Balarama Enterprises Thailand

There are a number of foil wrapped incense brands here in the UK - Mystic Incense, Red Dragon (Ancient Wisdom), Moroccan Bazaar, Tangy Gifts, Zam Zam, Famous Fragrance, etc. Each packet tends to contain between eighteen to twenty sticks around 13 - 13 1/2 inches long. The sticks are bamboo, coated with a paste which apparently contains cypress, tabu bark, and Chinese juniper. The stick is then dipped in a perfume solvent of fragrance oils giving a sweet, modern scent. They all carry the same scent range (African Cush, Black Love, Baby Powder, etc), have very similar packaging (apart from the Red Dragon), and all (apart from the Red Dragon) say they are made in the UK. I looked on American sites, and these are same brands sold in the US, and all are shipped from the UK.  They retail for between £1.20 and £2.60 (average price seems to be £1.99), with trade prices around 30p - 40p per packet, which would include labour and materials. I assume that the blanks are being imported from somewhere like Vietnam, and then dipped en-mass here with a perfume solvent made here, and quickly wrapped in foil.  I don't know who makes them. Moroccan Bazaar - who stopped production in July 2017 - have been making incense in the UK since 1970, while Zam Zam were founded in 1980. It might be that Moroccan Bazaar have sold the production to Zam Zam. 

Further research points to these sticks being made by 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. They look the same, burn the same, are made from the same material, are the same size, smell the same, and even use the same names. 

I find it interesting that Balarama incense is sold as own brand incense mainly by clothing retailers, such as Zam Zam and Wicked Dragon, or online shops that otherwise don't sell incense.  The scents are not conventional incense scents, they are bright, modern, and different - even the standard single scents like sandalwood and frankincense have a modern twist. There is a big market out there of people who are not attracted to the old hippy-dippy image of incense, and wouldn't think to go into an incense shop either online or on the high street. So placing modern perfumed incense in clothing retailers, or - like Kuumba, associating the incense with trendy clothing firms like Carhartt, brings the incense in reach of a new, young audience, and makes incense cool and acceptable. 

Reviews

* = Review over 5 years old, so may not be reliable


   

Zam Zam The Lick (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 38

  

Zam Zam Bakhoor (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 36 

Zam Zam Black Love
Nov 2024 - Score: 35↑↓[Average 35]  

Mystic Incense Pink Sugar
Brand discontinued
Jan 2015 - Score: 35*

Zam Zam African Cush
Jan 2018 -  Score: 35*

Zam Zam Millionaire (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 35

Spiritual Sky Frankincense & Myrrh (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 25↓ [Average 30]  

Zam Zam Ladies Night (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 34

Balarama Wicked Dragon Vanilla (P)
Dec 2024 - Score: 34 

Moroccan Bazaar White Linen (P)
Jan 2018 - Score: 33*

   

Zam Zam Angel Style (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 32

Red Dragon
Tibetan Musk (P)
June 2015 - Score: 31*

  

Zam Zam Dewberry (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 31

    

Balarama Wicked Dragon Nag Champa (P)
Dec 2024 - Score: 31

Mystic Incense (closed) Baby Powder
Sept 2013 - Score: 30*

Zam Zam Jamaican Breeze
Jan 2018 - Score: 30*

Zam Zam Sandalwood (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 30

Moroccan Bazaar Cherry (P)
Jan 2018 - Score: 30*

  

Kuumba Carhartt (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 29 

Moroccan Bazaar Woodland (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 28 

   

Zam Zam Frankincense (P)
Nov 2024 - Score: 27

Spiritual Sky Frankincense
Sept 2017 - Score: 25*

Balarama Wicked Dragon Tea Tree (P)

Dec 2025 - Score: 25

Moroccan Bazaar Cinnamon
Jan 2018 - Score: 24*

Tangy Gifts Love Me (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 24

Tangy Gifts Black Coconut
Jan 2018 - Score: 22*

Zam Zam Black Velvet (P)
June 2015 - Score: 18 

Asoke Govinda Nag Champa 
 Oct 2022 - Score: 18 

Balarama Divine Spirit (P)
May 2013 - Score: 18*

Moroccan Bazaar Cherry Wood (P)
Oct 2024 - Score: 17

Scents reviewed: 30

Top score: 38
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). 

****

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