Gopichand Badrilal Agrawal has a legacy of Three Generations in Indore’s Agarbatti Market
Indore’s Gopichand Badrilal Agrawal firm has been a wellknown trading company in the agarbatti and dhoop business for nearly 66 years. The firm has held agencies for several established and major companies. It has been operating for three generations, during which many major companies have changed their brands and products. In a conversation with Sugandh India, the firm’s proprietor, Mr Naveen Agrawal, said that his grandfather started the agarbatti business in 1960. From the beginning, the firm handled agencies for agarbatti companies. Answering a question, he said that at that time, they dealt with Paras International, Ananda, Rajdhani, Ramayan, Awaaz and Elite, among others. Elite is now known as Anubhav Incense. He added that they handle Forest, Karnataka Fragrance, BIC, Bindi, Sun Temple, Grah Shanti, Bimal and IC. Besides these, they also stock products from Balaji and several other branded companies according to customer demand.
In response to a question about the Indore market, Mr Naveen said that the market is very tough, competition is intense, and customers are also well-informed. The ₹50 zipper pack of agarbatti and wet dhoop priced at ₹20 are the best-selling products here. He explained that his firm works as a super stockist and distributor. The firm has a supply network covering Indore and surrounding areas within a radius of 200 kilometres. Besides this, customers also come from distant places to purchase products from them. Answering another question, he said that BIC, Rajkamal, Feelings and Avon, among others, are in high demand here. Local products also sell well. Responding to a question about the growing use of dry dhoop, he explained that demand for bamboo-less products has increased significantly over the past four to five years. This has happened because people believe that bamboo should not be burned.
In response to a question from Sugandh India, Mr Naveen said that Grah Shanti sells well in the wet dhoop segment, while Karnataka and Forest perform well in the premium segment. BIC sells well in dry dhoop. Rajkamal and Feelings also perform well. Answering another question, he said that many products from Bengaluru and Gujarat sell in Indore, but local brands are also popular, and locally manufactured products enjoy good demand. When asked about the position of new companies entering the market, he said that every new brand must maintain the right balance between product quality and price because competition is intense. Marketing and promotional schemes are also very important.
He told Sugandh India that the camphor market is quite strong here, but branded camphor products sell more, particularly Saraswati, Three Point and Labh Ganga. The market for loose camphor is relatively small. In Chandan Tika, Kashi is the best-selling brand, followed by several others. He added that Arochem is the leading brand in attar and roll-on products at his firm. Since Indore is also a metropolitan city, an average customer spends between ₹200 and ₹500 per month on agarbatti and dhoop products. The average spending is around ₹200, while customers who prefer premium quality spend up to ₹500. Answering another question, he said that customers do not usually ask for products by brand name. Instead, they ask the firm to recommend a good agarbatti. They make purchases based on the firm’s recommendations, and repeat orders are also quite frequent.
