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. Intermission's first episode is just that — a deep, unhurried look at Asian Paints, one of India's most enduring companies. — 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
