By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS
Mysore (Karnataka) : Now light an incense stick and enjoy its fragrance for over 30 hours. A factory here has started producing incense sticks that are 10 feet long and cost a stiff Rs.3,000 a piece.
“Besides our regular sticks, recently we have started producing sticks as tall as six feet and 10 feet. It takes time to produce them but we have a niche market,” said M.R. Suresh, manager operations of Cycle Brand Agarbathies.
“As per the demand of the customer we customise the colour and fragrance of incense sticks. There are two dedicated people who work on these types of incense sticks,” Suresh told IANS.
A single stick as thick as a two-litre water bottle weighs around 15 kg. The stick is prepared by joining 9-inch blocks together and a thick bamboo handle works as the base to stump the incense stick.
The Indian ‘agarbathi’ or incense stick market – that is largely driven by its demand on religious occasions – is worth around Rs.10 billion and is dominated by the unorganised sector. Nearly 20 percent of this market is branded.
Cycle Brand is owned by Bangalore-based N. Rangarao and Sons and the company is considered one of the pioneers in branding incense sticks. It is one of the largest manufacturers of incense sticks with an annual turnover of nearly Rs.1.25 billion. In a month, the company manufactures around 72 million sticks.
In Mysore, orders come mainly from temples and the grand Mysore palace.
“While a six-foot stick is priced at Rs.2,500, the 10-foot stick is priced at Rs.3,000. Every year, we sell nearly 80 sticks,” said Raghavendra Puthraya, project (lead) manufacturing of the company.
He said the company also gets orders from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh among other states. “Recently we delivered an order in Nagpur.”
However, company officials said these high-end sticks do not have a market throughout the year.
“We don’t get orders for these sticks in every season. During festivals, especially Navaratri and Dussehra, we get queries and orders. But the orders are definitely not confined to Mysore and Karnataka,” said Puthraya.