Badshah Brand Dominates Bihar and Jharkhand
Few Big brands are trying to eliminate small local players: Jagjivan Singh
Local manufacturers in the agarbatti and incense industry are being overshadowed by big national-level companies. This is similar to the concept of big fish eating small fish. Head of Patna based Badshah Industries, Mr Jagjivan Singh expressed his dismay in a conversation with Sugandh India. He stated that state-level or regional-level companies make products that cater to the local market and people’s preferences. However, some national-level companies create similar products and flood the market with them, which threatens the existence of local producers. Mr Singh said that national-level companies use advertising on TV and in newspapers to promote their products, and their brand names are well-known. However, this competition is unfair to local brands. While healthy competition is good for the industry, some national level companies flood the market with cheap and low quality products and aim to eliminate small producers from the market. Mr Singh believes that this strategy of big producers is very unfair. There should be space for expensive, cheap, and different-quality products to coexist in the market.
Mr. Jagjivan Singh, founder of the Badshah brand from Patna, has made his place in this industry through hard work. Around 1990, he used to be a hawker and would roam from street to street carrying the products of other companies on his bicycle. He said that at that time his friend Ranjit Singh advised him to set up his own factory, but he did not have money. At the same time, a manufacturer from Bihar did a business fraud with him. This is when a friend invested money and we started the business. Our younger brother’s name was Badshah which also became our brand name. The business did well for the first year, but then it went down. Then we launched Damru brand incense sticks and it became a hit. My friend suggested linking it with Baba Dham and thus large-scale posters, banners and hoardings were put up along the 90 km pilgrimage route from Sultanganj to Deoghar. At that time people used to say other than Coca-Cola, our product was promoted the most. The Damru brand became a hit and then we also launched Ghanti and that too was liked by the consumers.
Mr Jagjivan Singh was asked about the challenges he faced in business, to which he replied that while challenges are a part of any business, their biggest challenge, in the beginning, was the people whose goods they used to sell on cycle. However, with hard work and dedication from his family, particularly his brothers Manveer Singh and Swaran Singh, they were able to establish their business. He mentioned that their business is a joint family effort, with all members contributing towards its success. We started by making incense sticks ourselves and today we have over 200 workers and all of them are women. Today, the Badshah brand boasts over 100 product range, with the company introducing 8 to 10 new products every year. When asked about the success rate of new products, he mentioned that not all of them are successful. Out of 10-12 new products, only one or two may become hit, just like the success of our brand named Hindustani. He also mentioned that the Damru, Ghanti, and 50-50 brands are very popular.
While talking to Sugandh India, he said that Bihar is a very good market. Earlier in the beginning we had to sell a lot of goods on credit, but now we have understood that it is the brand that works. His payment also keeps coming. Earlier there was a lot credit in the market, but now it is okay. The company has also made a policy that it will give 2% discount on advance and on time payments. This way, credit has been reduced. He said that along with incense sticks, we also produce camphor, sesame oil, dhoop, hawan material and many other worship products under Badshah brand. Badshah brand has products ranging from ₹5 to ₹100. He said that the market of ₹ 5 has now reduced considerably, but products with MRP of ₹ 10 to 20 are sold more. In response to Sugandh India’s question regarding the challenges of the industry, he said that one has to compete with big companies because many companies start offering goods similar to your product at a cheaper rate in that particular market. In this way, it becomes difficult for small companies to compete on quality and rates and their very existence is in danger.
He said that the Badshah brand is most popular mainly in Bihar and Jharkhand. Apart from this, some people also supply in Kolkata and Bangladesh. He said that the company runs a blood bank through Maa Vaishno Devi Seva Samiti, through which blood is supplied to children suffering from thalassemia along with their treatment. He said that the majority of donation to Seva Samiti comes from Coal India, the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister Fund. Apart from this, the Samiti also organizes mass marriage programs along with many social service works. He said that the incense sticks business is related to worship and God, so entrepreneurs in this sector should also invest time and money in social service work.
