Bulk Supply More Prevalent in Malda: Vimal Kumar Gupta
Vimal Kumar Gupta, head of Gupta Plastic Center in Malda, has been involved in agarbatti distribution since 2017. In an exclusive conversation with Sugandh India, he shared that the agarbatti market is rapidly evolving. Marketing and retailing have now become quite similar, as customers increasingly expect wholesale prices even from retailers. This trend is reducing brand value, and companies that invest more in marketing are seeing better business performance.
Gupta explained that before entering distribution in 2017, he had been engaged in retailing since 2000. Their outlet was located on Netaji Marg and primarily dealt in plastic trading. He first entered the agarbatti business in 2012 with Parimal Mandir. After working with them for three years, he took up distribution for Shakuntala and Bharat Masala in 2017. About two years ago, he added Dhanlaxmi and later also started working with SreeTrading.
He further mentioned that his supply network covers Malda, North Dinajpur, and South Dinajpur districts, reaching around 80 distributors.
According to him, Shakuntala Products account for the highest sales, followed by Sree Trading and Dhanlaxmi. He noted that Shakuntala is a widely visible and popular brand across the market. When asked about other brands, he hesaid that every company typically has two to four product ranges that perform well. Products like Koyas Shiv Shankar (100 sticks), Shalimar’s Avida, Cycle’s Lia, and some items from Forest and Darshan are also in demand.
He highlighted that in this region, 80-gram packs priced at ₹20–25 are most popular. Agarbatti continues to dominate the market, while dry and wet dhoop have relatively lower demand. However, the demand for camphor is steadily increasing, and the Cycle brand performs strongly in all puja-related products.
Comparing Malda with markets like Kolkata and Siliguri, Gupta pointed out significant differences. In Kolkata, it is easy to procure smaller quantities such as 2–4 cartons. However, in Malda, distributors typically work on an 8% margin and prefer bulk supply. Due to limited transportation facilities in remote areas, bulk distribution is more practical. Sending 10 cartons at once is far more economical than shipping 1–2 cartons.
