What is the rationale behind Asian Paints entering the sanitizer category?

While the motivation came from the Government to support them in these testing times, we were already present in the health and hygiene space for the past few years. We felt the sanitizers would add value to our existing business and as a responsible and caring brand, our foray into this category fit into our overall health and hygiene strategy.

In terms of producing the sanitizers within our plants, we dedicated a certain capacity of our plant at Ankleshwar in Gujarat for manufacturing sanitizers. We obtained all the necessary permissions from authorities, whether it was the FDA permission or the environment permission to have them ready by May 1. We started producing the sanitizers at an unprecedented pace to have it ready within a short period, but we all rallied in and launched the sanitizers on the 1st of May.

Was this part of a larger strategy to look at this health and hygiene segment because this has become the number one priority for consumers right now? So is there a larger strategy to move into this in a much bigger way apart from sanitizers?

So, see we have been working in the health and hygiene sector for the last three years. We already have some products there which no other brand has. We introduced Royal Health Shield which is a brand that has a 99.9% anti-bacterial effect and it is used for homes to provide an anti-bacterial coating for the walls within the home. This product also has US certification for its anti-bacterial nature and odour absorption and it has also been certified by the Indian Medical Association.