Amita Agrawal: A woman behind unique fragrances

Amita Agrawal, who is more popular for the discovery of unique fragrances that millions of people celebrate every day in form of Zed Black incense. She was born in Hathras (UP) on 11th August 1964. She completed her Bachelor in Arts (BA) and got married to Prakash Agrawal (Co-Founder-MDPH) in 1984. Since the establishment of Group MDPH in 1992 she has been the strength of the organization. She is in charge of the perfumery division and has always been an inspiration to her fellow female employees.

In an exclusive conversation with Hans India, Amita shared about her journey. Let’s have a look into it.

Tell us about your academic background? How did you start your journey with MDPH's Perfumery division?

I have done my Bachelor in Arts. My journey with the Mysore Deep Perfumery House (MDPH) Perfumery Division started in 1999-2000.As you are aware, perfumery is a whole day job and it usually consists of old family traditions or contains secret formulations that we have, and which is only entrusted to be done by a family member. It’s is a precise job with a lot of concentration required. Most of the formulas and ingredient names are in English and since I was relatively good at English and my husband needed some help in preparing the formulas, he asked that can I takecare of the Perfumery section and I agreed without any hesitation. And since1999-200, I am heading the Perfumery division at MDPH

Being a wife, mother and entrepreneur, how do you manage things?

I am not only a mother now but also a grandmother. I have three grandchildren.My own mother-in-law and father-in-law take care of those who are above 80 yearsnow. So, we need to be very hands-on with everything. Even today, my morning starts early at 5:30 AM by doing Yoga and then by taking care of thein-laws, from taking care of the kitchen to checking whether the kids have beenfed properly, only then I head to the office. I also manage to give time for myfriends, relatives and all the relations across. Being an entrepreneur, one hasto be good at multitasking and time

management.

According to you, how migrant women working in factories see themselvesin relation to their work?

MDPH is based in Indore, and we have provided employment to women from nearbyvillages who do not have to travel far to reach the workplace. We did keep ouremployment doors open for people who were returning home after losing theirjobs in various cities during COVID pandemic. We provide a secure workenvironment where any employee can benefit.

What initiatives are you taking to boost women employment

opportunities?

At MDPH, out of the total workforce 80% workforce is women, and especially onthe machines it’s 100% women who are in charge of manufacturing agarbatti’s.Since the beginning, MDPH have been supporting Female Empowerment whether it’sfrom my mother-in-law who was handling the workers initially, then I startedhandling the Perfumery Division. We have undertaken several initiatives toboost female empowerment and we will continue to support women who want tocreate their own identity in the workplace. Even 3 key departments in MDPH areheaded by females. For eg Jyoti Iyer head Sales division where 300 salespersons

report to her.

What obstacles did you face as a woman industrialist and how did youovercome them?

Obviously, I had to face a lot of obstacles when I started coming to the factoryevery day in 1999-2000, as people were not ready to accept a woman in thefactory floor. I even had to face resistance from within the family. It was thetime when we didn’t had cooks in the house so I always ensured that everyonewas taken care of, the food is prepared, etc and only then after settlingeveryone I used to head to the office. I’ve always overcome challenges and havealways contended them without giving up. That’s why even after 22 years withMDPH, I am able to handle all my responsibilities very

efficiently.

Zed Black is a perfect example of a women-led sustainable business.Please share your model of women in agarbatti business.

We have 80% woman work force. The overall In-charge of all the workforce is awoman who has been working with us for 30 years. My mother-in-law still comesto the factory occasionally to talk to the employees, I am heading the R&DDivision for MDPH. There are lots of females leading several departments Also there are many other women supervisors who have 100-150labours under them both make and female. MDPH believes in being an equalopportunity employer as we have women in managerial and decision making rolesas well.