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Tuesday 15 March 2022

Top Incense Brands in India

 

I've stumbled upon one of those list articles that are so popular on the internet - you know "Ten Best ...."; though this one is about incense companies (brands) in India: Top 10 Best Incense Sticks (Agarbatti) Brands In India. There is no criteria by which the Top 10 Best had been selected, though my assumption is that these are (among) the companies achieving highest domestic sales. Of the names on the list I know that Cycle (Ranga Rao), HEM, and Moksh, are among the most popular in India - all of them leading perfumed incense companies (perfumed incense dominates the popular Indian market - masala incense is also popular, though is regarded as premium, and tends to be sold at a premium price point). And while I recognise most of the others, there are some names I don't know, such as Patanjali Agarbatti (some now ordered) and Tataf Agarbatti. Curious about the authenticity and accuracy of this list of the "Top10 Best", I searched for similar lists, and found a few more. Most had the obvious names, and the order is largely the same in each list, with differences at the bottom of each list with a changing array of other companies, while some had no known incense companies - just a list of unknown companies, so appeared to be purely promotional, with no research having been conducted. 


I thought it might be interesting to gather these lists together:

The top companies, such as Cycle, Moksh, Mangaldeep, Zed Black, HEM, Patanjali, Hari Darshan, and Nandi, succeed domestically through producing reliable, professional sticks with attractive, commercial scents at a low cost, and with good marketing and distribution. Some, such as HEM, will also succeed in exports, aiming, as with the domestic market, at an audience who are mainly looking for pleasant, everyday scents at a low cost. There are some customers who are willing to pay more for incense with scents that are less synthetic and more natural, and which are, or give the appearance of being, masala incense, and this is a growing market, which has for years been mostly dominated by Satya. Some customers look for something other than or "beyond" Satya, feeling that Satya is too "big business" or commonplace for them to identify with (and image is key in all products); so there are small, traditional companies, "artisan" or "cottage", who don't, perhaps, have the will, the desire, or the means to go into large production, and so remain small and traditional. They may wish to remain traditional, hand-rolling with as close to natural products as they can because that is their ethos and way of life, or they may feel a little trapped in the marketplace, unable to expand  into synthetic and/or larger scale production without losing their existing customer base. These small, traditional producers may hope to develop a name for themselves, though many find it more economic to sell their incense in bulk to own brand or resellers, such as Happy Hari, Absolute Bliss, Prabhuji's Gifts, or Berk. 

In and around these incense makers, are the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of incense companies, mostly small, but many medium sized, who aim for one or more of the existing markets - either directly under their own name, selling in their own branded packets, or in bulk stick order to a distributor, who may themselves be quite small, or may be quite large, such as Mangaldeep.  


Top 10 Best Incense Sticks (Agarbatti) Brands In India

4. Zed Black Agarbatti
7. Tataf Agarbatti
9. Kalpana Agarbatti
10. Nandi Incense Sticks


This is the same Top 10 list as The Daily Records 2019 list. It seems pretty solid, though as the same names keep cropping up in the lists I wonder how much the web sites are simply copying the same list (with a little variation at the end), and how much they have done their own independent research. 


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1. Cycle Agarbatti
2. Moksh Agarbatti
3. Mangaldeep Agarbatti
4. Zed Black Agarbatti
5. Hem Agarbatti
6. Patanjali Agarbatti
7. TataF Agarbatti
8. Hari Darshan Agarbatti
9. Nandi Agarbatti
10. Nag Champa Agarbatti
11. Kalpana Agarbatti
12. Mysore Sandal
13. Tatva Yoga
14. Blue Aroma
15. Sambarani




1. Cycle Agarbatti
2. Moksh Agarbatti
3. Zed Black Agarbatti
4. Patanjali Agarbatti
5. Mangaldeep Agarbatti
6. Charu Agarbatti 
7. Nag Champa Agarbatti
8. Hari Darshan Agarbatti 
9. Nandi Agarbatti
10. Kalpana Agarbatti
11. Hem Agarbatti
12. Shubhanjali Agarbatti



1. Cycle
2. Moksh
3. Mangaldeep
4. Zed Black
5. HEM
6. Pantanjali
7. TantaF
8. Hari Darshan
9. Kalpana
10. Nandi
11. Shubhanjali
12. Nag Champa



 
13 Best Agarbatti Brands in India


1. Mangaldeep
2. Cycle Pure
3. Amazon Brand – Solimo
4. The Aroma Factory
5. HEM
6. Zed Black
7. Batala Fragrance
8. Phool
9. Parag Fragrances
10. Darshan
11. Song of India
12. Vringra
13. Moksh
  



1. Simply Vedic Shiva’s Valley Premium Incense Stick Agarbatti
2. Zed Black Incense Stick Agarbatti
3. Cycle Pure Agarbatti
4. Hem Precious Chandan Incense Sticks
5. Darshan Incense Stick Agarbatti
6. Bharat Darshan Agarbatti
7. Cycle ECO Classic Handcrafted Incense Sticks
8. Hem Precious Lavender Incense Sticks
9. Mangaldeep 4 in 1 Agarbatti
10. Parag Fragrances 6 Flowers Incense Sticks


This list is a little different in that it is about particular boxes/fragrances rather than companies; though it does list 10 different companies. 




1. Pavitra Guggal Agarbatti
2. Cycle Speciality Woods Incense Sticks
3. MYSORE SANDAL 100 Agarbathi Pack of 12
4. The Aroma Factory Chandan Sandalwood Incense Sticks Agarbatti
5. Mangaldeep Sadhvi Agarbatti 
6. Tatva Yog Soulful Desires Long Lasting Incense Sticks 
7. Aroma White Sage Smudge Smudging Leaves and Patchouli Incense Sticks Agarbatti
8. Zed Black Sandal Incense Sticks Long 
9. BAC Perfume Mysore Sandal Incense Stick 
10. Bharat Darshan Wood Agarbatti & Agarbatti Stand 
11. Satya Sai Baba Mix AGARBATTI Sticks 
12. Koyas Maya Supreme Sambrani Incense Sticks 
13. Blue Aromas Incense Sticks Agarbatti 


Another list that is about the individual packet or fragrance rather than the company. 


 
Agarbatti Manufacturers in India [Top 10 Manufacturers]


1. Tirupati Industries
2. Lotus International
3. M/S BHAI JI ATTAR WALE
4. Gulmohar Incense India Private Limited
5. Indiflora Products LLP - Vandanam Agarbatti
6. Sheetal Incense
7. TBS Forever Retail Pvt Limited
8. Megha Aromatics
9. Hari Darshan Dhoop & Agarbatti
10. Dharam Darshan (Paul Sales) Pvt Limited


I've not heard of most of these companies, and the only big name is Hari Darshan, so I suspect this is a list that the companies paid to be on. The same names (though in a different order) appear on this list.  I'm not going to consider this list in my analysis, and may remove it eventually; but keeping it here for the time being just to explore the companies mentioned. 


An article in SMB Story, focuses on four companies who have grown big. Cycle, MDPH (Zed Black), Hari Darshan, and Chamundi Agarbathi. 


Conclusion

The name that appears in every list, and at the top of most, is Cycle (Ranga Rao) of Mysore.  The company is regarded as India's largest in the incense market with a 20% share. They were founded in 1945, and make masala, perfumed, and dhoop incense.  Though big in India, and though they export to several countries, they are not well known in the West; yet they do some lovely masala incense: Darara, Yagna, and Parampara, for example, which - when available - are sold at bargain prices. 

The name that next appears the most as a company, though it does not appear in the individual fragrances list, is Moksh of Bangalore.  Formed in 1996, and backed up by an intensive TV ad campaign, they concentrate on the domestic perfumed incense market with traditional scents.  They have, as yet, little penetration in the West, though some stocks appear now and again. 

Hari Darshan appear at number eight in the main lists. Mostly a domestic perfumed incense company, they have been exporting to the West recently. 



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