Q1. Society Tea has built a strong legacy over the decades. How do you balance preserving the brand’s heritage while ensuring it remains relevant to younger consumers?
Our heritage of over nine decades isn’t a constraint — it’s our credibility. The core promise stays untouched: “Tea as it should be,” the same consistent cup every morning, and our signature blue pack. What evolves is how and where we show up. We let newer formats — iced teas, green teas, ready-to-drink and our specialty range, Tea Culture of the World — carry the conversation with younger consumers, while the classic blend continues to anchor the household. We’re also channel-agnostic: wherever the customer moves, we follow
Q2. What are some of the most significant shifts in consumer preferences and tea consumption habits that you have observed in recent years?
Convenience is now the default — quick commerce has fundamentally changed how people buy, and it’s no longer a metro phenomenon; it’s already in around 100 cities and will reach many more over the next two to three years. Also the way people drink tea is broadening: the hot cup of chai remains a deeply emotional daily ritual, but younger consumers are also reaching for newer choices like iced teas, ready-to-drink, green teas & Matcha for different occasions and moods.
Q3. Regional markets continue to play a critical role in India’s growth story. How does Society Tea tailor its communication and consumer engagement across diverse markets?
Maharashtra is our home and our stronghold, so the depth of connection there is different — we’re part of the daily ritual. We also respect that India brews differently: stronger in one region, more milk in another, spices elsewhere — and our blends are engineered to perform across all of it. On communication, we localise language, festivals and cultural context rather than running a single national message. On-ground activations and regional moments matter as much as our digital presence. The principle is the same everywhere — meet the consumer in their context, not ours.
Q4. How has the rise of digital and content-driven marketing changed the way Society Tea connects with consumers today?
It has changed almost everything. We’re now digital-first in our communication and the biggest shift is D2C and quick commerce becoming direct lines to the consumer. Our D2C platform lets us tell the full Society Tea story and take newer formats — iced teas, green tea and ready-to-drink — straight to the buyers who are most likely to try them, while quick commerce, where we were early movers, puts us in the cart at the moment of need. At the same time, our digital campaigns help us reach customers across the country and build awareness that flows back into traditional trade, which remains a continued focus for us.
Q5. Can you share a recent campaign or initiative that delivered strong consumer engagement and the key learnings from it?
Our Amazon box packaging campaign, “Taazgi Bhari Pyaali,” won Silver at the e4m Neons 2025. We turned the delivery box itself into media at the exact moment of unboxing — reaching the consumer where their attention already was, and rewarding it with something delightful rather than interruptive. Our “Fill in the Blanks” outdoor reinforced a related lesson: trust your brand assets. When equity is strong enough, the consumer finishes your sentence for you.
Q6. Looking ahead, what are your key priorities for Society Tea, and what opportunities excite you most about the brand’s future growth journey?
The priority is to grow on two fronts : deepening traditional trade, which remains the backbone of the business, and scaling digital, e-commerce and quick commerce so Society Tea is present wherever the customer is.
Building a stronger national footprint is central to that, taking the brand well beyond its core markets. At the same time, the focus is on growing the younger-consumer portfolio — iced teas, ready-to-drink and green teas — and patiently building Tea Culture of the World into a premium pillar for the brand.
