The Shrinivas Sugandhalaya company was founded in 1964 by Shri Satyam Setty from small premises in Mumbai. It has expanded to now employ approximately 2,500 workers in manufacturing facilities in Bangalore and Mumbai, and since the death of Setty in 2000 or 1999, the company has been run by his two sons, Balkrishna Setty and Nagaraj Setty. At an unclear time in 2014, and for unclear reasons, the partnership between the sons was split, both retaining use of the name and logo of the original Satya company. Nagraj Setty formed Shrinivas Sugandhalaya LLP in Mumbai on 8 Sept 2014. Balkrishna Setty formed Shrinivas Sugandhalaya (BNG) LLP in Bangalore on 21 Nov 2014.
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| Balkrishna Setty's HQ in Bangalore |
According to some websites (not verified as fact) Balkrishna had been involved in the manufacture of the incenses, had worked closely with his father, and had personally developed Super Hit. The Bangalore site had been the centre of the manufacturing for the original Satya company. Nagraj had been in charge of distribution, and had all the distribution contacts. The Mumbai site had been the centre of distribution for the original Satya company. In Dec 2016 a case was filed in at least one state court in America by Balkrishna Setty (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya (BNG) LLP) alleging unfair practises by Nagraj Setty (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya LLP). The claims are that Nagraj Setty sometimes uses machines to make incense, while Balkrishna Setty only uses hand rolling methods; the claim is that customers prefer hand rolled incense, and so Balkrishna Setty's incense is more popular. In order to mislead people, and to suppress competition, Nagraj Setty advertised his products using Balkrishna Setty's Bangalore address. He has also sent out cease and desist notices to all USA distributors, claiming that Balkrishna Setty is infringing on his trademarks and copyrights. I don't have any information on the outcome of the court case - I don't know if it has been heard yet.
I will be endeavouring where possible to indicate on my reviews which of the two companies was responsible for the incense being reviewed.
As of 2018, the two brothers have developed new logos, which clearly indicate which is responsible for the product in the packets. Recent incense from Nagraj which uses the new logo is of better quality as he is now using workers in Bangalore, some of whom may have experience of working in his father's incense factory.
2014 was the year that the two brothers split Satya into two companies, with Nagaraj, who had been in charge of distribution, initially commissioning the production of the sticks he sold until he later established his own incense factory in Bangalore (is this accurate?), the city where Satya production had been based since the 1960s.
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| Top left: original logo - Top right: Mumbai 1st Bottom left: Bangalore - Bottom right: Mumbai |
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| A Nagaraj logo with the Bangalore address |
The new logos and websites:
Nagraj Setty's Shrinivas Sugandhalaya LLP
The distributor
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| Mumbai - Nagraj |
Website: houseofnagchampa.com
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Balkrishna Setty's Shrinivas Sugandhalaya (BNG) LLP
The manufacturer
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| Bengaluru - Balkrishna |
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| Previous logo, registered 2014 |
Website: satyaincense.com
The British incense and ethnic goods distributor Aargee contracted Satya to make a number of incense sticks under the Aargee and Stamford brand. In 2011, Aargee developed 12 new fragrances with Shrinivas Sugandhalaya (link dead) to be sold exclusively through the Stamford brand. The two companies have listed 24 fragrances they make together. (link dead).
Reviews
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| Satya (BNG - post 2018) Myrrh (M) Sept 2021 - Score: 42↑ |
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| Satya (BNG) Reiki Jan 2024 - Score: 41↓↓↑ |
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| Satya (BNG - post 2018) White Sage Score: 40 |
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| Satya (BNG - 2016) Patchouli (M) Dec 2019 - Score: 40 |
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Score: 40
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| Satya Nag Champa Fresh Rose Dhoop Cones Score: 40 |
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| Satya Natural Score: 40 |
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| Satya (BNG) Frankincense Score: 39 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Patchouli Forest (M) Score: 38 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Super Sandal Dhoop Cones Score: 38 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Sunrise Score: 37 |
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| Satya (Original - pre 2014) Yoga Series Harmony Score: 36 |
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Score: 35
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| Satya (BNG) Patchouli (M) Score: 35 |
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| Satya (BNG - pre 2017) Namaste (M) Score: 35 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Fortune (P) Sept 2023 - Score: 35↑ |
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| Satya/Stamford (2014) Knowledge (M) Nov 2024 - Score: 35↑ |
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| Satya Super Hit Oct 2023 - Score: 34↑↓↑↑↓ |
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| Stamford Midnight Calm (by Satya) Score: 34 |
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| Satya Nag Champa Dhoop Cones Score: 33 |
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| Satya (BNG) Dragon's Blood Score: 28 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Californian White Sage Jan 2024 - Score: 28 |
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| Satya (BNG) Yoga Series Meditation (M) Mar 2024 - Score: 28 |
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| Satya (Mumbai 2015) Rain Forest (Jan 2024): 27 |
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| Satya/Stamford (2014) Meditating Shiva Score: 27 |
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| Satya (BNG - post 2018) Egyptian Jasmine Score: 27 |
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| Satya (Mumbai) Lavender Score: 25 |
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| Satya/Stamford (Mumbai 2014) Enlightenment Jan 2024 - Score: 25 |
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| Satya/Stamford (Mumbai 2014) Intuition Feb 2024 - Score: 25 |
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| Satya (BNG) Natural Sandal Score: 25 |
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| Satya/Stamford (2014) Laxmi's Lotus Score: 25 |
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Score: 25
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| Satya/Stamford (2014) Freedom Score: 20 |
Scents: 35
Highest score: 48
Lowest score: 20
Average: 36
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I plan to read through all of these reviews, thanks for posting them!
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