand why they are poor and the debt trap•The issues among the poor are common and can also be solved commonly•Credit is necessary•Livelihood generation is the next step

People Contacted /Assistance taken

• Mr. Chetan GowdaAsst . Sales Manager Darshan International, BangalorePhone : 91-802675315/ 26759461

• Mr. Pawan Director, N Ranga Rao & Sons, Address : NO. 1553, VANIVILAS ROAD, M G ROAD, MYSORE -

570004, KARNATAKA, INDIA Phone : 91-821-2521227/2361485 Mobile : +919980144197 Fax : 91-821-2361485

Queries ???