Tata Tea's new outlet
Between the roadside chai shop and the high-end tea restaurant lies a gap that is too large to overlook. India’s leading branded tea seller, Tata Tea, sees this as a market untapped. The business potential? The company is tightlipped about it, but it is determined to capture this market over the next five to seven years with a splash of its Chai Unchai, the first outlet of which has come up on the IIM Bangalore campus. The company has lined up several such shops across India’s urban landscape. But don’t ask how many. The company will not reveal any numbers at this stage. How are they to look? “It’s neither a kiosk nor a parlour,”’ is how Tata Tea Executive Director Sangeeta Talwar tries to explain. If the IIM Bangalore outlet is anything to go by (see picture), then these will be movable ones with seating space created at the top for the customers to sit and enjoy their cuppa. If the company finds business at any particular location unviable, it can just remove the tent and pitch it elsewhere. Shopping malls, colleges, university campuses and public places are where they will spring up in the days to come.
Unchai outlets are a response to the changing tastes of youth. “Youngsters need a place to relax where they don’t have to live up to any expectations. The unique retail format provides a place where consumers can have real masti to suit their mood,” says Tata Tea’s General Manager (Marketing & Sales), Pankaj Dant. In a country that’s estimated to consume 400 billion cups of tea a year, Chai Unchai may well find its niche.
— K.R. Balasubramanyam
