STiR coffee and tea magazine

STiR coffee and tea 21 agh Bakri has never focused on growth at breakneck speed, yet it remains the third-largest packaged tea company in India. While the world moves at lightning speed, 132-year-old Wagh Bakri Tea Group still believes that slow and steady wins the race. The brand rules the hearts of 1.44 billion Indian tea drinkers today and has been clear about its business ethos from day one. Quality, customer satisfaction, and brand value have helped it not only earn loyal customers but also the badge of Regional Goliath. "We never had this thirst to become a regional or national leader. Our single focus has been our customers," says Mr Paras Desai, a fourth genera- tion ambitious and visionary entrepreneur at Wagh Bakri Tea Group, One of India's largest packaged tea companies, with a business legacy spanning over 100 years. "We are rapidly becoming the preferred tea brand nationally and interna- tionally, present in 60-plus countries," says Mr Subodh Shah, President-In- ternational Business. The company has been awarded "India's Most Trusted Tea Brand" by the prestigious Trust Research Advisory report three years in a row. The survey was conducted through syndicated consumer-influencer research across 16 cities by the Statistical Institute of India. The legacy brand founded by Shri Narandas Desai celebrated its 105th year in India. In 1892, he started the tea business by leasing 500 acres in Dur- ban, South Africa. But racial discrimination forced him to follow his mentor, Mahatma Gandhi, back to India in 1915. He sailed back home with a certifi- cate signed by Gandhiji, which read, "I knew Shri Narandas Desai in South Africa, where he was for a number of years a successful tea planter." This served as a token of help to ease migration in the homeland. And there was no turning back thereafter. A STRONG BREW The founder, Shri Narandas Desai started the Gujarat Tea Depot Co shop in Ahmedabad (India) to sell processed tea. His sons (Mr Ochhavlal, Mr Ramdas, and Mr Kantilal) grew the business to sev- en shops across the city. The third generation—Mr Piyush Desai, Mr Pankaj Desai, and Mr Rasesh De- sai—moved into the packaged tea business in 1980. At the regional level, Wagh Bakri competes with regional brands. On the national front, it is the third-largest packaged tea company after Tata and HUL. The group's market share stands at 8%. Local players are the biggest competitors. Wagh Bakri's art of blending remains its unique selling point as it crafts blends that suit regional tastes. Each direc- tor of the company tastes around 400-500 samples every day, customizing the blends. Fourth generation entrepreneurs Mr Parag Desai and Mr Paras Desai, joined the business in 1995, took charge of expanding outside Ahmed- abad and also introduced the e-commerce plat- form buytea.com 20 years ago. It has gradually started generating sales, and about 7.5% of rev- enue comes from e-tail. The household brand has a capacity of 50 million kg of tea distribution. Spread across 60,000 square yards of land on the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Wagh Bakri has two composite factories where the material is stored, blended, packed, and dispatched. This also in- cludes NABL-accredited testing laboratories. The brand has a presence across 24 states, ex- ports to 60 plus countries, and sold 48 million ki- lograms of tea last year. It is a brand leader in the USA in the Indian ethnic market and also has a strong foothold in Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and many more markets. About 9% of business comes from the international market. The promoters don't wish to take the com- pany public. "Those who have requirements for funds for quick growth and quick everything go public," says Mr Paras Desai, Executive Direc- tor. "Here, we are talking about habit formation, which always happens at a slow pace by design. We've seen so many examples in front of us. Even if they had good quality, they had other issues." Mr Priyam Parikh concedes. For years, the company has primarily focused on selling, distribution, and expansion. "We're not your typical FMCG com- pany. We still run in a conservative manner," says the fifth-generation entrepreneur who joined the business in 2009. Wagh Bakri has opened 52 tea lounges and plans to add more this year, amidst the growing trend of tea cafes in India. Most of them are in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, and Goa. The idea is to popularize tea as a preferred beverage. The tea lounge business is growing 12-14% year over year. The best-performing lounge is the one on the Pune-Mumbai expressway and another in Delhi's Connaught Place. W Wagh Bakri management: Seated left-Mr. Rasesh Desai, MD & Vice Chairman. Top left-Mr. Priyam Parikh, Whole Time Director. Top right-Mr. Paras Desai, Executive Director. Seated right-Mrs. Vidisha Parag Desai, Whole Time Director. SPONSORED CONTENT : WAGH BAKRI

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