About Us

Mrs. Sapna Shankar is the champion CEO of

‘Belur Products’, a prominent establishment with

a brand renowned for creating and manufacturing

organic incense sticks which possess distinct and

unique properties. Based out of the Palace City of

Mysuru, Karnataka, it was founded in the 1980s by

Late Mr. B.Y. Umashankar and since then, the company has been consistently flourishing

in the Agarbatti industry under the capable leadership of Sapna Shankar.

Personal Background

Born in 1973 to Mr. V.S. Krishnamurthy and Mrs. V.K. Susheela, she grew up in an orthodox

family along with an elder brother. Subsequently, she completed her Bachelor’s Degree in

Commerce from NMKRV College for Women, Bangalore. Following her marriage to Late Mr.

B.Y. Umashankar, she settled to lead a happy and simple domestic life as an ordinary

homemaker content with taking care of her family and 2 children, Aakarsh Belur and Arjun

Belur. Except for the common occasional stressors, there were no major sources of worry

in her blissful life.

Being an only daughter and the younger sibling, she was brought up by a loving and

affectionate family. Moreover, hailing from a traditional background and growing up

abiding by conventional rules, she never imagined that her scope of duties would go

beyond looking after the household. Life had other plans for her and so out of nowhere,

she was suddenly thrown into the deep end of facing the outside ruthless and competitive

world of business as she was forced to take over the reins of managing the family

enterprise after the demise of her husband, who used to operate and oversee everything

related to the company.

Professional Journey

Left without choice after her smooth life took an unexpected and cruel turn, she

embarked on a challenging new path while dealing with her personal struggles. Beginning

in December 2019, she went onto become the first woman entrepreneur in the family and

hasn’t looked back since. Being a novice in all business-related aspects, she was exposed

to unfamiliar situations everyday which constantly pushed her outside her comfort zone.

Although she was in unchartered waters, her spirits were gradually heading towards

the brighter side of the situation and soon enough, she became a different personality

who revived ‘her’ company by utilising her well rooted and traditionally imparted

knowledge from childhood. Despite having a very limited understanding of the incense

industry and its prospects, she invested her heart and soul into the firm. In addition to

this, she went through numerous ups and downs, encountered several obstacles but

learnt from each mistake and every experience. She believed in herself and overcame

those hurdles as she was optimistic of the future, and thus, escalated Belur Products to

renewed heights. Even during difficult times, what is of notable significance is she adhered

to her core values of absolute honesty, self-esteem, empathy, integrity and gratitude

which while running a business are usually compromised. Her strength of character as

well as leadership and team management skills formed the foundation of her success in

the professional field.

As we can see, her positivity and hard work yielded

fruits within a short span of 2 years and she made an

exceptional and inimitable mark of her own to

establish her identity as an outstanding entrepreneur

in her field. Before long, she proceeded to introduce

an exclusive and special brand of incense named

‘Sharadha Flora’, which soon became a customer

favorite.

Achievements and Awards

Today, under her leadership, Belur Products has received several district as well as state

level awards and accolades. She secured ISO certification for Sharadha Flora which also

received the FKCCI honor of respect from the Honorable Chief Minister of Karnataka, Shri

B S Yediyurappa. Recently, Belur Products became the recipient of the Business

Excellence Award 2021 by the Global Triumph Foundation for the Best Manufacturer in

Agarbatti.

Sapna Shankar was recognized as the “Entrepreneur of the Month” by ‘Women’s Web’ and

elected as the “Best Woman Entrepreneur” in ‘Breaking Barriers’. Furthermore, she is a

part of the Advisory Board of CIMSME Organizations and is on the Advisory Committee of Aryavysya Emagazine.

She is also often invited as an

inspirational and motivational

speaker at various events organized

by influential platforms as well as by

social ventures like Skill2Gether,

Karnataka YES Summit and Mitti ke

Rang.

Future Plans

Over the last 40 years, Sapna Shankar

has been launching plans and

incorporating changes which have

brought about profit and prosperity

to Belur Products. Her never give up

attitude, total commitment and focus

on her responsibilities are

undoubtedly commendable.

Her long-term vision is to expand

Belur Products as the leading

company in the incense industry in

the international arena.

Simultaneously, she aims to create an

encouraging community and provide

a benefitting platform to empower

women by recognising and refining

their skills for better employment

opportunities in the manufacturing

industry.

Passionate about restoring the Indian

culture of using incense sticks on a

daily basis (not limited to spiritual but

also as part of lifestyle practices),

Sapna Shankar aspires that her

ultimate goal be to build a legacy

such that Belur Products is a source

of joy and fulfillment and remains as

a meaningful part of everyone’s home across the globe