Yesterday, SOM reported that along with the Coffee-bean tableau representing Kodagu and Karnataka at this year’s Republic Day Parade, a Kodava Col. Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa would be escorting the President to the saluting dais.
Now it is learnt that one more Kodava officer, 28-year-old Capt. Ballyamanda Caverappa Thimmaiah will be leading the MECH Force Contingent (Bees Bahadur) in the R-Day Parade at the National Capital.
Presently posted at Ambala in Haryana, Capt. B.C. Thimmaiah is the son of Col. Ballyamanda Kaveriappa (Retd.) and Pushpa Kaveriappa, residents of Appayaswamy Road in Virajpet, Kodagu.
Capt. Thimmaiah is an alumnus of Army Public School (APS) Delhi, Coorg Public School (COPS), Gonikoppal, Kodagu and M.S. Ramaiah College of Law, Bengaluru.
After a brief stint as a lawyer, Capt. Thimmaiah joined the Services in the year 2013 and his first posting was at Hissar, Haryana.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – January 25th, 2016
The President’s limousine flanked by Col. Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa (left) at the dress rehearsal for the Republic Day Parade, exiting the Rashtrapati Bhavan to enter the Rajpath along with other Horsemen.
by N. Niranjan Nikam, Senior Journalist
Kodagu, the Coffee Land of Karnataka,’ is the tableau from the State chosen for the 67th Republic Day Parade at Rajpath this year.
However, there is one more Kodagu connection which the Kodavas and the Kannadigas can be really proud of that will be on display at the RD Parade.
I was visiting a Kodava’s house here in the city recently. As I was about to leave, after chatting for quite some time with her and her friend, who had come from Ooty, the lady hesitatingly brought out two photographs. It was of a handsome young man in full military uniform standing tall in the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan and in another picture sitting on a horseback in army’s resplendent uniform.
Disguising her pride, she said in a very low voice that the person in the photographs was her nephew. She gave me his mobile number. I called him and immediately a soft, pleasant voice answered. After introducing myself, I asked him whether he was Colonel Bommanda Dhiraj Chengappa and he confirmed that indeed it was him.
He is the Commandant, President’s Bodyguard. “I am going to escort the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee on January 26th, the Republic Day, from the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan to the saluting dais on Rajpath,” said Col. Chengappa, who is the first Kodava to escort the President.
The Bodyguard consists of 46 Horsemen out of which 20 are ahead of the President’s Limousine and 20 in the rear. The Commandant (that is Chengappa) and the second in command will be on either side of the limousine in which the President travels. The trumpeter and the Regimental colours — party of four — will be behind the car, he said.
“On reaching the Saluting Dais, I will present the National Salute which initiates the unfurling of the National Flag, accompanied by the National Anthem and the 21 Gun Salute. The Parade commences thereafter,” explained Col. Chengappa in detail.
The President’s Bodyguard, all of 243-years-old, is the senior most unit in the Army, raised in 1773, on the lines of the Household Cavalry Regiment of the British Army. But to be eligible for this “most prestigious posting” in their careers, the men must meet exacting physical and mental standards. It is said that all of them are strikingly handsome too. During the British Raj, the English had de-abbreviated GGBG (then Governor General’s Bodyguard) as ‘God’s Gift to Beautiful Girls!
Early years: A graduate in Economics from Delhi University, Col. Chengappa’s early schooling was in Bangalore and then he studied in Jodhpur. His father Bommanda Muthanna Chengappa, now residing at Ammathi in Kodagu, joined the Indian Army in 1963 and thereafter was side stepped into BSF on its raising. He retired as the DIG. He was awarded the President’s medal for gallantry, meritorious and distinguished service.
Asked whether he was influenced by his father to join the Armed Forces, his reply, “I was not influenced by my father. I always liked the Army and I joined it in 1993 after my training in Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.”
He is married to Savera Chengappa and has a 12-year-old son Tapan Devaiah. “It is one of the proudest moments in my life to be part of the National Salute watched by the whole nation,” he signs off.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – January 25th, 2016
Chennai-based actress, model and ex-VJ Pooja Gallyot graduated from green tea to coffee last year and now is so hung up on the beverage that she is fast becoming an addict. On the other hand, Kolkata-based fashion designer Kiran Uttam Ghosh, a bona fide coffee lover, zeroes in on new cafes in the places she visits. For naturalist and wildlife conservationist Shrilekha, coffee shops present the ideal rendezvous to conduct business. It is these little tell-tale signs that have had coffee majors scent a business opportunity, even cleverly imparting magical qualities to the brew in that anything can happen over a cuppa. Truth be said, it’s a dramatic cultural switch that’s got the entire nation swaddled in its intoxicating embrace. According to the latest Technopak report, the chain café market, currently at Rs 1,820 crore, is growing at 20 per cent in value and commanding 27 per cent of the Rs 6,750 crore overall cafe market.
Were it not for pilgrim Baba Budan’s temerity in smuggling a few coffee beans into Chickmagalur, Karnataka, we might never have got introduced to this refreshing drink. This history aside, coffee seems to be edging out tea in the social circuit with cafes being the perfect place to hang out, chat or simply relax. That certainly augurs well for business, with Café Coffee Day, popularly called CCD, the biggest player in the Indian market, competing with international brands such as Starbucks, Barista and Costa Coffee, not to mention the popular local hangouts.
To date, CCD maintains its Numero Uno position having added 58 more outlets to the 1,480 it held at the beginning of 2015. CCD’s principal Coffee Day Enterprises set the stock market abuzz with the largest Initial Public Offering last year. It had fixed its public offer price at Rs 328 per share, taking the total proceeds to Rs 1,150 crore. But when the IPO closed on October 16, it was over-subscribed 1.81 times with a demand worth Rs 2,000 crore.
“Customers today are looking at a differentiated food experience along with their coffees at cafes. Which is why we have introduced a special food menu called the ‘SuperMenu’—a range of soups, sandwiches, burgers and desserts,” says a CCD spokesperson. “We have also started a home delivery service in Bengaluru as a pilot project.”
Costa Coffee entered India in 2005 when it opened outlets at Connaught Place in Delhi. Today, it has close to 100 in 11 cities across India. While a good number is present in metro cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Bengaluru, they’re spreading out in tier II cities such as Agra, Jaipur, Pune, Kochi, Ludhiana, Chandigarh and others. “While southern states have always had a strong culture of drinking coffee, over the past decade or so, the drink has penetrated to other parts too,” says Ashish Chanana, Chief Operating Officer, Costa Coffee.
Another chain that is fast expanding is the US-based Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Ltd, which tied up with Pan India Solutions to start a single outlet at Select Citywalk mall in Delhi. It has grown to 32 stores in 10 cities from 11 in 2008. “We source our coffee from seven different countries,” says Dina Banerjee, CMO, Pan India Food Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mumbai.
Though all eyes are on the newest entrant, US giant Starbucks, which joined hands with Tata Coffee Ltd to set up shop in India in 2012. By 2014, it had more than 60 outlets and the end of 2015 saw it operating 78. It had also managed to clock in Rs 171.2 crore, an 80 per cent jump from previous year’s Rs 95 crore.
Coffee shops have so much become revenue models that another giant has jumped on the bandwagon.
The most telling of entries is American fastfood chain McDonald’s McCafe in the country with its first cafe being launched in Mumbai. “The concept fits in well with what the Indian customer needs. Our plan is to increase the 40-plus McCafes to 60-65 by this fiscal-end and double it within 12-18 months,” says Amit Jatia, Vice Chairman, Westlife Development, franchisee of McDonald’s in South and West India.
There’s a good reason behind the dramatic rise of coffee cafes in India. Fashion designer Ghosh spends her holidays finding new cafes and spending her time reading, sketching and dreaming there. “Cafes across the world reflect the essence of its people and place,” she says, adding that the habit of going to cafes late at night with friends has earned them the moniker, ‘the owls’.
Chanana is in agreement too. Says he: “Coffee shops have given people across all age groups—especially the young—a legitimate, safe and cool place to hang out. Youngsters can go on a date without burning a hole in their pocket. Friends can spend time together at a conveniently located place. We’re also seeing a lot of older couples taking time out to catch up with each other over a cup of coffee. At Costa, we have lots of customers who are by themselves.”
Gallyot is a big fan of Starbucks. “I have gotten used to their coffee as wherever I travelled, I came across an outlet. It’s become like a comfort drink for me,” she says. For 24-year-old MBBS student Anjali Reddy, Starbucks doubles up as a place for study. In fact, people have come to associate coffee concoctions with different times of the day. “Post-noon, the choice of beverage quickly changes to Americano and Expresso. It’s become like a lifestyle craving,” says Kazem Samandari, Chairman of L’opera, Delhi.
Besides cultivating friendships and fun, these places have become the haunt of many working people. Wildlife conservationist Shrilekha often frequents Chamiers, an upmarket café in Chennai. “As I work from home, I often meet business associates at cafeterias and I love Chamiers which while elegant has a lot of breathing space,” shares Shrilekha.
Visiting cafes has widened the horizon of Delhi-based interior designer Parull Mahajan’s social interactions. The caffeine rush helps her mind to stimulate her creativity. “I visit the two of my favourite cafes—Choko La and Starbucks—at least three-four times a week and cannot do without my standard two or three cups a day. It’s an addiction I have no intention of wearing off,” she says.
In keeping with the global trend, coffee shops have become de facto offices for consultants, entrepreneurs, and writers. “Some of our Costa outlets in Delhi, Bengaluru and Mumbai have had the privilege of hosting many start-ups, where the founders polished their business idea over several cups of coffee,” says Chanana. Work is also what takes Anitha KS, National Corporate Sales Manager at Vodafone, to Costa Coffee at the Lulu Mall in Kochi. “After meeting clients in the morning, I come here and carry on my work sipping on a cold coffee or cappuccino,” says Anitha. For his part, the outlet’s manager Anup Anand is delighted with the increased bottom line. “We have plans to open more outlets in Kochi and other cities of Kerala.” That’s significant given that Kerala is predominantly a tea-drinking state.
Coffee reigns with an aromatic fist even as south India leads in the production of coffee, with the drink dominating social interactions. Apart from the big players, there are a host of small and medium joints that gets people over for coffee and chitchat. In Bengaluru, which is the hub for rich traditional filter coffee, local brands such as Maiyas, Adigas, Shanthi Sagars, the SLVs, Hatti Kapi, Katte Kapi, Brahmin’s Coffee Bar and Coffee Board outlets are still going strong. Small joints rule the roost in Chennai too, courtesy Madras Coffee House, Leo coffee outlets (under brand Mylapore Mocha) and Kumbakonam degree coffee outlets.
Unique to the Bengaluru-Mysuru region is the ‘by-two’ coffee culture, a mini dose of coffee whose origins can be traced to some 100 years back during the literary and Independence movements. Then literary figures, freedom fighters and political leaders, with hardly any money in their pockets, gave impetus to this culture of having multiple servings of half a cup of coffee over endless discussions.
For many in the garden city, the small joints are the place to be. Marketing professional R N Prasad feels that the prominent coffee cafes are good only to conduct business with coffee being incidental. Each day, he drives some seven kilometres to have a cup of coffee at the Brahmin’s Coffee Bar. According to city historian Arun Prasad, tourists prefer the traditional filter coffee served at small joints.
In the grand theatre of coffee culture, there are the veterans—India Coffee House and Coffee Board outlets. K S Achyuthan, Kannada author and media professional, has been visiting the Coffee Board outlet near Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru for more than 50 years. “This is a meeting point for many journalists and lawyers as well as musicians and guests who come to All India Radio. I have also seen many legislators, MPs and even celebrities in this place which has hardly changed all these years.” Kannada filmmaker and environmentalist Suresh Heblikar makes it a point to visit India Coffee House whenever he passes by the place.
The India Coffee House in Puducherry, a heritage structure, came close to being torn down in 2008 until INTACH and concerned citizens appealed against the move. With CM N Rangaswamy’s support and renovations later, it opened in mid-2014 and has begun to attract crowds. This outlet also finds a mention in Yann Martel’s Life of Pi.
Looks like the old and the new will exist side by side even as coffee aficionados seek out their happy place.
with Meera Bhardwaj, Ayesha Singh, Shevlin Sebastian, Jonathan Ananda and Suhas Yellapuntala
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Magazine / by Sunita Raghu / January 23rd, 2016
The sixth edition of India international coffee festival 2016, programmed for three days, concluded this Saturday.
More than 60 companies are exhibited at the Coffee Expo, drawing visitors from across the globe (Photo: Pixabay)
Mumbai:
In order to boost tourism industry with the coffee sector, the central government has allowed the coffee board of India to promote coffee-tourism under flagship of Incredible India programme.
The coffee board chairman Leela Nair said that, following the Karnataka module of Coffee tourism, Ministry of tourism from the current financial year has allowed board to promote tourism with coffee industry. However, due to the delay in request from our side, government couldn’t fund us but has asked to kick-start it under incredible India programme, she added.
In this regard, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Chief Secretary, Rita Teaotia, who was the guest speaker, said “When you talk about coffee tourism, you provide great experience for the tourists which is also environmentally beautiful”.
Teaotia added that this would also boost the start-up in the country to partner with the existing plantations and take an advantage of this open market. She urged the young entrepreneurs of India to see coffee as the emerging markets for start-up, which has enormous opportunities.
Further speaking on the coffee tourism, President of India coffee trust, Anil Kumar Bhandari pointed out that more than international tourists, there has been steep increase in the domestic tourists from last five years.
Quoting about the start-up opportunities in coffee sector, Chief Secretary Rita Teaoita said, “If you look at the coffee industry which has number of small plantation sectors could be turned has an opportunity because you make niche product, niche branding and target and a niche market.”
Secondly, India being traditionally south states coffee-drinking area has started looking into the branding and also spreading it into the north India market the Barista and Starbucks, with this chain, somebody with well-placed product can also turned into great opportunity for start-ups, Teaoita mentioned.
“Third is, we do have specific coffee varieties coming in from different region and branding and marketing of those could turn great opportunities for the start-ups to spread”, she added.
The sixth edition of India international coffee festival 2016 that was programmed for three days, concluded on Saturday with guest speaker Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Chief Secretary, Rita Teaotia’s address on start up India campaign in coffee industry.
The festival comprises of an International Conference Exhibition for all things coffee, skill-building workshops, product launches, coffee quiz, coffee awards, and a host of other exciting activities.
The festival also served as a platform for many coffee growers, roasters, retailers, equipment suppliers, researchers and entrepreneurs. This year the festival saw as many as 500 delegates for the conference and skill building workshops.
More than 60 companies are exhibited at the Coffee Expo, drawing visitors from across the globe.
Leading brands like Hindustan UniLever, Tata Coffee, Nestle, Leo Coffee, Buhler, Kaapi Machines MK Associates, Swiss Pack, Bunn-O-Matic, Diedrich, CMA, Probat, YARA India, Rabo Bank, Eltex marketing Services, Controlmatic, etc., are exhibiting at the event.
Start-ups have completely transformed the way India consumes their Coffee be it Coffee delivery or E-commerce or Cafés or Roast & Ground Coffee sellers. IICF also played a large focus on these Start-ups.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Business, In other news / by Vaibhav G. Bhansode, Deccan Chronicle / January 24th, 2016
Fitness enthusiasts in the city can add one more event to their workout calendar with JGI-Jain University announcing the launch of ‘My Country Run 2016’, which will see thousands of runners stream through the picturesque Cubbon Park as they compete in the 5k and 10k events on January 31.
The Sree Kanteerava stadium will be the hub of the activity as the races, which begin from 4pm, start and finish at the venue. “We have had an enthusiastic response so far as more than 3,000 people have already registered for the race. Though there are many road races in Bengaluru, we still need to do a lot more to get more and more people running,” race director Gul Mohammed Akbar told TOI.
Akbar said the first prize of Rs 1 lakh has attracted many elite runners, including athletes from Ethiopia and Kenya.
“Some of them are staying back after competing in the Mumbai marathon,” he said. Athletes who have finished the 10k in less than 60 minutes will fall in the elite category.
JGI Group chairman Chenraj Roychand said the proceeds generated from the race will go towards supporting the 30-35 athletes from below-poverty-line families, which are being looked after by the Jain Group. The money will be used to give them foreign exposure. “After looking at the savings, the trust will put in an equal amount to create a corpus that will be used to help these kids,” he said.
Uthappa lauds Jain College Returning to his alma mater along with ace cueist Pankaj Advani as the brand ambassador of the race, star cricketer Robin Uthappa recalled how the institution helped him through his college days. “I was frantically looking to get an admission for a degree course when I got a call from Jain College, expressing their willingness to start even a new course. Shankar sir was very helpful throughout my college days and the college even conducted special classes for all the sportspersons.
Now they want me to complete my MBA and I’ve promised to do that. I can confidently tell that Jain College is the best any sportsperson can aspire for,” recalled Uthappa, in the presence of his fiancee and former tennis player Sheetal Goutam.
The marriage is scheduled on March 3.
Roychand, meanwhile, recalled how he helped Uthappa to get back his focus after he was on the verge of quitting cricket.
“Robin once called up and said he wanted to quit the game but I told him that he was born to play cricket and put him through a few meditation sessions. Eight days later, he was back with a bang, cracking 165 runs,” the JGI chairman said.
He said the college has supported not only cricket but other sports as well, involving more than 300 international sportspersons, which included seven Olympians. “I’ve told Gul to reach out to rural schools and identify talent who can be nurtured to become top-class athletes. If we put in the hard work for the next 10-15 years, we can get more gold medals at the Olympics,” Roychand added.
UV Shankar, Director of Sports, Jain University, said the race will be an annual event. “The idea is to get everyone (men, women and kids) on one platform.”
The total prize money is Rs 5.35 lakh with Rs 1 lakh for the winner of the elite race. The registration fee is Rs 1,000 (Rs 800 for students) for Open 10K and Rs 700 (Rs 600) for the 5k race.
For online registrations, log on to www.mycountry.run.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Biju Babu Cyriac, TNN / January 19th, 2016
Kodagu district is gearing up for the zilla and taluk panchayat elections, after the MLC elections.
The elections for the 29 zilla panchayat and 50 taluk panchayat seats will be conducted on February 20, while the results will be out on February 23.
The district has 29 zilla panchayat seats. Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet taluks have seven, 11 and 11 constituencies, respectively. The number of taluk panchayat seats has been hiked by one – Hoddur being the new constituency – making it 50 this time. There are 12, 19 and 19 taluk panchayat constituencies in Madikeri, Somwarpet and Virajpet taluks, respectively.
There are a total of 3,76,065 voters in the district – 1,86,643 men and 1,89,422 women voters. Madikeri has 88,745 voters – 44,396 are men and 44,349 are women. Somwarpet has 1,45,078 voters – 71,459 are men and 73,619 are women, while in Virajpet taluk, there are 1,42,242 voters – 70,788 are men, 71,454 are women.
Option of NOTA
For the first time, the option of NOTA (None Of The Above) has been given to voters in zilla and taluk panchayat elections. It may be recalled that nobody in the district had opted for it during the recently concluded MLC elections.
In the current elections, however, the candidate may contest under the name of a political party and symbol. Electronic voting machines will be used for the polls.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / by Srikant Kallammanavan / DHNS, Madikeri – January 21st, 2016
Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, has urged Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, to include the Mysuru-Kushalnagar-Madikeri new railway line in this year’s budget.
In a letter to Mr. Prabhu, the MP has said that Kodagu district lacked rail connectivity and it was a long-pending demand of the people.
He said the survey work up to Madikeri has been completed and the consolidated report would be submitted to the Railway Board by the end of this month.
He has also sought a road over bridge (ROB) at level crossing number 3 in Hassan to facilitate smooth movement of vehicles.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Mysuru – January 21st, 2015
Achievers in sports must be given employment in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), said former International Athlete Ashwini Nachappa here this morning.
She was speaking after inaugurating the three-day BSNL Employees All-India Athletic Championship 2015-16 at Chamundi Vihar Stadium here under the aegis of Mysore Telecom District, Mysuru.
Providing jobs in the PSUs for those who excel in sports will inspire others to take to sports which in turn will help the country progress in the field of sports, she observed.
Ashwini further said that sports persons should be encouraged in their endeavours to come out with flying colours and added that there was no age limit for sports as anyone could take up sports whenever they developed interest.
Earlier, Ashwini Nachappa was introduced to the athletes from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Kerala, Manipur, NRT-Delhi, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other States who are in city to take part in the event.
P. Nagaraju, Chief General Manager, Karnataka Telecom Circle, presided. Principal General Manager and Championship Chairman K.L. Jayaram, International Referee A. Bricto Joy and BSNL officials V.K. Singh and Sampath Kumar were present on the occasion.
More than 500 athletes are competing in various track and field events to be held during the three-day championship which includes100 mts sprint, 200 mts sprint, 400 mts race, 800 mts race, 1,500 mts run, 3,000 mts run and 5,000 mts run, discus throw, shot put, hammer throw, javelin throw, long jump, high jump, triple jump and pole vault.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – January 20th, 2016
Athlete M.R. Poovamma.— PHOTO: By Special Arrangement
Athlete M.R. Poovamma, winner of the 2015 Arjuna award for her contributions in the field of athletics, is the ‘Coorg Person of the Year, 2015.’
Machettira Raju Poovamma, (25), a native of Kodagu, won the gold medal inwomen’s 4×400 meters relay at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and clinched a silver in the 400m race in the Asian Championships at Wuhan, China, last June.
Ms. Poovamma participated in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and is currently ranked No.2 in Asia in the 400 meter category.
She was chosen as the ‘Coorg Person of the Year, 2015’ in a poll conducted by www.coorgtourisminfo.com, according to a release.
Daughter of M. G. Raju and Jaji, Poovamma completed her bachelor’s degree in business management from SDM College of Business Management, Mangaluru.
The past winners of this award include Dr. Kavery Nambisan, novelist (2005), Dr. Boverianda Nanjamma Chinnappa, researcher (2006); Robin Uthappa, cricketer (2007), Joshna Chinappa, squash player (2014), the release stated.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by R. Krishna Kumar / Mysuru – January 18th, 2016
The quintessential Indian grandmother tells consumers what they ought to drink and why in late entrant Tata Coffee Grand’s launch campaign
Tata Global Beverages recently entered the instant coffee market with the launch of Tata Coffee Grand. The company has backed up the launch with a high decibel multi-media campaign. The protagonist is an Indian grandmother dressed in traditional south Indian attire. However, she appears in the garb of a hip-hop artiste, complete with contemporary accessories and sunglasses. The spirited granny takes on a bunch of youngsters as she raps about ‘coffee, the way it should be’.
With the new product, Tata Coffee is eyeing the Rs 1,300 crore instant coffee market in India dominated by Hindustan Unilever’s Bru and Nestle’s Nescafe. “Strategically we have strong competition,” says Sushant Dash, regional president, India, Tata Global Beverages. “There are players that have been entrenched in the market for long. To compete against them, it was not good enough for us to be a me-too brand. To make an impact, we had to break the category norms through our product offering, packaging and communication.”
The brief to the creative agency, Mullen Lintas, was to come up with a differentiated brand and communication strategy, encompassing the product’s packaging, imagery etc. So instead of the regular browns and greens Tata Coffee Grand stands out in its blue packaging. Similarly, the television commercial (TVC) highlights the spirited and quirky side of an older generation, rather than talking directly to a younger audience.
Dash says, “Being a late entrant in the market, we needed to talk about the product, highlight the strong heritage and plantation expertise that we offer and others do not. And as we spoke to young people, we could not sound boring. At the same time, we needed an authoritative figure to talk about our product. Who better than a granny to do all this.”
He adds that the one person who enjoys maximum credibility in a family or the society at large is the grandmother. She comes with a lot of experience and wisdom. At the same time she can be wicked in her own way. She is highly opinionated and can become animated if she does not agree with someone else’s point of view. Young at heart, the granny represents wit and humour in equal measure. And, if required, she can be up to any challenge.
The company launched the Tata Grand Coffee with a 360 degree virtual reality tour where drinkers could experience the entire product journey. Also, instead of launching the brand through traditional channels, the company introduced the product online as part of an exclusive tie-up with Amazon. “In the next six to seven months our sole purpose will be to create awareness and motivate people to re-evaluate what they are drinking,” says Dash. While picking the granny as a central character, the decision swung in favour of a South Indian character because South is the coffee heartland of India. The creative heads threw in rap to add that extra ‘swagger’ to the granny’s character.
“The brief to us was simple,” says Shriram Iyer, national creative director, Mullen Lintas, “to create disruptive and differentiated communication, just like the product. Coffee, being a staple beverage in the South of India with Tamil Nadu being the unofficial expert of the beverage, we have taken the highest authority of coffee from Tamil Nadu as the ambassador for the brand.”
What makes Tata Coffee Grand a disruptive product? The company sources the coffee beans from its own plantations and the coffee has decoction crystals in it. “In terms of the execution, the key challenge for us was getting the casting of the granny right: We needed someone who, while retaining her authoritative stance, could also add oodles of ‘coolness’ to the film,” says Iyer.
Industry estimates put the budget for the campaign at Rs 20 crore. Digital media will be an integral part of the campaign. The company is using digital media to create intrigue around the protagonist. It has planned a few short films exclusively for the digital media where the granny will be seen walking into real situations unannounced and slapping people around her if she is not happy with their choice of drink. Dash likens these films to topical advertisements by Amul, which are an entertaining take on contemporary issues. Similarly, the Tata Coffee granny’s take on real-life situations will be worldly-wise.
