High quality but too expensive
Some of their products are high quality (and some are not that good). Nonetheless even more common incenses have become way too expensive (roughly 1 euro per stick as there are 4/5 sticks per box, 1,5 euros per stick for royal sandalwood which is excellent but really out of market). I have found similar quality for less than half of their price. Let alone, when I go to India I can find it for a small fraction of the price. It’s a pity as this business was extremely promising in the beginning but now they charge unreasonable margins over products that are manufactured in India certainly with very cheap labour. Also I know the price of the material as I have bought it in bulk earlier. Their prices are really disproportionate nowadays.
Reply from Bhagwan Incense
Dear Marco,
Thank you very much for your review, it's much appreciated.
The Royal Mysore Sandalwood 15g pack has 6 sticks per box and is sold at €5.95, making it €0.99 per stick, which we agree is on the higher side — but the quality of this product is extremely high, and it has been awarded a place in the Olfactory Rescue Service Hall of Fame for very good reason. We use the most expensive sandalwood oil on the market, which makes this incense costly to produce, but it is worth the money.
We currently do not have any products with 4 sticks in a 15g box — the minimum is 5, in the case of extra-thick 9-inch sticks. Very often 5 sticks come to more than 15g, as with Absolute Oudh or Royal Frankincense, because the sticks are massive. We make all our incense at dedicated factories in India, and it is not sold in India under the Bhagwan Incense brand — all our incense is made exclusively for the western market, with a higher quality in mind.
Our incense sticks come in different formats — 8-inch and 9-inch, in thin, standard, thick and extra-thick. Yes, some sticks in our catalogue are very thick and long, 3–3.5g each, which means a 15g pack will hold about 5–6 sticks. They are also hand-rolled and not evenly rolled along the stick, so some will be even thicker than others. When we weigh the sticks, we make sure there is a full 15g in the pack and, if we see 14.5g on the scale, we add another stick, taking it to almost 17g. If 5 sticks come to exactly 15g, we pack 5.
These extra-thick 9-inch sticks are especially fragrant because they contain more oil, and you can usually use one stick three times, burning it bit by bit — they are very potent.
The reason we make such thick sticks is twofold: with some fragrances like pine, frankincense, myrrh, oudh and sandalwood, we get the best results when we soak the sticks in the oil for a long time. This works especially well with woody scents and the extra amount of oil that a thicker stick holds. Sometimes it is impossible to achieve the quality we desire otherwise — we need a thicker stick so it can absorb more oil.
Please find the list of extra-thick 9-inch sticks below, in case you would like to avoid them in future: Absolute Oudh, Royal Sandalwood, Mystical Pinewood, Arabian Oudh, Royal Frankincense, Royal Myrrh, Khajuraho Temple, Imperial Oudh, Spring Musk, Magical Vetiver, Imperial Musk, Royal Oudh, Oudh and Rose, Assam Agarwood, Imperial Sandalwood, Patchouli Queen, Royal Mysore Sandalwood, Sufi Oudh, and Royal Attar.
All other sticks are thinner, so you will get more of them in a 15g pack. I would be happy to create a list of our very thin 8-inch sticks for you, where a box holds 10–12 sticks — please let me know next time you order.
Once again, thank you for your review, and thank you for being our customer. Best wishes, Eugene and The Bhagwan Team