02 Aug Darshan International drawing the world towards Indian fragrance
Agarbatti industry needs updation as per the new generation : Ashok Thambi
The incense sticks and dhoop industry may be facing problems like shortage of raw material, inflation, recession, duplication, but in the coming decades, it will have to change its perception, because the new generation has started giving up on traditions and adopting new trends. Mr. Ashok Thambi, Partner, Darshan International on the challenges being faced by the agarbatti industry said in an exclusive conversation with Sugandha India that it is important to understand the demand, choice and tradition of the people in the coming times. With the change of time, the trend is changing rapidly in the new generation. Traditions are changing and new trends are being created in every field. A lot has changed today compared to the past decades.
People burn incense sticks and dhoop during worship, while the younger generation only does the formalities . A change is being seen in the new generation regarding worship in metro cities. Also, as the income of people in small cities and towns has increased, so they are using more incense sticks. In this context, the practice of incense sticks for worship has decreased in big cities but the consumption from small towns and cities is making up for it. So the industry is growing in terms of volume, but remains the same in terms of numbers.
Darshan International was established in 1987 in Karnataka. Ashok Thambi told that it was started by his father Mr. T Srinivas ji. Earlier in 1943, my grandfather had started a firm called Ashoka Trading Company. My father was of the view that instead of keeping the whole family engaged in one company, separate companies should be opened. When I took over the business of the company in year 2000, Ashoka Trading Company along with my brother Harsha was incorporated under Darshan International along with another company, Aparanji Industries, a year ago. In this way all the products and brands of these 3 companies are now manufactured under the name of Darshan International. The company manufactures around 3000-4000 products. We have around 20 brands running in the domestic market which includes our pan India flagship brands, Bharat Darshan and Black Stone. For exports we have around 3000 products for 30-35 countries.
He said that like all industries, there are challenges in the agarbatti industry, but the main thing is that with the changing world the demand for fragrances is also changing and the needs and hobbies of the new generation are also different. He said that there will always be a need for fragrance in the world, but fragrance is being used in many different ways now and probably in the coming decades, the way incense sticks and dhoop are used can also change and I think all the major companies are working in this direction. On the question of changing trends in fragrances, Ashok said that due to lifestyle there has been a change in the trends. Currently, 90 percent of the people use agarbatti for worship and about 10 percent of the population use it for fragrance. Apart from incense sticks, fragrances are now also being used in many ways like aromatic oils, perfumes, and room fresheners for homes and offices, though this trend is limited in India. In this way, the use of incense sticks is decreasing. In such a situation, companies that keep on making incense sticks only for worship, after a few years will not be able to give anything new to the next generation, because they will need new fragrances and new trends. People usually associate a fragrance with a tradition. Some people associate fragrance with different religions and cultures, but I believe that incense sticks are only for spreading fragrance.
He said that body deodorant is the trend in India right now. Room fresheners or expensive methods of fragrance are used daily in only a few affluent households of the country. In India, it is not yet a trend to use room fresheners in the house like in foreign countries. Various fragrances are used to keep homes and offices smelling good and pleasant. Diffusers and perfume dispensers are installed, which spread aroma. Darshan International is bringing all such products, but we will export it only due to lack of consumption in the country’s market.
On the question related to the consumption of Darshan International products in the Indian market, Ashok said that our supply is more in South and West India. One or two depots have been set up in all the states. There are about 400 people in the marketing team, who look after the markets of all the states. He informed that their products range from Rs 10 to Rs 100, with flagship brands, Bharat Darshan and Black Stone. The company has appointed Vidya Balan as its brand ambassador at the national level, while there are different brand ambassadors at the state level. He said that having a brand ambassador increases the value of the brand. Responding to a question, he said that the prices of raw materials have increased a lot. There are always two types of recession. One, if there is a difference in demand and supply, things become expensive, but this time the recession has come due to war and Covid. Everything has gotten expensive. The packing material has increased by 100%. Apart from this, if we look at the entire fragrance industry, there is a 50-70 percent increase in prices. In such a situation, everyone in the industry has reduced the weight and content of products. Some have also increased the rates while some have reduced their profits and not burdened the consumer. Our company too has reduced its profits and not burdened the consumers.
On the question of the difference between hand-made and machine-made incense sticks, he said that his company produces both handmade and machine made masala batti. Karnataka is the first state in the country to start making incense sticks and initially incense sticks were only handmade, but now 98 percent incense sticks are being made by machine. The major reason for this is increase in demand and shortage of laborers. The industry however, employs 98 percent women and our company has around a thousand to twelve hundred women working for us. On the question related to the production facility and manufacturing process of Darshan International, he said that earlier incense stick companies used to do all the work in house, which included rolling incense sticks, applying perfume, packaging etc., but as the demand in the country grew, the companies have started outsourcing all these services. Darshan International does all the work in house on its own to control the quality and to differentiate itself from the competition. We have our own Perfume Lab, R&D Center, blending Section. We have a total of 1,30,000 sq. ft production unit across multiple locations in Karnataka, Assam, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka with an additional 80,000 sq. ft. for backward integration at Tirupattur. We also have a 12,000 sq. ft. printing unit with 6 colour high-end offset machines and state of art German machines at Bangalore.. We get the raw battis made in rural areas. this generates employment and there is easy availability of raw materials. The company has given employment to about 2000 people in rural areas. We have different verticals relating to production of incense sticks. Producing raw battis, applying perfume, packaging, transporting them to the depot, taking it to the distributor and retailer, all these things are done by the company itself.
Ashok does not consider the mass production of incense sticks at every nook and corner in the country as a challenge. He said that its all about providing better service, and those who dont are pushed out of the market. That is why Darshan International has set up its depots in every state so that there is a good supply chain till the retailer. This business has been built on a complete professional model. For every state we have a database of how many cities, towns are there and how many shops are there in those cities and what are the routes we can follow. A software called Sales force has been put in, in which the address and location of the retailer’s shop, phone number, name, photo are kept in the database and every day the sales team is notified go on a different route. Apart from this, the company uses all means of publicity. In this sense, competition is always good for the industry. Good quality and hard work build a brand and make it stand apart from thousands of other products. On the question regarding the demand of Indian incense sticks abroad, he said that there is a good demand for our products abroad. This is the reason why there is an increase of 30 to 40 percent in agarbatti exports. It was already a trend in China, but now the demand has increased in Middle East, European and American markets as well, but the ones who can afford, use Indian fragrances there. The main reason for this is that the aroma here is pungent, sharp and expensive whereas people in Europe prefer mild fragrances. There is a market of 3 to 4 percent in Europe for Indian traditional fragrance. Also, the use of dhoop and incense sticks is also limited because of the smoke detectors installed in the houses or workplaces.
On the issue of counterfeit and fake products in the agarbatti industry, Ashok said that it is a matter of law and no company can deal with it at its level. Still, we get raids done four-five times a year and that puts pressure on the distributor and the retailer, but we can’t do much about that. He said that the problem of counterfeit and fake products is not there in South Indian states, Maharashtra and Delhi etc. It mostly occurs in backward areas. Especially in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, counterfeit and fake products is a big problem. There is no fear of law and the person carrying out such operations knows that if he is caught, he will be released after a few days. This is how their business continues.
No Comments