Desai & Sons was started in 1965 by our grandfather, Late Durlabhji U. Desai. Like all family businesses that started during those days, there were a lot of challenges and struggles. But what kept our grandfather steadfast was his commitment to values. Being a simple and scrupulous man that he was, his life principles became the founding pillars of our values that remain strong to this day :
Our late father, Kishorechandra D. Desai’s visionary leadership and acumen made Desai & Sons one of the top names in the tea industry. With the help of his brothers and later his sons, the firm rapidly gained prominence as the trusted name for tea. The largest blenders and retailers preferred to work with us not just due to our tea expertise, but because of the complete transparency and personal attention to every aspect of business – a feature that is proudly ingrained in our DNA.
As winds of liberalisation swept India, it was time to take the Desai banner global. Under Dhirendra Desai, we began our international expansion in 1995. What endeared us to tea importers from the Middle East to Malaysia was the same thing that endeared our retail customers to come to shop our 200g of fresh tea – the ‘personal touch’.
The relationship that we have built with our international buyers since 1995 has only deepened and strengthened over these two decades. Not only has our business with all our international buyers grown manifold, but importantly, it is the mutual trust and faith that multiplied exponentially.
Tea is India’s favourite hot beverage. From Ahmedabad to Arunachal and from Punjab to Pondicherry, from morning to mid-day and from afternoon to evening – a cup of hot, milk tea that connects us. Without exception, everyone in India wants a good, strong cup of tea. And Indians are extremely particular about the tea they purchase. Every region of India has a different requirement of tea – which is why every region of India has many dominant local players catering to the local tastes.
At Desai & Sons, we have been the preferred supplier for some of the largest domestic loose-leaf and packet tea retailers. Our understanding of the Indian tea drinking habits combined with our ability to create and customise exact tea blends for each region ensures the perfect tea blend for each specific domestic market. But what draws all these big domestic players to us is our total transparency and our personal attention!
And just like our retail customers, the relationship with all our import partners and domestic buyers endures and endears to the next generation. In other words, they have become an extended family.
Desai & Sons is today among the top buyers at the iconic Kolkata Tea Auction Centre. Additionally, the firm is registered with the Tea Board of India.
The third and the current generation of the family is :
The patriarch of the family business, Dhirendra is the head tea-taster and buyer of the firm. He also leads the international business of the firm and has deep relationships with the tea community in India as well as tea-importers in the Middle East and South-East Asia.
