SANGLI IS THE TREND SETTER FOR WESTERN MAHARASHTRA: PARVEZ
Hailing from Sangli district inMaharashtra, Mr. Parvez beganhis journey in the incenseindustry during college days.A family acquaintance who wasin the business gave him 16dozen incense sticks to sell.That small beginning led to thefoundation of a remarkablecareer. Today, Mr. Parvez is awell-known name in Sanglithrough his ventures — JanataCamphor Company and JanataEnterprises — which areinvolved in camphorproduction, incense trading,and retailing.
In an exclusive conversation with SugandhIndia, Mr. Parvez shared that he startedhis incense business in 1999. In 2002, heventured into camphor production, andhis brand “Janata Camphor 504” is now verypopular. His camphor products are suppliednot just in Sangli, but also in districts likeKolhapur and Satara. Besides, he handlesincense stick distribution and retail in Sangliand supplies to over a dozen incense anddhoop brands in a radius of 150 kilometers.Even traders from nearby districts ofKarnataka purchase products from him.
When asked about his first incensedistribution opportunity, Mr. Parvez recalledreceiving his first major order in 2002 fromMaratha Agarbatti, Hyderabad. During a visit toHyderabad, he met the owners Ghaffar Seth andAslam Seth. He suggested producing MarathaAgarbatti Black in 40-gram pouch packinginstead of the traditional hexagonal packaging.They agreed on the condition that if theproduct failed, he would bear the loss. Theproduct succeeded and remains popular today.Later, he added Roshan Agarbatti (Mysuru),Vinayak (Mysuru), Peshwa, Shah Fragrance(Gujarat), Utsav, Gajanan Industries, andmany more to his portfolio. Currently, heworks with 15–20 companies. He also notedthat the Sangli market is similar to Solapurand Kolhapur, but has its own identity.Products that perform well in Sangli oftenbecome trends across West Maharashtra.Sangli is a strong market for incense, withproducts worth ₹2 to ₹2.5 crore sold everymonth.
Mr. Parvez shared that his younger brotheris also in the trading business, and handlesanother counter. Together, they handle brandslike Metro, Roshan, Mysore Agarbatti Works,Shah Fragrance, Misbah, Karnataka Fragrance,Utsav, Shreyas, Vinayak Agarbatti (Indore),Amrutha, Alaukik, MPW Works, Shreedhan,AR Industries, and more. Brands from Jaipurlike Vidhan, Pioneer, Geetashree, Vedanshi,Oswal Industries, TPRG, Mitra, Vignesh,Saraswati, and Indira Max are also sold at theirretail counters. They also sell some brands inretail which they purchase from localdistributors.
He explained that Sangli prefers qualityproducts — nearly 60% of the incense marketis premium, priced between ₹50 to ₹100. Theremaining 40% comprises economy and midrangeproducts priced at ₹10 to ₹20. Pouchpacking is most popular, especially the newer400 to 450-gram packs which are in highdemand.
In terms of reach, he supplies to around 200retail outlets including paan shops, kiranastores, stationery shops, marts, and malls.Interestingly, incense is also sold in stationerystores in Sangli because of better profitmargins. Brands from Hyderabad, Telangana,Karnataka, and Gujarat are most popular here.The market consists of 75% incense and 25%dhoop products. During festival seasons,demand for dhoop rises significantly, with a50-50 split between wet and dry dhoop.Wet dhoop is widely used by juice shopsand street food vendors. Pioneer and Shreejiare the top-selling wet dhoop brands at hiscounters, priced between ₹20 to ₹50. Sambranicups are less popular, but Pioneer, Tapasya,Shreeji, and Shah brands sell well.
Mr. Parvez noted that customers often seeknew brands or products each month. The mostpopular incense brands at his store includeMaratha Kewda, Peshwa, Roshan, Welcome,Shah Loban, Utsav (7–8 products), Misbah,Indira Max, and several Balaji products. Otherstrong brands in Sangli include Forest, ZedBlack, First Choice, Good Luck, and Cycle— with Cycle leading the market.
Regarding the camphor business, he saidtheir 504 and 505 brands are top sellers, alongwith brands from OK and Mangalam. Incamphor, local brands dominate over nationalones. Earlier, camphor came from Mumbaiand nearby areas, but over time, Sangli becamea hub for camphor production with many localmanufacturers. In comparison, incenseproduction in Sangli is relatively low.
He concluded by stating that an averagecustomer spends around ₹500 per month, andabout 3–4 out of every 10 customers buy basedon brand names.
