Bulk Supply More Prevalent in Malda: Vimal Kumar Gupta
Vimal Kumar Gupta,head of GuptaPlastic Centerin Malda, hasbeen involvedin agarbattidistribution since2017. In an exclusive conversationwith Sugandh India, he sharedthat the agarbatti market israpidly evolving. Marketing andretailing have now become quitesimilar, as customers increasinglyexpect wholesale prices even fromretailers. This trend is reducingbrand value, and companies thatinvest more in marketing are seeingbetter business performance.
Gupta explained that beforeentering distribution in 2017, hehad been engaged in retailing since2000. Their outlet was located onNetaji Marg and primarily dealtin plastic trading. He first enteredthe agarbatti business in 2012 withParimal Mandir. After workingwith them for three years, he tookup distribution for Shakuntala andBharat Masala in 2017. About twoyears ago, he added Dhanlaxmi andlater also started working with SreeTrading.
He further mentioned that hissupply network covers Malda,North Dinajpur, and SouthDinajpur districts, reaching around80 distributors.
According to him, Shakuntalaproducts account for the highestsales, followed by Sree Tradingand Dhanlaxmi. He noted thatShakuntala is a widely visible andpopular brand across the market.When asked about other brands, hesaid that every company typicallyhas two to four product rangesthat perform well. Products likeKoyas Shiv Shankar (100 sticks),Shalimar’s Avida, Cycle’s Lia,and some items from Forest andDarshan are also in demand.
He highlighted that in thisregion, 80-gram packs priced at₹20–25 are most popular. Agarbatticontinues to dominate the market,while dry and wet dhoop haverelatively lower demand. However,the demand for camphor is steadilyincreasing, and Cycle brandperforms strongly in all pujarelatedproducts.
Comparing Malda with marketslike Kolkata and Siliguri, Guptapointed out significant differences.In Kolkata, it is easy to procuresmaller quantities such as 2–4cartons. However, in Malda,distributors typically work on an8% margin and prefer bulk supply.Due to limited transportationfacilities in remote areas, bulkdistribution is more practical.Sending 10 cartons at once is farmore economical than shipping 1–2cartons.
