Case Study: Asian Paints: Going green
Asian paint is the leading paint manufacturer in the world. It is a household name in India for its durability and services. The company is known for its social responsibility by contributing to education, healthcare and sanitation. Further, Asian paint decided to show environmental sustainability. It identified water replacement, reduction in fresh water usage, use of renewable energy, and reduction of hazardous waste as concern areas and the company would like to invest in eradication of these environmental issues. Further, the company began self certification for their products taking US green seal GS-11 as standard. As part of this initiative, Asian paints reduced lead in paints below
90 ppm. The company’s carbon emission reduced by 31%. Apart from this Asian Paints reduced volatile organic compounds in manufacturing.
90 ppm. The company’s carbon emission reduced by 31%. Apart from this Asian Paints reduced volatile organic compounds in manufacturing.
Green Products: Royale and Ezycolour are chosen for green initiative by the company. Royale health shield offers infection free home paints. This is the first in India, a paint recommended by Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Launch and promotion of Ezycolour:
Asian paints launched Ezycolour home solution in 2015. This is a green painting service initially targeted for the rich class. However, the company had seen the aspiration of the upper middle class for environmental friendly products and extended it to that category too. To create awareness about the product Asian paints had run two different campaigns. In the first one, the company ran an offline campaign wherein it selected Mumbai city. In the Mumbai city, Shivaji park, HP petrol pump and Hindu mills compounds are taken to paint vandevi using Asian paints. These Natural murals were different ideas all together. The company wanted to show the positive and negative side of vandevi environment issues. However, experts felt that locations selected for murals
were not attractive and had suggested using an art gallery. This will suffice the goal of Asian paint to reach a niche market. On the online campaign side, Asian paint ran storytelling by artists , why they selected the art profession. These stories were marketed on Facebook and YouTube. Contrary to the expectation of Asian paints, the Facebook campaign did not have mass comments. It gathered only 86000 views in a month. In the YouTube channel too the company had less than 2000 views. Both campaigns lacked the sales orientation.
were not attractive and had suggested using an art gallery. This will suffice the goal of Asian paint to reach a niche market. On the online campaign side, Asian paint ran storytelling by artists , why they selected the art profession. These stories were marketed on Facebook and YouTube. Contrary to the expectation of Asian paints, the Facebook campaign did not have mass comments. It gathered only 86000 views in a month. In the YouTube channel too the company had less than 2000 views. Both campaigns lacked the sales orientation.
Questions:
1. What went wrong for Asian paints green products?
2. Suggest a plan to promote green products for Indian households particularly in Metros.
1 comment:
My Perspective on Green Paints & Market Awareness
Having recently conducted a market survey with 150+ paint dealers and 150+ paint contractors, I was surprised to find that around 80% of the paint dealer were unaware of the green paints and they were actually selling them. For example, many dealers had heard of Asian Paints Royal Health Shield but didn’t recognise it as a sustainable Green product.
The bigger concern was the lack of communication, dealers received no clear product insights from the company, and even sales executives admitted to not being trained on this category. Ultimately, this product struggled in the market and was eventually discontinued.
Some qualitative information that I gained during the survey helped me understand that, - A strong product launch isn’t enough—promotion and education are critical. Dealers need to be fully aware of what they are selling to position it effectively to customers.
Companies must create structured communication channels—regular dealer training, newsletters, and dealer meets can bridge this knowledge gap.
Sales executives should be the first to be trained so they can pass on the right messaging to dealers and, in turn, to customers. High-end customers willing to invest in premium paints should be proactively pitched sustainable options like Royal Health Shield instead of defaulting to other premium variants.
My suggestion:
To successfully promote green paints, companies must invest in nationwide awareness campaigns through TV, print, and digital media. Additionally, metro-area dealers should always keep some stock, ensuring visibility. Green paints are the future, but without strong marketing and dealer education, they will struggle to gain traction in the Indian market.
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