We will continue reinventing 'magical beverage moments: Rishi Chadha, TGBL

India is a country, which starts its mornings with a cup of tea and the legacy is continuing. Well, it is very sporadic that we do not serve our guests this beverage. Be it with pakoras on a rainy day or winters or summers, Chai is omnipresent in India. Tea is not just the beverage for us; a steaming cup of tea also acts as an energy booster and plays a very vital role in our day-to-day lives. This morning and evening drink is preferred so much, that many Indians have this drink at least twice in a day and can go until thrice during long tedious days.

A quick history about this favorite beverage of India- the tea industry was brought to India by the British. We all know that Darjeeling is one of the places where you will find the best of this beverage and British East India Company adopted the technique over there in the 19th century.

We are now the second largest tea producer in the world with production of around 1,197.18 million kg in 2014-15. Out of this, around 955.82 million kg was produced in North India and 241.36 million kg was produced in South India. In addition, India is ranked fourth (after Russian Federation, Iran and UK) in terms of tea exports, which reached the level of 197.81 million kg during 2014-15 as per the data by IBEF.

While we have almost adapted ourselves to all kinds of tea, be it masala chai, black tea, green tea, herbal ones, etc…the trends in tea industry are changing with players continuously striving for innovation to gain a larger portion of the pie.

In one such initiative, Tata Global Beverages, the US$1.4bn beverage major, out of which tea contributes around 70% to its top line number, has recently come up with an innovative campaign.

The largest tea brand, which has Tata Tea, Tetley, Himalayan natural mineral water, Tata Water Plus, Tata Gluco+, Good Earth tea, Grand Coffee and Eight O’clock coffee in its portfolio, has introduced Tata Tea Fusion. Its recent offering is a variation and twist to the Assam tea and depicts the spunky catchphrase ‘Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyaali Ho and Chai Jaise Chahe Waise Banaye.’ And it is so apropos, we Indians like to make our own tea with our signature tadka to it.

Be it dab of ginger, lemon, spices and condiments, everyone have their own definition about their ideal ‘Çhai’.

The video features legendary music director Anu Malik and stand-up comedians Abhish Mathew and Aditi Mittal and aims at striking conversations with the audience through music connect. The rap blends in fluently with the motive of the campaign, Chai Jaise Chahe Waise Banaye, urging viewers to find their much-needed relaxation while they battle through their stressful lives with a perfectly brewed cup of tea. Tata Tea Fusion is a twist on the widely consumed Assam Tea.

Similarly, this rap is a twist on the widely popular track – Ek Garam Chai Ki Pyaali Ho. Rishi Chadha, Head Marketing- Tea, Tata Global Beverages says, “This is a unique platform that we have adopted to bring alive an ultimate tea drinking experience – Tata Tea Fusion.” 

“We feel that this is a disruptive marketing mix in this category since we are focusing on content creation of this form in addition to the TVC and other mainline communication.”

Developed and conceptualized by the Creative team at Rediffusion/Edelman, this campaign cuts across the traditional campaign by TGB and is lot quirkier and peppier. The unique mix of rap song and young comedians definitely is apt to target the youth of the country. However, Rishi feels that that the target audience is not just restricted to young population of the country. “The rap targets tea lovers across the country’s huge geography. The video is a musical depiction of the day-to-day hitches one faces at his/her workplace and otherwise and how indulgence in a perfectly brewed cup of tea enables one to unwind in between the routine life pattern. Similar to all our previous campaigns, this initiative too is message driven and is an innovative means to connect with our audience. Yes, we strongly feel this initiative can reach and connect to masses all over the country. Music as we know is a catalyst connecting people across demographic and geographical constraints. Hence, we chose this platform to appeal to a larger audience and in a novel style”, he says.

“The video highlights issues/situations one undergoes at some point in their lives and how a brand like Tata Tea Fusion works as a companion to beat stress and relax”

Tata Global Beverage, which has strong brand equity connect with the consumers, is a second home for 3000+ employees with presence in over 40 countries across the globe. Talking about the promotional strategies, Rishi says, “We will amplify this though digital & PR. Anu Malik has a quirky personality. We have leveraged the same by doing banner ads that are memes with him starring in them. We kept the messaging contextual to the website where the banners appear.

So if you are on a financial news portal, you will see a quirky Anu Malik meme with two lines about the stock market dip. Apart from that, we are also using the social outreach that the Anu, Abish and Aditi bring to the table. We had put out teasers that created curiosity a week before the music video was released.”

The beverage market, irrespective of the challenges like labor unrest, climate change and stringent government regulations is growing every year.

Commenting on the trends forecasted for the coming years, Rishi believes that the global beverage industry plays a pivotal role in the country’s overall FMCG sector that has been growing at a very rapid rate. He expresses his views, “With the foray of global players in the market at a fast pace, this industry has been on a constant rise. In the coming months, the sector is expected to witness further boom with the mushrooming of more and more players.”

“Additionally, with the change in the consumer dynamics, this space anticipates generation of more employment opportunities that will in turn result in superior & innovative product offerings.”

The brand terms Tata Tea premium, Tata Tea Gold, Chakra Gold, Tetley Green Tea & Gemini as most profitable offerings among the bouquet of products they have. When asked about the outlook for the next few years, he adds, “We are constantly on look-out for what the consumer wants and we will continue to excite the beverage category & our consumers by introducing & reinventing several ‘magical beverage moments.”

Tata Tea is currently trading at 132.30 Rs on National Stock Exchange.