Jalgaon is a Key Market for Medium & Premium Incense: Tushar Vani, Shree Agency
Jalgaon district of Maharashtra has been a special hubfor the incense trade for decades. Here, along withmedium-range products, the market for premiumincense and dhoop products is also growing rapidly. Thehighest sales are for products priced between ₹40 to₹100 MRP, packed in 100 to 200 grams. Demand is lowerfor jumbo packs and products weighing more than aquarter kilo.
TusharAtmaramVani, headof ShriAgency inJalgaon, toldSugandhIndia thathe has beenworkingas an agency trader forincense companies for thelast 40 years. He said thatthe premium segment here isabout 10–15%, and this is thereason why even an averageconsumer spends at least₹200 per month on incensepurchases. On the otherhand, customers who preferpremium products spend up to₹1,000 on incense products.
Tushar shared that 40 yearsago, the very first agencyhe took was of Hilltopfrom Mumbai. After that,he worked with AnubhavIncense. Currently, he holdsagency rights for around 30companies, including Riddhi-Siddhi, Rajkamal, Feelingsfrom Indore, Bimal andAlaukik from Rajkot, Real andManohar Sugandhi from Pune,Geeta from Jaipur, SiddhiFragrance from Ahmedabad,Padma from Bangalore, DevDarshan, GT and Satya. Hementioned that he handles thedistribution of Real in threedistricts – Jalgaon, Dhule, andNandurbar. Apart from this,he has a supply network acrossboth urban and rural areas ofJalgaon district. He added thathe has also worked with manyother branded companies inthe past but had to leave somedue to various reasons.
In response to a SugandhIndia query, he said thatcompetition in the incense anddhoop market has increasedsignificantly. Although saleshave grown, margins havedecreased, and profit can onlybe maintained through highervolumes. He explained that thetrend is more towards incensepacks priced between ₹40 and₹100 MRP, weighing 120 to 200grams. Earlier, 400-gram packssold well, but demand forjumbo packs has gone down.Customers who buy a ₹100pack usually come monthly,as one pack lasts them for theentire month. About 60% ofsales here are of zipper packs.₹10 MRP box are available butsell less, whereas ₹20 pouchesare more popular. The ₹10 packof Riddhi-Siddhi sells very wellat his counter.
When asked about leadingbrands in the Jalgaon market,he said that Riddhi-Siddhi,Feelings, Man Mandir, Hem,Zed Black, Cycle, SiddhiFragrance, Real, Satya, Flora,Alaukik, Bimal, Balaji, BIC,and Red Flora are popular.Many of these belong to thepremium range.
He added that in Jalgaon,incense sticks account foraround 70% of the market,while the remaining 30%consists of wet dhoop, drysticks, cups, etc. Demand fordry dhoop is rising faster.However, wet dhoop is stillin demand, particularly fromstreet vendors and foodstall owners. He explainedthat dry dhoop packs of 100grams priced at ₹50 are thefastest-selling. Currently,wet dhoop holds 40% share,while dry sticks and cups eachaccount for 20%. Sambranicups see the highest demandduring Navratri and festivals.The premium segment indhoop has grown, with 20%of products being premiumquality. At his counter, DevDarshan sells the most due toits best quality and pricing.Geeta’s ₹20 wet dhoop alsoperforms well. Other popularproducts include Real,Manthan, Sacche Sai, Tej, andRocket.
Tushar told Sugandh Indiathat at present, products fromIndore-based companies sellthe most here. Bangaloreproducts are premiumquality and sell well too, buttransportation is the biggestchallenge. In contrast, Indorecompanies supply fasterand more efficiently, withbetter networks. This is whyIndore products dominatethis market. Some productsfrom Pune-based companiesalso sell well, but productsfrom Nagpur have very littlepresence. He mentioned thatJalgaon has long been a specialincense market. AlthoughNashik and Aurangabadare larger markets in theirown right, since the days ofSugandh Shringar Agarbatti,Jalgaon has stood out as adistinct market.
When asked about theSambrani cup market, hesaid GT dominates here,followed by Real with its three-fragrancerange. The reason isthat people here demand bothbrand and quality. Sambranistick demand has gone downsignificantly compared toearlier. Popular brands hereinclude Real, Oswal, GoodLuck, and First Choicefrom Pune. At his counter,in sandalwood tika andashtagandha, only ManoharSugandhi sells. Apart fromthis, Spiritual and Gandhibrands are alsopresent in the market.In camphor, Bhim Senidominates. 3 Pine is also astrong seller. At his counter,camphor brands like Raj Kala,333, Govind, OK, and GT alsosell well. In attar roll-ons,he has been selling Balaji’ssandalwood fragrance foryears. He concluded by sayingthat brand loyalty is strongin Jalgaon, with 6 out of 10customers buying incenseproducts purely by brandname.
