WAGH BAKRI TEA: WINNING BLENDS

A century old and going strong, this Ahmedabad-headquartered company has established a taste for its teas all over India and in many countries abroad.

- Sekhar Seshan

What is the biggest thing Wagh Bakri has achieved in its 100-year history? Piyush Desai, a grandson of the company’s founder Narandas Desai, has a one-word answer: Quality. “We have successfully managed to keep our quality standards very high for our discerning consumers even though we have gone through various trade and industry upheavals and seen challenging times including significant industry disruptions,” says Piyushbhai, who is the Chairman and Managing Director of the company. “We have also kept expanding our distribution and adding new products over the years.”

For this, he explains, Wagh Bakri has created a robust supply chain to get quality teas, put up multi-location tasting facilities and invested in a new-age tea tasting laboratory -which is possibly the first NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) certified lab for a tea company. “Concurrently, we have invested in distribution, packaging and marketing as well, so that we can create a right impression about the quality of our products in the minds of our consumers,” he points out.

“Our current and next generations, which are a potent mix of best professionals and owners, is more than qualified to carry our legacy forward,” Piyushbhai adds. “They are also among the best tea tasters and marketeers in the industry.” He himself is an expert tea taster and evaluator, besides being the backbone of company in financial and taxation matters.