How Society Tea broke tradition and ditched housewives to woo young India

In an era of hyper-caffeinated marketing, Society Tea aims to be a household staple that prefers the slow-brew approach to brand building. Founded nearly 90 years ago by Hiravan Pranjivandas, the brand is now being steered by his grandson, Dhaval Shah, director of Society Tea.

In conversation with afaqs!, the third-generation leader breaks down how the legacy brand maintains its "28% market share in Maharashtra" while pivoting to meet the "aspirational" demands of a younger, digital-first India.

Tea as it should be

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While competitors often lean into social awakening or functional pick-me-ups, Shah, with the quiet confidence of a man whose family has occupied Indian tea cabinets for nearly a century, keeps the brand’s promise startlingly simple.

"Our tagline is 'Tea as it should be.' It’s as simple as that. Society Tea makes my tea; that’s the core of it."

He claims that back when all tea brands were using red and yellow for their packaging, Society Tea decided to do things differently and went ahead with blue, which has now become the brand's signature colour. 

The Indian tea market was valued at $11.86 billion in 2025, and it is expected to reach $15.44 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 2.98%, according to a report by International Market Analysis Research and Consulting (IMARC) Group. 

Loose tea leaves make up about 40% of the unorganised Indian tea market. Among branded players, Tata Tea (21%) and HUL with Brooke Bond Red Label, Taj Mahal, and Taaza (19%) lead nationally.

Society Tea is also among the leading players nationally, but it dominates Maharashtra with a 28% share, according to the brand.

Shah notes that utmost care is taken in the Society Tea factories to ensure that the cup of tea the customer consumes tastes the same every morning, because that sets a precedent for how their day will proceed. 

A lot goes into achieving that.

From the plantation to your tea cup

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Each Society Tea packet is sealed with a carefully curated blend from various tea plantations across India.

The unique flavour of your cup of tea may be attributed to tea dust sourced from one plantation, a coarse grind from another, and whole leaves from yet another.  

While "single-origin" may be the buzzword for coffee and chocolate connoisseurs, multi-sourcing several batches of tea from different plantations with a diverse flavour profile is what a typical day for Dhaval looks like at the factory.

And the several hundred tea-tasting sessions that happen every day, of course. 

Fun fact: According to the Tea Act of 1953, the tea plantations cannot simply sell their best batches of tea. They need to auction them to the highest bidder through public auctions rather than private deals. Samples of the tea to be auctioned (now digitally) are dispatched to the bidders in advance so that they can bid on their preferred lots to maintain consistency in their blends. 

The evolving consumer: beyond the housewife

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For decades, the gatekeeper of the kitchen was the primary target audience for Society. However, the rise of nuclear families and shared domestic responsibilities has forced a shift in the brand's media buying strategy.

"Unsurprisingly, our target audience was ladies, housewives. Mainly because they used to pick up tea from the market. Now, it’s shifting. Even men in nuclear families go to the market with their wives on weekends. We now shoot Instagram ads to men over 35 so that when they see the brand on the shelf, they recall it and say, 'I’ve seen this on Instagram; why don't we try it?'"

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Society Tea currently targets men and women between the ages of 25 and 65. However, for the demographic under 25, the brand isn't trying to force-feed traditional tea. 

Instead, it is diversifying its portfolio. In 2019, Society Tea acquired Tea Culture of the World, a premium speciality tea brand that offers exotic fruit and flower teas.

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"Under 25 is where 'Tea Culture of the World' comes in, fruit bliss comes in, and iced teas come in. That's how we appeal to the younger generation."

Society has also launched a range of bottled iced teas for the younger consumers. 

Consumers may one day find themselves visiting an experiential tea centre for the Tea Culture of the World (TCW), similar to the Sancha Tea Boutique or the Taj Mahal Tea House.

While Society Tea caters to the masses, TCW aims to offer a more premium experience. “We're going to launch it at, say, Jio World Plaza, where all the Louis Vuittons and all are there,” says Shah.  

The premiumisation wave

As Indian consumers trade up across categories, Shah observes a similar pattern in tea. He compares the evolution of a tea drinker to that of a spirits connoisseur.

"It's not about being more expensive; it's about being aspirational. Think of it like whisky. People start with normal blended whisky, move to Black Label, and suddenly, they are into the world of single malts. That’s what’s happening with tea in India.”

Interestingly, Society Tea’s most premium offering, the Black Pack, thrives almost entirely on word-of-mouth.

‘We don’t even market our best tea, to be honest. But once you have the Black Pack, there’s no going back."

From B2B to B2C and B2B again

While Society Tea is recognised nationally, its core identity is rooted in Western India.

"We are market leaders in Mumbai and Maharashtra. In Maharashtra, we have a good 24% to 28% market share, which is the highest."

In fact, Society Tea began in 1933 at Mumbai’s Chai Gali in Masjid Bunder by the tea wholesaler Hiravan Pranjivandas. Originally a B2B brand, Society later became famous for its B2C business. 

The brand, however, still sells tea to restaurants, cafes and corporate offices in its B2B vertical. Coffee pre-mixes and even ghee (a by-product of their milk powder production) are also sold directly to businesses. 

Regarding the brand's ghee business, Shah reveals a unique supply-chain-led marketing approach:

"We don’t want to market ghee at all because whatever is produced is being consumed. If my milk powder sales increase, my production of ghee increases. Only if I know a surplus is coming will we start marketing it."

Marketing mix after 'the death of print'

Perhaps the most significant shift for the 90-year-old brand has been its departure from traditional newsprint in favour of digital marketing.

"Till pre-COVID, we did a lot of print. On big days like Diwali or Christmas, we used to have a whole page. But newspaper circulation is dying down. I’d rather flash an ad on the Times of India app than the Times of India newspaper."

Society has also recently launched its Instagram page, and as evidenced by the embeds in this story, they take festivities and international days very seriously. 

The brand’s current strategy focuses on a mix of digital, outdoor, and BTL (Below the Line) activations. The latter includes:

• In-Shop Promotions: Eye-catching displays, branded racks, or posters placed inside local grocery stores and supermarkets.
• Sampling Stalls: Setting up "experience kiosks" at malls or residential complexes where people can taste the tea before purchasing a pack. Recently, Society partnered with Kala Ghoda Arts Festival in Mumbai and conducted tea tasting sessions, in addition to putting up a kiosk at the fest.

According to Shah, currently, the brand is focusing on digital and outdoor campaigns. "Like our recent outdoor campaign, where we showed a blue teacup and let the audience fill in the blanks; you see it, and you recall the name yourself."

Shah refers to Society Tea's Fill in the Blanks campaign, a minimalist outdoor execution that featured only an iconic blue teacup and a partial sentence, trusting the audience’s brand association to subconsciously complete the name "Society" without seeing the logo.

Perhaps Society Tea is trying to prove that if you brew it right, the audience will not only drink your tea, they’ll even finish your sentences for you.