Incense in The Wind: Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)

Sunday, 19 February 2023

Heera (P&B Foods Ltd)

On New Years Day 2023, a reader asked about reviews of Heera masala incense. Curious, I decided to explore. Heera is a brand of P&B Foods Ltd, a large and successful importer and distributor of goods to the Asian community in Europe and the UK. Heera incense is available in many Asian online stores and corner shops for reasonable prices (under a £1 for 15g). They have a wide range of fragrances - I wrote to the company to see if I could buy the complete range in one go, but that was not possible. They gave me the address of the nearest stockist they believed would have a good selection, and I bought all that the shop had. Six sticks, and four packs of cones.

Bought from local corner shop
for less than £10

The company did give me a full list of the incense they import:

code	description (number of contents)
16018	RISHTA LAVENDER AGARBATI HEX (20)
16017	RISHTA ROSE AGARBATI HEX (20)
16015	RISHTA CHANDAN AGARBATI HEX (SANDALWOOD) (20)
16014	RISHTA FRAGRANCE AGARBATI HEX (20)
16016	RISHTA MOGRA AGARBATI HEX (20)
16024	RISHTA MUSK AGARBATI HEX (20)
16023	RISHTA LILY AGARBATI HEX (20)
16019	RISHTA PURE FLOWER AGARBATI HEX (20)
16013	RISHTA 3 IN ONE AGARBATI (20)
16012	RISHTA VANILLA AGARBATI HEX (20)
16100	HEERA BAKHOOR OUDH AGARBATTI (15)
16101	HEERA PURE CHANDAN AGARBATTI (15)
16102	HEERA PURE JASMINE AGARBATTI (15)
16103	HEERA KRISHNA LEELA AGARBATTI (15)
16104	HEERA PURE LAVENDER AGARBATTI (15)
16105	HEERA PURE MOGRA AGARBATTI (15)
16106	HEERA SAI BABA NAG CHAMPA AGARBATTI (15)
16107	HEERA RUDRAKSH AGARBATTI (15)
16108	HEERA SAFFRON ROSE AGARBATTI (15)
16109	HEERA SAFFRON SANDAL AGARBATTI (15)
16110	HEERA WOODS AGARBATTI (15)
16111	HEERA PURE ROSE AGARBATTI (15)
16099	HEERA QUALITY BOUQUET - EXTRA LARGE INCENSE (12)
16112	HEERA ASLI OUDH AGARBATTI (15)
16113	HEERA KHALIJA AGARBATTI (15)
16114	HEERA JANNAT UL FIRDOUS AGARBATTI (15)
16115	HEERA GO AWAY EVIL AGARBATTI (15)
16116	HEERA ATTRACT MONEY AGARBATTI (15)
16117	HEERA GOOD LUCK AGARBATTI (15)
16118	HEERA AGAINST JEALOUSY AGARBATTI (15)
16119	HEERA PROTECTION AGARBATTI (15)
16120	HEERA MONEY DRAWING AGARBATTI (15)
16130	HEERA 4 IN 1 DHOOP CONE (rose, lavender, musk, mogra)(10)
16131	HEERA NAG CHAMPA DHOOP CONE (10)
16132	HEERA OUDH DHOOP CONE (10)
16133	HEERA SAFFRON SANDAL DHOOP CONE (10)
16134	HEERA SANDALWOOD DHOOP CONE (10)
16135	HEERA VEDIC HAWAN DHOOP CONE (10)
16128	HEERA SMALL DHOOP STICK (10)

They didn't tell me who makes the incense for them, but they are made somewhere in India. I've burned a few sticks, and they are decent masala, with some use of fragrant oils or perfumes. At the price, these are excellent value for money. On the whole I find them more attractive and pleasant than the average Satya, at a lower price point. I have a feeling the incense is made by Tulasi - though that is no more than idle speculation based on superficial similarities in packaging and some similarities in incense formulation and scent profile. It could be any number of companies.

The sticks I've explored are masala in appearance - a fragrant charcoal paste hand rolled onto pink dyed bamboo splints, and then coated in a noorva / nurva powder to prevent the sticks gluing together when drying. The paste is soft and semi-moist, indicating that fragrant oils have been used. There are volatile scents on the sticks which is generally pleasant. The burn scents are good - generally more woody and woolly than the fresh scent on the sticks, and certainly what I associate with decent masala. Good scents, certainly decent, though not quite heavenly. Excellent value for money.