Would small-town India favour Haisha Paints, without a big-city glow?

Pidilite had already built deep trust in small-town India through Fevicol and Dr. Fixit. Paints were the next frontier. But while most competitors grew by launching in metros and trickling down, Haisha flipped the order; starting where the growth was strongest.

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The challenge was that decorative paints is a category built on visibility and aspiration. Brands that arrive from metros carry both. A newcomer beginning in smaller towns has neither. And when every player already floods the market with bright visuals and loud claims, even standing out on a paint dealer’s desk is hard.

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To succeed, Haisha couldn’t behave like a “value” brand made for the hinterland. It had to capture the imagination of emerging India- a market that no longer wanted scaled-down aspiration.

To understand this, our behaviour researchers, brand and digital strategists, spent weeks on the field conducting market visits in 20+ Tier-3/4 towns (Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana) to observe behaviors, preferences, and the trade ecosystem firsthand.

In Emerging India personal taste matters, more than ‘trends’.  That was the only significant difference, when compared to their big city peers. Here too,  people dreamt of beautiful homes, browsed Pinterest and YouTube for all kinds of inspiration- from close home, and from far off lands, and discussed colour choices like designers. But no brand reflected their aesthetic language.

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Contractors were more than labour. They were collaborators; trusted partners (often friends)  who shaped how families imagined their homes. Recognising their role could make them feel seen; not reduced to being seen as incentive hungry. 

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And while trust in “Pidilite” was abstract, trust in Fevicol and Dr. Fixit was deep and emotional. Making that connection visible could give Haisha instant credibility.