Safari Big is More Than a Brand, It’s Our Legacy:Akash Popat, Aditya Agencies, Hyderabad

Aditya Agencies, Hyderabad is theC&F Agent for Thakral Group’sbrand Safari Big in Hyderabadmetropolitan city as well as acrossTelangana and Andhra Pradesh. In addition,the agency is also C&F for RKT, Shreejay,Sugandh Shoppe, and Parasmani. The firmhas been working with Safari Big since 1998.Apart from this, the company also runs GHTbrand which stands for Ghanshyam HariramThakral. Under this brand they manufacturecups and other products

Aditya Agencies’ head, Mr. Akash Popat,told Sugandh India in an interview thathe and his brother took over their fatherMr. Shamit Popat’s business three yearsago. Safari Big is their flagship brand. Heexplained that for other brands that theywork with, they only sell those pooja-relatedproducts that are not manufactured by theThakral Group. He further added that theirGHT brand was named after his maternalgrandfather, Shri Ghanshyam HariramThakral. This makes Safari Big a true familybusiness — his father entered this businessthrough the guidance of his grandfather.Initially, his father, who earlier marketedpowder for paint production with a strongdistribution network, ordered and sold just10 boxes of Safari Big to start with.

Akash mentioned that besides Safari Big,they also work with Shreejay and RKT. Whenasked about incense sticks, he clarified thatthey only handle Thakral Group brands,while for other pooja products not madeby the company, they work with otherbrands. He added that Swastik Kapoor isa leading brand in Hyderabad, and beingclose family friends, they also handle itsdistribution. Similarly, Charminar Kumkumand Ashtagandha are top-quality products.In Pooja oils, they distribute Mahalaxmiand Pitambari. Whichever product Thakraldoes not produce, they source it from othercompanies. On the demand for Safari Big,he said that the ₹10 pouch sells at the topposition across all districts of Telanganaand Andhra Pradesh. Demand is so highthat distributors cannot maintain stock, asit always exceeds supply. For RKT, the ₹50pouch and zipper pack have great demand,especially in Hyderabad.

Talking about their network, he said theyare heavily focused on Hyderabad, wherethere are thousands of stores, yet they arestill unable to cover all areas. Rural markets,however, perform very well with strong salesand payments. Currently, the firm has asupply network across all districts of the stateincluding Nizamabad, Adilabad, Bichkunda,Kanduru, Kosgi, Vikarabad, Sangareddy, andMehbubnagar. Their position in Hyderabadand other big cities is also very strong.

On being asked about other companyproducts, he said that in Hyderabad andTelangana’s urban areas, Cycle, Mangaldeep,Zed Black, Liberty (Black and White sticks),Ambica Durbar (an Andhra Pradesh herbalincense stick) sell very well. Box packs alsomove here, while Shah Fragrances is visiblein several districts. He said pouch and zipperdemand is growing in districts. RKT’s jumbopouch and zipper packs (400–500g) are alsoin great demand. RKT’s dhoop sticks are ofvery high quality and sell the most. Overall,the incense-to-dhoop ratio is 65:35, whichincludes wet dhoop, dry sticks, and cups.In South Indian areas, dry sticks, cups, andbamboo-less products are in higher demand.Among wet dhoop, Thakral’s ₹30 MRP packsells very well,alongside Zed Black andRocket in the same range.

When asked about Thakral Group’suniqueness, he explained that the companyalways brings products to market ahead ofothers — whether in packaging, price range,or quality, it stays advanced. For example,they launched a 300g zipper pack, whichno other company currently has. They alsokeep releasing new fragrances. Their two-footincense stick became a big hit with hugedemand. RKT’s dhoop is also on top, with sixvarieties selling strongly. Their GST brandcup is performing well — they introduced8–10 ranges at a local, which local retailers aresupporting. He credited the Thakral Group(his maternal side) for support in packagingand quality, helping the brand grow.

On the success of Safari Big across twomajor states and metropolitan cities, hesaid that their distributors have been withthe company for 20–30 years. They don’tneed to be asked for orders or payments —everything is done on time. They work soefficiently that there’s hardly a need to evenmeet them yearly.When asked about dhoopcups, he said that Cycle’s Naivedya, GT,Mangaldeep, Zed Black, Ambica, Delta’sSampradayam, and their jumbo pack arestrong sellers. In camphor, Ambica, Swastik,Mangalam, and Saraswati are popular.Swastik is an old company, also active ine-marketing. He added that Begum Bazaris the prime market of Hyderabad, and anyproduct that dominates here automaticallygets presence across Telangana, AndhraPradesh, and even Bengaluru. In pooja oils,Sukhi Baba, Mahalaxmi, Anurag, and Cycle’sOm Shanti are leading. In sandalwood tilak,Tulsi and Kashi from Varanasi dominate,while in Ashtagandha, Manohar Sugandhisells well. On marketing and schemes, heexplained that the company runs severalschemes, including sales target schemes —for example, from ₹3,000 sales targets upto ₹4,00,000. At ₹4,00,000, the companygives an LED TV. There are retailers who sellgoods worth ₹1–1.5 lakh monthly, and suchretailers are given separate gifts beyond thescheme.