From Incense to a ₹1,000 Crore Vision: How Zed Black (MDPH) Is Building India’s New Fragrance Leader

Historically, the incense commerce is known for its devotional symbolism. A very few brands have successfully redefined the league as a contemporary, design-first FMCG brand. Zed Black, from the house of Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH), is amongst those rare exceptions – leading today as one of the known names in Indian incense-led businesses.


Our focus has always been on giving consumers a complete product range, strong fragrance, good packaging, value for money and consistency, all together, not in isolation.
– Ankit Agrawal, Director, Zed Black

Recently, in a feature by IndiaRetailing, Ankit Agrawal mapped out how Zed Black vows to achieve a ₹1,000 crore milestone by FY27, focusing on disciplined execution, consistency, and perfumery consumption.

Today, it exports to 30+ countries across 6 continents and operates in 40+ international markets, marking its cross-border horizon and growing global footprint.

How Zed Black Redefined a Conventional Category?

Agarbatti in India is primarily associated with rituals and traditions. For decades, it came with limited attention to branding, packaging or premium value. Zed Black broke the market norm by experimenting with incense as a design-led FMCG product.

By infusing modern packaging, the latest fragrance profile and a mass premium price point, the brand created a unique position both at the shelf and in the online marketplace. As stated in the IndiaRetailing report, it focused on bridging the industry gap and giving a sensory customer experience.

This strategy shifted the trajectory of incense from a spiritual product into a lifestyle-led category.

Leadership Focused on Building a Complete Category

At the core of Zed Black’s success lies a visionary leadership rooted in philosophy and culture. In an interaction, Ankit Agrawal, Director, Zed Black, emphasised that product success is built through strong alignment — good fragrance, premium packaging, value for money, and working together.

When my father started the business, people did not even know where Indore was. Agarbatti was associated with Mysore, so the name helped build instant credibility, Agarwal said.

The organisation primarily believes in delivering a holistic consumer experience covering an entire FMCG category. The execution-led approach helped the brand grow while maintaining the long-lived customer trust.

Scale Built on Strong Distribution System

Zed Black’s strong leadership position is fortified by its substantial operational footprint:

• Processing 3.5+ crore incense sticks daily

• Presence across 10 lakh+ retail outlets

• Strengthened by 3,500+ distributors

• Operated through 39 distribution centres

• Exports to 40+ countries across 6 continents

These numbers represent decades of network-building and strong engagement with general trade.

While the brand functions in modern trade and digital platforms, online currently contributes barely 1% of total sales, representing the dominance and share of offline retail in the category.

A Wide Portfolio of Over 2,000 SKUs

Zed Black maintains a diverse portfolio in the fragrance and incense category. With around 2,000 SKUs across the length and breadth of both domestic and export marketplaces, it covers agarbatti, dhoop sticks, dhoop cones, sambrani, camphor, puja oils, and related formats.

With numerous price points, packs, combos and packaging, each product reverberates the legacy of Zed Black, ensuring the long-standing loyalty and standards.

Expanding Beyond Ritual into Lifestyle Fragrance

I do not see it as a shift away from puja. It is an addition. Spiritual consumption is increasing, but lifestyle usage is growing alongside it, Agarwal stated

With the growing consumption, Indore-based Zed Black aims to invest in 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. The focus is not to shift away from devotion and spiritual usage but an expansion in the relevant category. With daily hustle and a digital lifestyle, peace resides in religion and spirituality. Lifestyle usage is widening across yoga centres, homes, art of living classes, hospitality and various therapeutic activities. Hence, the consumption is growing

The company has diversified into reed diffusers, institutional gifting, hygiene products, and personal fragrances. In personal perfumery, it plans to consolidate its presence under the Blunt Black identity, reflecting focused long-term investment in this segment.

The ₹1,000 Crore Growth Blueprint through Global Expansion

Zed Black is currently targeting:

– ₹700+ crore in near-term revenue

– ₹1,000 crore by FY27

Global expansion is their key priority. This company envisions for an organic expansion, brand-building, customer satisfaction, market penetration and enhanced production While the brand already serves 40+ countries, it sees significant headroom geographically. With about 150 countries consuming incense worldwide, Zed Black wants to strengthen its presence across Asia, the Americas, and similar emerging markets. As highlighted in the interview, growth is directly proportional to market needs, working in proximity with trade partners, and delivering faster and better solutions.

Backed by Legacy, Eyes on the Future

As a flagship brand and integral part of MDPH’s three-decade-old legacy, Zed Black comes with trusted manufacturing expertise and varied integrations. The company operates five fully integrated, solar-powered production facilities, combining sustainability with scale.

This foundation sets the brand to achieve its targets while maintaining operational discipline and ethical business procedures.

Building a Sustainable, People-Driven Enterprise

Beyond monetary expectations and revenue milestones, Zed Black’s voyage is built on people’s trust, systems, and culture.

From the manufacturing team to product developers, from distributors to visionary leadership, every layer contributes to execution excellence. For professionals, partners and other verticals, this represents an opportunity to engage with an organisation focused on stability, learning, and long-term value creation.

With a clear ₹1,000 crore roadmap and strong leadership, Zed Black continues to shape the future of fragrance consumption—in India and across the world.

🔗Read the full coverage @ IndiaRetailing.com:

https://www.indiaretailing.com/zed-black-eyes-top-spot-in-indias-incense-segment-looks-at-1000-cr-by-fy27