150 years of Damodardas Bhagwandas Sugandhi
-The scent of the agarbattis from the streets of Raviwar Peth Pune that spread to the Maharajas and markets across the globe
It is said that the fragrance of agarbatti was first lit somewhere in South India. The region between Bangalore and Mysore was the first to become a manufacturing hub during the pre-independence era. It is a less-known fact that Pune in Maharashtra also is a homeground in dhoop and agarbatti manufacturing with a rich and enduring history. Sugandh India found one such establishment. An incense brand with an enriched legacy of 150 years. Damodardas Bhagwandas Sugandhi (The Company,) established in 1872 is a Pune-based incense company producing one of the finest masala and flora agarbattis for the last 150 years. Kings, Queens, aristocrats, members of royal families, diplomats, zamindars and jagirdars in colonial India were regular customers. The company was exporting incense and fragrances to England, South Africa, Zanzibar (now Tanzania,) the Middle East and to the Amirs of the Gulf. Damodardas Bhagwandas Sugandhi (The Company,) is a factory of innovations. They have innovated on the rituals and antiquities of their forefathers; constantly evolving with modern times. In the present day, Devendra Tribhuvandas Sugandhi runs the business. He is a sixth-generation entrepreneur with a wealth of knowledge and wisdom.
In an exclusive conversation with Sugandh India, he said “, The wisdom and knowledge I inherited from my father and grandfather; passed on through generations… is priceless! I have improvised on their knowledge; sharpened my skills for making high quality incense products. Adding on to his statement “, I have adapted the grammar of our forefathers (making incense) in the present context. This is clearly visible in our; fragrances, products, branding and packaging.”
Devendra informed that customers today are developing a liking for natural and raw fragrances. He said “, Although China, Sri Lanka and Vietnam make agarbatti in large numbers, our country is more attuned to making dhoop and agarbatti. This is because; the climate, the soil and the natural flora-fauna are best suited for growing spices, extracting essential oils and using natural ingredients required in the dhoop-agarbatti-making process. Moreover, we have the heritage, passed on through generations that make our incense products stand out in the global market. Today, our company has a good market in; America, Australia, Germany, South Africa and Kenya.”
Digging into the bygone era, Mr. Sugandhi revealed “, As the family history goes; the business was established by an uncle and his adopted nephew in the year 1872. The establishment started in ‘Raviwar Peth’ in Colonial-India Pune. The uncle was ‘Damodardas’ while the nephew was ‘Bhagwandas.’ The company name is the same as the founder’s. Family documents reveal the agarbatti business was being conducted much before the said establishment year. The Trademark was registered much later in 1908-09.” Continuing with the family history he said “, Exports began in 1929-30. England and Colonial South Africa were the destinations. Traversing the Arabian Sea towards the African continent were the seaports of Addis Ababa (in Ethiopia) and Zanzibar (in Tanzania). The company sent premium incense products to these ports from where they entered various markets. Africa was full of the Indian population in those days; courtesy of British occupation for their civil works. This made exports all the more relevant. Our Kanta Chaap and Pushp brand were the best-selling products at that time.” Furthermore “, by 1952, exports swelled. Thanks to demands generated through years of goodwill, the company started exporting to Kenya and the Middle East.” While recalling an old agarbatti brand of theirs, Devendra was filled with joy. He revealed, “There was a brand of agarbatti called ‘Bulbule Arab’( bubbles arabia). It was so popular that it was sold in black due to huge demand.”
Discussing challenges being faced, Devendra informed Sugandh India that a shortage of raw materials and a trained workforce is hampering the production of masala and flora agarbatti. Post-COVID, demand for incense products has surged. The domestic market has outgrown European markets. Moreover, a clear shift in customer choice has increased demand to produce masala and flora agarbatti. Continuing with his apathy he said “, Lack of trained labour forced manufacturers to install machines for masala agarbatti. “We too have installed a couple of machines”, he said. The pain point is, machines don’t deliver the finesse required for premium quality masala agarbatti.
Letters and postcards from customers from pre independence era.
The quality of machine made agarbattis is still slightly below the handmade.The fragrance in hand rolled spreads more smoothly. The customers in this segment too prefer handmade over machine made. Moreover we have to make changes in the formulation and put extra efforts when it comes to making masala and flora battis through machines. Nevertheless, we are researching and working on bringing machine-made at par with hand made.The customers too, we believe will sooner or later accept the machine made “
Sharing about how the company is evolving with time, he said that he is the 6th generation in the family business and now the 7th generation is preparing to grab the reins. He said that the agarbatti industry is moving ahead at a really fast pace. This is the era of new age marketing, packaging and social media. Fragrances are also evolving rapidly. A single fragrance now has thousands of variants. Similarly we have also evolved and made changes to our traditional fragrances.
Commenting on the raw materials that were used back then vs now, he said that what our forefather used, that is not even available now, let alone use it. Earlier natural amber, musk, sandalwood oil and sawdust were available, now all these are a thing of the past. In recent years, synthetics took over the industry, but now people are again demanding natural products. Taking this trend into account, the manufacturers too are working towards bringing natural products as much as possible. Nowadays, the demand for French and European fragrances is also increasing, but along with this, we should also promote our traditional fragrances, by modifying them and creating new versions that feel modern yet traditional, so that the fragrances and products of India can gain popularity all over the world. We can establish our own global pattern through our traditional fragrances which will put us side by side with the other incense producers around the globe and moreover put us ahead of them.
Masala & Flora agarbattis are the King and Queen of their business. This is what they’ve been making for six generations. Talking about Flora agarbatti, Mr.Sugandhi informed Sugandh India that— ‘Brand 1010’, ‘Brand 1004’ and ‘Brand 1006’ are the most sought-after variants of Flora segments running successfully for generations. These products have a base of musk and amber. As per the new market trends, 20 more brands have been created. With a rise of Arabic and French notes, we too have curated similar products with traditional sandalwood base.
Changing packaging over the time
Informing about the packaging changes, Devendra ji said that in the new age, the company has made a lot of changes in the packaging.Our older customers still buy our by the brand name, but the new generation needs attractive packaging along with the quality. In this context, we conducted a comprehensive survey a couple of years back and found that 60 to 70% of people desired our products in better attractive packaging. So we made our packaging go through drastic changes.
Sugandh India found some interesting facts about the company’s heritage. According to family documents; Rajdarbar agarbatti brand was created exclusively for the King of the Gaekwad dynasty. The Sultan of Junagarh also loved the Rajdarbar brand. Musk, Amber and Sandalwood based incense were in popular demand. Devendra informed “, Over a century ago, there used to be oudhbatti and agarbatti. Agarbatti was a premium expensive product made from agar powder sourced from Assam. On the other hand, oudhbatti was a product for the masses and came cheap. It was basically made from Loban.”
And finally, he concluded the interview with, “The future of our industry is very bright and we will always continue to offer traditional and natural products. We are not interested in adulterating our legacy.”
Mr.Sugandhi highlighted the mention of a particular attar named ‘Gandhraj’ based on Rajnigandha or Nishigandha (Tuberose) fragrance in the historic documents of Peshwa (King). Adding to that, he said “ I have been finding many wonderful things in my family documents. Gandharaj attar is also mentioned in that. Also Rajnigandha is called Gandharaj in South India.
Inspired by this, he remarked, “We are relaunching these bygone novelties with the Peshwai brand name. The Peshwai Attar (roll on perfume) is set to release by January 2023. This exquisitely designed 12ml bottle will cost ₹1500.”
