From Selling on a Bicycle to Becoming a RKT Distributor
Safari Big is the top selling brand in Chalisgaon: Rajendra Narayan Shirode
In Maharashtra’s Chalisgaon area, Rajendra Narayan Shirode — who used to sell incense while riding a bicycle back in 1992 — is now head of Namrata Traders and a principal distributor for Safari Big and RKT. His story shows that consistent hard work and honesty can lift anyone to success. In a conversation with Sugandh India, he said he used to cycle around the town selling toilet cleaners and other cleaning items and noticed great scope for incenseproducts. There was no incense business in Chalisgaon, so in 1992 he went to Mumbai and brought Mangal Murti incense sticks, and started selling them here initially by cart. Those ₹5 items sold extremely well and he later took the agency
Over time he obtained agencies for about 12–13 companies including Nandini, Ullas, Cycle, Moksha, etc., and business grew. In 2014 he met Bharat Thakral of Safari Big and joined them. Today he supplies RKT within a 40-kilometer radiusin Chalisgaon; he now focuses mainly on RKT products and has reduced other agencies. He also supplies Nandini camphor.
He supplies about 400–500 counters — general stores, small wholesalers, kirana shops, malls and some selected paan shops. Across chalisgaon, incense sticks sell well. Previously ₹10 packs were common, but now zipper packs of ₹50 and ₹100 sell. RKT’s 140-gram zipper pack is the top seller.
Besides Safari Big; Cycle, Ullas, and Forest compete in this market. Wet dhoop’s market is small but dry sticks sell well; drystick products are roughly 40% of the market vs. 60% for incense sticks. RKT jar-pack dhoop sticks sell best. In wet dhoop, Zed Black’s Manthan is popular. Sambrani cups see spikes during Ganpati and other festivals. Attar and roll-on markets are negligible here.
Brand loyalty is high in his area — 8 out of 10 customers request products by brand name, many ask specifically for RKT. On average, a customer spends about ₹100 per month on incense.
He credits RKT’s popularity to competitive pricing and consistent quality along with distributor/customer incentives — frequent schemes, gifts, zipper packs in boxes, jar gifts, and so on. The company keeps close distributor-owner communication and frequently discusses new products and schemes. Because RKT continually innovates and improves quality, its popularity is rising across Maharashtra and nationally.
