Health, wellness to drive Tata's food, beverage segment growth: Harish Bhat

With consumers increasingly becoming health conscious, health and wellness will drive the growth for the food and beverage segment, Tata Sons brand custodian Harish Bhat said Friday.

"My belief is, as far as the food and beverages segment in the country is concerned, one of the key drivers for the future will be the consumers' need for health, wellness and fitness," he told PTI here on the sidelines of the Tata Lit Fest.

Tata Global Beverages has presence in green tea with its Tetley brand, while its other firm Tata Chemicals offers unpolished pulses and low sodium salt.
 

Bhat said the salt-to-software conglomerate's brand is synonymous with trust as its companies offer quality products and services at a reasonable price, adding that in a country which has strong trust deficit, the brand works very well.

He elaborated that inferior quality products, products which are overpriced, or products or services which don't live up to world class standards, can create a trust deficit. He further said if there is a segment of trade which is not fair with its consumers that can create a trust deficit.

"I believe that the Tata brand has earned trust over a long period of time through the behaviours that it has exhibited, through the products and services it has provided to our customers. All our companies believe in providing our customers with products and services of impeccable quality at very good value and it is that combination of quality and value which has made 650 million Indian customers trust the Tata brand," he said.
 

Trust also comes because the Tata Group has been functioning in harmony with the community...Those are the factors which has made the Tata Group brand synonymous with trust in the country, he added.

On the impact of the controversial removal of Cyrus Mistry as the group chairman in 2016, on the brand, Bhat parried a direct reply but said the Tata brand is synonymous with trust and continues to remain strong with all stakeholders. "All our internal and external researches keep throwing that up all the time," he said.