This is Part 2 of Intermission's episode on Asian Paints. We'd urge you to listen to Part 1 first to get a full picture of the company's early history and main bets.
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Asian Paints was founded in 1942 by four young Gujaratis in a Bombay garage. Today, it controls more than half of India's paint market.

This is the story of how that happened.

The company was among the first to tap into the rural market, become a technology company before most people understood what that meant, crack the supply chain, and bring about a new era of Indian advertising.

Now, Asian Paints is being met with renewed competition and aggression from Birla Opus, JSW Dulux and Berger Paints.

Understanding why this market is so hard to take requires understanding of how it was built.

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We also have an interactive webpage exploring Asian Paints' history with reading lists, infographics, and source notes: the-ken.com/intermission.

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The full episode runs 6 hours and is split into two parts on podcast platforms.

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About Intermission: Intermission, produced by The Ken, dives deep into the histories of iconic Indian companies.

Intermission was produced with vital support and assistance from Zerodha, our season sponsor. Disclosure: Rainmatter Foundation is an investor in The Ken's parent company.

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About The Ken:The Ken is India's first subscriber-only business journalism platform reporting on business, technology, startups and healthcare across India and Southeast Asia. Since our inception, we’ve published thousands of stories that have been widely discussed, debated and referenced. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠the-ken.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, and explore our stories, newsletters, podcasts and more.
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Follow us on our socials:
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/theken_web/⁠⁠⁠⁠
LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ken/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/thekenweb⁠⁠⁠⁠
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We would also like to thank Anupam Gupta, the writer of "The Rise of Asian Paints: Champaklal Choksey, a Doyen of the Indian Paints Industry" (Penguin India, 2024). You can buy the book here: https://www.penguin.co.in/book/the-rise-of-asian-paints/

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Credits

Hosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman G

Podcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao

Video Producers: Vijay Subramaniam, Vishnu S, Rajiv CN

Audio Engineer: Rajiv CN

Lead Researcher: Raghav Batra

Art Direction: Kavipriya OG

Data Visualisation: Anuj Debnath

Production Agency: Nesara Films

Creative Direction: Sunayana Kashyap

DoP: Subash KP

Editing and Motion Graphics:⁠⁠ Karthik N

Graphic Design and Illustrations: Anusha Sarah

Colorist: Pranav Bhat

Video Editing team: Sarthak Pujar, Himanshi, Jayesh Sahu

On-Set Production: Veeresh, Chaitanya and team

Audio: ⁠⁠Murthy and team

Set Design: Hritika, Saanvi, Thejaswini

Promotions: Pranav Pate, Aakash Raju, Adhavan RK

Writer & Editor (Microsite): Brady Ng

Product Design (Microsite): Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Ritika Sanikere, Sushmita Vavilala, Karan Kumar

Asian Paints was founded in 1942 by four young Gujaratis in a Bombay garage. Today, it controls more than half of India's paint market.

This is the story of how that happened.

The company was among the first to tap into the rural market, become a technology company before most people understood what that meant, crack the supply chain, and bring about a new era of Indian advertising.

Now, Asian Paints is being met with renewed competition and aggression from Birla Opus, JSW Dulux and Berger Paints.

Understanding why this market is so hard to take requires understanding of how it was built.

—

We also have an interactive webpage exploring Asian Paints' history with reading lists, infographics, and source notes: the-ken.com/intermission.

—

The full episode runs 6 hours and is split into two parts on podcast platforms.

—

About Intermission: Intermission, produced by The Ken, dives deep into the histories of iconic Indian companies.

Intermission was produced with vital support and assistance from Zerodha, our season sponsor. Disclosure: Rainmatter Foundation is an investor in The Ken's parent company.

—

About The Ken:The Ken is India's first subscriber-only business journalism platform reporting on business, technology, startups and healthcare across India and Southeast Asia. Since our inception, we’ve published thousands of stories that have been widely discussed, debated and referenced. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠the-ken.com⁠⁠⁠⁠, and explore our stories, newsletters, podcasts and more.
—

Follow us on our socials:
Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/theken_web/⁠⁠⁠⁠
LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-ken/⁠⁠⁠⁠

Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/thekenweb⁠⁠⁠⁠
—

We would also like to thank Anupam Gupta, the writer of "The Rise of Asian Paints: Champaklal Choksey, a Doyen of the Indian Paints Industry" (Penguin India, 2024). You can buy the book here: https://www.penguin.co.in/book/the-rise-of-asian-paints/

—

Credits

Hosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman G

Podcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao

Video Producers: Vijay Subramaniam, Vishnu S, Rajiv CN

Audio Engineer: Rajiv CN

Lead Researcher: Raghav Batra

Art Direction: Kavipriya OG

Data Visualisation: Anuj Debnath

Production Agency: Nesara Films

Creative Direction: Sunayana Kashyap

DoP: Subash KP

Editing and Motion Graphics:⁠⁠ Karthik N

Graphic Design and Illustrations: Anusha Sarah

Colorist: Pranav Bhat

Video Editing team: Sarthak Pujar, Himanshi, Jayesh Sahu

On-Set Production: Veeresh, Chaitanya and team

Audio: ⁠⁠Murthy and team

Set Design: Hritika, Saanvi, Thejaswini

Promotions: Pranav Pate, Aakash Raju, Adhavan RK

Writer & Editor (Microsite): Brady Ng

Product Design (Microsite): Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Ritika Sanikere, Sushmita Vavilala, Karan Kumar