BALAJI KHICHIYA PAPAD
2025
Strategy, Brand Identity,
Nomenclature, Positioning,
Packaging Design,
Typography & Illustrationy
A taste of home, now packed in a box by Balaji Wafers.
Balaji Wafers, a name that echoes in every Indian home, wasn’t looking to reinvent the wheel. They wanted to honour it. Balaji has always been about bringing familiar flavours to the forefront, across age groups and occasions.
Khichiya Papad, a crunchy companion to steaming khichdi, a sidekick in thalis, a standalone snack with a squeeze of lime, has always had a quiet place in our kitchens. But in this box, it gets a louder one.
Balaji Wafers wanted to take this humble side dish and give it a front-row seat. Something that could sit proudly on shelves, look as good as it tastes, and still carry the comfort of home.
The brief was simple, but layered: Create a design that resonates with the older generation, who grew up eating it hot off the pan. And with the younger one, discovering it between meals. It had to feel grown-up without being dull. Nostalgic, but not old-fashioned. Something that could sit proudly on a modern shelf and still feel like home.
WAGH BAKRI INDIAN BLACK TEA - RUSSIA EDITION
2024
Gujarat Tea Processors and Packers Limited
(Gujarat, India)
Packaging Design, Illustration
A Slice of India on Every Shelf
Tea has long transcended borders, classes, and cultures to become a global ritual, one that is calming, indulgent, and quietly powerful. Each sip carries a sense of comfort and wonder, turning ordinary moments into something gently inspired. With this timeless appeal in mind, Wagh Bakri, one of India’s most iconic tea brands, set out to introduce Indian Black Tea, a new line crafted specifically for the Russian market. The goal was more than just expansion; it was about extending the emotional and cultural richness of Indian tea into a completely new landscape.
To communicate this, the visual identity had to go beyond convention. It needed to reflect not just the taste of India, but the soul of it. We imagined what India might look like through Russian eyes: lush tea gardens, peacocks and tigers in regal repose, ornate temple carvings and palatial domes, and a quiet moment where chai is poured into a porcelain cup on a terracotta veranda, the scent of elaichi rising with the steam. Each pack was designed as a colorful visual tapestry where tradition meets imagination, and where generations of tea culture are framed in warm, story rich windows
The result is packaging that feels like a postcard from India, vivid, layered, and full of life. From hand-illustrated scenes to region-inspired palettes, each variant captures a different facet of Indian culture, making every box a portal to a place, a moment, a memory. Wagh Bakri Indian Black Tea becomes an invitation to sip, discover, and connect. A brand that doesn’t just cross borders, but carries its homeland with grace into every new cup.
Russia has always loved tea. It’s not a new ritual here it’s woven into everyday life. But nearly 90% of that tea is imported, and few brands bring a story along with the leaves.
Wagh Bakri wasn’t introducing tea to Russia. It was introducing its way of tea. A philosophy brewed in India, steeped in warmth, and served with a story that’s been 100 years in the making.
This is the journey of how we made that introduction with grace, strategy, and soul.
Since 1892, Wagh Bakri has been India’s trusted name in tea.
A symbol of harmony
Tiger and goat, as strength and simplicity share the same cup. Over 50 million kgs of tea sold globally every year.
Before we began designing, we listened.
We spoke to Russian tea lovers, distributors, and café owners. Through long conversations and informal interviews, one thing became clear.
Russian importers were actively seeking Indian tea but they didn’t want it packaged in dated or purely functional design.
They were looking for something more: Packaging that felt distinctive authentic
Culturally, India still lives vividly in the Russian imagination shaped by decades of cinema, nostalgia, and admiration.
Through Raj Kapoor’s films and timeless stories, India is seen as:
A LAND OF PRINCESSES AND PALACES
A SPIRITUAL HOMELAND
A PLACE OF JOY, WARMTH, AND GRACE
Each element in the packaging is carefully chosen to reflect the delicate flavor each tea brings to your taste buds. It’s a considered visual curation of India’s rich legacy of tea, expressed through these illustrations.
Step into the story to discover how the concepts unfold with the final packaging crafted as a window into the timeless tradition of Indian tea.
Brought to life by
DIB Creative Studio &
Gujarat Tea Processors and Packers Limited
Project Credits
Concept & Creative Direction
Pankti Sheth, Dhavanshi Shah, Anvesha Paul
Packaging System Design & Art Direction
Dhavanshi Shah
Lead Illustrator
Anwesha Paul
Project Operation & Management
Mitlesh Solanki
Client Collaboration
Yogesh Shinde (Marketing Head)
Megha Sule (Brand Manager)
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