Consumer’s Satisfaction Defines Success : Hasmukh Thakral
Thakral Group is an established name in the incense and perfumery sector since 1948. The business was established, in Nagpur. From a modest beginning, the company today has nine state-of-the-art plants, producing over one hundred dhoop and agarbatti brands. Rich diversity in thought , the Thakral Group revels in amazing harmony. The older generation in the family mentors the younger ones. The legacy created by the first two generations: the wealth of wisdom churned is something invaluable for the third. All-in-all it is the synergy of old values and new ideas that work in sync for the young leaders in the company. The group is divided into two wings. One is the veterans of the agarbatti business; Ghanshyam Bhai, Hasmukh Thakral and Bharat Thakral. The other consists of young leaders.
Humble beginnings to a legacy
Hasmukh Thakral, one of the heads talking about the twilight days of their business said “, My father owned a shop in a village near Rajkot: that was before independence. Those were hard times! It was very difficult to survive in a small shop with a large family. Unable to sustain meagre earnings, my father moved to Nagpur city. That was 1948: with a newborn-free India our brand was born. ‘Parasmani’ was our first agarbatti brand; raw and hand-rolled and was registered in 1951. ‘Parasmani’ was the first to be exported from the Vidarbha region. The next 15 years were full or perseverance and hardwork.
Recounting his childhood days, Hasmukh ji said “, I lost my father when I was eleven and Bharat was just eight. My mother and elder brother had to take up the family business. That was 1973, in a shanty area called Itwari in Nagpur. We lived on the upper floor. Our factory was below. Me and Bharat decided to join the business once we cleared high school.
Bharat took over the business in 1982. ‘Safari Big Agarbatti’ the most sought-after brand was launched in the preceding year. Forty years have passed since then. We are a big family and into our third generation.” Today Thakral group is not just into Agarbatti and dhoop industry but also in industries like Floor Cleaners as well. Hasmukh ji heads the Accounts and Administration along with Marketing, Legal and Customer relations.
Today, Hasmukh ji says “Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh are the primary markets that account for around 70% of our products. We are doing business here for the last 73 years. For the rest of the markets we have created a separate hub ‘Shree Sadguru Sugandhalaya.’ This hub supplies goods anywhere pan-India within 48-96 hours. Talking about exports, he said ‘India is among the top three incense exporters in the World.” Adding further he said— “The Centre is assisting a lot to improve and grow in the overseas market. Our exports are carried out through middle men to countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, U.S., Japan, etc.” The company is launching forward at exponential speed, which can be credited to the uniquely talented directors who head super-specialized departments with ethical and spiritual resolve.
‘‘Customer first” our forte
Responding to a price versus quality-related question— Mr. Thakral explained “, We do not trade-off quality over price, what a family business means, is that not only our employees and distributors, our consumers too are family. We work with age old relationships that we’ve nurtured over the years. Our consumers trust us. We have a devoted number for our customers. Be it complaints, suggestions or expectations— Calls are attended promptly with a commitment to resolve the matter there and then if possible. Along with consumers we also connect with and listen to our dealers, distributors, stockists and retailers. Their problem is our problem. We resolve such issues and brainstorm bottlenecks for quick redressal. We keep tabs on what’s happening in our domain; domestic and overseas markets. All these aid in building decisions for upcoming products, schemes and expansions.”
On the question related to market challenges and launching new products, Hasmukh ji said that connecting directly with consumers is a must. It is a must because once our products hit the retail end, it is essential to know, what’s happening to our products. Moreover, it becomes critical for us— as a manufacturer, consumer feedback is essential. What we do is, deliver incense products in attractive gift packs. These come in 300 and 500 grams in tin and plastic boxes or zipper pouches. Our consumers buy gifts on special occasions. The box itself is useful and can be used later for any household purpose.”
Natural Challenges are Opportunities in Disguise
On the question related to the challenges of the Dhoop Agarbatti industry, he said there are different types of challenges. Natural challenges like increase in prices of raw materials are inherent and business is about finding an opportunity and vision where others can’t. He said that the first machine-made incense sticks came from China, so all the businessmen started using imported ones and once the import ban came in- domestic production again boomed. Today the domestic batti is incomparable and the industry is self-sustainable. Then there’s indirect challenges like plastic ban, government policies, legal issues. One need a legal team to tackle these.
Mr Thakral candidly said “,As I reflect upon the decades spent making aggarbatti and dhoop… I truly believe the possibilities are endless. As a matter of fact— Anyone interested in this business can make a start with just five to ten thousand rupees. What matters is vision and the ability to crack challenges and bottlenecks-the agarbatti industry is a goldmine of opportunities!”
For a perfumer, a masterpiece takes a lifetime -Bharat Thakral
Bharat ji, who heads the Logistics, Finance and Business Development in the firm is a master blender of perfumery. Blending perfumes is his passion and he is often involved in fixing the blends and resolving technical issues. He believes in innovation and challenges that put you out of the comfort zone and grant longevity. According to him “, A perfumer can curate only one masterpiece fragrance in his lifetime for which he is known in the industry. But, this masterpiece requires him to blend at least 3 to 4 fragrances every month. Out of numerous different fragrances made in a year, one might become a success. For example the pineapple fragrance became an instant hit and lasted around 3-4 years. Similarly, our Safari Big Green is one of the evergreen brands. This is why perfumery is the heart & soul of this business.”
Bharat ji being a master blender highlights how there are numerous perfumes and blends of companies that turn into failures. They rot in warehouses. In such situations we buy these dumped products in bulk. We recycle them and correct them according to international standards. Then they are ready for sale as per the trends. Digging a bit deep into the perfumery science he explained “, When we as Indians talk about fragrance, I mean natural fragrance, what comes to mind, is the fragrance of a flower. In the west, especially in Europe and America— their understanding of fragrance is very different. For them, it is fruit. Fruity fragrance is a foreign concept.
Getting into the biology of fragrance he described it as a piece of predefined information in brain cells. It is the brain that instructs what kind of fragrance it wants. In case of a mismatch, the brain won’t accept whatever the nose brings. Familiarity and innovation need to go hand in hand. Launching a new fragrance is a dicey game: you need to have faith in yourself and persevere through failures.
Aims to brand Safari as a popular FMCG brand: Samarth Thakral
Samarth Thakral, who has been active in the business of Thakral Group of Companies for the last 10 years, said in a conversation with Sugandh India that there has been a big change in the industry with respect to fragrance and packing of incense sticks. Samarth heads four departments in the company, Quality control, R&D, Production Planning and E- commerce and digital marketing. In response to a question, he said that we have a wide range of products and it is always changing as per the demand of the consumer, retailer and market. We are also always making changes to the existing structure of the company. Apart from the distributors, efforts are made to get feedback from the consumers as well.
In Thakral Group, Harsiddhi mainly works on digital marketing, content writing and researches on new generation consumer trends. She tells that currently she has a role of a trainee and cooperate with everyone’s work. She explains how Thakral Group works with a synergy of moral and spiritual approaches. The company’s vision remains focused on the interests of the consumer and the employees.
Incense Industry chose us -Harsiddhi Thakral
In Thakral Group, Harsiddhi mainly works on digital marketing, content writing and researches on new generation consumer trends. She tells that currently she has a role of a trainee and cooperate with everyone’s work. She explains how Thakral Group works with a synergy of moral and spiritual approaches. The company’s vision remains focused on the interests of the consumer and the employees.
