The tie up of BRTC (Bamboo Research & Training Center) with ITC has helped provide livelihood to rural women in remote areas like Pomburna

ITC's Mangaldeep brings home the divinity of the reverent Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple by launching ‘Mangaldeep Temple – Lord Ganesha’s favourite fragrances Agarbatti' pack

The unique launch befittingly coincides with the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations

Mumbai, 20 August 2020: Mangaldeep, ITC’s leading Agarbatti brand has joined hands with the reverent Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Temple Trust of Mumbai as well as with BRTC (Bamboo Research & Training Center), Govt. of Maharashtra, to launch a very special and unique agarbatti offering – the ‘ Mangaldeep Temple – Lord Ganesha’s favourite fragrances Agarbatti pack dedicated to millions of Lord Ganapathi’s devotees.This unique launch befittingly coincides with the celebrations of Ganesh Chaturthi starting from Saturday, 22 ^nd August.

It is believed that Ganapathi has 32 different forms - Bal Ganapathi, Ekdanta Ganapathi, Vijaya Ganapathi etc., each having its own significance in mythology. This Ganesh Chaturthi, Mangaldeep celebrates all the forms of Ganapathi worshipped across India with the launch of this special agarbatti- “Mangaldeep Temple – Lord Ganesha’s favourite fragrances Agarbatti”.

The ‘Mangaldeep Temple – Lord Ganesha’s favourite fragrances agarbatti” is a divine agarbatti specially crafted for Lord Ganapathi’s devotees. The agarbatti contains the flowers offered to the Lord at Shree Siddhivinayak Temple. It is an innovative dual-fragrance agarbatti, made with fragrances of items believed to be Lord Siddhivinayak’s favourite – Hibiscus and Marigold . The agarbattis are made by rural women of Maharashtra, working under the aegis of BRTC (Bamboo Research & Training Center), Pomburna, Government of Maharashtra. The pack also has the approval of the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple Trust as a mark of credibility. For every pack sold by ITC, the company will contribute a dedicated amount mentioned on the pack to the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple Trust, on behalf of the devotees.

The launch is supported by a digital campaign #RoopAnekAgarbattiEk, to narrate the story of one special Agarbatti for all forms of Ganapathi.  The concept will be brought alive by national celebrities Sonu Sood and Kajal Aggarwal who will regale us with stories around their favorite form of Ganapathi and his special agarbatti while they celebrate Ganesh Chaturthi this year from their homes. Consumers will be able to buy the Mangaldeep Temple – Lord Ganesha’s favourite fragrances agarbatti pack from select Reliance SMART stores and ecommerce platform BigBasket.

Speaking at the launch of the product, Mr. Ravi Rayavaram, Chief Executive, ITC’s Agarbatti Business, said “Through this specially crafted, innovative and divine Mangaldeep agarbatti, it has been our endeavour to enable consumers feel the divinity of Shree Siddhivinayak Temple, one of the most sacred temples in India, within the pious confines of their homes, every time they light the agarbatti . We are also encouraged that this initiative will provide livelihoods to rural women through our tie up with BRTC (Bamboo Research &Training Center), Govt. of Maharashtra. We are grateful to the Siddhivinayak Temple Trust for extending their support towards this special agarbatti pack. We are also thankful to BRTC for enabling Mangaldeep to support the livelihood of many rural women in Maharashtra ”   

Mr TSK Reddy, Managing Director, Maharashtra Bamboo Development Board, Government of Maharashtra and Mr Rahul Patil, Director, BRTC, on the occasion of the launch said, “We are very encouraged by this unique initiative of connecting rural women to consumers. The tie up of BRTC with ITC has enabled us to provide livelihood to rural women in remote areas like Pomburna. The Magaldeep Temple - Shree Siddhivinayak agarbattis are manufactured by rural women of Pomburna under the aegis of BRTC, with all their love and affection for the God. We at BRTC are very happy to be associated with this unique initiative”.

Mangaldeep Brand & Business information: The Agarbatti business is an integral part of ITC’s business strategy of creating multiple drivers of growth in the FMCG sector. This Business has sustained its growth momentum anchored on a robust product portfolio and distribution reach. ITC sources Agarbattis (Incense sticks) from the small-scale and cottage unit since 2003. It has supported the creation of livelihoods for more than 10,000 people in the country, many of whom belong to the weaker sections of society. ITC is also building a bamboo-to-agarbatti value chain anchored by the Mangaldeep brand that will create livelihoods by promoting bamboo cultivation, whilst enabling import substitution. This Business with its flagship brand Mangaldeep leverages the core strengths of ITC in nation-wide distribution and marketing, brand building, supply chain management, manufacture of high-quality paperboards and creating innovative packaging solutions to offer Indian consumers high quality Agarbattis through the brand Mangaldeep. In line with ITC’s philosophy of triple bottom line to drive economic, social and environmental capital, Mangaldeep has been working with popular temples to convert organic waste at their premises into biogas and manure. This “Mangaldeep Green Temple” initiative through ITC’s Mission Sunehra Kal program, has already been installed at 4 temples in Tamil Nadu.