The Best Incense Makers

*****

This started off as a collection of incense makers, but at least three of the companies on my list do not make the incense themselves, but either commission it, or rebadge it as their own, and sell it under their brand name. As such, this is a list of both makers and distributors. I will separate the makers and the distributors shortly.

The Daily Record's Top 10 Best Selling  Incense Sticks in India January 2019.

Lists of the Best Incense Brands In India 

Producers 

Satya
Indian (Bangalore) producer of masala

Satya Sai Baba is the brand name used by the Indian incense company Shrinivas Sugandhalaya of Bangalore, which 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. Their incense sticks and cones are high quality; hand-rolled from a masala of crushed fragrant ingredients around a charcoal base. The company use  halmaddi, a traditional fragrant resin, though the use has changed or declined over the years. They make the world's most famous and acclaimed incense, Satya Nag Champa.

Top scents: Satya Sai Baba Nag Champa Agarbatti (50);  Satya Natural (42);  Satya Harmony (36);  Satya Supreme (35);  Stamford Midnight Calm (by Satya) (34);  Satya Super Hit (33);  Satya Aastha (30)

Scents reviewed: 7
Highest score: 50
Lowest score: 30
Average score: 37

Conclusion: There is a reason that Satya are both popular and acclaimed:  they make quality incense in a traditional manner that people enjoy. They are not exciting - the scents sort of  group together in a homogeneous whole with little difference between them; the packaging is plain, unexciting, and uninformative - just different colour shades and the name to differentiate, but they are a reliable company, producing consistently good products. Two of  Satya's scents are in my top ten, and the Nag Champa was my No 1 incense for many years - a real life changer. Many of their scents  I would be happy to buy again. Somehow, though, despite the quality, I don't rush to buy a new Satya scent because I somehow know how it will smell, so there is a lack of interest and curiosity. And if I am going to buy Satya, I might as well get the Nag Champa - job done. I will, however, slowly make my way through the range, seeing if they can surprise.

*****

Goloka
Indian (Bangalore) producer of masala

Goloka was founded in 1997 in Bangalore, and is a non-profit trust which provides food and education for disadvantaged children, and training and assistance for women who have lost their husbands. Goloka are one of the leading Nag Champa brands - second after Satya (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya of Bangalore). I like Goloka. I like the availability. I like that the money and reputation goes to Goloka rather than a middle-man. I like that the profits go to help disadvantaged people. I like the low cost and excellent value for money. And the scents are always at least decent, and can be quite heavenly (or divine).

Incense tried: 28
Highest score: 48
Lowest score: 15 
Average: 34
Average top five: 45

Reviews over 5 years old: 15 
Total score: 39 

Conclusion: One of my favourite incense makers.

****

Vijayshree Fragrance

Bangalore, India

Vijayshree was founded in 1990, and has three sites in the incense capital of the world, Bangalore.  They use all natural ingredients, such as halmaddi (allanthus manbarca), nagchampa (mesua ferrea linn), sandalwood, and loban (boswellia sernata roxb). They claim to have over 500 workers making 200,000 packets of incense a day! 

Scents tried: 7 
Top score: 41
Low score: 37
Average:  39

****

Koya's Agarbathi

Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and masala

Koya's was founded in Bangalore in 1970 by Ahamed Kutti, who came from Kerala in Southwest India. The three best selling brands are Vishnu Leela, Maya Supreme and Intimate.  They are a well established Indian incense company with a wide range of products including perfumed and natural/masala incense sticks, and currently export to several Asian countries. They don't yet have an export deal with the West, though some incense was available in America through Amazon, and received a positive response. 

Their perfumed incenses are decent quality - long lasting, no off-notes, and with attractive perfumes. They are decent everyday perfumed incenses. But it is the masala range that has really impressed me. The everyday masalas are damn good, and excellent value for money based on their domestic prices, while some of the premium masalas, such as their Rasta and Nirvana, are world class, and are either in my Heavenly collection or my Wall of Fame. 

Scents tried: 15
Top score: 50 

Average Top 5: 43
Low score: 23
Average all:  32

Score: 38

Conclusion: One of the top Indian incense houses, yet not available in the West. 

*****

Namaste India Incense
Indian (Bangalore) producer of masala and perfumed

Indian Incense are a Bangalore based company.  The company started in 1956, the year I was born, as Sri Srinivasa Agarbathi Company. They changed name to Orkay Incense in 1986, using the Snake Brand trademark, and are currently calling themselves Indian Incense, though still use the Orkay name. They appear to have two main lines, this Namaste India brand which is all masala, plus Indian Soul which is perfumed.  There are some hex packs in the masala range. 

Incenses reviewed: 4
Highest score: 44
Lowest score: 36 
Overall score: 39

*****

Inca Aromas
Brazilian producer

Inca Aromas are a  Brazil incense house. Their incense can be found on the USA website Exotic Incense, who export to the UK. I'm curious about the connection between the company and the Inca Empire culture. The company was founded in 1993, with the current owners taking over in 2001, and moving the factory to its current location in Brazil in 2009.

Reviews: 3
Top score: 47
Bottom score: 39
Average: 42 

Conclusion: I like this incense house. The incense is a little different, and the association with the Incas is very compelling. The scents are fresh, heady, earthy, natural.  I'm interested in exploring more incense from Inca Aromas, and more incense from Brazil. 

*****

Anand Incense

Anand Products & Co are based in Mumbai, and were founded in 1973. They sell both scented and masala incense. They have taken over sales of one of my favourite incenses, Mayur Flora.

Scents reviewed: 5 

Top score: 42
Bottom score: 37

Average: 39

Conclusion: A small but solid fairly typical decent quality Indian incense company. 

*****

Balaji Agarbatti Company
Indian (Bangalore) producer of masala and perfumed 

The Balaji company was founded in Bangalore in 1957 by a Mr Gupta, who had previously been involved with the Sri Srinivasa Agarbathi Company in Chintamani near Bangalore which had been formed in the 1920s. They sell a range of incense sticks and dhoops, a mix of natural/masala and perfumed charcoal, as well as soaps and perfumes.

Scents: 26

Highest score: 50

Lowest score: 10

Average: 31 
Top five: 47

Overall: 39

Conclusion: A damn fine producer who makes heady and colourful incense for the Indian and global market, some of which I find delightful, though are probably too rich for most folks in the Western market, so I'm possibly in a minority.  They are, though, wonderfully inconsistent, and can make some rather dry and mean budget stuff along with the expansive and passionate premium stuff.  On the whole I find Balaji one of the best incense makers. Their masala incense is well worth seeking out. 

*****

Nandita
Indian (Mumbai) producer of masala and perfumed

Nandita Fragrances of Mumbai offer a full range of incenses, including bakhoor and dhoop cups. They also do one of my favourite incenses, Nandita Wood Spice, so I am keen to explore further. The company was founded by Sri. K.Y. Acharya (1928-2010), and is based in Mumbai, with a retail store in Udupi, where Acharya was born.

Top scents: Nandita Wood Spice (49); Nandita Black Gold (35); Nandita Organic Nag Champa (33)

Incenses reviewed: 11
Highest score: 44
Lowest score: 27 
Average top five: 39
Average: 36 
Overall score: 38

Conclusion: I want to explore this company further.

****

A. S. Agarbathi Works of Bangalore
Bangalore, India

A. S. Agarbathi Works of Bangalore were founded in 1978, and are members of the All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association.  They have a decent  range of masala style sticks sold under the name Ayurvedic, along with the standard everyday room freshener perfumed sticks, plus some backflow cones. The Ayurvedic range is available in the UK, though is not often seen in the usual places.  

Scents reviewed: 3 

Top score: 40

Bottom score: 34
Average: 37

Conclusion: Worth exploring further.

****

Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi
Pune, India

Haridas Madhavdas Sugandhi of Pune (HMS) have a long established presence as an Indian incense house, though are best known in the West as the supplier for a number of own brand importers such as TOI, Happy Hari, Primo, Gokula, Bhagwan, etc. They are also recognised for their heavy use of vanilla crystals to strengthen and prolong the incense scent, which tends to give most of their incenses a  sweet vanilla base. 

Incenses: 7
Top score: 44

Low score: 26

Average: 34

****

Decent Everyday Incense

Nikhil's Products of Bangalore
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and masala

Nikhil Products of Bangalore were founded in 1986.  They make both perfumed and masala incense. They are available in India (Acharya); the UK (Popat); USA (IncenseOnTheWay); and Oz (SunDrops). Prices are generally low, especially in India and the UK.

Top scents: Sugandha Natural (39); Yagnik Natural (39) 

Incense reviewed: 3

Highest score: 39

Lowest score: 28

Average score: 35  

Conclusion: Decent, low price everyday incense, both perfumed and masala. I'd be happy to explore further. 

 

****

Misbah's Fragrance
Young Indian (Bangalore) producer 
of masala, luxury boxes, and other incense

Misbah is a relatively young company - they appear to have been formed in 2018, and are still quite small. They are based in Bangalore, the incense capital of the world. They claim to have over 200 different incenses,  and a glance at their products show they have the usual range of everyday perfumed-charcoal, dhoops, sambrani cups, masala, flora, and luxury boxes, etc, with the familiar clones of  Sri Sai Flora and Sugandha Shringar, the two most significant Indian incenses, the basis for much modern Indian incense. 

They are a domestic Indian company with nobody commercially importing them into Europe, UK, Australia, or the USA, but boxes can be purchased from eBay (expensive) and from Aavyaa (cheap and big range).

Reviews: 3

Top: 38

Bottom: 21
Average: 35

Conclusion: Decent quality masala style incense - worth exploring further. 

*****

Shroff Incense
Indian (Bangalore) producer of masala

A small traditional Indian producer with a shop in Avenue Road, Bangalore, founded in 1882. They sold incense to the local Mysore king, exhibited in a British Industries fair in Olympia in 1930, and were a founder member of the All India Agarbathi Manufacturers’ Association, so this is a company with a long, and at one time distinguished, history. They have not prospered over the years, so have not expanded or modernised. They continue to make incense in the traditional manner, partly because they do not have the money for investment, and partly because that is what their small market expects. They wish to modernise and expand, but are constrained both by their lack of money, and by the expectations of their market. People buy from them because they are traditional. Some of the recipes and ingredients have been modernised over the years, mostly because of dwindling supplies and rising costs, though sometimes because they genuinely feel that a modern method or ingredient is beneficial to the incense, and acceptable to the customer. So they are not completely locked into the past. 

They are not a well known company, but have got a small and loyal market of buyers who enjoy traditionally made Indian incense.   They group their incense into dry and wet masala. The dry masala is cheaper and contains little to no essential oils - relying on dried ingredients - leaves, petals, tree bark, resin ,etc; the wet masala adds essential oils to the mix. In my experience it is the wet masala incenses that produce the richer, sweeter, more attractive scent. The wet masalas, however, are not thick and damp like flora or fluxo incenses; they are more in line with the modern perfumed-masala incenses.

Scents: 6

Highest score: 43

Lowest score: 28

Average: 35

Conclusion: I like Shroff. I like their history, and their struggle to make a place for themselves as a small traditional company in a modern market; and I like their wet masala incense. I am less keen on the dry stuff. I think to appreciate Shroff it is better to pay a few dollars more and get the wet stuff.

*****

Gamta Organic Incense

Indian (Mumbai) producer

Gamta Organic Incense are based in Mumbai, and appear to have been founded in 2021. Their marketing focus appears to be that they are making Panchgavya products - which means they utilise cow by-products, such as  milk, urine, dung, ghee, and curd, according to Ayurveda principles. The liquid fragrances, on the other hand, are harsh with chemicals. 

Scents tried: 5

Top score: 39 

Bottom score: 28

Average: 33

Conclusion: The use of  panchgavya paste is intriguing, though the intrusive chemical element to the liquid fragrance is off-putting. On the burn the incense is decent everyday room fragrance. I'd be OK with trying more Gamta incense, though wouldn't seek it out.

*****

Parimal Mandir

Indian (Bangalore) producer

Parimal Mandir are a well established Indian incense company, founded in 1942 in Bangalore by Sunku Gundaiah Setty as the “Gandhi Flour Mills & Perfumery Works”. The company is domestically  successful with some exports to Europe, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, and there is at least one family member still on the executive board.  They have a useful video detailing both their history and their production methods: Documentary Release (2014).  They mainly use the "Parimal" brand name, but also have a "Shubh Labh" brand name for use on at least one incense.  

Scents reviewed: 5
Top score: 47
Low score: 25
Average: 37

Conclusion:  I'll need to revisit this maker. 

*****

Ranga Rao (Cycle, Flute, etc)

Indian (Mumbai) producer of masala and perfumed

N. Ranga Rao & Sons Exports of Mumbai have been selling incense since 1948, and export to 60 countries. They use Flute, Cycle, Lia and Angel brand names, and also make Woods and Rhythm brand incense. They make dhoop, perfumed, and masala style incense. Cycle is the most respected brand, and the one that I find tends to make the better incense, mostly, though not exclusively, masala. Flute is a popular brand that mostly makes perfumed. 

It is a respected company that is one of the larger incense companies, and is popular domestically, as well as having a decent international market, though nothing as compared to Satya, HEM, etc.  

Listed as Number One brand in India in January 2019.

Scents tried: 20

Highest: 40

Lowest: 24

Average: 31 (Decent quality scents)  

Conclusion: I find them a solid, dependable, decent quality company, with the best incense nudging or getting into Heavenly, and the lowest never falling lower than Average Everyday.  I am interested in  exploring further. 

*****

Hari Om Fragrance
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and masala

Hari Om Fragrance was founded in 1990 in Bangalore. They copy existing popular brands such as Moksh, Sugandha Swarna, and Sri Sai Flora, but also have their own brands which are well established, such as Sai Bhajan, and some scents which appear to be original and quite divine, such as Hari Om Tez. The quality of packaging is good, and the incenses, be they perfume-dipped or masala, are also all of a decent standard.

Top scents: Hari Om 12/- Tez (38); Hari Om Vishwa Sai (Fluxo Incense) (35); Hari Om Fluxo Incense (34); Hari Om Divine Incense Butmogra (32); Hari Om 12/- Pankudi (31)

Scents reviewed: 20 (Reviews over five years old: 14) 
Highest score: 40
Lowest Score: 17 
Average top five: 37
Average score: 30
Overall score: 34 - Decent stuff 

Conclusion: They seem to be a good representative of the everyday Indian incense market, as they carry a wide range of scents and types of incense, including masala and perfumed, mainly aimed at the domestic market. They are, essentially, the quintessence of domestic Indian incense.

*****

HEM Corporation
Indian (Bangalore and Mumbai) producer of perfumed with some masala

The HEM Corporation has incense factories in Bangalore, Mumbai and Bhiwandi; it was founded in 1975, and is one of the largest incense companies in the world, with over 100 different incense products which are exported to over 50 countries around the world. Most people will have heard of HEM and tried their sticks. For some people, HEM will be their main or only knowledge of incense. The incense mostly synthetic-perfume based - the sticks are hand made by rolling a charcoal paste onto sticks, which are then dipped into chemical perfumes. But they also do some decent masala, the range of which has been increasing of late. 


Top scents: HEM Frankincense-Myrrh (40); HEM Blueberry (36); HEM Cherry Vanilla (32); HEM Precious Mogra (Jasmine) (31); HEM Strawberry (30)

Scents rated: 39

Highest score: 40
Lowest score: 8 

Average top five: 38 
Average score: 27
Overall: 32 

Conclusion: Not my favourite incense maker by any means; they are inconsistent, and can make some vile chemical based "floral" scents, but at their best they can produce some cheap and attractive synthetic scents suitable for everyday burning. I am inclined against them, but will succumb to cheap deals, and I'm sometimes surprised by how much I enjoy some scents. They also make masala, which is becoming more available in the West as Indian incense houses note the success of Satya and Goloka. 

*****

Amritha (E B Creasy / Darley Butler)
Sri Lankan producer of perfumed incense 

Amritha is the incense brand of E B Creasy, a long standing large Sri Lanka company (founded in 1878) which sells a range of products and services. Creasy took  over another long standing Sri Lanka company, Darley Butler, in 1967, and both names appear on the packaging. The incense is very much in the Indian tradition; which is appropriate as Sri Lanka (formally Ceylon) is an island country very close to India.

They make scented/perfumed incense sticks, which are machine extruded onto machine cut bamboo splints. There is generally a  fragrant synthetic scent of citric fruits, or heady florals, or creamy woods - often quite bright, high notes, some alcohol chemicals, some interesting earthy herbs and woods to ground the flying top notes. It's generally decent everyday single scent stuff, though on their own blends, Original and Gia, they can raise their game to something quite significant.  They make their own incense in a facility in Padukka, which is a small town on the outskirts of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. 

Scents tried: 5 
Top score: 43 

Bottom score: 24 

Average: 31

*****

Moksh Agarbatti
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed 

Moksh Agarbatti of Bangalore was founded in 1996 and makes Swarna Champa, a brand it is proud of, but which doesn't appear to be available in the UK. It claims to be the "world's largest selling agarbatties", with over 35 different fragrances, which they advertise on TV in India - here's a Moksh TV Advert from April 2015. They have three manufacturing unites in Bangalore.

All the sticks I have tried so far have been reasonably pleasant everyday perfume dipped charcoal sticks.  Not special for meditation or for guests, but decent everyday stuff to brighten up and freshen a room.

Incense reviewed: 9 
Highest score: 36
Lowest score: 23
Average: 31 
Average top five: 35

Average of recent reviews (three): 28 

Overall score: 31

Conclusion: I am OK to use Moksh for my everyday incense - they are brightly perfumed; but are not special. 

*****

Hari Darshan
Indian (Delhi) producer of perfumed, masala and dhoop

Hari Darshan of Delhi are one of India's oldest and most successful incense companies, though little known in the West until relatively recently with their Tribal Soul range. They have been making incense for around 70 years (some sources say 100 years, though on a pack of their incense they have a seal saying "Pure Fragrance since 1970"), passing through four generations, and offer a wide range of incense products: dhoop, masala, perfumed, etc.  They advertise on Indian TV with the tag line Ghar Ko Mandir Bana De ("Make the house a temple") as shown here. 

Top scents:  Tales of India Maharani Dream (M) (40);  Hari Darshan Patchouli Cones (P) (33); Hari Darshan Lavender cones (P) (31)

Incense reviewed: 18 

Highest score: 40 

Lowest score: 15 

Average score: 27 
Top five: 33
Overall score:  30

  

Conclusion: Well established Delhi based manufacturer of wide range of incense, little known in the West, but starting to export, via Green Tree, their Tribal Soul and Native Soul brands.  

****

Balarama Enterprises Thailand

Balarama of Thailand. Balarama produces incense for companies in Europe and America, and they are one of the main sources for the modern Spiritual Sky incense (which used to be awesome in the 70s). While not 100% certain, they are highly likely to be the source for Kuumba incense.

Scents reviewed: 19

Top score: 37
Low score: 17
Average: 30 

Conclusion: Borderline Average/Decent everyday modern room freshener perfumed incense made by a Thailand company which specialises in producing room fragrance incense for various retail companies. Generally likeable, fun, and good value (unless buying under the Kuumba brand name).

*****

New Moon Aromas is a relatively recent brand.  A number of internet shops around the world list New Moon incense, and they can be bought for less than £2 a box on Amazon.  The website for the brand (newmoonaromas.net) is registered, but not fully active. The brand is owned by Wonder Imports, an Indian owned Australian wholesale company, and their UK branch, Wonder Incense.  Navan Shah from the company has been in touch to tell me they have their own manufacturing premises in India, so Wonder Incense can be classed as producers rather than just distributors.  

The incenses are machine made masalas which have been perfumed with fragrant oils, which seems to be a type of incense I have been encountering a lot recently, and which I am identifying on my Incense List as perfumed masala (PM). Navan is unable to tell me what proportion of "agarbatti oil"  (DEP) is blended with essential oils. 

New Moon Aromas are distributed in India, Europe, and Australia. 

Incense reviewed: 6
Highest: 39
Lowest: 25
Average: 30 (Decent Stuff/Everyday Average)

*****

Modest Everyday or Average Incense

   

Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH)

Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) was created in 1992, and by 2023 had an annual turnover of £65 million.   Zed Black is their main brand, and has been named as one of the top brands in India.  MDPH also make incense for own label Western companies, such as Fleur De Vie  for the Dutch company Eastern-trading. 


Reviews: 4 
Top score: 33
Bottom score: 20
Average: 28

*****

Thurga's (SunRayn) Incense
Malaysia. Perfumed.

Thurga's Industries of Malaysia are a "manufacturer" and distributor of  highly perfumed machine-extruded perfumed-charcoal incense sticks at good value prices. 

Scents: 3 

Top score: 33

Bottom score: 25 

Average: 29

*****

Mysore Sugandhi
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed

The Mysore Sugandhi Dhoop Factory of Bangalore was formed in 1934, and claims to be the first exporter of incense from India - their name means the fragrant incense factory of Mysore, and their Chandon Dhoop was made under the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore.

They provide some incense for Aargee - the Aargee tube series are regular Sugandhi products under a different wrapper.

Scents reviewed: 7
High score: 33
Low score: 22
Average: 27

Conclusion: Everything I have tried by Sungandhi so far has been perfume dipped, but highly scented, making them moderately attractive, even if somewhat limited.

*****

Aromatika
Indian (Jaipur) producer of perfumed and masala

An Indian company based in Jaipur who have been making incense for over 30 years.

Top scents: Aromatika Ace Scents Dragon Blood (45);  Aromatika Sacre Coeur Sandalwood (42);   Aromatika Ace Scents Frankincense & Myrrh (40); Aromatika Vedic Marie Qui Defait Les Noeuds  (35)

 
Scents tried: 19 
Top score: 45
Low score: 13
Average:  28 

Average masala (out of 7): 36 (Decent Stuff) 

Average perfumed (out of 12): 23 (Everyday) 

Conclusion: The masala incense is good, and I'm happy to seek out new Aromatika masala incense. The perfumed incense is average - I wouldn't avoid it, especially if there's a good deal, but I wouldn't seek it out. 

*****

SAC (Sandesh)/GR International
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and masala

The Sandesh Agarbathi Company (SAC) was founded in 1970 by D.N.P. Guptha  in Bangalore, the centre of India's incense industry. They started as a cottage industry, but are now a significant exporter around the world, with over 250 different incense products, many of which are listed on the American retail site Incense OnTheWay.  The company is a member of the All India Agarbathi Manufacturers Association. Products are mostly everyday perfume-dipped. Quite competent. They also do several acceptable masala.

Top scents: SAC Arcangel Gabriel Sandalo (P): 35; SAC Jasmine (P): 35; SAC Atma Darshan Flora (M): 34; SAC Patchouli (cones); (P): 34;  SAC FrankIncense Myrrh (M): 33

Scents reviewed: 20
Highest: 35
Lowest: 18 
Average:  27

A decent everyday incense company who make cheap perfume-dipped and masala incense. I'm quite happy to explore further.

GR International is the same company as SAC so I'm keeping them together (it's cool that I gave them the same score!)

GR International
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed

GR International were founded in 1970, and are based in Bangalore. The company have started and abandoned a few websites, but incense-sticks-supplier.com appears to be the most recent; they started a blog early in 2013, but didn't keep up with it. 

Top scents: GR International Sandalo (42);  GR International Fengshui Earth (33);  GR International Strawberry (32);  GR International Eucalyptus (32): GR International Fengshui Metal (32): GR International Tangerine (30)

Scents reviewed: 10
Highest score: 42
Lowest score:
Average score: 29

Conclusion: A typical perfume dipped incense maker, but I tend to like some of their products - not hugely, the scores are usually around 32, but enough to keep an interest. I especially like their Sandalwood cones. I'll keep on exploring their products to see if they have another one that I enjoy as much as the Sandalo.

*****

Radha Madhav Agarbatti

Indian (Mumbai) producer of masala

A Mumbai based incense company who are followers of Krishna.  All their incense is traditionally made using natural ingredients.  They are distributed in the UK by Gokula, who are also followers of Krishna. 

Incense reviewed: 6 

Highest score: 37 

Lowest score: 20 

Average: 27 (Everyday Incense) 

Conclusion: A modest but pleasant maker of natural incense. Nothing particularly special, but sold by Gokula at a modest price, and worth trying. Much of what I have tried has been around a while, so will try a fresh batch or two of some of the more promising scents to see what they are like new. 

****

Mahendra / Betco
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed

Mahendra Perfumery Works of Bangalore were formed in 1921. Betco International is their export division.

Top scents:  Betco Hanuman (35);  Mahendra Bhajan (33); Betco Saraswathi (33); Betco Bouquet (31); Mahendra Arora (30); Betco Rose (30)

Scents reviewed: 10
Top score: 35
Low score: 17
Average: 26

Conclusion: A well established perfume-dipped incense maker who make pleasant enough products for everyday use. While nothing special, the scents are a little better than average.  I'll continue to explore.

*****

Sagun Incense

Indian (Bangalore) producer 

Sagun Incense were founded in Bangalore in 2014. They appear to make a standard selection of incense, some copied from successful brands, and they export to quite a few countries across the world. The incense is well made and quite decent, though can be a little pedestrian. The packets are a little midway between standard Satya style boxes and the impressive luxury boxes. 


Scents tried: 3
Highest: 30
Lowest: 25
Average: 28

Conclusion: The incense is well made and quite decent, though can be a little pedestrian. The packets are a little midway between standard Satya style boxes and the impressive luxury boxes. 

*****

Sage Spirit

Native American producer of sage smudge and perfumed

Sage Spirit are a company founded in 1995 by a Native American tribe, the Jicarilla Apache, who live on the Jicarilla reservation in New Mexico, not far from the border with Colorado. Burning sage smudge sticks is part of Native American rituals, and the company make and sell traditional sage smudges, but have also branched out into making Asian style perfume-dipped incense sticks.

Top scents:  Blue Corn Flower (38);  Cedar (36)

Scents reviewed: 5
Highest score: 38
Lowest score: 16
Average: 26

Conclusion: I went overboard with Sage Spirit when I first burned them. Then I felt I had over-rated them, and scored them down. And then I felt that the scents, though soft, had a unique and delicate touch that actually I am quite fond of. At this point I don't know where I am with them. I guess I shall keep exploring them until I make up my mind!

*****

Padmini
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and dhoop

Padmini were founded in the 1960s. Apparently they became known in the US for their little dhoop sticks.  The company is not that well established in the UK, though Aargee import the little dhoop sticks, Gold Statue  and a few others. The website emphasises that Padmini make "aroma chemicals", and details the various compounds they make, rather than the incense sticks they make. 

Scents reviewed: 6
Top score: 40
Low score: 18
Average: 29

Conclusion: A modest everyday perfumed incense producer.

*****

Veer Incense

Indian (Valsad) producer of perfumed

Veer Incense is the brand name of Viral Enterprises based in Valsad (Gujarat, India). They were founded in 2015 by Viral Shah and employ up to ten people. They were the first company I imported incense from. They were new at it and made mistakes meaning the boxes arrived damaged. Plus the boxes were too big to sell via mail order, so I made a loss on the deal. However, their incense sticks are decent quality everyday incense.

Top scents: Veer Special Loban (Score: 39); Veer Special 3 in 1  (Score: 30) 

Incense reviewed: 7

Top score: 39 

Low score: 28 

Average: 30 (Median: 28) 

Conclusion: A pleasant top end everyday perfumed incense company.  Not that adventurous, and poor quality packaging,  but cheap and cheerful. 

*****

Yadalam / Gomaathaa (out of business)

Indian (Bangalore) producer of dhoop

Sree Yadalam Dhoops Industries of Bangalore (or Bengaluru) were founded in 1999, and use the  Gomaathaa trademark. Gomaatha is the Indian name for the cow as the holy mother, and a cow is used in their trademark. Their dhoops were popular and sold in the UK and USA, though they also sold joss sticks or agarbatti.  The company went bankrupt in 2012, with the Central Bank of India selling off  some of the companies assets.  

Scents tried: 8
Highest Score: 37

Lowest Score: 20 

Overall Score: 30 (Borderline decent everyday dhoop)

****

 

Ekom

Ekom are  a new incense company founded in 2022 in the young city of Chandigarh with its bold modern architecture by Corbusier.  This year (2023) Ekom have won an award for being the "Sustainable Incense Brand of The Year". Their products are organic, with no charcoal, or potassium nitrate, or chemicals. The aim is to produce a modern, natural, gentle and subtle incense. 

Reviews: 4

High score: 32

Low score: 23

Average: 28 (Modest or average incense)

Conclusion:  I like the sustainability and purity, however the mildness, dryness, and simplicity of the scents is not to my taste. I will certainly try any samples or offers that come my way, and also keep an eye open for future developments (the company is still young), but for the moment this is not an incense house for me. 

****

Fair Trade Incense Works
Indian (Mumbai) producer of perfumed masala

Fair Trade Incense Works  are based in Mumbai and mostly make incense for others to brand as their own, though they did have some brands of their own which they distributed themselves, Om Incense, Nitiraj Incense and Natural Incense. Of those, only Om and Nitiraj appear to still be available under individual distribution deals. In the UK,   Bombay Incense - a British based company who do most of their business in America, used to distribute Nitiraj and Om in the UK and America, though by 2018, Ian Snow had taken over the UK distribution. However, as of 2021, Ian Snow no longer sell Nitiraj or Om. Distribution is now handled by Namaste in the UK, and by Kheops International in North America. 

Fair Trade make masala incense using fragrant oils or perfumes, but the ingredients tend to be thin, poor quality. They tend to use machines. This is a reliable and economical method of making incense sticks.  

Top Scents: Fair Trade Nitiraj Original (35); Nitiraj Red Nag Champa (33) 

Incense reviewed: 10 

Highest: 35 

Lowest: 20 

Average: 25  (Everyday Incense)

Conclusion: I tend to quite like Fair Trade products, but never get excited by them. They are always decent scents, and the incense is well made, professional, and consistent. But there is not much excitement, creativity, or heart about them. This is professionally made incense, made with a clear eye on the profit line. Job done. There is nothing wrong with them, except, like HEM and SAC Sandesh, they lack soul. Companies like this show that it doesn't matter if the incense is masala or perfumed, what matters is the attitude and spirit of the makers.

****

  

Aravinda Parimala Works

Indian (Mysore) producer of mostly perfumed incense

Aravinda Parimala Works of Mysore were founded as a small local company in 1963 with Sugandha Shringar - apparently the first blended (as opposed to single scent) incense sticks. The company has developed its exports and now has several export awards and a  range of scents, most of which appear to be perfumed, though some appear to be masala. It has a Facebook page.

Scents tried: 8
Highest: 30
Lowest: 20
Average: 26 - Modest everyday or average incense

Conclusion: Other than the historic and cultural significance of Sugandha Shringar, I have found little of interest in the company's output. 

****

Deepika Fragrance
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed masala 

Deepika Fragrance is based in Bangalore, and is run by a Hindu family, headed by Harish Gupta, with the contact person being  Ajay Gupta. They have a shop on 1st Block, Rajajinagar, in Bangalore. 

Scents reviewed: 5
Highest: 32
Lowest: 21
Average:  26

Conclusion: The Deepika boxes say they are masala cones, but they present and burn as sawdust cones with perfume. On the whole they are lower end everyday incense, borderline toilet freshener.  

****

Asoka Trading Company
Bangalore

Asoka Trading Company  was founded in Bangalore by T. V. Chalamiah Chetty, in 1943, after he had worked some years for other incense houses.  They make everyday synthetic-perfumed room fresheners. The company's key product is Bharath Darshan. 

Scents: 6
Top: 37

Bottom: 20
Average: 24 

All reviews are over five years old

Conclusion: All incense appears to be synthetic-perfumed, and  - other than the flagship Bharath Darshan - fairly low end. I'm keeping an open mind, but not an incense house I have any interest in exploring further.

****

Patanjali Agarbatti

Patanjali Agarbatti - a branch of  Patanjali Ayurved, a manufacturer and distributor of various foods and goods in India, who were founded in 1956 in New Delhi, are considered one of the Top Incense Brands in India.  The parent company made £58 million in 2021. All the incense I've seen has been branded Aastha. 

Scents reviewed: 4 

Highest score: 30

Lowest score: 17 
Average: 24 (Everyday incense) 

Conclusion: I've only reviewed four scents - they were all everyday perfumed incense, nothing special. The prices on the website are very cheap - 10 Rupees (10p) for 25g seems to be the standard. I'll keep an open mind, but given that this is not an incense house, and the aim appears to be to sell cheap, I may not come across a decent incense from this company. 

*****

Flourish Fragrance
Indian (Ahmedebad) producer 

Flourish Fragrance are an incense house based in Ahmedabad on the upper Western coast of India. They produce perfumed and masala style incense. They have experience of incense making dating back three generations to 1965. 

Scents reviewed: 6

Top score: 30

Bottom score: 18

Average: 23

Conclusion: The appearance on a number of sticks is that these are masala style; however, Flourish use very noticeable chemicals and synthetic scents which are somewhat harsh and off-putting. Despite that, the musky based scents are reasonably attractive. I'm really put off by the crude use of chemicals, however somewhat intrigued by the musky nature of some of the scents. I'm not going to hunt down any Flourish incense, but I'm keeping my opinion open, and wouldn't reject trying more scents. 

*****

R. Expo / Song Of India

Indian (Delhi) producer of perfumed with some masala

 

R. Expo / Song Of India is an Indian company based in Noida,  a new city just outside of Delhi, with a branch in America.  They started out in 1932 as an independent business called Mathur Perfumery Works hand-making traditional incense, then branched out in 1972 to create a sales outlet in America. Aroma Temple is Song of India's main brand, and is a machine extruded and perfume-dipped incense. In 2017 they created the hippy-chic brand The Great Indian Caravan making low cost perfume-dipped incense. They also make modest masala incense. 

Top scents: Organic Goodness Frankincense (32); Bodhi Sultra Premium Masala Incense (30)  

Incense reviewed: 9 

Highest: 32 

Lowest: 19 

Average: 23 (Everyday incense)

Conclusion: Long running producer with a base in America, and a presence in many Western countries. Not a quality incense house. Appears to aim for the Western market with Westernised Indian imagery. More common in America than the UK.  Mostly known for perfumed incense, though also have modest everyday perfumed masala. 

*****

Cottage Industries
Indian producer

Cottage Industries is part of the Sri Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India.  The history of the Cottage Industries brand is that it was founded in 1949 by Mirra Alfassa, The Mother, to provide the ashram with incense. So the aim was for this to be a modest low cost product for their own use. Surplus was sold to visitors, and by 1973 was being exported. It is sold under the Cottage Industries brand name, though originally and for a while it was under the name of the ashram: Sri Aurobindo. 

The incense and the packaging are similar to Auroshika, and One Aromatics, and Meadows, and  The Mother's, who all appear to be connected in some way with the ashram in Pondicherry and the community  in Auroville, which was founded by The Mother. Though  the companies operate in different places (Auroshika in America, and The Mother's in the UK, etc).  This brand, though, is the original, and operates from Pondicherry. 

Scents tried: 5
Highest: 28
Lowest: 23
Average: 23 - Lower end modest  incense

*****

Metro Agarbatti Company of Pakistan
Pakistan producer of perfumed

The Metro Agarbatti Company of Karachi, Pakistan, use an image of a white and ginger cat as their trademark, and call it the Cat Brand. The company was formed in 1970, and are the largest incense company in Pakistan, with 95% of the market. They are working hard to improve their export trade, and have been achieving some success with the Metro Milan.

Top scents:  Metro Rose (31);  Metro Three in one (30)

Scents reviewed: 4
Highest score: 31
Lowest score:
Average score: 25

Conclusion:  A modest though reasonably attractive basic perfume dipped incense maker.

*****

Darshan Incense
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed

Darshan International of Bangalore was founded in 1987 by T. Srinivas, then carried on by his sons in 2000. They deal in perfume dipped sticks, cones and dhoops. Some Darshan TV ads: Black Stone,Black Stone 2, Black Stone 3, Black Stone, Bharath, Hari.

Top scents: Darshan Kanishka (33)

Scents reviewed: 4
Highest score: 33
Lowest score: 23
Average: 25

Conclusion:  A maker of decent enough perfume-dipped everyday incense. 

*****

Krishan Products of Mumbai 
Indian (Mumbai) producer of perfumed

Krishan Products were founded in 1951, and claim to be India's leading manufacturer and exporter of premium quality incense sticks. They do a range of fruit and other standard scents. Website: krishanincense.com

Scents reviewed: 4
Top score: 30
Low score: 20
Average: 25

Conclusion:  A modest everyday basic perfume dipped incense maker.

*****

Knox incence
(Possible German importer and distributor)

German incense company, known for cones and wooden German smokers. Founded 1865. They have a manufacturing unit in Germany, but it is unclear if the cones are made there, or somewhere in India.

Scents reviewed: 2
High score: 30
Low score: 20
Average: 25

Conclusion: Not impressed so far, but the cones are cheap enough, and the company is famous, so I am willing to try a few more.

*****

Auroshika Incense
Indian (Pondicherry) producer of perfumed

Incense company founded in 1973 in Pondicherry, India. The sticks are made from a hand-rolled charcoal base, then dipped in chemical perfume.

Top scents: None

Scents reviewed: 3
Average score: 24

Conclusion: None of the scents tried so far have really impressed, but they have been soft and reasonably pleasant. I am willing to explore further.

*****

Gopal Joie incense
Indian (Delhi, Bangalore) producer of mostly perfumed

Gopal, trading as Joie, make fairly standard cheap incense sticks and wet dhoops. The ingredients they use may all be natural, but the scents are artificial, created out of processing the natural ingredients. The scents are unimaginative - White Rose, Lily of the Valley, Orange, etc. The package decoration is uninspired and poor quality (a blurred image of a bunch of white roses for example). The scents are weak, and will often reveal more of the base burning material than the intended perfume.

The Gopal Group, which sells tobacco, chemicals, industrial perfume, etc,  was formed in 1942. They have incense factories in Delhi, Bangalore and Baddi.

Top scents: Joie Sea Breeze (31)

Scents reviewed: 9
Highest score: 31
Lowest score:
Average score: 22

Conclusion: Not a company I am interested in buying from, but I will continue to keep an open mind.

*****

Tulasi Incense (Sarathi International)
Indian (Bangalore) producer of perfumed and occasional masala

Sarathi International, trading as Tulasi, have incense sticks available from a number of UK internet sites, such as the Asian Cookshop and Incense Essentials, either in hex boxes of 20 or square boxes of 8 sticks for an average cost of around 5p a stick. They produce decent enough scents, and are a fairly consistent if largely unexciting incense company. The sticks tend to be of modest size, and are hand rolled from charcoal paste onto dyed sticks and then perfume dipped. Nothing exciting, but they are cheap, and tend to turn up on market stalls and hardware stores.

I was recently encouraged to try the Tulasi Vidwan, which turned out to be a traditional masala incense - while it's not one of the best, it is a proper job incense. Nice one. 

The company was founded in 1945 as a small family business, and has grown to an operation employing over 300 people from a modern 75,000 square ft factory in Bangalore - which it claims is the largest incense factory in Bangalore. The company exports to 45 countries worldwide.

Top scents:  Tulasi Nag Champa (40);   Tulasi Vidwan (39); Tulasi Nag Champa & Rose (37) 

Scents rated: 32
Highest score: 40
Lowest score: 1
Average score: 25  (average everyday incense) 

Conclusion: I thought Tulasi were an everyday perfume-dipped incense company until I was turned on to the Vidwan. Now I shall keep an open mind on this, and other incense companies. Their everyday perfume-dipped incense is professionally packaged with a good standard of English, and they are fairly ubiquitous in the UK. At one time it was HEM I saw everywhere, but Tulasi appears to be slightly more common. In 2022 they launched a "Nag Champa" perfumed incense range in Europe - decent stuff.  Certainly they are part of the big three incense companies along with HEM and Satya.

*****

Phool Incense
Indian (Kanpur) producer of incense using recycled temple flowers 

Phool is a young and interesting company based in Kanpur, in Northern India. It was founded by two young men - scientist Ankit Agarwal and business graduate Karan Rastogi, who had been childhood friends. They got together in 2015 to look into how they could economically recycle discarded temple flowers, and by 2017 had launched Phool incense. 

Scents reviewed: 7
Top score: 28

Bottom score: 15

Average: 21

Conclusion: Beautiful marketing and packaging, ethical production, some acceptable scents, but the production method results in an unpleasant off-aroma. I'm open to trying again, but am not seeking to buy any more at the moment. 

*****

Toilet Cleaners

 

Pal-Ji Incense Sticks
Indian producer (address unknown) of perfumed

Address unknown. Imported into the UK in bulk  and available in job lots on eBay and other places - you can have 100 boxes delivered for £35, or collect them yourself from a distributor in Bolton for 99p.  They are not awful awful, but they are not very good either. Low quality bargain basement perfume dipped incense. 

Scents reviewed: 11 

Highest score: 24 

Lowest score: 10 

Average: 18 (Toilet Cleaners: Not to be burned in the house; just use in the toilet or outside.)

Conclusion: This is generic low-quality bargain-basement perfumed-incense. The packets are cheaply and crudely designed. There has been little effort to make a quality product, and there is no pretence (other than, perhaps, the words "Export Quality") that these sticks are going to be anything other than utilitarian at best. There is in real terms little difference between the scents - some are better defined than others, but all the scents are weak and the smell of the base wood powders comes through rather noticeably - which is typical of poorer quality perfumed incense. 

*****

Own brand / private label sellers and distributors

These companies do not make incense but commission it and sell it under their own brand name.  While they are not producers themselves, they can serve a useful function of supporting local producers, and bringing either quality or cheap incense into the UK, Europe, and America.  Some distributors, such as Gokula and Happy Hari, source from the same producers.

*****

 What's The Best Incense In The World?