Wagh Bakri Tea Group leverages data to understand evolving consumers’ taste: Tarun Vijh

Tarun Vijh, CIO of Wagh Bakri Tea Group, is well versed with how technology drives business, having tackled the CIO role at the tea establishment for the last 3 and a half years. In his tenure, he has created a roadmap for the over 100-year-old erstwhile tea organization wherein digital transformation has taken centre stage, revamping procurement processes and business trends.

To frame in context, India is the second largest producer and largest consumer of tea, consuming nearly 30 percent of the world’s tea output. From being the beverage of royalty to the comfort of millions, tea’s burgeoning production has made it an economical choice.

Reports state that the revenue generated in the ‘Tea’ segment of the hot drinks market in India was forecast to continuously increase from now to 2029 by a total of 9.7 billion U.S. dollars, and currently stands at 22.39 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. Wagh Bakri is part of this booming industry, deftly driving business with a blend of strategy and technology.

Enhancing productivity with digitization

Digital transformation is integral to Wagh Bakri, with the organization undertaking a business process reengineering exercise to understand where they could usher in digitization within the processes to enhance productivity. This exercise yielded the right data, which was dispensed to different departments to take swift action to implement it.

Tarun explains about the parameters of consistency using which tea is appraised – CTSB, or Colour, Taste, Smell and Business. He says, “When we purchase tea from varied gardens, the input is not consistent, but the output should be for our customers because every specific brand has a unique taste and colour.”

Earlier, these processes occurred outside the system during tea procuration. With increasing digitization, all the steps were brought within the system, and the CTSB parameters were digitized, which has speed up the process.

The popularity of tea as a beverage has been unquestionable in India, but now tea has garnered sizeable popularity in other countries as well. Tarun admits that the company is staying abreast of evolving customer tastes and health-conscious movements with their foray into variants such as green tea. Using data, the brand is running several digital campaigns to gain more consumer insights and understand consumer demands.

Putting the AI in ‘Chai’

Wagh Bakri is implementing Artificial Intelligence across the organization in innovative ways, involving the emerging technology in the procurement as well as the blending process. AI engines help them take strategic decisions which would otherwise be taken manually, and is driving cybersecurity efforts as well. Automated AI/ ML systems are also helping them with product pricing.

When discussing how adoption of AI affects human resources, Tarun reassures that introducing robotic process automation is a way to ease manual efforts. “The merit of technology is not to replace people, but to help them, optimise their work and simplify operations,” says Tarun.

Cultivating sustainability

Wagh Bakri is leveraging technology to promote sustainable practices, both in cultivation and packaging. Tarun elucidates, “At Wagh Bakri, the majority of our tea is sourced from certified gardens only. During production, sustainability practices are adhered to as a compliance practice, with all plastics that are consumed in packaging and production being recycled using environment-friendly methods. We have also set up huge solar plants so that the majority of the electricity we consume is sourced from renewable sources only, which is a huge win in our sustainability efforts.”

Change management with technology

The era when a CDIO’s role was only that of a technological leader is long past. In an organization like Wagh Bakri, where IT practices need to be as sound as the business itself, Tarun and his team work to provide value addition through competent change management within the organization.

The technology revolution within the organization is gaining a lot of support from internal stakeholders, confirms Tarun. His efforts are oriented towards business alignment, not just technology in a silo. “Ultimately, there is no replacement for the human X-factor, the creativity and intelligence that a person can bring,” concludes Tarun Vijh.