Every year, as Holi approaches, millions of packets of gulal and Holi rang leave a single district in Uttar Pradesh and fan out across India, the United Kingdom, the United States, Mauritius, Fiji, the UAE, South Africa, and dozens of other countries. That district is Hathras. If you have ever thrown herbal gulal at Holi — wherever in the world you celebrated — there is a strong chance it was made here.
Hathras is not widely known outside the colour trade. It does not have the brand recognition of Varanasi’s silk or Agra’s marble. But within the Holi colour industry, it is as central as Detroit once was to automobiles or Sheffield to steel. This is the city that makes the colours of India’s most joyful festival, and has done so for generations.
This article explains how that happened — the geography, the cultural connections, the industrial evolution, the quality revolution that moved the industry from chemical dyes to EN71-certified herbal powders, and how Hathras colour now travels to diaspora communities on six continents.
Why Hathras? The Braj Connection
Hathras sits in the western part of Uttar Pradesh, in a region known as Braj Bhoomi — the sacred land associated with Lord Krishna’s childhood and the origin of Holi as a festival. Mathura, Vrindavan, Barsana, and Nandgaon are all within 60–90 kilometres. This is where the festival was born. Lathmar Holi at Barsana, the Phoolon Wali Holi at Vrindavan, and the week-long celebrations across the Braj region predate any commercial colour industry by centuries.
The proximity to this cultural heartland gave Hathras something no other region could manufacture: a natural, deeply-rooted demand for Holi colours, year after year, generation after generation. Where there is sustained demand, industry follows. The earliest colour traders in Hathras were supplying pilgrims and local temples long before they were exporting to the UK.
There is also a practical geography at work. Hathras lies at the intersection of rail and road routes connecting Delhi, Agra, and Kanpur — three of North India’s major wholesale distribution hubs. Finished colour packed in Hathras can reach any major city in India within 24–48 hours by road, or be loaded onto trains heading to sea ports. When export markets opened up in the 1990s and 2000s, Hathras manufacturers could ship to JNPT Mumbai or Mundra without the logistics complexity that more remote manufacturing clusters face.
Raw materials — mica, talc, corn starch, natural botanical pigments, and various mineral carriers — are sourced from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Gujarat, all of which have well-established freight routes through western Uttar Pradesh. The supply chain flows naturally toward Hathras.
The Scale of Hathras’s Holi Colour Industry
Hathras and the surrounding Hathras district host dozens of colour manufacturing units, ranging from large organised factories employing hundreds of workers to smaller family enterprises with specialist expertise in particular formulations or packaging types. The cluster includes manufacturers of dry gulal powder, Holi rang (the traditional chemical-based colour used in dibbi tins), rangoli powders, and increasingly, premium herbal and organic gulal formulations designed for regulated export markets.
Production is highly seasonal, concentrated in the October-to-February window ahead of Holi. During peak season, the district’s manufacturing units operate at full capacity, filling air pouches, tin dibbis, kraft bags, and export cartons. Workers — many of them from the surrounding agricultural communities — move into the colour trade during this period. After Holi, some manufacturers pivot to rangoli colours and pooja samagri for the remainder of the festival calendar: Diwali, Navratri, Ganesh Chaturthi, and other occasions that use coloured powders in ritual contexts.
The Hathras cluster does not compete on a single price point or product tier. At one end are large-volume commodity producers supplying discount channels and institutional bulk buyers across India. At the other end are specialist exporters producing EN71-certified herbal gulal for regulated markets in Europe, the UK, and North America, where safety standards govern what chemical concentrations are permitted in products marketed for skin contact. The same city supplies both — which is part of what makes it a genuine industrial hub rather than a single-segment cluster.
From Chemical Dyes to Herbal Gulal: The Quality Revolution
The Hathras colour industry did not begin with herbal formulations. Like most of India’s traditional colour trade, early production relied on synthetic dyes — including some that carried health risks. Malachite green, rhodamine B, lead chromate, and other industrial pigments found their way into festival colours sold to consumers who had no means of verifying what they were putting on their skin.
The shift began in the 1990s and accelerated through the 2000s, driven by three forces simultaneously: consumer health awareness in India, regulatory requirements in export markets, and the emergence of a premium segment of buyers willing to pay more for certified-safe products.
EN71 Part 3 — the European toy safety standard for chemical migration and heavy metals — became the benchmark for export-quality herbal gulal. Meeting EN71 requires a complete reformulation: out go synthetic dyes, in come botanical pigments derived from flowers (especially tesu, the flame of the forest), herbs, mica, corn starch, and other materials with documented safety profiles. Every batch must be tested by an accredited laboratory and accompanied by a Certificate of Analysis.
Hathras manufacturers were among the first in India to adopt EN71-compliant formulations, because they were among the first to have meaningful export relationships. The discipline required — consistent sourcing, controlled production, documented testing — raised the baseline quality across the cluster. Today, EN71 certification is a standard expectation for any serious export buyer, and Hathras manufacturers are well-equipped to provide it alongside full export documentation: MSDS, Certificate of Origin, and phytosanitary certificates where required.
Within India, the herbal formulation shift has been slower but steady. Urban consumers, particularly in metro cities, have moved toward products labelled “herbal,” “organic,” and “skin-safe.” This has created a premium domestic segment alongside the traditional commodity market — a bifurcation that mirrors what happened in the export trade a decade earlier.
What Hathras Manufactures: A Guide to the Products
The Hathras colour cluster produces a range of products beyond simple gulal powder. Understanding the product types helps importers, wholesalers, and retailers source the right category for their market.
Herbal Gulal (Loose Powder)
The signature product of the cluster. Fine powder in vibrant colours — red, yellow, green, blue, pink, orange, purple, and white — packaged in retail air pouches (typically 40g, 50g, or 100g) or bulk bags for industrial repacking. Herbal gulal is skin-safe, non-staining on most fabrics, and water-soluble. The EN71-certified variants are suitable for the UK, EU, USA, and most other regulated markets.
Holi Rang (Traditional Colour in Dibbi)
The older category — denser, more intensely pigmented colour packaged in tin dibbis (small round tins) or plastic containers. Holi Rang has a stronger fixative on skin and fabric. It remains popular in domestic India and in diaspora communities with traditional preferences. Available in 150g and 200g container sizes from Hathras manufacturers.
Rangoli Colours
Fine powder for creating floor art (rangoli) during Diwali, Navratri, and other festivals. Sold in cone pouches or flat zip-lock pouches, typically in 200g and 500g sizes. Rangoli powder requires different properties than gulal — it must flow cleanly from cones, have high opacity for bold patterns, and be available in an extended colour range (12 or more colours). Hathras produces both standard and premium rangoli powders.
Pooja Samagri and Havan Samagri
Ritual products used in Hindu worship: havan (sacred fire) powder blends, dhoop (incense) preparations, and ceremonial accessories. Hathras manufacturers produce these alongside colour products, reflecting the broader religious goods economy of the Braj region.
Custom-Packaged and OEM Products
A growing share of Hathras output goes into OEM and private label arrangements — products manufactured under a buyer’s brand rather than the factory’s. Importers in the UK, event companies running Holi runs in Europe and North America, and supermarket chains building their own seasonal category all source OEM gulal from Hathras. The minimum order quantities, lead times, and packaging options vary by manufacturer.
How Hathras Holi Colour Reaches 25+ Countries
The export journey of Hathras colour begins months before Holi. Export orders are typically placed between October and December for the following year’s Holi, which falls in February or March. Sea freight from JNPT Mumbai to the UK takes approximately 21–28 days; to the USA East Coast, around 30–35 days; to the UAE, 7–10 days; to Mauritius and Fiji, 14–21 days.
The primary export destinations for Hathras-made Holi colour include:
- United Kingdom — the largest diaspora market, with Indian communities in Leicester, Birmingham, London, Bradford, and many other cities celebrating Holi at scale. UK imports require EN71-certified herbal gulal due to General Product Safety Directive requirements. Holi colour for the UK market must meet specific documentation standards.
- United Arab Emirates — a large Indian expatriate population and growing Holi celebration culture. UAE exports are typically LCL sea freight or air freight for smaller urgent orders.
- United States — Holi runs organised by universities and community groups have created new demand channels beyond traditional diaspora retail. USA Holi colour imports require compliant formulations and MSDS documentation.
- Mauritius and Fiji — countries with large Indo-Mauritian and Indo-Fijian communities where Holi is a national cultural event, not a niche celebration. Colour consumption per capita in these markets is high relative to population.
- South Africa, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Trinidad and Tobago, Suriname — all active markets for Hathras colour, each with its own logistical and regulatory requirements.
For smaller export markets, consolidation through freight forwarders in Mumbai allows Hathras exporters to reach buyers who cannot justify a full container load. LCL (less-than-container-load) sea freight has made export accessible even to importers ordering 500 kg–2 MT of gulal — quantities that would have been impractical to ship internationally two decades ago.
Shakti Enterprises: SHREE Brand Gulal Since 1986
Shakti Enterprises has been manufacturing Holi colour in Hathras since 1986. Founded by Late Shree Ram Gopal Goyal, the business grew from a local colour trader into an organised manufacturer supplying wholesale buyers across India and, from the 1990s onward, export markets across the world.
The SHREE brand is Shakti Enterprises’ product label — the brand that appears on the air pouches, tin dibbis, and gift boxes that leave the factory. Under the Shaktirang banner (the house name), SHREE herbal gulal and Holi rang are now exported to 15+ countries with EN71 Part 3 certification, Certificate of Analysis, and full export documentation standard with every shipment.
Shakti Enterprises under proprietor Devendra Goyal holds Udyam registration (UDYAM-UP-36-0001096) and a valid GSTIN (09AEAPG3462N1ZC). The factory is located at Ghas Mandi, opp. SBI Bank, Chawar Gate, Hathras — in the centre of the town’s trading district, where the colour trade has always been conducted.
The business offers both branded SHREE products for retail and OEM/private label manufacturing for importers and brands who want their own label on Hathras-made colour. With 39+ years of manufacturing experience, Shakti Enterprises combines the institutional knowledge of the Hathras cluster with the quality systems required for regulated export markets.
For buyers looking to source herbal gulal, Holi rang, rangoli colours, or pooja samagri directly from a Hathras manufacturer, contact the Shaktirang team or reach us on WhatsApp at +91 86792 30972.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hathras the only place in India that makes Holi colour?
Hathras is the largest and most established manufacturing cluster, but it is not the only one. Smaller clusters exist in other parts of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, Hathras dominates the export-quality herbal gulal segment and is the primary source for import buyers seeking EN71-certified products with full documentation.
Are Hathras Holi colours safe for children?
EN71-certified herbal gulal manufactured in Hathras is formulated to be skin-safe, including for use by children. The EN71 Part 3 standard specifically tests for chemical migration and heavy metal limits. Always verify that the gulal you are buying carries an actual EN71 certification with a laboratory report, not just a marketing label.
Can I buy directly from a Hathras manufacturer as an overseas importer?
Yes. Most organised Hathras manufacturers export directly, handling freight booking, documentation, and customs paperwork themselves or through freight forwarders. Minimum order quantities for export typically start at 500 kg per colour. For OEM or private label orders, minimums depend on the packaging option chosen. Contact manufacturers directly to discuss your requirements.
What is the difference between gulal and Holi rang?
Gulal is a fine, loose powder traditionally applied by hand during Holi — rubbed gently on the cheeks or thrown in the air. It is lighter and more skin-friendly. Holi rang (also called dry colour or abeer) is denser, more intensely pigmented, and packaged in tins or containers. Rang has stronger colour deposit on skin and fabric. Both are made in Hathras; the choice depends on your intended use and market preference.
How far in advance should I place export orders for Holi?
For Holi 2027 (2 March 2027), export buyers should place confirmed orders no later than October–November 2026. This allows 4–6 weeks for production, 2–3 weeks for documentation and container booking, and 10–35 days for sea freight transit depending on destination. Late orders risk stock shortages during peak production season or missing the celebration date due to freight delays.
The City Behind Every Packet of Gulal
Hathras does not announce itself. You will not find it in tourism brochures or trending travel lists. But every year, as Holi approaches, this quiet district in western Uttar Pradesh quietly supplies the colour that makes the festival what it is — for temple celebrations in Vrindavan, for community events in Leicester, for Holi runs in Los Angeles, and for family gatherings in Mauritius, Fiji, and Trinidad.
The cluster has evolved — from chemical to herbal, from domestic-only to global export, from commodity to certified premium. But the core of what it does has not changed since the trade began: making the colours that let people celebrate together.
If you are sourcing herbal gulal, Holi rang, or rangoli colours for your market, Shaktirang’s team at Shakti Enterprises is available to discuss your requirements. View wholesale options, explore our OEM and private label service, or reach us directly at [email protected] or +91 86792 30972.