Stationery products are required on a daily basis by multiple sections of the society, right from school-going children to working professionals. Notebooks and pads make up the largest segment of the Indian stationery market with a share of around 30%. Other segments include writing instruments like pens, pencils and markers, office and school supplies like erasers, sharpeners and rulers, art and craft materials like crayons, sketch pens and other art supplies, and paper products like papers, envelopes and file folders.
Indian stationery market is growing at a high rate on account of increase in demand for stationery products from the corporate sector, rising number of students and upward trend in disposable income of the populace. Let’s have a look at some of the top stationery companies in India.
1. ITC Classmate
Classmate is the stationery brand of ITC Limited which was launched in the year 2003. A host of high quality stationery products are sold under Classmate brand. They include notebooks, pens, mechanical pencils, geometry boxes, sharpeners and erasers. Classmate notebooks feature ozone-treated elemental chlorine-free papers and come in over 300 variants, including long books, practical books and drawing books. Pens are available in gel, ball and roller varieties. Geometry boxes come with die-casted metal instruments.
ITC Classmate is also trying to make learning more interactive for students through its AR notebooks. AR notebooks are provided with QR codes which can be scanned to get access to interactive modules on various topics.
2. Navneet Education Limited
Navneet Education Limited is a 66 years old company manufacturing not only paper and non-paper stationery products but many other scholastic products as well, such as general books, childrens’ books, educational syllabus and non-syllabus based printed content and syllabus-based digital learning content.
The stationery products are sold under the brand name Youva and comprise of a number of student stationery essentials, such as notebooks, long books, writing pencils, crayons and poster colours.
3. Hindustan Pencils Private Limited
Hindustan Pencils Private Limited, established in the year 1958, is the owner of two flagship brands of pencils, namely Nataraj and Apsara. The company ventured into pen manufacturing in the year 2007 with the launch of Nataraj classic ball pen. Now the pen segment also includes gel pens. Other stationery products manufactured by the company include sharpeners, erasers and scales.
Hindustan Pencils operates 10 factories located across 5 places in India. The products are exported to over 50 countries worldwide.
4. DOMS Industries Limited
DOMS Industries Limited is a leading manufacturer of stationery products and art materials. Its product range includes graphite pencils, sharpeners, erasers, ball pens, correction pens, chalks, drawing pads, writing pads, geometry boxes, single and double lined notebooks, marker pens, colour pencils, water colours, tube colours, wax crayons, acrylic colours, sketch pens, glitter colours, modelling clay and artistic brushes.
The company operates 11 manufacturing facilities in India and has a network of over 100 stockists throughout the country. It also exports its products to more than 40 countries.
5. Kokuyo Camlin Limited
Kokuyo Camlin Limited is a joint venture of Kokuyo S&T Company Limited and Camlin Limited. It is a manufacturer of multiple types of art supplies, such as drawing books, colour pencils, sketch pens, water colours, colouring kits, brush pens, colour pads, painting kits, canvases, acrylic colours, glass colours and more. Office supplies and writing instruments also feature in the product portfolio of this company.
The company combines the expertise, reach and brand equity of Camlin with Kokuyo’s research and development capabilities, new office stationery products and a strong Asian presence.
6. Faber-Castell Aktiengsellschaft
Faber-Castell Aktiengsellschaft is a German stationery company which operates in India through its subsidiary, Faber-Castell India. It manufactures and sells graphite pencils, colour pencils, fountain pens, rollerball pens, ball point pens, markers, crayons, fineliner and fibre tip pens, erasers and sharpeners.
Faber-Castell India exports its stationery products to more than 40 countries worldwide. The company has production facilities in 10 countries. This is a ISO 9001:2000 and ISO 14001 certified company.
7. Rabbit Stationery Private Limited
Rabbit Stationery Private Limited started in 1972 with a complete array of stationery products, and is credited with the manufacturing of first erasers in India. Apart from school supplies like pencils, erasers, sharpeners, rulers, geometry boxes and dustless chalks, the company also provides hobby products like modelling dough, non-drying dough and air drying clay, and art supplies like acrylic colours, poster colours, tempera colours and finger paints. Furthermore, the company has also diversified into packaging materials, corporate gifts and pre-packaging materials.
Rabbit Stationery operates a fully equipped production plant in Pune, Maharashtra. All its products are non-toxic and adhere to the CE and EN-71 (3) standards.
8. Reynolds Pens India
Reynolds Pens India, a subsidiary of Newell Brands, is among the most recognised brand of writing instruments in India. It manufactures more than 50 types of stationery products, including ball pens, gel pens, roller pens, fountain pens, correction pens, markers, pencils, glue sticks and geometry boxes.
Reynolds is particularly known for its iconic 045 ball pen and Trimax pen. The company has a dedicated research and development team to develop and improve its products.
9. JK Paper Limited
JK Paper Limited is the largest producer of premium branded papers in India with a diverse portfolio of paper stationery products, including coated printing papers, office and copier papers, packaging boards, writing papers and printing papers. Its paper products are 100% biodegradable and recyclable.
The company operates three integrated pulp and paper mills with a combined capacity of 761,000 TPA.
10. Flair Writing Industries Limited
Flair Writing Industries Limited manufactures multiple types of writing instruments like metal ball pens, roller pens, gel pens, fountain pens, correction pens and water-based writing instruments. It is the owner of various global brands of writing instruments, such as Hauser, Pierre Cardin and Rudi Kellner.
Flair has a global distributor network covering 97 countries. This is an ISO 9001-2015 and ISO 14001:2015 certified company.
Conclusion
The top stationery companies in India have brought innovative and high quality stationery products to the country. They are among the most preferred brands of stationery products for the consumers in India.
