The Centre’s determination to hike the import responsibility on bamboo has develop into a “large incentive” for the home business to fabricate bamboo sticks and make investments extra within the sector, says Anshul Agrawal, Director, Mysore Deep Perfumery Home (MDPH).

MDPH is among the prime three agarbatti producers in India with its flagship model Zed Black promoting 15,00,000 agarbatti and dhoopbatti packets day by day throughout India. 

The Centre raised the import responsibility on bamboo from 10 per cent 25 per cent in 2020 even because it declassified the fabric as a grass. Earlier, it was handled as a forest produce, curbing its use.  

Lowering import dependence

“This has helped to plant the appropriate species and in a few years, we will start making bamboo sticks catering to the agarbatti and different industries. We wish to be an organization which sources most of its uncooked supplies from India itself,” Agrawal mentioned. 

As bamboo was categorized as a forest produce, the appropriate bamboo species couldn’t be planted within the nation then. Particularly, the agarbatti business wants spherical bamboo sticks that may be simply utilized in machines making the incense sticks. 

As India is MDPH’s main market, it doesn’t wish to rely upon imports and there’s nothing to set off towards these shipments, he mentioned.  

The corporate makes use of over 10 tonnes of bamboo a day to fabricate agarbattis, translating to just about 3,000 tonnes a 12 months. “The bamboo is sourced from the North-East in addition to Vietnam, which is the main contributor,” he mentioned.  

Increasing Shipra unit

MDPH, which has trendy machines at its items based mostly close to Indore in Madhya Pradesh, will improve the whole space of its unit at Shipra within the central Indian state to three.5 lakh sq ft by March from the present two lakh sq ft. 

The Shipra unit is used for making completed items, with the uncooked agarbattis being made on the Ram Pipliya Unit. “All of the dipping and all the pieces is finished there (Shipra). All of the packaging branding is finished there after which it’s shipped throughout India day by day,” the MDPH official mentioned. 

The corporate, which at present has 4,000 staff on roll with 80 per cent of them girls, will improve its labour drive within the Shipra unit by one other 400 to the present 800 employed there, he mentioned. 

Extending merchandise vary

“We don’t have any labour contractor in between, no informal labour, no oblique labour. All staff are on our payroll getting salaries of their checking account,” Agrawal mentioned. 

MDPH plans to increase its attain in households as an alternative of being confined to only the pooja (prayer) room. “Now, we want to be part of each nook of the family as we really feel our experience lies in creating the perfect fragrances prospects like,” he mentioned.  

The corporate, which has cricketer MS Dhoni and actor Hrithik Roshan as its model ambassadors, has entered the handwash, dishwash and different merchandise segments similar to confectionery, primarily based mostly on flavours. “It’s one factor we’ve got been attempting to do within the final 1-½ years,” Agrawal mentioned, including that Dhoni has been related to the Zed Black model for over six years now and Roshan three years. 

Turning skilled agency

MDPH, which exports to over 45 nations, is trying to develop to Brazil and some different nations. Lately, it entered Morocco. Agrawal mentioned the corporate confronted ocean freight points post-Covid and at present, it’s going through issues as a result of unrest within the Center-East.  

Moreover bamboo, MDPH makes use of joss powder and charcoal powder, that are pure uncooked supplies. The corporate additionally makes fragrances from fragrant chemical substances, important oils and fragrant powders. 

“Earlier, we have been an agarbatti manufacturing firm with the enterprise being managed by the household. We at the moment are on a transition path into an FMCG firm and a professionally-run enterprise,” he mentioned.  

A year-and-a-half in the past, MDPH launched pooja merchandise and so they acquired a great response. Equally, the handwash and dishwash merchandise have acquired good response, he mentioned.