At first glance, the famous poo market (flower market) in Coimbatore is an explosion of colour and fragrance, with fresh blooms brought in every day. Yet, as the day winds down, a different scene emerges: heaps of unsold flowers, still fragrant but destined for waste. To address this problem, Eco Petals, a startup founded by two 23-year-olds, Kinjal Jain and Hardhik Sonu has made it its mission to transform these discarded flowers into something more enduring: incense sticks.

Eco Petals is not just another name in India’s vast incense industry, which is reportedly valued at over ₹12,000 crores and largely dominated by charcoal-based products. Instead, it stands apart with an innovative focus on using fresh flowers as its primary raw material — according to the founders, a first in the country.

“What we’re doing is unique in the incense market. While others use recycled flowers or charcoal, we’re the first to make incense sticks entirely from fresh flowers, straight from Coimbatore’s local flower market,” says Kinjal.

Hardhik Sonu and Kinjal Jain | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The process begins each evening when Eco Petals purchases between 500 kilograms and a ton of fresh, unsold flowers. ““We buy the remaining flowers at a discounted rate, ensuring they don’t go to waste. This benefits both us and the vendors, as we can create incense sticks while they avoid losses,” Kinjal explains. The fresh flowers are then sorted, dried, pulverised, and blended with essential oils and natural binding agents to form incense sticks free from harmful chemicals.

The startup employs predominantly older women from rural areas to handle the delicate work of plucking petals and preparing them for production. Among them is Parvati paati (grandmother), a 62-year-old who toiled in a mill for a salary that barely compensated for her physical toll. A widow for several years, she has always strongly advocated self-reliance. “Everyone should be independent,” she says.

“By providing them with a steady income and a comfortable working environment, we’re not only supporting the local community but also contributing to a more sustainable and ethical incense industry,” adds Kinjal.

Response to market gaps

Initially inspired by the work of Phool, a company that repurposes temple flowers to clean the Ganges, Eco Petals took a different route after researching Coimbatore’s flower market. “We realised the real problem was the wastage of fresh flowers in the market. Our target customers, primarily women and older people who perform daily pujas, preferred fresh flowers as offerings to God,” says Kinjal.

This insight led them to focus on fresh flowers rather than recycled ones, aligning their product with the cultural values of their consumers.

The incense sticks, Kinjal promises, are eco-friendly and healthier. Traditional incense often contains charcoal, which can release harmful chemicals when burned. In contrast, Eco Petals’ product, free from charcoal, is marketed as a cleaner alternative, offering a more natural fragrance from four scents: rose, marigold, jasmine, and lavender.

Parvati, 62, working at the Eco Petals factory in Kanuvai, Coimbatore | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The founders acknowledge that producing incense from fresh flowers is more labour-intensive and expensive than traditional methods. “It takes about a week to transform flowers into incense powder,” they explain. Despite the complexity, the company is managing to produce around 500 kilograms of incense sticks per month.

Eco Petals’ long-term goal is to scale its operations, with plans to expand both within India and internationally. “The incense market is huge, and our unique product has the potential to disrupt the industry. While we’ve focused on online sales so far, we plan to expand our reach through offline channels like organic stores,” says Kinjal. Additionally, they are working on developing more fragrances and branching into related products, such as mosquito repellents.

The startup’s success is closely tied to its local partnerships. With around 100 shops in Coimbatore’s flower market, Eco Petals works with 10 to 15 vendors daily. As the company grows, it hopes to scale these partnerships further.

Eco Petals’ branding also taps into cultural nostalgia. The company features a grandmother as its mascot, a figure that the founder says ‘symbolises the heart and soul of our brand’. The idea came from the many grandmothers encountered throughout the startup’s journey, like Parvati paati, whose wisdom and purity reflect the brand’s ethos. “We hope to evoke feelings of nostalgia, warmth, and trust,” says Kinjal.