Two terms that we recommend, catering sales managers avoid while selling Indian weddings are:

• naan bread
• chai tea

Why? Because they’re incorrect. The correct terms are simply, naan and chai.

{Let’s talk about Naan and Chai}

Naan IS bread. And calling it “naan bread” is the equivalent of calling toast, “toast bread”….which nobody does. Naan is bread cooked in a tandoor, and toast is bread cooked in a toaster. The bread part of toast is implied, as it should be for naan as well.

Similarly, chai IS tea. When I hear someone say “chai tea”, what I’m really hearing is “tea tea”. Chai is a type of tea, similar to how cappuccino or latte are types of coffee.  Chai has certain ingredients and is cooked a certain way, in much the same way as cafe au lait vs. espresso have their unique characteristics.

{Descriptors Lead to Adoption}

Naan and chai are food and beverage that are relatively new to the American diet and the Western world in general –  hence the extraneous descriptors at the end of naan and chai. Those descriptors are there for people who aren’t familiar with those words and don’t know what they mean. Years from now, at some point, the “bread” and “tea’ will probably be dropped as they will be universally understood that naan IS bread and chai IS tea.

This article is meant to get you ahead of the curve faster because you work with South Asians in your work everyday.

By using the terms correctly you demonstrate that you’ve done your homework and taken the time to understand the culture that much more.

All this food talk is making us hungry! Speaking of which, here are lists of Indian wedding caterers (and all vendors) across the US and Canada. Cheers!

This article is part of ShaadiShop’s series

The Largest Indian Wedding Venue Marketplace

Ready to Reach the Indian Wedding Market? Email Us.

About ShaadiShop
How ShaadiShop Works

 

{Testimonials}

“We’re so glad we joined ShaadiShop to market this hotel to the South Asian community in the Orange County area. Every wedding we close from their leads returns more than 3x our investment. Moreover, they pre-qualify leads and educate consumers creating a much better sales cycle for our catering team. Venues looking to reach this market, join ShaadiShop!”

Thanks!

Ryan Hurd
Catering Sales Manager
Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove

“We just booked a full Indian wedding through ShaadiShop at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. In addition to the business, we appreciate the exposure ShaadiShop creates about our venue, as the couple didn’t know about our resort until ShaadiShop told them about us. Additionally, we appreciate the pre-qualification work that ShaadiShop does to match couples and venues that are a good fit for each other. We had all the info needed to conduct the initial meeting. What a great service for venues to market to the South Asian community!”

Angie Florence
Catering Sales Manager
Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort

“Cannot say enough good things about the service from Samta and ShaadiShop who helped us research venues for our wedding this year. We wanted a non-hotel venue, and to get married within 6 months. ShaadiShop immediately found us venues, contacted them and educated us about all the things we needed to think about while selecting a venue. They put all the info together in a fabulous, super impressive, spreadsheet that helped us compare venues – seriously amazing and such a great help. Working with them made the whole stressful process MUCH easier and I can’t believe it was all free! ShaadiShop’s website is fantastic and such a great service for South Asians – so glad I found them!”

Anjli Shah, Bride

“Shaadishop helped me not only find venues but also understand how they work, the fees, and tips that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Definitely a need service in the desi community. And best of all, it was free!!”

Hinna Shaikh, Bride

cover image: Geeta Randery Photography