Bhagyashree Sugandhalaya’s Strong Presence in the Jalna Market
From manufacturing incense products to now focusingentirely on trading, Bhagyashree Sugandhalaya has beenactive in the incense and dhoop business since 1996. In aconversation with Sugandh India, Mr. Shubham Bathia, headof Bhagyashree Sugandhalaya, shared that the business wasstarted by his grandfather and later expanded by his father,Mr. Hemant Gajraj Bathia. He added, “We started tradingbusiness in 2001. Our first agency was Hari Darshan, followedby HEM, Balaji, and Amrutha.”
At present, BhagyashreeSugandhalaya holdsdistribution rights forover 20 brands, includingHari Darshan, Balaji, BigBell, Manohar, Delta, Amrutha, FirstChoice, Mumbai’s Singapuraship,Nishan, Flourish Fragrances,Rajkamal, Oswal, Misbah, GoodluckChintan, Bansi, Vadodara’s Shreeji,Satya, and RJ from Mumbai.
In response to a question, Mr.Bathia explained that the firmsupplies products across urban andrural areas within a 200 km radius ofJalna district. “We also fulfil ordersfrom neighbouring districts,” headded.
Speaking about the local market,Mr. Bathia said, “Jalna is an excellentmarket for the incense industry.Premium and zipper-pack productssell the most here. The highest salescome from ₹50 zipper packs, while₹10 and ₹20 products have limitedsales. Recently, jumbo packs have alsostarted gaining demand.”
He mentioned that Balaji’sChandan and Red incense are thetop-selling products, followed byAmrutha’s 3-in-1, Big Bell, BIC,Nishan, Sona Chandi, Zed Black,Cycle, and Flourish. Around 60%of the market consists of economyproducts, 20% premium, and theremaining 20% includes products inthe ₹10–₹25 range and smaller zipperpacks. In the economy category, ₹50zipper packs generate the highestvolume.
According to him, incense sticksaccount for about 70% of the market,while dhoop makes up the remaining30%. Within dhoop, wet and dryvarieties share the market equally(50–50). In wet dhoop, Big Bell’sGolden and Bansi perform well.In the premium segment, Balajiand A Ravi Raag lead, followed byHari Darshan, Zed Black, ForestFragrance, and Shreeji. The ₹20 and₹60 packs are the most in demand.For dry sticks, Big Bell, Real, andBalaji are popular.
Talking about sambrani cups, Mr.Bathia shared that Hari Darshan, FirstChoice, Shimoga Nadar, Chintan,Delta, and Cycle’s Naivedya are thekey players, with Naivedya holdingabout 15% market share. Besidesthese, BIC and Panchvati also sellwell. He noted that BIC’s bamboolessand zipper packs are performingstrongly.
In camphor, loose (unbranded)products dominate due to quality,with 100-gram pouches selling for₹100. Among branded options,Mangalam, Hari Darshan, Tejas’Shyam (Mumbai), 555, and 333 are indemand. For chandan tika and ashtagandha,Manohar and Hari Darshan lead themarket, with both wet and dry sandalvarieties selling well. The yellow coloris most preferred, followed by red.
In roll-ons and attars, Manohar,Big Bell, and Balaji are the leadingbrands, with Orkay and Balajipositioned in the premium range. Concluding, Mr. Bathia said,“People here prefer quality productswith strong fragrances. On average,a customer spends about ₹500 permonth, and 4 to 5 out of every 10buyers choose products based onbrand name alone.”
