Tamil Nadu is a key market for us: Amit Syngle on Asian Paints-Sun TV collab TEST ARTICLE

Asian Paints, recently launched, a consumer-first initiative, Tractor Emulsion Varnamaalai, a unique shade guide crafted exclusively for Tamil Nadu. Tractor Emulsion ‘Varnamaalai’, meaning ‘Garland of Colours’, is inspired by the culture of the southern state and even popular small screen stars who depict strong women screen, in TRP topping shows.

What’s a well-known fact is that colours are vital to life, influencing emotions, moods, perceptions, stimulates minds and even physical well-being. And when it comes to homes, people look at colours for inspiration, how colours can make their homes look beautiful and is significantly influenced by cultural choice.

Zoning In On Tamil Nadu

With Tamil Nadu being a key market for Asian Paints, the brand has garnered a deep understanding of consumer preferences and is developing region-specific initiatives, and design tools rooted in local culture to help consumers imagine and create their living spaces. Asian Paints undertook a full-fledged research, for two months across Tamil Nadu, to catch the trends on colour choices and shade preferences that appeal to the people of the state.

The research looked at the inspirations taken from historical cultural traditions that plays a strong role in influencing people of their choices. Looking at the core insights unearthed from the research of the Tamil audience showed that textiles, fabrics, curtains, upholstery used to adorn homes have a large influence on shade selection across consumer homes in the state.

A big trend seen was that while darker shades were once the preferred choice, there's now a growing inclination towards lighter tones, such as pastels, as well. When it came to usage in spaces, darker shades suited shared spaces, while lighter tones were used in personal areas bringing in calm.

Amit Syngle, MD & CEO of Asian Paints, says, “Another trend we saw was that, people no longer wanted to use one shade in the entire home, but wanted to use multiple colours. In fact, people now want to use multiple colours even in one room.”

A trend that came to the fore and influenced by Gen Z and Gen Alpha who looked at inspiration online, with over 40 percent of online searches now focused on colours and shades, reflecting a strong demand for visualisation tools.

In addition, consumers are increasingly drawn to colour combinations that add depth and personality to their spaces with shade selection becoming a family activity, with everyone contributing to the final look. To support this, Asian Paints has made colour exploration more engaging and intuitive to help families choose combinations that reflect their style and story.

A ‘SUN’ny Collaboration

A key insight was the role of women when it came to taking decisions and the role of media. Syngle says, “Today’s media has a big role to play, particularly TV soaps, which has many women hooked on to women-centric content and these serials are seen to be inspirational.”