Poor quality exports will tarnish the reputation of the industry: Pawan Agarwal

The manufacturers who are unable to provide quality agarbatti products in the domestic markets are exporting inferior-quality products to markets overseas. This is a matter of concern because once the standard of Indian incense sticks falls in the global market, it will not only harm Indian incense stick industry’s reputation but also destroy the credibility of Indian incense sticks abroad. In a conversation with Sugandh India, Pawan Agarwal, head of the Aromatika brand, said that the way China’s reputation has gone down. Similarly, our image will also deteriorate due to the export of substandard-quality products by some Indian companies.Aromatikaproduces around1700–1800products, of which around700–800are exported. Thebrand was started in 1993 in Jaipur. Initially, the company was into tradingof brands like Hem, Satya, Balaji, and BIC from Bangalore and Mumbai. Pawan Agarwal said that Bangalore-based companies were not able to supply as per the needs of Rajasthan market, so in 1995he started domestic production under thebrand name Mausam. In Rajasthan, it wasAromatika that started the trend of sellingquality incense sticks andnumber of sticks in packs instead of Kilo.

In a conversation with Sugandh India, Mr Aggarwal said that earlier in Rajasthan, 1 kg of agarbatti was sold for ₹30, which was dipped in kerosene oil. The entire incense stick wouldcatch fire. Not only this but in a packet half of the incense sticksused to be broken. We were so saddened by the state of the incense stick industry here that we started our own production under the brand name Mausam. He told me that in Rajasthan, the price and weight of incense sticks were very important. After seeing all this, we made Gulab Mutha(rose incense stick roll pack) under the name of Rose Product. Its cost was ₹36 per kg, but we gave it in the market for ₹30as per the market rate trend. Thus incurred a loss of ₹6 per kg on Gulab Mutha. This product became very popular in the market. Initially, the incense stickswere tied together in a bunch with a thread but later on we started wrapping them in a white paper. Later on, we started giving 900-gram packs for ₹30 only. Its demand also increased, and a packet of 12 pieces of 75 grams was taken out for ₹5. To operate it, people had to be convinced that there was more material per packet than it weighed. Gulab Mutha is popular even today.

Explaining the reason for their shift to export markets, Pawan Aggarwal said that the demand for quality products is still very low in Rajasthan. So, we turned to export overseas. Between 2002 and 2005, rumours spread that smoke from incense sticks causes cancer. Only after this, taking inspiration from Satya’s masala incense sticks, we started producingmasala incense sticks for export. Pawaninformed that there is a huge market for black incense sticks in hexagon packing, and 90% of Bengaluru’s products are exported in thisquality and packing. There is stiff competition for this. People are reducing the quality. Products costing as low as₹80 for a dozen are being shipped. In such a situation, once the standard of our products falls abroad, the whole industry will be at a loss. Just as the reputation of Chinese products is low globally, similarly, the Indian incense industry will also facesame.

In response to a question from Sugandh India, Mr. Agarwal said that Aromatic’s products are considered of high standard in foreign countries, and hismasala agarbattiare one of the best brands in four to five countries. Pawan further added thatAromatika does not use DEP. The products are also charcoal free and there is no visible smoke. All the perfumes that are used are IFRA compliant. We also have REACH certificate.All our products are manufactured from natural raw materials, and quality assurance is maintained during manufacturing, drying, and packaging.In response to a question, he said that if the quality is not good in the US and European countries, the goods get rejected. Still, there are some companiesthat could not be successful in the domestic market are now exporting.

Informing about his product portfolio, Mr. Agarwal said that in addition to incense sticks, we have dhoop, cones, backflow cones, garden sticks, etc. We have also recentlydeveloped IshomSmudge Bricks, an innovative dhoop stick product. It is available in different colours and is made from all natural materials. Smaller packing has also been made for European countries. Apart from this, the company also manufactures and exports air fresheners, perfume sprays, soaps and ayurvedic Oil.

He said that there are many challenges in the agarbatti industry, but Modi government has reduced them by banning imports from abroad. Similarly, we are still dependent on imports of bamboo. Many people are also getting powder from abroad. The trend toward white incense sticks has increasedin which imported poweder is used and it produces black smoke. In contrast, our whiteagarbatti, which is completely made from Indian raw materials, produces no black smoke. He said that joss powder has to be imported, but if the government makes a little effort, it is available in India. In states like Jharkhand, etc., it can be obtained from tree bark, and the government should work in this direction.

In response to a question, he said that the agarbatti industry is getting limited and will expand only when the public is aware of the quality. Otherwise, the manufacturers producing high-quality products will slowly die out. Customers should be told that it is better to burn one quality incense stick than four cheap incense sticks. Very high-quality products are used abroad, and the consumer is aware. In India too, BIS should take immediate steps to set standards.