From Hong Kong's "souvenirs" to 15 stores in the Chinese mainland, the incense brand "Sagrada Madre" uses the vitality of nature to break into the Chinese market.
Author | Ren Cairu
In the Shenzhen Bay MixC, where high - end brands abound, a space with ochre red and rough wood as the visual keynote often attracts people to stop. The air is filled with a more primitive and vibrant aroma of plants and fruits. This is one of the Chinese stores of the Argentine incense brand "Sagrada Madre".
Just two years ago, its products were only the "hidden items" on the shopping lists of mainland tourists in Hong Kong - a kind of "souvenir" that needed to be carried back by people. Now, the brand has opened 15 specialty stores in the Chinese mainland and plans to steadily expand its store network in 2026 on the premise of "quality first". Its share in the relevant searches for "incense sticks" on the Xiaohongshu platform has approached 30%, making it a modern brand that cannot be ignored in this ancient category.
Starting from Argentina, Sagrada Madre's global footprint has covered more than 50 countries, including markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland, and South Korea. Its global annual sales are expected to exceed 1.5 billion yuan. Behind it is a supply - chain system composed of more than 5 self - built incense factories and over 1,000 employees in Argentina. It is also one of the largest export retailers in Argentine history.
From a well - known brand in South America, to a popular item in Hong Kong's boutique stores, and then to systematically exploring the Chinese market, one of the world's largest consumer markets, Sagrada Madre's path provides a sample for observing how overseas brands can achieve a "soft landing" and "rapid growth" in China.
Sagrada Madre store in Shenzhen Bay MixC
The "Vitality" of South America in Incense Sticks
"Aroma can change the world, and all life should be loved and respected." - This is the value of Sagrada Madre. This concept is rooted in its products: The brand uses patented fruit biomass technology to convert discarded fruit pulp into sustainable incense raw materials. It is reported that the annual biomass usage reaches 100 tons. Its incense stick products adhere to the natural form of "what you see is what you get". The incense bodies are thick, and the plant raw materials are clearly visible.
"The incense culture in South America originated from the communication with the spirits of nature, so its expression is strong, direct, and full of vitality." Zhang Chi, the CEO of Sagrada Madre in Greater China, told 36Kr. This forms an aesthetic contrast with the "pure, quiet, and elegant" pursuit of East Asian incense, but it has also become its unique memory point.
Before officially entering the Chinese mainland, Sagrada Madre had completed preliminary market education through purchasing agents and social media. Among them, Hong Kong became its key brand springboard. "In Hong Kong, about 80% of Sagrada Madre's consumers are mainland tourists," Zhang Chi pointed out. "They got to know the brand, but there was no stable repurchase path. This is both the challenge we face and the core opportunity for us to enter the mainland."
The brand's localization experiment in China started with two well - designed pop - up stores. In November 2024, in Tianmuli, Hangzhou, in a transparent glass box, Sagrada Madre made a 1:1 reproduction of the South American style to test the market's acceptance of the brand's original appearance. In April 2025, in Shenzhen MixC World, they launched a "Chinese - adapted" store with brighter colors and a visual style closer to the aesthetics of urban young people.
"From Tianmuli to MixC World, we found that the proportion of customers who 'had seen or bought in Hong Kong before' increased from about 40% to 60% - 70%." Zhang Chi shared. This verifies the stock of brand awareness and also shows the effectiveness of appropriate localization adjustments.
At a time when the concept of "real - life feeling" has become a hot topic of the year, Sagrada Madre's South American genes also resonate with the changing consumer emotions. Xiaohongshu data shows that notes related to "vitality" have received over 100 million likes, and the interaction volume has increased by over 200%. Consumers are eager for real, primitive, and energetic brand expressions, which is exactly the brand connotation of Sagrada Madre.
The store of Sagrada Madre highlights natural attributes
What Remains Constant and What Changes in the Rapid Expansion
As of now, Sagrada Madre has 15 specialty stores in the Chinese mainland, mostly located in the beauty areas of high - end shopping malls.
The popularity also stems from the shopping malls' re - evaluation of the value of the fragrance category. "In the past, shopping malls would not place incense sticks in the beauty area, but now they realize that fragrance is another high - growth and high - stickiness category after beauty products." Zhang Chi told 36Kr. "Some leading shopping malls even plan to increase the proportion of the fragrance area from 10% to 30% in the future."
Despite the rapid expansion of channels, Zhang Chi has drawn a clear red line for the brand's development in China. "There are three things that are absolutely unchanged: natural environmental protection, humanistic care, and sustainable development." He especially emphasized that this even extends to the cooperation level. "We will not participate in any co - branding projects involving animal harm."
Within the framework of "unchanged", Sagrada Madre has also carried out flexible localization "changes":
Marketing linkage: The co - branding activity "Falling into the 'Fragrant' Wilderness" with M Stand coffee extended the incense stick scenario from home to urban cafes, creating new experience touchpoints.
Product adaptation: For the Chinese festival and gift - giving market, exclusive gift box products have been developed. All the design and production of the gift box packaging and derivatives are completed in China, while the most core incense stick products still come from the Argentine factory.
Cultural resonance: It plans to co - brand with Chinese intangible cultural heritage projects. "The founding team deeply understands and loves Eastern philosophy. The concept of 'harmony between man and nature' is fundamentally the same as the 'worship of nature' in South America." Zhang Chi believes that localization is about finding resonance rather than simple catering.
Full - domain layout: The brand has completed a matrix - style layout on six major online platforms (Xiaohongshu, Douyin, Tmall, JD.com, Dewu, and Youzan on WeChat), constructing a full - link operation system of "content planting - interest conversion - member precipitation".
Offline, Sagrada Madre adheres to a unique principle: Incense must be lit in the store. The reason is that smell is the most direct language for experience and sales. "We will have professional communication with the shopping mall. This is low - temperature smoldering rather than an open flame," Zhang Chi said. "Data shows that there is a huge difference in the conversion rate between stores with lit incense and those without."
What Can a "Incense Stick Brand" Become?
If the story ended with incense sticks, Sagrada Madre might still be a successful imported brand. However, its ambition is obviously more than that.
According to 36Kr, Sagrada Madre's expansion in 2026 will be carried out in two dimensions - category extension and market expansion.
In terms of categories, the Greater China team of Sagrada Madre has obtained authorization from the group to exclusively develop beauty and personal care products, including body care, and lifestyle categories around the fragrance element. Currently, the team is jointly researching and developing with the Argentine headquarters. The first body care product is expected to be launched in the third quarter of this year. "We start from 'body' care rather than facial care because this is more in line with the brand's overall positioning of 'natural healing'," Zhang Chi explained the logic. For this reason, Sagrada Madre plans to open its first multi - layer comprehensive experience store this year to accommodate a richer product line and immersive experience.
In terms of the market, the goal for 2026 is clearly quantified: to reach the first milestone of triple growth. The implementation paths include: deepening the full - domain online layout; continuously expanding offline specialty stores; launching the super - large store project; and developing a distribution network, planning to cooperate with more than 100 high - end supermarkets, boutique stores, and beauty collection stores.
Meanwhile, Sagrada Madre's Greater China business will also extend overseas, with Thailand selected as the first stop, serving as a strategic fulcrum for entering the Southeast Asian market. This means that the Chinese market is not only a sales destination but may also become a place to feed back and export its brand model and operational experience.
In Zhang Chi's view, the core barrier of Sagrada Madre is a system: "At the front - end is product strength and the supply chain, that is, the production capacity and natural quality guaranteed by the Argentine factory with a thousand employees; in the middle is the sincere expression of brand culture and values; at the back - end is the full - domain operation and localization innovation ability."
When a wisp of South American aroma slowly rises in the urban space, it carries not only the smell but also a way to reconnect with nature. For Sagrada Madre, expansion is just a path, and the original intention is to protect nature and the sense of ritual in life. In an era of increasing pace, this slowly burning aroma may be reminding people to leave a little quietness and warmth for the world and for themselves.