The Growing Fragrance of Ahmedabad in Kolkata: Rajesh Kumar Sharma
There was a time when Bengaluru’s incense sticks dominated the market in West Bengal, especially in its capital, Kolkata. But in the past decade, with Ahmedabad emerging as a hub of the incense industry, Kolkata is now experiencing the growing presence of incense and dhoop products from Ahmedabad. Sharing the above information in an exclusive conversation with Sugandh India, Rajesh Kumar Sharma, Partner at B.L. Sharma & Sons, said that apart from Ahmedabad, branded products from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are also growing in the Kolkata market.
B.L. Sharma & Sons was established 50 years ago by his father through the trading of incense products. At that time, the trading was done from Kolkata. Rajesh Kumar Sharma represents the third generation in the incense business since 2005. B.L. Sharma mainly serves as the C&F (Carry & Forward) agent for several major incense and dhoop companies. He said that he is the C&F agent for many leading companies from Ahmedabad, including Nishan Product, Pushti Aromatics, Skyora, and Jyoti Products. Apart from these, he also handles C&F operations for Pune’s Real Fragrance, Manohar Sugandhi, Mumbai’s Nandita, and several other companies like Shri Trading, BIC, Oriental, and Pooja.
Mr. Sharma told Sugandh India that he manages marketing and C&F operations for the entire West Bengal. Around 123 distributors across the state are part of their network. Responding to a question, he said that they supply orders to Bangladesh and Thailand as well. Bangladeshreceives many orders for zipper-pack incense sticks and dhoop, and zipper packs are extremely popular there.
Speaking about the incense market in West Bengal, he said it is in a very good state. The ₹20 incense packs sell the most. Companies that sell products in ₹50 packs in other states, including those from Ahmedabad, offer their products in ₹20 packs in Bengal. He also said that zipper packs sell the most here. Earlier, ₹50 packs dominated the market, but ever since ₹20 zipper packs came in, customers prefer them because they contain more sticks.
Regarding the Kolkata market, Mr. Sharma said incense sticks sell the most. Wet dhoop, dry sticks, and sambrani cups make up 15–20% of the market. The remaining 80% is incense sticks, with popular brands being Nishan, Cycle, Zed Black, Balaji, BIC, Shalimar, and Darshan. In wet dhoop, Bhawna, Nishan, Zed Black, Rocket, Sacche Sai, and Greh Shanti are preferred.
He added that the wet dhoop market is small here, and dry dhoop is more popular. These are available in ₹10–₹20 packs, but 100-gram jar packs of many companies are also doing well. The sambrani cup market is growing rapidly. In sandal tika, Manohar Sugandhi is preferred. In attar and roll-ons, Oriental and Arochem (Arome) do well. Both loose and branded camphor are popular; in branded, Mangalam, 333, Leo, and Saraswati are preferred.
When asked about market challenges, he said there are no major issues, but the incense market here runs entirely on credit. Payment comes only after selling on credit, and one needs to maintain a strong supply and collection network.
