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Tag: Birla Opus

  • Birla Opus: A Bold New Player Emerges

    Birla Opus: A Bold New Player Emerges

    MUMBAI: Imagine an industry so settled, so entrenched, that innovation has become a foreign concept. For decades, India’s decorative paints market has been a closed ecosystem, a carefully guarded territory where a few giants played by unwritten rules. Consumers had limited choices, contractors followed established patterns, and the market seemed frozen in time.

    Enter Birla Opus – a disruptor armed with more than just pigments and promises. And it’s led by RakshitHargave who isn’t your typical corporate executive. When he speaks about the paint industry, there’s a spark of rebellion in his voice. “The competitive intensity hasn’t been high,” he says, a statement that sounds more like a challenge than an observation.

    This isn’t just another corporate expansion. It’s a calculated assault on an industry that has grown fat and lazy.

    To understand Birla Opus’s strategy, one must first comprehend the unique ecosystem of India’s paint market. Unlike most consumer industries, this is a three-dimensional chess game involving contractors, dealers, and end-consumers. Each group has distinct motivations, distinct pain points.

    Most companies focus on one – Birla Opus is playing a multi-dimensional game. And it’s doing it as though it’s on steroids.  Numbers tell a compelling story. In just its first year, Birla Opus has  reached 6,000 towns, established over 140 depots and hosted  more than 150 exhibitions nationwide

    These aren’t just statistics. They’re strategic footprints designed to dismantle existing market barriers.

    Traditional paint companies treated contractors as mere distribution channels. Birla Opus sees them as partners.

    “We’re the first to host nationwide exhibitions allowing painters and contractors to experience products firsthand,” Hargave explains. It’s an industry-first initiative that speaks volumes about the company’s approach.

    India’s paint market has always had regional dynamics. South India traditionally belonged to one dominant player, while North and East remained multi-brand territories. Birla Opus has defied these traditional boundaries and has spread its colour nationally.

    “The gap between our best and relatively slower regions is just 110 versus 90,” Hargave notes – a testament to thecmpany’snational appeal and availability.

    In the paint industry, logistics isn’t a support function. It’s the backbone of the entire operation.Birla Opus has turned this into a competitive advantage. It has the record of fulfilling orders within four to six hours  while it delivers in surrounding regions by the next day. To achieve that Hargave has  five factories whipping up the paint with a sixth coming up in Kharagpur.  Additionally, the company has  strategically mapped depots near manufacturing facilities in order to ship out the product as quickly as possible.

    Where traditional brands whispered, Birla Opus is screaming from every possible platform. It has taken marketing and branding to a totally different level for a debutante by going after tentpole properties on television. For starters, cricket which isn’t just a sport in India. It’s a religion. Birla Opus secured prime sponsorshipsfor the ongoing  IPL, the T20 World Cup and all bilateral series. And it has dug its marketing heels into entertainment by partnering with reality shows like Indian Idol and Sa re ga ma pa. However, Hargave admits that “cricket remains a key driver for consumer traction,” 
    The brand  has understood in modern consumption driven new India and Bharat there has been a crucial psychological shift. Painting is no longer a maintenance chore – it’s a lifestyle statement. And to pander to that the company’s  campaign ‘Naya Zamane Ka Naya Paint’ isn’t selling colour. It’s selling aspiration, modernity, self-expression.

    Rs 10,000 crore in three years might sound like corporate hubris. But Hargave is quietly confident. “We are exactly where we aimed to be at the end of our first year,” he states.

    This isn’t just a corporate expansion. It’s a statement about Indian entrepreneurship. About challenging established narratives. About proving that with the right strategy, you can disrupt even the most settled industries.

    Will Birla Opus sustain its momentum? The paint is still wet, the canvas still incomplete. But one thing is certain – the company has  already redrawn the industry’s boundaries.

    In a market long dominated by legacy brands more interested in protecting territory than innovating, Birla Opus is not just selling paint.

    Hargave and his team are painting a revolution.
     

  • JioStar bowls advertisers a golden opportunity with Brand Spotlight during IPL opener

    JioStar bowls advertisers a golden opportunity with Brand Spotlight during IPL opener

    MUMBAI: As cricket-mad Indians prepare to be glued to their screens for the Tata  Indian Premier League (IPL), JioStar is padding up to bowl advertisers a rather tempting delivery. The media behemoth is launching the second innings of Brand Spotlight—a  scheme to showcase select commercials exclusively during the golden first six overs of matches, when viewership hits fever pitch.

    For the first time, this advertising honeypot will extend beyond digital platforms to linear television, allowing deep-pocketed sponsors to splash their wares during the tournament’s opening clash on Star Sports. A veritable who’s who of Indian advertisers—including My11Circle, Campa Energy, GPay, Birla Opus, Poker Baazi, PhonePe, Thums Up, Dream 11, TVS, Asian Paints, MRF, Joy Consumer Products and Carat Lane—have stumped up handsomely for the privilege.

    “The opening match at IPL is a marquee moment in India’s sporting calendar, commanding unmatched audience attention,” said an excited  JioStar chief business officer for sports revenue, SMB and creator Ishan Chatterjee. “Brand Spotlight places brands at the centre of this excitement.”.

    JioStar’s masterstroke includes a dedicated Brand Spotlight content tray on the JioHotstar app, where advertising mavens will explain the creative genius behind their commercials. This behind-the-scenes peek aims to transform mundane adverts into “cultural moments”—corporate-speak for “please don’t skip our ads.”

    Last year’s maiden venture proved quite the crowd-pleaser, with six brands dominating the crucial early overs of the curtain-raiser between Kolkata Knight Riders and Royal Challengers Bangalore. Unlike traditional ad spots, where viewers typically dash to the loo or frantically search for the remote, these commercials enjoyed what JioStar calls “uncluttered and appointment-driven visibility”—a fancy way of saying “you can’t escape them.”

    What JioStar is attempting—with considerable chutzpah—is to create India’s version of America’s famed Super Bowl advertising extravaganza, where commercials often generate more buzz than the sporting action itself.
    By transforming IPL’s opening overs into prime advertising real estate, JioStar is exploiting cricket’s vice-like grip on the national psyche. It’s a textbook case of capitalism meeting cricket fever—a marriage made in commercial heaven.

    Whether viewers will embrace this Super Bowl moment or simply use it as an opportunity to stock up on samosas or kathi rolls  remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: in the battle for eyeballs, JioStar has just hit advertisers for a commercial six.

  • Birla Opus eyes expansion as paint industry newcomer makes its mark

    Birla Opus eyes expansion as paint industry newcomer makes its mark

    MUMBAI: Birla Opus, the fast-growing paint brand from Aditya Birla Group, is focusing on expanding its dealer network and widening its product portfolio for fiscal year 2026, according to CEO Rakshit Hargave.

    The brand, which entered the decorative paints segment in February 2024, has achieved high single-digit growth in FY 2025 despite being operational for only about 10 months. Hargave expects similar momentum to continue in the coming year.

    “There is a long journey ahead of us. We do not expect any major change in our strategy,” Hargave told the Press Trust of India. “We will drive more throughput for dealers and increase the range available at dealers.”

    Birla Opus is rapidly establishing its market presence. The company recently commercialised its fifth manufacturing plant in Mahad, Maharashtra, bringing its total installed capacity to 1,096 million liters per annum. A sixth plant in Kharagpur is scheduled to begin trial production in the next quarter, which will add another 236 million liters of capacity.

    Aditya Birla Group has invested Rs 10,000 crore in the paint business and aims to capture a double-digit market share and generate gross revenue of Rs 10,000 crore within three years of full-scale operations.

    Birla Opus has employed a multi-pronged marketing approach to establish its brand presence in a competitive market dominated by industry veterans. The company’s advertising campaigns—Naye Zamane ka Naya Paint (New Paint for a New Era) and Make Life Beautiful—have reportedly reached over 70 crore Indians, garnering positive responses across markets.

    The paint manufacturer has strategically positioned itself as a major sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL), one of India’s most-watched sporting events. The cricket tournament, which airs on the JioStar network of sports channels and JioHotstar streaming platform from 22 March, gives Birla Opus significant visibility among its target audience

    To enhance customer experience, Birla Opus is opening 10 Paint Studios across major Indian cities, including New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, and Hyderabad. The first such studio was recently launched in Gurugram.
    “The purpose of these studios is to provide a one-stop-shop experience for the end consumer,” explained Hargave.

    Currently, Birla Opus offers 145+ products and 1,200+ SKUs across water-based paints, enamel paints, wood finishes, waterproofing solutions, and wallpapers. The brand also provides direct painting services through its PaintCraft initiative.

    As a newcomer in an industry dominated by established players like Asian Paints, Berger, and Kansai Nerolac, Birla Opus is focused on getting “many of the basics right, but at the same time, creating differentiation for the consumer in paints,” Hargave added.

    With the Indian economy expected to reach $10 trillion by 2034 and the paints sector projected to surpass Rs 3,00,000 crore by that time, Birla Opus appears well-positioned to capitalise on the country’s growing infrastructure development and housing initiatives.

  • Cylndr India creates interactive infinite zoom christmas video for Birla Opus

    Cylndr India creates interactive infinite zoom christmas video for Birla Opus

    Mumbai: This holiday season, Cylndr India has collaborated with Birla Opus to create an innovative and interactive Infinite Zoom Christmas Video. Designed to captivate and engage, the video immerses viewers in a vibrant and magical holiday world filled with hidden gifts, twinkling lights, and cozy corners. The interactive nature of the video challenges audiences to explore every detail and discover as many gifts as they can within the infinite zoom experience.

     Cylndr India has leveraged cutting-edge technology and creative expertise to bring this holiday video to life, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in today’s digital content landscape., offering not only a visual feast but also a fun and participatory experience for viewers. The video offers a seamless zooming effect that allows viewers to continuously dive deeper into the scene, finding new surprises and festive elements with every exploration. The collaboration with Birla Opus showcases how interactive experiences can be seamlessly integrated into storytelling.

    This collaboration marks a significant milestone in  Cylndr India’s ability to deliver dynamic, engaging digital content that pushes the boundaries of creativity and interactivity. The infinite zoom christmas video is an excellent example of how innovative technology can transform the way audiences experience digital media, making it both visually stunning and fun.

    The infinite zoom christmas video is now available for viewing across various platforms.

     

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

    A post shared by CYLNDR (@cylndr.india)

     

     Cylndr India – Creative. Production. New-Age Content  

    About:   Cylndr India

     Cylndr India empowers brands with creative, production, and new-age content for their present and future communication goals. As a versatile powerhouse for brands, content creators, and advertisers, it operates across platforms, mediums, and agencies.  Cylndr offers end-to-end production, post-production, and new-age content for the virtual world and Web 3.0. Additionally, it caters to live and social commerce services for D2C brands.  Cylndr India also provides state-of-the-art production studios with in-house online and offline editing. With a global footprint,  Cylndr collaborates with clients worldwide, featuring regional Center of Excellence. At  Cylndr, we define it as connected production, where we are linked through data and technology, united by dynamic working, and connected through a global network.

     Cylndr is an established content production brand of BMB, which is an overseas subsidiary of Cheil Worldwide Inc.

    For more information, visit: www.cylndr.in

  • Transforming workforce training for Birla Opus Paints with VR innovation: An AutoVRse case study

    Transforming workforce training for Birla Opus Paints with VR innovation: An AutoVRse case study

    Mumbai: Birla Paints, a new entrant in the market, is ambitiously aiming for a quick rise to the top spot. With plans to install production units in and outside India, there is a sudden need for an effective training program for the newly hired workforce. AutoVRse comes to offer the answer through immersive virtual reality (VR) training that caters to linguistic diversity and ensures effective skill acquisition and retention.

    A trained and skilled factory workforce is of utmost importance for manufacturing companies. Whether you are expanding to newer geographies or growing your production per plant, scaling traditional safety and process training comes with its challenges:

    “We implemented a comprehensive digital training program, utilizing immersive VR simulations and gamified learning modules to upskill their factory workforce. This innovative approach not only improved knowledge retention and engagement but also significantly reduced training time and costs, ultimately boosting productivity and ensuring a safer working environment.” exclaimed Anuj.

    Skill Diversification: With diverse job roles spanning from manufacturing to customer service, ensuring uniform skill development across the workforce poses a significant challenge. Tailoring training programs to address the specific needs of each department while maintaining consistency can be complex.

    Language Barriers: Birla Opus Paints operates in regions with linguistic diversity. Ensuring effective communication and comprehension across all levels of the workforce to scale your training across geographies is a major challenge in India.

    Cost constraints: Implementing extensive training programs, particularly those utilizing Virtual Reality (VR), can result in cutting down expenses. Balancing the need for high-quality impactful training with budgetary constraints poses a challenge for most training initiatives.

    Sustainability of learning: Ensuring that the skills acquired through training programs are retained and applied consistently in real-world scenarios is a must. Sustaining the impact of training beyond the initial sessions requires ongoing reinforcement and support mechanisms.

    Remote work challenges: With the rise of remote work arrangements, providing effective training to employees working from different locations becomes challenging. Maintaining consistent training standards and accessibility for remote workers requires innovative solutions.

    Employee engagement and motivation: Keeping employees engaged and motivated throughout the training process can be a challenge, particularly with repetitive or mandatory training modules. Designing training experiences that are interactive, engaging, and relevant to employees’ roles is crucial.

    Measuring training effectiveness: Assessing the impact and effectiveness of training programs is essential for continuous improvement. Developing reliable metrics and evaluation methods to gauge the success of training initiatives and identify areas for improvement poses a challenge.

    “Addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach that combines innovative technology, and tailored training strategies, and a commitment to continuous improvement. By overcoming these hurdles, Birla Paints can ensure that its workforce remains skilled, adaptable, and equipped to meet the evolving demands of the industry,” said AutoVRse enterprise and sales lead Anuj Gupta.

    Birla Opus Paints recognised VR training as the right solution to its needs and picked AutoVRse as the perfect partner to create truly effective and scalable training modules in VR.

    In 4 foundational steps, AutoVRse is helping Birla Opus Paints address the immediate requirement to train the incoming workforce and scale the training program across use cases and geographies.

    Step 1: Beginning with off-the-shelf VR training lessons

    To cater to the immediate requirement of Birla Opus to train the workforce in their new plants, the easy first step was to dip into AutoVRse’s content library of readymade VR training modules… These modules cover key processes along with working at height, electrical safety, fire safety, and lock-out-tag out, ensuring complete training in Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, and more. By leveraging AutoVRse’s proven instructional design philosophy, trainees can gain better skill retention, setting the stage for a solid foundation of protecting work and protocols.

    Step 2: Customide training modules for increased ROI

    Recognizing the need for customized training experiences, Birla Paints utilizes the personalisation options presented with AutoVRse. With the Unity SDK and VRseBuilder, you can tailor training scenarios without the need for coding expertise. This flexibility will allow them to create diverse and challenging situations, which ensures maximum engagement and improvement of skills among trainees. By customizing the modules, Birla Paints optimizes the ROI according to the session, making every training effective and impactful.

    Step 3: Integration with corporate IT systems and scaling with VR-native LMS

    As training initiatives expand, Birla Paints focuses on seamless integration with its existing corporate IT systems. AutoVRse’s VR-native LMS proves instrumental in consolidating training data and simplifying management tasks. Integration with single sign-on (SSO) and Learning Management Systems (LMS) streamlines administrative processes, allowing Birla Paints to efficiently track progress and demonstrate ROI. With all VR training data centralized, Birla Paints gains valuable insights into employee development and skill enhancement.

    Step 4: Scaling XR across teams and use cases

    To further enhance training effectiveness, the last step poised by AutoVRse for Birla Paints is VRseBuilder, an all-in-one platform for VR app creation and management. By adhering to the VRseBuilder philosophy of simplicity and accessibility, Birla Paints will empower its teams to develop immersive training experiences effortlessly. Through VRseBuilder, they can foster a culture of continuous learning and skill development, ensuring employees are best prepared for workplace challenges. With AutoVRse’s innovative solutions, Birla Paints embarks on a journey towards safer, more efficient manufacturing processes.

    “AutoVRse’s training modules adhere to a set of instructional design principles aimed at maximizing learning retention and real-world application” added Anuj.

    Mimic the real world: By creating training environments that closely resemble real-world scenarios, AutoVRse ensures high-fidelity learning experiences.

    Engage learners with active tasks: Through interactive tasks and simulations, trainees are actively involved in the learning process, enhancing knowledge retention.

    Train with variation and repetition: AutoVRse incorporates varied scenarios to reinforce concepts, ensuring comprehensive skill development through repeated exposure.

    Provide instant actionable feedback: Trainees receive immediate feedback on their performance, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and learning.

    Enable real-world behavioral change: By leveraging the immersive nature of VR, AutoVRse facilitates genuine behavioral change, as skills learned in virtual environments directly translate to real-world applications.

    “AutoVRse and Birla Paints are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry, empowering employees with the skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a dynamic workplace environment.” finally exclaimed, Anuj.

    In conclusion, with a focus on instructional design principles that prioritize real-world applicability and engagement, Birla Paints aims to foster a culture of continuous learning and skill development among its workforce with AutoVRse. By embracing VR technology, Birla Paints has not only enhanced workplace safety and efficiency but also positioned itself as a leader in next-generation manufacturing training. As they continue to evolve and innovate, the partnership between AutoVRse and Birla Paints serves as a testament to the transformative power of VR training in shaping the future of manufacturing education. Together, they are paving the way for a new era of training excellence, where virtual reality becomes an indispensable tool in empowering the workforce of tomorrow.

  • Aditya Birla Group to launch its paints business under the brand name ‘Birla Opus’

    Aditya Birla Group to launch its paints business under the brand name ‘Birla Opus’

    Mumbai: Grasim Industries Ltd, a flagship company of the Aditya Birla Group, today unveiled the brand name of its paints business, ‘Birla Opus’. The market launch of Birla Opus is scheduled for Q4FY24. Grasim will offer a full suite of high-quality products in the decorative paints segment.

    Aditya Birla Group chairman  Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “Our foray into decorative paints is a strategic portfolio choice that enables us to tap into a high-growth market and expand our presence in the vibrant Indian consumer landscape. Our paint business will build on the power and trust associated with the Aditya Birla brand. The Company has over the last couple of years built a strong foundation to enable a successful business launch. We endeavour to become a profitable No. 2 player in the coming years and announcing our brand name is the first of many steps that will follow in this direction.”

    Ahead of the launch, Grasim has successfully piloted the first-of-its-kind painting services in key metros and introduced a range of imported wood finishes. A cutting-edge R&D facility has already been set up in Maharashtra.

    Grasim had previously committed an investment of Rs.10,000 crore towards setting up the paints business. The company’s state-of-the-art manufacturing plants located in Haryana, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and West Bengal, will have a total capacity of 1,332 million litres per annum (MLPA) and will serve demand centres across the country.

    The current estimated value of India’s decorative paints industry is  Rs 70,000 Crore. The paints industry is witnessing double-digit growth year-on-year driven by rising consumer aspirations and the government’s push towards ‘Housing for All’.