Zed Black

What Zed Black does

Zed Black is the flagship agarbatti and dhoop brand of MDPH (Mysore Deep Perfumery House), an Indian FMCG company founded in 1992 and headquartered in Dewas (Indore), India. The company manufactures and distributes incense sticks, dhoop batti, dhoop sticks, dhoop cones (including backflow variants), sambrani cups, camphor, pooja oils, and hawan samagri, alongside adjacent lifestyle products such as hand wash, reed diffusers, perfume (LA RIVA), and rose water under the Orva sub-brand. Zed Black positions itself as a top-3 agarbatti brand in India with 800+ SKUs and operates across 88,000 square meters of manufacturing space in five factories, producing 35 million incense sticks and 1.5 million retail packs daily.

The core technology centers on natural herbal incense formulation, bambooless agarbatti sticks (which eliminate the bamboo core for cleaner, more uniform fragrance release), and backflow dhoop cones designed for decorative waterfall smoke effects. Manufacturing is supported by the world's largest raw agarbatti factory on 15 acres, with the broader parent (MDPH) offering 1,200+ SKUs across multiple sub-brands including Manthan, Orva, Samarpan, Din Din, and Kangana.

The business model is a classic mass-market Indian FMCG distribution play: unit-priced products (₹65-₹1,400) sold through 3,500+ authorized distributors, 34 company-owned depots, and 39 regional sales offices reaching 750,000+ retail outlets. Secondary channels include owned e-commerce (zedblack.com) and marketplaces (Amazon, Flipkart, Shopsy), plus exports to 43+ countries managed through Zed Black USA LLC in Selden, New York. Marketing is anchored by high-profile celebrity endorsements — MS Dhoni for Zed Black and Hrithik Roshan for Manthan — with reported 12-15% improvement in pricing power. The primary customer segments are Indian households for daily religious/spiritual use and urban consumers for lifestyle/ambient fragrance, with festive/gift purchases as a secondary segment.

Name

Zed Black

Legal name

SS Tech Source PVT. LTD.

Website

https://zedblack.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Zed Black is the flagship agarbatti and dhoop brand of Indian FMCG company MDPH, manufacturing incense sticks, dhoop, camphor, and pooja essentials sold through 3,500+ distributors across India and exports to 43+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Incense and Pooja Consumer Goods (FMCG)

NAICS

Soap and Cleaning Compound Manufacturing (32561)

SIC

Soap, Detergents, Cleang Preparations, Perfumes, Cosmetics (2840)

akta.pro primary industry

Air Care & Home Fragrance (Air Fresheners, Candles, Plug-ins, Diffusers) (CRADAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Home Fragrance (Candles, Diffusers, Room Sprays) (CRABADAE)

Keywords

• Incense sticks manufacturer
• Agarbatti production
• Dhoop products
• Pooja essentials
• Home fragrance products

Headquarters

HQ city

Dewas

HQ country

India

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Incense and Agarbatti Products: Sale of agarbatti (incense sticks) across multiple variants including premium, masala, bambooless, and gift box formats. Sold through distributor network, e-commerce marketplaces, and own online store. Unit pricing model.
2. Dhoop Products: Sale of dhoop batti, dhoop sticks, dhoop cones, and sambrani cups. Various fragrance options including sandalwood, mogra, gulab, guggal, loban. Sold through same distribution channels as agarbatti.
3. Pooja Essentials: Camphor, pooja oil, and hawan samagri products for religious and ritual purposes. Complementary product line to core incense offerings.
4. Lifestyle Products: Perfume, rose water, hand wash, reed diffusers, and air fresheners. Extension into broader home and personal care categories under Orva brand.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Zed Black manufactures and distributes a wide range of incense sticks (agarbatti), dhoop batti, dhoop sticks, dhoop cones, sambrani cups, camphor, hawan samagri, and pooja oils for Indian religious, spiritual, and home fragrance use. Beyond core pooja products, the portfolio extends into lifestyle categories such as hand wash, reed diffusers, perfumes, and rose water under sub-brands like Orva, Manthan, Samarpan, and LA RIVA. Products are sold through 3,500+ distributors, 750,000+ retail outlets, own e-commerce site, online marketplaces, and exports to 43+ countries.

Product overview

Zed Black is a portfolio of incense and pooja essential brands owned by Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH), one of India's largest agarbatti and dhoop manufacturers. The core Zed Black brand offers bamboo-based and bambooless incense sticks in various fragrance profiles (sandalwood, camphor, rose, mogra, loban, guggal, patchouli), while the premium Manthan sub-brand (endorsed by Hrithik Roshan) focuses on high-end dhoop batti, cones, and sticks. The Zed Black Luxe Series provides bambooless premium incense for luxury consumers. Beyond incense, the portfolio extends to camphor (Samarpan brand), pooja oils, hawan samagri, and lifestyle products under the Orva sub-brand including hand wash, reed diffusers, and rose water. The company manufactures over 800 SKUs and exports to 40+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Zed Black: Premium incense sticks (agarbatti) and dhoop brand, Zed Black is one of the largest agarbatti and dhoop brands in the world, manufacturing over 800 SKUs.
• Manthan
• Orva
• Samarpan
• Din Din
• Kangana

Products and services

• Zed Black Agarbatti Incense sticks (agarbatti) made from natural herbal products in bamboo-based and bambooless formats with varied fragrances including sandalwood, camphor, rose, jasmine, patchouli, and luxury variants; sold to Indian households for daily prayer, meditation, and home fragrance.
• Zed Black Dhoop Batti Thick, bamboo-less incense cones and sticks producing denser, more intense fragrance than standard agarbatti, designed for spiritual rituals and ceremonies such as pooja and hawan.
• Zed Black Dhoop Sticks Bamboo-less dhoop sticks in fragrances including Mogra, Guggal, Chandan, Gulab, Loban, and Kasturi, designed for enhanced fragrance throw and longer-lasting aroma in daily prayers and home use.
• Zed Black Dhoop Cones Cone-shaped dhoop products in standard and backflow variants with waterfall smoke effect, available in fragrances like sandal, mogra, rose, and arij for decorative and aromatic home use.
• Zed Black Sambrani Cups Ready-to-use sambrani cups made from cow dung and eco-friendly ingredients in Loban and Sandalwood fragrances, used for daily pooja, havan, and home fragrance.
• Zed Black Camphor (Samarpan) Bhimseni and synthetic camphor in tablet, slab, and jar formats used during aarti and to purify the environment during prayers.
• Zed Black Hawan Samagri 100% pure and natural mixture of dried herbal roots and leaves marketed for Vedic yagya pujan and hawan rituals.
• Zed Black Pooja Oil Pooja oils offered in various pack sizes for daily worship and ritual lamp lighting.
• Manthan Dhoop Brand Premium dhoop sub-brand featuring high-quality dhoop batti, cones, and sticks with luxury packaging, marketed for premium home fragrance and gifting.
• Zed Black Luxe Series Premium bambooless incense sticks featuring nature-inspired fragrances such as Kachha Bella, Camphor, and Guggal, designed to create a luxurious ambience for puja and meditation.
• Orva Hand Wash Orva germ fighter liquid hand wash in neem, lemon, and mandarin orange variants offering 99.9% germ protection with 90% natural origin ingredients.
• Orva Reed Diffuser Home fragrance reed diffusers in scents including Cherry Blossom, Apple Cinnamon, French Lavender, Oudh, and Vanilla Latte.
• LA RIVA Eau De Parfum Long-lasting eau de parfum for men and women, designed for formal and casual use with elegant, versatile fragrance profiles.
• Zed Black Box of Happiness Gift Set Comprehensive festive gift box containing 19 items including agarbatti, dhoop cones, dhoop sticks, sambrani cups, and guggal cups for auspicious occasions and gifting.
• Orva Naturals Rose Water Bulgarian hydrating face mist made from pure rose water for skincare and aromatherapy.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved pricing power of 12-15% with celebrity endorsements
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Patanjali Ayurved: Large Indian FMCG company that has rapidly entered the agarbatti and pooja essentials category leveraging Baba Ramdev's brand. Overlaps with Zed Black across incense, camphor, and hand wash categories.
• ITC (Mangaldeep): ITC's Mangaldeep agarbatti brand is a mass-market FMCG competitor with much broader portfolio leverage (FMCG, hotels, cigarettes, agribusiness). Competes head-on with Zed Black in incense sticks and pooja categories using ITC's deep distribution muscle.

Direct peers

• Dhruv Agarbattee / HRK Industries: Established Indian incense manufacturer operating in the same Mysuru-based manufacturing cluster as part of the broader agarbatti industry. Comparable scale and product mix (incense sticks, dhoop, cones) targeting mass and export markets.
• Goloka Incense: Indian incense brand focused on natural and temple-grade agarbatti with international distribution. Targets the same religious and aromatherapy segments as Zed Black with overlapping SKU formats.
• Satya Incense (Shrinivas Sugandhalaya): Iconic Indian incense brand famous for Nag Champa; directly comparable product portfolio (incense sticks, cones, resins) and global distribution in the fragrance/meditation category where Zed Black also plays.
• Hem Incense (Sandalwood Agarbatti): Long-established Indian agarbatti manufacturer with a strong export footprint and premium positioning. Comparable in product range (incense sticks, dhoop, cones) and target customer (religious/spiritual plus wellness consumers) to Zed Black.
• NR Group (Cycle Pure Agarbatti): India's largest agarbatti brand under Mysuru-based NR Group. Directly competes with Zed Black in mass-market and premium incense sticks, dhoop, and pooja essentials across the same kirana and modern retail channels.
• Tulasi Incense: Indian incense brand offering agarbatti and dhoop products with comparable pricing tiers and distribution through kirana stores and online channels, competing for the same household and temple customer.

Emerging players

• Moksh Agarbatti: India-based agarbatti brand with growing online and export presence targeting the same incense/camphor/pooja essentials segments as Zed Black, though at smaller scale.

Regional players

• Nippon Kodo: Japan's largest incense maker with comparable product formats (sticks, cones, premium fragrances). Comparable in the premium and aromatherapy segments of the incense category, but primarily serves the Japanese home market and poses limited direct competition in India.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/zedblackin
• YouTubeyoutube.com/zedblackin
• Facebookfacebook.com/zedblackin
• Instagraminstagram.com/zedblackin
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/zed-black

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Zed Black