Intermission

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. —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/—CreditsHosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman GPodcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao Video Producers: Vijay Subramaniam, Vishnu S, Rajiv CNAudio Engineer: Rajiv CNLead Researcher: Raghav BatraArt Direction: Kavipriya OGData Visualisation: Anuj DebnathProduction Agency: Nesara FilmsCreative Direction: Sunayana KashyapDoP: Subash KPEditing and Motion Graphics:⁠⁠ Karthik NGraphic Design and Illustrations: Anusha SarahColorist: Pranav BhatVideo Editing team: Sarthak Pujar, Himanshi, Jayesh SahuOn-Set Production: Veeresh, Chaitanya and teamAudio: ⁠⁠Murthy and teamSet Design: Hritika, Saanvi, ThejaswiniPromotions: Pranav Pate, Aakash Raju, Adhavan RKWriter & Editor (Microsite): Brady NgProduct 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/—CreditsHosts: Rohin Dharmakumar, Seetharaman GPodcast Producer: Vidhatri Rao Video Producers: Vijay Subramaniam, Vishnu S, Rajiv CNAudio Engineer: Rajiv CNLead Researcher: Raghav BatraArt Direction: Kavipriya OGData Visualisation: Anuj DebnathProduction Agency: Nesara FilmsCreative Direction: Sunayana KashyapDoP: Subash KPEditing and Motion Graphics:⁠⁠ Karthik NGraphic Design and Illustrations: Anusha SarahColorist: Pranav BhatVideo Editing team: Sarthak Pujar, Himanshi, Jayesh SahuOn-Set Production: Veeresh, Chaitanya and teamAudio: ⁠⁠Murthy and teamSet Design: Hritika, Saanvi, ThejaswiniPromotions: Pranav Pate, Aakash Raju, Adhavan RKWriter & Editor (Microsite): Brady NgProduct Design (Microsite): Praveen Gopal Krishnan, Ritika Sanikere, Sushmita Vavilala, Karan Kumar

Every great Indian enterprise has a story worth telling in full. With The Intermission, The Ken's flagship long-form podcast, hosts Rohin Dharmakumar and Seetharaman G do exactly that—tracing the origins, turning points, and defining strategies of the companies that shaped modern India. Built on exhaustive research and proprietary interviews, each episode unfolds as a richly reported narrative. Stay tuned!