And yet, it is still dominated by unbranded plastic packets and hyperlocal vendors.
Every month, across India, families spend on agarbattis, ghee, cotton wicks, camphor, diya oil, idols, and havan kits. But for a category that touches nearly 80 percent of Indian households, the product experience has not evolved in decades.
This is not a niche. It is a mainstream market hiding in plain sight.
One, agarbatti alone is a ₹7,500 crore category, growing at over 8.2 percent CAGR.
We exported ₹1,115 crore worth of incense sticks in FY23 according to APEDA, with major demand from the UAE, USA, and Europe.
Legacy players such as Cycle Pure (NR Group), Mangaldeep (ITC), Zed Black (Mysore Deep Perfumery), Patanjali, and Kalpana Agarbatti dominate shelf space but have limited direct-to-consumer presence.
Two, the diya oil, camphor, wick, and ghee segment is worth over ₹4,000 crore, with seasonal spikes during Diwali, Shravan, and Navratri.
Brands such as Om Shanthi Camphor, Sampoorna, and Gokul Pooja Samagri are present, but packaging, pricing strategy, and standardisation remain inconsistent.
The segment also suffers from high adulteration and supply fragmentation, a trust gap that is waiting to be solved.
Three, ritual gifting and curated puja kits are being reimagined for the urban buyer.
Startups such as MyPoojaBox, Aarav Rakhis, DevDarshan, DailyPuja, and Dharohar are building festive kits across categories, including Ganesh Chaturthi, baby showers, griha pravesh, and Diwali.
Some of these startups have scaled to ₹1 to 2 crore in monthly revenue, with average order values of ₹700 to ₹1,100 and gross margins between 40 and 50 percent.
And then there is Phool.co, now HelpUsGreen.
They collect 8.4 tonnes of floral waste daily from temples across North India and upcycle it into premium charcoal-free incense sticks and havan cups.
Their products are available in over 2,000 stores across India and exported to the UAE, Germany, and the US.
They have raised over ₹75 crore from Ivy Cap Ventures, Social Alpha, and Alia Bhatt. This is not just agarbatti. This is India’s most credible ESG ritual brand in the making.
This is not a future market. It already exists.
India has over 33 crore deities, more than 300 major festival days across its calendar, and over 100 crore annual religious visits to temples. That is more than India’s cinema and OTT combined.
The question is not whether puja products will go online.
They already have.
The real question is who will become the first national brand of ritual, the way boAt did for audio or Mamaearth did for personal care.
Ritual does not need disruption.
It needs dignity, design, and delivery.
Because belief is a recurring transaction.
And recurring transactions build durable brands.
D2CIndia ConsumerBrands RitualEconomy FaithCommerce IndianStartups PujaMarket Agarbatti ESGInnovation
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