According to the latest report from MarketReportsWorld, the global incense stick market size is projected to reach 270.04 million US dollars in 2025, with a particularly prominent consumption penetration rate in the Asia-Pacific region. A noteworthy phenomenon is the rapid growth of young consumer groups for incense sticks, driving the market to shift from traditional religious and sacrificial uses to scenarios of daily life aesthetics and self-care. This new trend is not a simple nostalgic reproduction, but a consumption upgrade shaped by three core values: the visual and olfactory experience of “Oriental aesthetic fragrances”, the functional demand of “emotional value and sleep aid”, and the psychological sense of ritual tinged with “incense metaphysical purification”.
I. Core Consumption Trends of Incense Sticks: Four Leaps from “Object” to “Ambience”
1. The Rise of Oriental Aesthetics: New Chinese-style Incense Sticks Become the Mainstream Expression
Incense sticks are no longer a supporting role in old-fashioned studies, but a carrier for contemporary young people to express their aesthetic tastes. New Chinese-style incense sticks deeply integrate Oriental elements in their design:
Innovative Fragrance Materials: In addition to traditional sandalwood and agarwood, more natural fragrance materials with Chinese imagery such as Longjing tea aroma, crisp pine needles, and sweet osmanthus are incorporated, creating a tangible “landscape artistic conception” that can be smelled and perceived.
Aesthetics of Packaging and Naming: Elegant porcelain, ink-wash illustrations, and classical poetry are widely used in packaging. Brands such as Documents and Guibao Xiangju often quote classics in product naming, making the purchase of an incense stick akin to collecting a usable work of art. Even the coffee brand M Stand has launched co-branded incense sticks, achieving a cross-border integration of modernity and classicality.
2. The Essentialization of Emotional Value: “Olfactory Healing” for Sleep Aid and Stress Relief
Faced with prevalent sleep disorders and workplace anxiety, young people regard incense sticks as a cost-effective “emotional therapist”.
Precise Scene Matching: Lavender and chamomile used for sleep aid before bedtime; cedar and sandalwood help with concentration during work and study; citrus and white tea notes are for stress relief in the afternoon. On platforms like Xiaohongshu, numerous users share experience posts on “the matching degree between the principles of incense stick sleep aid and young people’s needs”, verifying its psychological soothing effect.
Sense of Ritual Creating Psychological Anchors: The act of lighting an incense stick itself becomes a ritual signal to detach from chaotic information and initiate solitary time. This fixed behavioral pattern helps construct a psychological safe zone.
3. Integration with Metaphysical Purification: Seeking Psychological Order and Energy Field Construction
Young people are keen to match incense sticks with items such as crystals and singing bowls for “purifying the spatial aura” and “enhancing personal energy”. This is not entirely superstition; behind it lies:
- Psychological Need for a Sense of Control: In an uncertain external environment, a self-controlled “purification” ritual is adopted to gain psychological order and security.
- Symbolic Psychological Suggestion: The visual process of curling smoke symbolizes the “dissipation” of negative energy and the “reset” of space, serving as a powerful positive psychological suggestion that facilitates emotional restart.
4. Diversification of Consumption Scenarios: Portable Companionship from Desks to Journeys
The usage scenarios of incense sticks have been greatly expanded:
- Home Incense Sticks: Become core to creating the atmosphere of studies, living rooms, and bedrooms.
- Office Incense Sticks: Portable incense holders paired with light notes carve out a peaceful space at workstations.
- Portable Incense Sticks: The popularity of individual small sticks and travel incense boxes extends the fragrance experience to outdoor and business travel settings. Scenes of celebrities using incense sticks in the hit variety show Divas Hit the Road have further promoted its popularity as a symbol of a refined lifestyle.
II. Analysis of Core Consumer Groups: Who Is Paying for This Wisp of Smoke?
Focusing on the 18-35 age group, we can subdivide three high-potential core consumer groups:
1. Chinese Style Enthusiasts (20-30 years old)
Characteristics: Passionate about traditional culture, attentive to life style, and aesthetic sharers on social media.
Preferences: Extremely focused on the Oriental aesthetic design, cultural stories, and brand tonality of products. SThey prefer classic fragrance materials such as tea, sandalwood, and plum blossom, and are willing to pay a premium for excellent packaging design and cultural empowerment.
2. Groups Suffering from Emotional Internal Conflict (22-35 years old, workplace white-collar workers and students)
Characteristics: Plagued by insomnia, anxiety, and inattention, and actively seeking gentle self-healing solutions.
Preferences: With clear core demands – sleep aid and stress relief. They value the scientific compatibility of fragrance notes, ingredient safety, and cost-effectiveness, and conduct in-depth research on the impact of different fragrances on emotions, making them function-oriented rational consumers.
3. Metaphysical Interest Groups (18-28 years old)
Characteristics:
Enthusiastic about niche cultures such as tarot, crystals, and meditation, focusing on personal energy management and spiritual exploration.
Preferences: Strongly concerned about the “purification” attribute of incense sticks, often combining them with crystal charging and space cleansing rituals. They pursue a sense of ritual in the usage process and favor matching exquisite incense burners, ash extinguishers, and other tools.
Conclusion: The Core Value of Incense Sticks – From Interest Consumption to Daily Consumption
Looking ahead, incense stick consumption is transitioning from trial-based interest consumption to steadily integrating into the daily habits of young people. Its core demands always revolve around: gaining identity recognition and aesthetic pleasure through Oriental aesthetics, achieving self-care and physical and mental balance with emotional value, and constructing inner order and psychological security relying on metaphysical purification rituals.
For brands and independent websites, an in-depth understanding of these three value pillars and the precise needs of segmented consumer groups is the key to product development and content communication. A wisp of curling smoke reflects the profound yearning of contemporary young people for a better life and inner peace.
