Only Organized Companies Will Survive – Jignesh Shah
Shree Siddhi Fragrance Co., Gujarat is a flourishing business in the incense industry with the slogan ‘Think Quality—Think Siddhi’. After the success of their Wood collection and Gouvedam brand based on cow dung, cow urine and other natural ingredients they are set to launch premium quality masala agarbatti and bamboo less product along with 15-20 incense brands this year. Informing Sugandh India, Jignesh Bhai said “, The future of dhoop and agarbatti industry is unquestionably bright. With an ever-increasing demand for new fragrances and cutthroat competition plus, the fighting for the sellers’ space in a high-cost operating domain— only the toughest and established names will survive. Local players will come and go…”
Recalling his past, Jignesh Bhai, Director of Shree Siddhi Fragrance said, his father started this business in 1972. He was a trader. Shree Siddhi Fragrance was registered in 2013 as an agarbatti brand. He launched 17 brands that year.
After 9 years of perseverance and hardwork, Shree Siddhi Fragrance has delivered over 250 brands. Apart from agarbattis; a dozen types of air fresheners and camphor-based products are being sold in the market. Soon the company is also coming up with new perfume products.
Shree Siddhi Fragrances has products in all prices and sizes with their focus markets being Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal are. Thanks to the government’s incentives— They are working on various strategies to leverage export opportunities for their high-premium brands. Company has come up with numerous premium brands on the occassion of Diwali at an MRP of Rs.225.
They have a state-of-the-art R&D facility to curate unique fragrances for domestic and overseas markets. Jignesh bhai tells that the trend of bamboo less agarbattis has gone up and so we are as well working on that. As per customer demand we also made Gouvedam based on cow dung and other natural ingredients which turned into success. Though this concept isnt something new and there were already similar products in the market but they couldnt deliver the quality fragrance. We did that, we provided a beautiful fragrance along with organic ingredients. Gouvedam agarbatti comes in 4 fragrances at an MRP of Rs.90 for 100grams and Gouvedam Sambrani comes at a price of Rs.90 for a box of 12 cups along with a trial cup. Our other product, Golden Wood is a super premium red coloured agarbatti product. He claims that whoever burns this stick and experiences the high quality and tempting fragrance becomes a loyal customer.
According to Jignesh Bhai, Gujarat is mostly and agarbatti market along with Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Conversely, Delhi, Punjab and U.P. customers prefer dhoop. With the increasing trend of Bamboo less agarbattis, the company has planned several bamboo less agarbatti products. These come in 4 fragrances; Kasturi, Vedam, Vintage Vibe and blaze. They come in attractive premium packing in 100g priced at Rs.80.
Most of the companies are coming up with bamboo less products. It is due to a certain belief regarding the usage of bamboo sticks but that’s not correct, remarked Jignesh Bhai.
Fiddling with the demand for new fragrances, Jignesh Bhai said “, Demand for age-old traditional fragrances will remain. They are mainly used in prayers and rituals. However, the young generation is inclined more toward high lifestyle fragrances and also the fruity ones. Trends of fancy fragrances are on the rise by 40%. As of now, demand for modern and fancy fragrances is seen in metros only though, it’ll sweep in smaller cities and towns in near future.”
He informed that the incense sector is dependent on women. Around 90% of womenfolks work in his factory. Males are hired for heavy work like; operating machines, loading and unloading raw materials and finished goods. Around 500 women work in his factory. He further informed that machines did not take away manual labour; especially what women do. Earlier raw battis were imported but after the ban, raw battis are being domestically manufactured. This has been a great employement opportunity of women. After making raw battis, there are other tasks in the process such as dipping, packaging which are mostly undertaken by women.
On the question of challenges faced by manufacturers, Jignesh Bhai said “, Inflation is fuelling price-rise. Raw materials and packaging has become expensive and quality control has become a challenge. The problem is, that we cannot raise the MRP; customers are not ready. We are buying raw materials in cash and supplying our distributors on credit. This balancing act is the challenge! However, despite the rise in competition and numerous small manufacturers, it doesnt affect us as we are a renowned brand and we at Shree Siddhi Fragrances have our own research and marketing team.’’ JIgnesh Bhai added, “We have five factories in Ahmedabad, wet dhoop and sambrani units are separate and there are 3 units for packaging.”
Talking about upcoming brands, Jignesh bhai said that as discussed already, the company is coming up with premium masala batti products along with 15-20 new brands this year. To date, more than 250 brands have been launched since we started in 2013.There are around 12 air fresheners products, 4-5 camphor based products. We are also coming up with products in the perfumery segment. Talking about camphor, the powder is imported and pure camphor is made through machine and there’s no scope for adulteration. Company guarantees to provide the customers with pure camphor and claims to refund 3 times the value of product in case of any issue.
Jignesh bhai concludes that the future of dhoop and agarbatti industry is unquestionably bright. With an ever-increasing demand for new fragrances and cutthroat competition plus, the fighting for the sellers’ space in a high-cost operating domain— only the toughest and established names will survive. Local players will come and go…”
