Dhoop products have been seeing a 30 per cent growth: Abhishek Jaiswal
The recent completion of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor has brought about a significant change in the city of Varanasi, leading to a shift in the town’s needs as well. Given its status as a religious hub, the demand for incense sticks, puja materials, and other spiritual products has always been high in the area, but it has seen a substantial increase recently. Mr Abhishek Jaiswal, the proprietor of Varanasi based Gayatri Enterprises, shared during a recent conversation with Sugandh India that in the past, consumers primarily purchased economy-range products, but there is now a growing demand in the premium market segment among the city’s population. Gayatri Enterprises has been operating since 2007 and for the past 8 years, the firm is a super stockist of Moksh brand incense sticks for Varanasi and Prayagraj. Mr. Jaiswal also informed that his firm is actively engaged in the trading of cosmetic brands, which is its primary business area.
Mr Jaiswal works for the Moksh incense brand. He said that it is a prestigious company and it has a reputation even at the town level. Here most people are price conscious. This is the reason why the premium market here is only 25%, while the medium and economy market is around 75%. He said that the demand for dhoop products has been increasing in the last two to three years with Dry Stick being the most popular. While agarbatti is growing at 10%, dhoop products are seeing a 30% growth. Apart from incense sticks, Moksh brand also has dhoop and dry sticks. 70% of the company portfolio consists of incense sticks and 30% consists of various varieties of incense and cones. The company’s incense sticks have a wide range of fragrances and variety. There are three fragrance products in the cone and seven fragrances in the incense. Agarbatti has products with MRPs of rupees 10, 12, 15, 25, 45, 55, 70 and 125. Products with MRP of Rs 10, 15 and 30 are selling in the sun. Keeping in mind the premium market, the company is bringing a wider range of cones and incense.
He told Sugandh India that the market in and around Varanasi varies; for example in Sonbhadra, economy products and products with MRP of 45₹ are preferred. In Ballia, zipper and pouches are preferred at an MRP of 12₹, 15₹ and 70₹. 70 ₹ Zippers are gaining most popularity. Box packaging is more popular in Jaunpur and Ghazipur. Even in Varanasi, zipper packs have the highest sales at MRP of 12₹, 15₹ and 70₹. Apart from regular packs the demand for 375 gram jumbo packs is also increasing. Sale of dhoop products priced between 15₹ to 30₹ is higher. Moksh’s traditional dhoop has an MRP of 15₹. ZED Black and Darshan also have a good presence. Besides dhoop and agarbatti, the market of Sambrani is catching up.
In response to a query, Mr Jaiswal commented that Moksh has competition with other brands such as Darshan, Cycle, ZED Black, and local products. The market for camphor, oil, havan, and puja material is also prevalent in the region. Customers in Varanasi are now inclined towards new trending products and various schemes offered by companies to attract them. Moksh is known for maintaining the stability of its product prices, and the company revises the rates every few years. The company is committed to releasing a wide range of products under the name Ayodhya Dham. Small-scale distributors often do not get the opportunity to interact with key personnel and owners of the company. Therefore, Moksh organized a dealer meet in Ayodhya to address the issue and encourage small-scale distributors to participate actively. Such events help distributors communicate their views directly to the owners and key people of the company.
