Industry Veterans Mourn Parag Desai’s Loss

Some people thought him to be a strong taskmaster, along with being a great human being – such was the persona of Parag Desai, Executive Director and 4th generation businessperson of Wagh Bakri Tea Group who recently lost his life in a mishap – media reports suggest that he was attacked by stray dogs, and suffered severe head injuries while fending them off.

With more than three decades of entrepreneurship experience, Desai was a renowned tea taster and also led international business, sales & marketing at the group, holding a turnover of more than Rs. 1500 crore ($200 million).

Desai was also active on leading industry platforms such as the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and many more international organisations. He has also played a pivotal role in guiding the Wagh Bakri Tea Group towards achieving various accolades by adopting innovative marketing, branding and packaging strategies, for which he was awarded by the Ahmedabad Management Association.

Desai played an instrumental role in the brand’s transition to tea lounges, marketing, ecommerce, digital and social media for the Wagh Bakri brand.  

Industry veterans spoke to BW Marketing World and expressed their grief, and also reminisced about the times spent with him. Harish Bijoor, Brand Guru & Founder, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc. tells, “Parag brought a forward-thinking marketing sensitivity to the Wagh Bakri enterprise. His belief in the process of brand and marketing helped the group make forays that were new and innovative for the group.

As a person he was a gem. He will be missed by all those who came across him. Who expected this? No one. And can this happen to any one of us? Yes, it can! Life is short. Make the best of it. And be the best version of yourself you can be!”

Desai worked closely with Scarecrow M&C Saatchi, one of the Indian independent creative agencies, as they handled the advertising biz for the Wagh Bakri brand. Manish Bhatt, Founder Director, Scarecrow M&C Saatchi ponders, “I think somewhere the Desai family in the fifth generation passing the baton to each other one by one by one, and I think this cultural element called tea and the tea called Wagh Bakri has become part of lot of cultures across the boundaries of the country. I think that one of the last few chapters of Wagh Bakri's history has been written by Parag bhai.

He has done lot of prolific work. I remember I had worked on the brand when Parag bhai was spearheading everything which was when I was in Contract and Good Morning Tea was their variant – it is a premium variant.”

He went on, “I remember, me and Raghu working on Wagh Bakri’s Good Morning Variant from Contract Advertising in 2008 around that time and I remember when I did a project – I remember looking at that project being written about in media when I was shooting, I've got a newspaper cutting which was printed in Times of India about that project which is supported by Tata Indicom. It was the official anthem of Gujarat. And I remember that the brand manager or someone from the Wagh Bakri marketing team came all the way to the shoot and said that they want to be part of or they want to be associated with this project called Gujarat Anthem. They were proactive about being part of such an important, patriotic and such a significant project for the state. That is one of the first interactions I had with the Desai family and the Wagh Bakri family that way. And that is where I had first warmed up to them.

Then I remember after that couple of times I met Parag bhai also in couple of industry events like award shows like Goafest, Kyoorius, and a couple of other award shows, and he showed a desire for us to pitch for the brand. But with Triton, they had a very long and deep relationship - with Ali Merchant and everyone. So, I remember telling Parag bhai that if I'll pitch I will pitch for the main brand and not for the variant - he said no problem, you pitch it. So we pitched for the brand and I think I remember even during the pitch we gained the warmest possible response, Parag wholeheartedly supported us and we won the pitch. We started working on the brand and I think if I'm not mistaken, it was around Rs 600 crore. From Rs 600 crore to Rs 1300 crore, the journey we walked with Wagh Bakri was one of the most important brand journey that we walked along with the brand.

Of course, it was spearheaded by none other than Parag bhai. He picked us as a partner, I'm sure they must have felt an instinct towards a fairly young agency like ourselves as compared to established agencies like Triton. So that instinct is what I respect a lot because obviously it was not an easy decision to make that we were relatively young agency and there's an iconic 120-year-old brand which is doing really well and growing and that point of time he gave the brand communication partnership to us. I think that was, I would say, a very courageous, bold decision. And I think from there only I have seen him taking a boldest possible decision.

Courageous possible decisions, new age possible decisions. Like, for example, starting when there was an era of cafes, he started a tea lounge and then those tea lounges started growing from one to another to another. He has started lot of other initiatives internally, externally, constantly traveling to international exposed markets, exhibitions, this, that and I think he's been very dynamic, he's been very warm.”

Bhatt further added, “He was, of course, very tough to work with. Not everyone would be able to, because he was a hard taskmaster. He was a true Gujarati entrepreneur and he obviously had a lot of pride about the brand and what path he took, the decisions he made. And he wanted 100 per cent from a partner like us to really give value to him. He was not easy to please or easy to impress. Definitely a very tough, very strong persona to work with.

But we have worked very closely with him and his team and of course the family members on the board, everyone. He used to take everyone along his side and also introduced us warmly in a very personal manner. I have gone to greet him for Diwali at his home.”

“I have traveled with him - he was one of the few unique Gujarati entrepreneurs, who has a legacy but it's not that he was sitting on the legacy – he kind of cherished that. He was also dynamic enough to see the future for the brand and took those decisions from choosing the advertising partner to working and asking them, challenging them to do something new, fresh, different. So I think we had a very deep insightful, warm and like a very long kind of can't be forgotten type of relationship with him. And yeah, I think I really cherish that,” he said.

Desai had also worked with One Advertising and Communication Services for some creative projects. Vibhuti Bhatt, Director, One Advertising and Communication Services remembers him, “The world of tea and marketing will always remember Parag Desai as a dynamic leader. His wisdom, humility, and decentralized leadership approach set him apart. His uncanny ability to adapt to evolving consumer behaviour left an ineradicable mark. He not only empowered professionals but also valued their expertise and championed collaboration. A true visionary and a great loss.”

The world is a sadder place with the passing away of Desai. Here’s hoping his final journey puts him at eternal peace.