Wahg Bakri Tea Experience

Thursday July 8, 2010:

Our first Indian advertising industry visit today ended up pre-empting our scheduled class time. We were slated to visit Wagh Bakri Tea (pronounced "vahg bock-ree") in the morning and then return to MICA in time for our afternoon Research Methodology class. However, the industry visit took until late in the afternoon, so plans changed. I'm so glad they did! Our time at Wagh Bakri was exceptional.

Wagh Bakri is a local Gujarati company that has been in existence for over 100 years. They are a very popular brand in India (particularly in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra (Mumbai), Andhra Pradesh (Hyderabad), and Delhi). They also import to several countries, including Asian/ethnic markets in the U.S. We first traveled to their production facility outside of Ahmedabad. There we were introduced to their operational staff and were able to tour the plant. We sampled their delicious Masala Chai (spiced) tea blend. We saw the tea storage area, the loading/unloading area, the blending area where the various estate teas are mixed into the different Wagh Bakri labeled brands, and the production area where the teas are bagged and boxed. They have some very state-of-the-art equipment that produces 250 filled and sealed tea bags a minute, and without the need of stapling. Following our tour we were given samples of their delicious Darjeeling blend (with lemon juice and sugar). Then we loaded back onto our vans and traveled to Wagh Bakri's corporate headquarters. At the headquarters we viewed the tea tasting room, where they decide from which estates they will purchase their tea leaves and also how they will blend those various estate leaves into their proprietary label blends. Then we saw a presentation from their ad agency on Wagh Bakri branding and their advertising efforts. We also sampled the Wagh Bakri flagship brand (iced) as well as hot (with milk and sugar). The entire management came to meet us, and they gave us lunch and personalized gifts as well (engraved pens, plus a box of the Masala Chai blend). They could not have been more gracious or informative. Plus, all of the teas we sampled were delicious! I think they have many new converts to tea drinking, plus many new Wagh Bakri customers after that experience. 

After our time there, we headed into the city for some shopping at dinner. My favorite of the stores that we visited was a clothing/textile store called Anokhi. They had beautiful fabrics. I purchased several patterns in scarves as well as boxers, handkerchiefs, coin purses, etc. And the prices were so low! I can't believe how far the American dollar goes in India. I'm on a tight budget, but thankfully I can still buy beautiful gifts in India for very little money. Our dinner was at a wonderful restaurant named Chawlas. We ate family-style, and everything I tried was great. I particularly liked the Afghani Chicken, which was mild and very well-roasted. Great way to end a fabulous day!

To see more photos of my time in India, go to http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=67693&id=1493536168&l=6effaaef67 or connect with me on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/alexandra.watson . You can also find me on Twitter as "abcwatson".