Nagpur, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Indore Brands Now Dominate the Market: Rajesh Suratwala
In Nanded, R.K. Suratwala Agency is a well-known name in incense distribution.Speaking to Sugandh India, Rajesh Jayanti Suratwala, head of the agency, saidthat there was a time when Bengaluru’s incense brands dominated the marketdue to their strong reputation for quality. However, since 2000, the trade hasseen rapid changes. With the arrival of poly packs, Nagpur brands rose toprominence. This was followed by brands from Indore and Gujarat, offeringproducts that were both high in quality and affordable for customers. As a result,leading brands from Bengaluru suffered a major setback, and now companiesfrom Nagpur, Pune, Indore, and Ahmedabad are performing much better, whileBengaluru has fallen behind.
In response to a question, hementioned that Big Safari enteredthe market in 1995–96 andcontinues to be at the top. Brandslike Balaji, Parimal Mandir, andHEM Corporation still sell well,but competition has significantlyincreased compared to earliertimes.
He shared that their firm holds agenciesfor about 20 major companies and suppliesproducts to around 400 retail counterswithin a 100–150 km radius aroundNanded, mainly to general and grocerystores.
Rajesh told Sugandh India that his firmbegan in 1985. Initially, they dealt inincense, cosmetics, and zarda (chewingtobacco), but nowthey focus solely onincense. Their firstagency was VasuAgarbatti’s 3-in-1product. They thenstarted working withCycle, and now holdagencies for Balaji,Parimal Mandir,HEM Corporation,BIC, Real Fragrance,Amrutha Aromatic,Shesh Mohan, A SAgarbatti, ShreeAgarbatti, KarnatakaFragrance, Shree Jai,Hari Darshan, Sugandhi Dhoop Patna, BigBell, Dhanlaxmi, Utsav, Alaukik, Vijay fromAhmedabad, and Saba Traders, amongothers — totalling 20 brands under R.K.Suratwala.
Rajesh toldSugandh India that hisfirm began in 1985.Initially, they dealt inincense, cosmetics, andzarda (chewing tobacco),but now they focussolely on incense.Their first agency wasVasu Agarbatti’s3-in-1 product.
When asked about the future of theincense industry, he said that religioussentiments have increased among people.Entire families now engage in prayer.Earlier, maybe one person would lightincense in the home — now, each memberperforms their own worship. Awarenessabout religion has increased due to theinfluence of spiritual leaders. Along withthis, competition in the industry has alsogrown. Incense is a business that can bestarted with low investment. As it is acottage industry, the government alsooffers subsidies.
On the incense market in Nanded, he saidthat Forest is the best-seller. Other, topperformingproducts include Good Luck’sAbhiman, Parivar, Big Safari, Real Total, Balaji,and Cycle. ITC incense is mostly sold throughsupermarkets. Zipper packs priced at ₹50 and₹100,as well as jumbo packs, are becomingincreasingly popular. Incense is still theprimary product, with around 90% of themarket, while dhoop accounts for just 10%.Burning issues are more common with dhoop.
In the dhoop category, Zed Black Manthan,Balaji, Bansi, Real, Dev Darshan, and SaccheSai are top performers. In dry dhoop, Laxmiand Mahalaxmi are popular — their lobanfragrance lingers long after burning, makingthem a customer favourite. In sambrani dhoop,products from Chennai are popular, andthere’s a good market forloose sambrani cups. Thoughevery company now makessambrani cups, Vidhān fromJaipur is in high demand.
He noted that one of thebiggest issues in the industryis the 2–3 months of pendingpayments or credit cycle. Hesaid they stock selectivebrands from each company— not every product sellsequally well. Their flagshipbrand is Big Safari.
He also mentioned thatdemand for loose incense isincreasing, as customers wantstronger fragrance at a lower price. This is whymedium-range zipper packs priced at ₹10 and₹50 sell the most. The ₹50 zipper pack holds30% of the market, ₹10 zipper packs 50%, whilepremium products make up only 5%. Loosecamphor is in high demand as well. Amongother strong sellers at his firm are Mangalamand Shree Jai’s Raj Kala.
In sandalwood tika and Ashtagandha,Krishna Murari’s wet sandalwood is popular.Other sellers include Manohar and Kashi.Regarding attars and roll-ons, he said there areseparate shops for those in the area, so they donot deal in them.
He mentioned that, on average, a customerspends ₹300 to ₹400 per month on incenseproducts. Only a few customers buy based onbrand name.
