Local Brands Dominate Gujarat: Prashant Kishor Bhai Manek
Gujarat has emerged as a major production hub in the agarbatti industry. Along with production, agarbatti consumption is also high across premium and medium-quality segments. There was a time when Bengaluru agarbattis dominated the market, but over the past decade, production of agarbattis across different price and quality ranges has increased significantly in Ahmedabad and other districts of the state. Although Bengaluru still has no real competition in premium-quality agarbattis, local Gujarat brands sell more products and are rapidly expanding across India while also producing premium-quality items. In an exclusive conversation with Sugandh India, Mr Prashant Kishor Manek, head of Prashant Sugandhalaya and Raghuvanshi Sales Corporation, said that Bengaluru products are good, but the transportation cost and long distance make sourcing products from there difficult. In comparison, products from Ahmedabad and other local companies offer good quality at lower prices. This is why the dominance of Ahmedabad and other state-based manufacturers continues to grow. The road distance between Bengaluru and Ahmedabad is around 1,500 kilometres. As a result, it becomes difficult for traders to receive goods on time, while freight costs are also considerably higher, making Bengaluru products more expensive.
Answering a question from Sugandh India, Mr Prashant A said that his firm holds agencies for several companies. He manages the distribution of some companies for Rajkot, for some for Saurashtra region, and for some for all across Gujarat. In this way, his firm has developed a supply network across the state. Hе informed that distribution for Rajkot is carried out under Prashant Sugandhalaya, while Gujarat-wide distribution is carried out under Raghuvanshi Sales Corporation. His father established Prashant Sugandhalaya 35 years ago. Mr Prashant has been managing the business for the past 20 years. He said that he and his brother learned the trading business from their father. His father started his agarbatti business by selling agarbattis from a single bag. He then began retailing in Rajkot. After some time, the business expanded across Rajkot and Saurashtra and has now developed into a supply network covering the entire state of Gujarat. He explained that initially, they handled products from Bharat Darshan, Man Mandir, Sugandh Shringar and several other local companies. Later, after establishing contact with dealers in Ahmedabad, their supply network expanded across the state.
Answering another question, he said that two special products from Big Safari and RKT have very strong sales. Their 5-foot agarbattis and dhoop sticks are in particularly high demand. Although the companies have a large range of products, we source only two products from them. These goods are dispatched directly to us by the companies. Regarding the Saurashtra market, he said that it includes Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Morbi, Shyam Nagar, Junagadh, Rajkot and Dwarka, where agarbatti consumption is very high. Among these, the Dwarka market is particularly good for agarbattis. As the city is home to religious and historical sites, it attracts a large number of pilgrims and tourists.
He said that his firm currently handles the Rajkot agency business for Shah Fragrance, Siddhi Fragrance, Kamdhenu and Parivar. They also have agencies for several other local and outside companies for Rajkot. Among other companies, they handle the Gujarat-wide business of Siddhi Sugandh. In addition, there are several companies from Bengaluru. Om Sai brand from Mumbai, Indra Max, Naupada Sales, Ujjain, First Choice, Jayant Mumbai, Oswal and Jain Incense Bengaluru are handled for the entire Gujarat market. Besides these, for Rajkot, they handle around 25 companies, including Jain Products Ratlam, Gallani, Alok Indore and Vienna Mumbai. They supply these products through four warehouses. He explained that the operations of some companies are limited to Rajkot, some cover Saurashtra, while others are handled across Gujarat.
handled across Gujarat. There are around 300 counters in Rajkot and a network of 250 dealers across Gujarat. Answering a question, he said that the Ahmedabad and Rajkot markets are completely different. Ahmedabad has many companies and is a large market. There are also several brands here, such as Utsav, Alaukik, Bimal and Janak, among others.
Answering a question from Sugandh India, he said that ₹300 and ₹400 boxes sell regularly in Rajkot, with sales increasing further during the festive season. The 400-gram and 300-gram packs have the strongest regular demand. He said that ₹50 zipper packs are also sold, but most customers now purchase 300-400 gram packs for their monthly requirements. Customers buying larger packs get both better value in terms of quality and greater quantity. There is still a small market for 10 and 20 packs in the outer areas. Answering another question, he said that Shah Fragrance, Siddhi, Parivar and Kamdhenu are among the brands that sell the most in his market. Jain Incense from Bengaluru also performs well. Krishna Kala and Jheenal are also in considerable demand at his firm. Speaking about the Rajkot market, he said that bamboo-less agarbattis and wet dhoop are also sold here. Compared to dry sticks, the market for wet dhoop is smaller.
The dry-stick market is growing and currently accounts for around 30%. Agarbattis still make up nearly 70% of the market. Wet dhoop accounts for around 10% and is mostly purchased by people who have come from other states. He explained that in dry dhoop, 100-gram jar packaging has the highest demand. In wet dhoop, packs with MRPs of ₹20, ₹35 and ₹50 have a market.
Mr Prashant said that local brands have the strongest presence in this market. National brands like ITC also have their own markets and a fixed customer base, but Nishan and Shah Fragrances have stronger sales. In the premium segment, Balaji and Krishna Kala have a good market presence. He said that sambrani cups are very popular here, with Kamdhenu having the highest demand at his firm. Cycle’s Naivedya Cup also sells well.
He explained that his firm does not deal in other pooja items, but in the camphor segment, they stock Choti Wala products from Kanpur. Camphor has a good market in Rajkot and sells throughout the year. Answering another question, he said that generally, an individual customer purchases products worth ₹200 to ₹500 per month, while some customers spend up to ₹1,000. Only one or two out of every ten customers specifically purchase by brand name. Otherwise, customers generally buy whatever products we offer them. He explained that in Rajkot, substantial sales take place through pooja stores, flower and garland shops, paan masala shops, grocery stores and dedicated agarbatti stores.
