Incense in The Wind: Wild Berry

Wild Berry incense are an American incense company that is starting to make an appearance in the UK. The company started as a shop in Ohio in 1971 selling a range of hand made goods, but it was the incense that was attracting attention, so in 1992 the company worked out a marketing deal that spread it across America, and now to other countries around the world. The company produces a vast and ever increasing range of fragrances with names such as Candy Cane, Baking Brownies, Misty Mountain, and Pounding Surf. The sticks are sold loose from jars with no way of identifying which scent you have bought, other than the vague colour dye on the sticks. Personally I like a bit of packaging, and some way of identifying the scent I have bought so I can buy it again if I like it., but there you go...

These sticks are likely made in Thailand - possibly by Balarama Enterprises, and then dipped in the fragrances in the company's factory premises in America.

Wild Berry website: wild-berry.com

Wild Berry V Gonesh

Gonesh and Wild Berry are both American companies who fragrance their sticks in America. Real estate and wages are higher in America than Asia, so their products will be more expensive than Indian and Asian perfumed incense, and may not provide good value for money, depending on your view. They are not "cheap" in the sense of being low cost.

Gonesh is a well established incense company - it is over 100 years old, and so is one of the oldest incense companies in the world. It carries on a traditional Indian approach to fragrance, so you are more likely to get an Indian style incense - such as Nag Champa, or single scents such as Cedarwood or Amber, though they also do more modern scents, such as Black Cherry. They use fine quality charcoal so there are no off-scents - what you smell is the fragrance. I have liked and respected the sticks of theirs that I have tried. My only complaint is that they are a little unadventurous with their scent formulations, but they are OK, and I love that they have such a long history, and are American. I found their prices to be on a par with imported incense given the costs of shipping, though, obviously, more expensive than buying direct from India or from using a locally based Indian shop (either online or physical). For what they are, I think they are acceptable value for money.

Wild Berry is a more modern and funky company. They focus on fun scents, and put more effort into the cold throw scent than the burn scent. They are relying on impulse buys as shops will stock the sticks exposed to the air. While the scents on the stick are often quite catchy and fun, the experience on the burn is usually not that great. But I live in the UK, so I assume the sticks that reach here are going to be older, and sell less quickly as Wild Berry doesn't advertise here, so some of the scent will have evaporated. I find Wild Berry scents to be fun and imaginative and modern. but the quality care is not there, as it is with Gonesh, so the experience on the burn can be disappointing at least, and awful at times. I have little regard for the company, and don't find them value for money. They are expensive for what they are.

Of the two companies I would trust Gonesh to produce the better quality fragrance.

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