ITC Mangaldeep (V.N.C. Incense) Fragrance of Temple Gold Tradition

I've been wanting to try some Mangaldeep incense since I came upon a few lists showing Mangaldeep to be one of the Top Incense Brands in India, so I was pleased to see these when buying some Thurga's incense from Vallis UK.  Other than noting the name as a best selling incense company, I hadn't looked into the Mangaldeep brand before receiving three packets from Vallis, including this one. I was therefore interested to note that Mangaldeep is not an incense company, but a brand name of of ITC (India Tobacco Company), India's largest fast moving goods company, who are becoming the number one company for incense in India. The company commission a variety of small to medium sized incense makers, who - unlike Western resellers -  they identify on the packets. The team who make this incense are V.N.C. Incense of Bangalore, who are a smallish company with an annual turnover around £400,000. 

The sticks are standard perfumed incense - 9 inches long with 7 inches of extruded brown paste on a machine cut bamboo splint. The sticks burn for around 40-45 minutes. The scent on the stick is mild, pleasant, softly volatile - sandalwood, pine disinfectant, hints of jam, warm beach sand, vanilla. Modest, but attractive. When lit there is a small reluctant flame which produces no discernible black smoke  (I've noticed that a flame needs to be strong to produce black smoke - I am assuming the black smoke is partly burned particles that were not fully consumed because the stick burned too quickly - suggesting perhaps that there is a lot of accelerant in the formulation, which is likely going to be the ethyl alcohol content of the liquid fragrance - be it a synthetic perfume or essential oil). On blowing out the stick burns steadily with a thin, faint grey smoke. The aroma gently informs the room - it is very much a background scent. More floral now on the burn than on the stick, but also a little vague and a little dry and sharp with woody notes. It's an OK, workable, largely inoffensive scent, but it's not impressing me. The stick looks OK, and the packaging is OK, but this is essentially a budget incense sold by a large company who have the logistics and budget to promote and distribute on a large scale, along with the muscle to ensure their sticks are sold in prominent positions in stores. I don't think they have become the leading incense maker on quality.  16 stick packet bought from VallisUK for £1.20 - Indian MRP is 20 Rupees (approx 20p). 

Date: Oct 2023   Score:  21 

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Mangaldeep Incense