Want a Kayal or Singapenne home? In TN, Asian Paints can give you one

Those in Tamil Nadu wishing to get your house painted afresh have a whole new shade card to choose from. What’s better, it will make your pad look as bright and shiny as those gala sets you see in TV shows!

Yes, in a unique move, Asian Paints has launched a new shade guide featuring curated colour palettes tailored specifically for homes in Tamil Nadu. And the guide, featuring curated colour palettes tailored specifically for Tamil homes and cultural preferences, has been inspired by Tamil TV show sets!

Hyper-local strategy

“This is not just a shade guide, it’s a hyper-local strategy built on ground research,” said Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints, at the launch of Tractor Emulsion Varnamaalai in Chennai on Monday (June 23).

While the event was styled around décor and regional inspiration, the underlying motive is deeply commercial. Asian Paints is under pressure.

In its latest BSE filing, the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 700.8 crore for Q4 FY25, down 45 per cent from Rs 1,275.3 crore in the same quarter last year. The management commentary pointed to subdued demand in the decorative segment and intensified competition as key reasons for the decline.

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A targeted move

Tamil Nadu plays a pivotal role in the company’s distribution footprint. Asian Paints operates a major decorative paints plant in Sriperumbudur, which serves as the company’s hub for southern India, according to its annual report and website.

The launch of Varnamaalai is a targeted move to revive consumer demand in this region by linking product choice to popular Tamil television content. According to Asian Paints, the three shows featured in the guide, Kayal, Moondru Mudichu, and Singapenne, collectively reach 41 million viewers monthly in the state.

TN’s preferred tones

Speaking at the event, Syngle said the initiative was rooted in extensive on-ground research conducted across cities, including Chennai and Madurai.

He said the study revealed a growing preference for pastel shades and softer tones, alongside a strong influence of on-screen décor and fabric textures in consumer decision-making.

“We’ve transformed our understanding of Tamil Nadu’s culture into a commercial tool,” he said.

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Falling demand, growing competition

This push comes against the backdrop of broader headwinds facing the paints industry. Paint demand in India is tightly linked to the real-estate cycle. Industry data from Berger Paints and Sell.Do estimate that nearly 70 per cent of demand comes from new housing construction and repainting.

According to Knight Frank India, the residential market surged in FY23, with home sales reaching Rs 3.47 lakh crore, up 48 per cent year-on-year. However, demand slowed in FY24 and FY25. Asian Paints flagged a weak festive season and sluggish urban repainting during its Q3 FY25 earnings call and reiterated this in its Q4 management commentary.

While Asian Paints has historically dominated the decorative paints segment, with a market share of 59 per cent before 2024, that dominance is now under pressure. Nielsen data indicates that the company’s market share dropped to 52 per cent in 2025, primarily due to the aggressive entry of Birla Opus, the Grasim-backed brand that launched in February 2024 and has already captured 6.8 per cent of the market.

Birla Opus gained traction through discount-led strategies and rapid capacity expansion. At the same time, JSW Paints is chasing a revenue target of Rs 5,000 crore by FY26 and focusing on the luxury segment.

65 colour combinations

Syngle acknowledged in the Q4 FY25 earnings call that Asian Paints is operating in a high-intensity competitive environment. He said the company’s strategic response would lean on product innovation, brand depth, and region-specific relevance rather than on discounting.

This is where Tuesday’s launch of Varnamaalai fits in. The campaign is tied to Tractor Emulsion, the company’s mass-market interior paint brand that offers anti-fade performance and a four-year warranty. The shade guide adds 65 curated colour combinations along with room-specific styling suggestions, inspired by familiar on-screen living spaces.

Syngle said the model is scalable and could be replicated in other high-TV-consumption states. “Consumers relate to silver screen characters like Kayal and Nandhini. By translating their spaces into colour combinations, we’re simplifying the buying experience while maintaining strong regional resonance,” he said.

Also read: Housing sales across 8 cities touch 6-year high in Q3: Knight Frank India

Growth segments

At the same time, Asian Paints is hedging its bets by investing in premium and industrial offerings. This includes Ultima Suprema, an air-purifying paint, and SmartCare Infinia, a waterproofing solution with a 25-year warranty, both of which were highlighted in the company’s FY25 investor presentation.

In its Q4 FY25 earnings call, the company said its industrial coatings segment, particularly in automotive and powder coatings, had shown robust growth and would help offset weakness in decorative paints.

Asian Paints is also expanding its Total Assure brand, a bundled painting and décor service that integrates execution, product selection, and design.

More than storytelling

The company’s colour intelligence platforms remain central to its differentiation strategy. Syngle said at the event that Asian Paints had just launched Chromacosm, a global first, which offers more than 5,300 shades and incorporates Indian colour sensibilities. This complements its long-standing ColorNext research initiative, which tracks colour and material trends across regions.

Looking ahead, Syngle told analysts in a May earnings call that the company expects single-digit volume and value growth in FY26. He expressed confidence that demand recovery in urban housing and industrial paints would be the key growth drivers.

But with real estate demand still fragile and market share under pressure, campaigns like Varnamaalai are no longer about storytelling. They are strategic bets aimed at regaining lost ground in markets where cultural familiarity may still move product.