Sticks, cones and coils on low-smoke bases — the oldest fragrance format still on the shelf, and the one most often ruined by a cheap base. We quote the base and the scent separately, because that is where the difference is.
Incense is the only format where the customer burns the delivery system as well as the fragrance. A dusty, acrid base will be blamed on the scent, no matter how good the oil is. So the base is specified first: bamboo core or extruded charcoal-free, low-smoke, with a burn rate that leaves ash rather than soot.
The second decision is application. Dipped sticks carry the oil on the surface and release fast; hand-rolled or extruded sticks hold fragrance deeper and burn longer. Coils sit in between and are usually bought for burn duration rather than for the opening note.
Two suppliers can quote the same scent and the same length and still deliver products that do not feel comparable, because almost all of the difference is in the base.
Smoke comes from incomplete combustion of the binder and wood powder. Changing the binder changes the smoke before the fragrance is even added, which is why we quote the base as a separate line item.
Burn times quoted on a carton become a complaint if the stick burns faster in a draught. We test burn time in still air and state the condition, rather than quoting the best case.
A dipped stick needs a higher fragrance load than a hand-rolled one to reach the same room presence, so the same accord cannot be priced across formats. Load is set per format.
Coils that collapse, cones that tip and sticks that drop hot ash end the relationship faster than a weak scent does. Ash retention is a specification we test for, not an accident.
Incense is one of the few formats where almost the entire product can be specified without tooling.
Charcoal-free low-smoke, conventional bamboo core, or natural wood powder, with smoke level stated per base so the retail claim on the box is supportable.
Sticks from 10 to 30 cm, cones, standard coils or backflow cones, with burn time and pack count set against the retail price point you are building towards.
Existing library accords or a developed scent, applied at an intensity specified per format. Sandalwood, resin and smoke accords behave differently from fresh notes and are sampled accordingly.
Kraft sleeves, rigid boxes, tubes and blisters, with a ceramic or wooden holder included as a gift configuration if the price point allows it.
Incense orders are counted in packs rather than pieces, so the pack configuration is settled before the quantity is quoted.
It can be. We supply both charcoal-free low-smoke bases and conventional bamboo-core sticks, and we state which base is used on the specification so the retail claim on the pack is accurate.
It depends on length, base and air movement. Burn time is quoted per format and tested in still air; a draught will shorten it noticeably, which is why the test condition is stated rather than implied.
Yes. Send a sample of the product, not a description. Incense carries smoke and resin notes from combustion, so the accord has to be evaluated on a burning stick rather than on a blotter.
Yes — ceramic, wooden or metal holders can be packed with the incense as one SKU. It is the usual way to lift an incense line out of the low-price shelf.
IFRA conformity for the fragrance, an SDS, and the combustion and safety labelling required by the destination market. Where the market requires a specific warning statement, it is prepared for the pack artwork.
Tell us the format, the pack count and the price point you are building towards. We return a base recommendation and a burn-time figure for that configuration.
