Increased awareness among consumers and manufacturers is the need of the hour: Dinesh Parnami
Dinesh ji Parnami, head of Parnami Agarbatti Company, one of the leading agarbatti companies in North India and president of All Rajasthan Agarbatti Trade Association, believes that despite a better future, there is a need to make manufacturers and consumers aware that high-quality products should be made and used. He said that the biggest challenge before the manufacturers in the market today is that despite the plethora of agarbatti producers, the misfortune of this industry is that the packet which was available 20-25 years ago for ₹ 10. Even today it costs same, while the prices of raw material, packaging and the labour is increasing, the rate of agarbatti is not increasing for the consumers. 20-25 years ago, manufacturers who used to give 40 grams of incense sticks for ten rupees are now selling 15 grams at the same price by reducing weight and quantity. Production today is on a large scale. Thanks to the installation of machines in every village and locality: product quality dropped shamelessly. In an exclusive conversation with Sugandh India, Mr. Parnami said “, the biggest challenge of this industry is to make consumers aware; light a single good quality premium agarbatti instead of two substandard ones.”
Parnami Agarbatti Company was established in 1967 by Shri Parmanand Ji Parnami. Parmanand ji’s elder brothers Shri Mulakh Raj ji and Shri Sohan Lal ji worked hard to expand the business. Earlier, the family had a perfume and agarbatti shop in Bapu Bazar. Once upon a time, Parnami incense sticks used to be popular all-over North India. In 1967, the Parnami brand launched its product Parnami Rose Agarbatti. People could never forget this product and its pink packet. The popularity of Parnami products can be understood from the fact that Mr. Ashok Parnami, the elder brother of Dinesh Parnami, has been the president of the Rajasthan Agarbatti Association. Today he is a politician. He has been the Mayor of Jaipur. He was an MLA twice and BJP state President. Dinesh ji’s father was in the business of incense sticks, perfumes and perfumes. Dinesh ji informed, “At that time companies from Mysore used to come to sell their products. Later my father felt that he should start his production in Rajasthan. Thus came the Parnami brand.”
In response to a question from Sugandh India, he said that we were the top brand in North India for quite long. Now there is a plethora of manufacturers. There are more than 2000 manufacturers in Rajasthan alone. Indore and Nagpur today have become hubs of agarbatti manufacturing but they lack quality. However, some manufacturers are still maintaining quality. These include brands like Zed Black and Cycle: brand leaders pan-India and overseas.
In response to a question, he said that the consumers lack awareness per se quality. Reason: small-time local producers are making cheap quality goods and selling them freely. People ignore quality because of prices. He said that automation has disturbed the industry and compromised product quality.
Dinesh ji said that now the attachment of the new generation to worship and incense sticks have decreased, but its use as a room freshener is increasing in foreign countries. Some customers prefer exclusive quality fragrances. By the way, the trend of using diffusers and aroma sprays has also increased. However, agarbatti will continue as a tradition in worship.
In response to a question, he said that for the betterment of the industry, consumers must be made aware. We buy the best items for our children but use cheap products for worship. Cheap quality incense is bad for our health and family as well. Similarly, manufacturers should also bring better products to the market.
He told Sugandh India that earlier the entire industry used to manufacture incense sticks by hand. Now machines are being used for everything from raw material mixing, production, packing and transportation. Every day new types of machines are coming in. Mr. Parnami said that machines have been installed in every village. Production is in bulk. Big companies in the industry used to buy raw incense sticks from these raw agarbatti producers. It was a good start, but now all the big companies have set up their own units for raw incense sticks. Everything is being done there by machine. In such a situation, there are no buyers of raw incense sticks from small producers. That’s why they are also selling their products in the market by dipping them in cheap oil and chemicals. Due to this, the quality has fallen in the market and quality products have been lost in the crowd of bad and cheap products. He said that’s why brand loyalty is not being created in the industry. The more quality natural products come in the market, the more people’s faith in the products will increase and the condition of the industry will be better.
Dinesh ji tells Sugandha India that credit is also a big challenge in the industry. There is fierce competition among manufacturers. The situation is worse because of the price of the products, he said. The association can have a role in this, but it can only give advice. Ultimately, it is the job of the manufacturers to make quality products, but efforts can be made at many levels to create awareness among consumers.
In response to a question, he said that in 1967 Parnami Rose Agarbatti was a very popular brand. Our identity was made with this product, then when the era of black incense stick came, we made Parnami scent incense sticks which were in jasmine fragrance. We aimed to give good quality and more goods at less price. At that time a big pack was given for ₹ 2 and we had many products even for 50 paise. He said that currently, we have around 60 to 70 products, which include Dhoop, Cone Dry Stick and Sambrani Cup. Apart from Rajasthan, Parnami’s products also go to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana and Assam.
He said that each state has its own choice. In rajasthan packs of 250 grams, 500 grams and 1 kg are more in demand. 500 grams boxes are in demand as well. In Gujarat, a pouch costing ₹50 is sold more. On the other hand, in Uttar Pradesh even today the packet of ₹ 10 to ₹ 20 is sold the most. Parnami’s best-selling products are Parnami Chandan and Two in One in pouch. A spoon is also given along with it. He said that the company is in all three segments of economy, medium and premium and there are packs ranging from ₹ 5 to ₹ 150.
In response to a question, he said that now the youth of the third generation have also come for leadership in Parnami. He said that his children are now moving in the direction of exporting their products abroad as well. Apart from this, they are also reducing aroma oil. He said that as the president of the Rajasthan agarbatti association, he has been raising these issues. Apart from this, the association was instrumental in reducing the sales tax and later VAT tax from 12% to 8 then 4% and ultimately making incense sticks tax free. Later, GST was also reduced from 12% to 5%. He said that the All-Rajasthan Agarbatti Trade Association has been co-ordinating with All India Agarbatti Manufacturers Association (AIAMA) along with Ankit ji of Zed Black and Arjun Ranga ji of Cycle for the betterment of the industry. Mr. Parnami also applauded the efforts of other state associations like Gujarat Agarbatti Manufacturers and Dealers Association (GAMDA) for their efforts.
