When was Tirupati Industries established and what was your inspiration?

In the year 2000, about 22 years ago, we entered this industry with the belief  of doing a virtuous work. We wanted to create a means of connecting the devotees with God, because we used to see that a lot of companies use substandard material in prayer products to earn profit. The main reason for the inspiration was to provide the customers with pure products. This is how we turned Tirupati Industries into one of the leading incense sticks companies in the country and we are constantly growing each day.

Being one of the leading companies, what is your goal now and how many products do you produce?

Our goal is to make the company grow as much as possible and provide the consumers with the best products. At present, the company has more than 500 products under brand names God Gift, Sachche Sai and Kashi. The company is soon preparing to introduce more than 100 new products. Apart from this, we are also starting with the production of all the other prayer related items. Recently, we have launched our own brand of Kapoor (Camphor).

A company has a wide range of products, but only few of them are popular. Which is your leading product?

The reason for our wide range of products is that different kind of products are preferred in every state. God Gift’s products are sold in numerous states like Rajasthan, Delhi-NCR, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Maharashtra etc. Every state has its own taste and preference, the brand which is popular in Rajasmight not be liked UP, what is liked in Bihar, might not be liked in Maharashtra, what Bengalis prefer might not be preferred by Delhiites . So we can’t say which brand runs more or less. Every brand has its own strong market.

What challenges do you face in the business of incense sticks and how do you deal with them?

Every industry or business has its own set of challenges. Similarly dhoop and incense sticks industry also has numerous challenges. The popularity of God Gift’s dhoop and incense sticks is so high that a lot of companies have launched thousands of products similar to our company’s name and brand. We can clearly say that almost 8 out of 10 companies are running brands with a name similar to ours. It is being copied, but it doesn’t matter to us and we continue to grow because we produce pure and high quality products.

 As a leading company, how do you manage everything and how many factories do you have to maintain a huge supply throughout the country?

The company has its own Research and Development Unit, which is constantly engaged in innovation and creating new products. It is to ensure that the fragrance and products remain fresh. At present about 7 factories are running and more than 1000 people are employed. Two more new factories are about to start soon. The company’s plants are in Rajasthan and Delhi. We make incense sticks by hand and also by machines, but we try our best to make more handmade. So that poor laborers and women in them can get maximum work. We have also roped in cricketer Rishabh Pant as our brand ambassador and will soon hit the TV and newspapers through advertisements. The promotion of the company will be visible everywhere.

Competition has increased a lot in the agarbatti industry, what strategy do you adopt to deal with it?

Every industry or business faces competition, but the competition in the agarbatti industry is very high, because of influx of manufacturers and incense sticks are being produced from house to house. We are ahead of this competition as most of the incense sticks manufacturers mix cheap and substandard raw material, but we never compromise on quality and always use pure and high quality material. This is why our products are popular. The basic objective of the company is that there should be no adulteration in the ingredients of products meant for worship of God.

A new trend of using incense sticks in lifestyle has emerged. How do you see it. Apart from this, there is a debate between herbal and chemical incense sticks.

Our focus is to provide products for worship and prayer purposes. People as per their choice use them in lifestyle, but still a majority of people are using it only during worship. Talking about herbal and chemical, chemicals are used only for fragrance. The chemical itself gives a different kind of smell. We make both types of products but take utmost care of quality and never compromise on both herbal and chemical products. Some companies use cheap chemicals and substandard raw materials. In dhoop sticks, there are cases where some manufacturers use an automobile product named MOBIL. We can say that there is no harm in using chemicals in incense sticks but the quality should be good. Aromatic oils of Mogra, rose, sandalwood etc. are added to our products, because only then the fragrance will be produced.

Nowadays the practice of making incense sticks from flower waste from temples has emerged. How do you see this?

Some people have started using dried and stale flowers, basically flower waste from temples as raw materials for dhoop and incense sticks, but this is very limited. As of now, incense stick products made from flowers waste are not even 5% in the entire industry, but the potential is good. Similarly, some people do not like to burn bamboo. There is also the question of the different religious uses of dhoop and incense sticks. It is said that dhoop is mostly used by Hindus and incense sticks by Muslims for fragrance. Everyone has their own thinking, but everyone use everything, the products cannot be associated with one community.

The government has banned the import of raw incense sticks. As per the government this will increase self-reliance in the country?

 This step of the government is very commendable.  Importing incense sticks from the countries which don’t have cultures like us or do not believe in concept of God, is a matter of great shame. This ban is a great move. This has given employment to lakhs of people. In fact I believe that similarly the raw material coming from outside in large quantities should also be banned and the raw material available in the country itself should be used. This will increase more employment in the country and make the country self reliant.

Fruity and flavored fragrances have increased in the agarbatti industry. In such a situation, will the market of traditional fragrances be reduced?

As per my experience, the taste of consumers is ever changing, they eventually get bored of same products or fragrances. That is why people want change. In 25 years I have seen that people want change, but the natural fragrance of sandalwood, mogra, rose and jasmine is evergreen. Fruity or flavored fragrances last for a while but eventually they disappear from market.

What are the measures your company is taking for women empowerment?

The biggest effort the company makes for women’s empowerment is that it uses machines as little as possible, because machines increase unemployment. That’s why we use negligible machines. So that more poor and specially women can get employment in them. Thousands of employees work in the company, but 75 percent of the employment is given to women only. We believe that by doing good for the society, in return it creates a better scenario for us.

Your business has been established in the country, so why not export abroad, while India is becoming self-sufficient in manufacturing incense sticks?

There is so much demand for our products in the country itself that we are not able to meet it, but we have set the target of exporting  soon. Two new factories are being started  keeping export in mind. In the present situation we are only focusing on fulfilling domestic demand. Apart from this, we also plan to make a variety of other consumer items. This includes 30-35 items including Mehndi cone, Candy, Coconut oil.