When most paint brands talk about durability, they speak in terms of years, warranties and weather resistance. Kansai Nerolac Paints decided to take a far more ambitious route—by sending its paint into the stratosphere. The initiative, touted as India’s first stratospheric paint test, has generated significant buzz, but for Ramkrishna Naik, Chief Marketing Officer, Kansai Nerolac Paints, the exercise was never primarily about marketing.
Kansai Nerolac launched their #OutofThisWorld campaign that showcases a test of its Excel Everlast exterior paint range at 86,000 feet above Earth. As part of the initiative, the company sent a payload coated with the paint via a stratospheric balloon to demonstrate its performance under extreme conditions.
“We wanted to test our products in an environment where no paint had been tested before,” says Naik. The objective was simple yet bold: subject the company’s exterior coatings to some of the harshest conditions known to mankind and validate their performance beyond conventional benchmarks. “This was more of a scientific validation exercise than a marketing campaign,” he explains.
While the project inevitably evolved into a high-profile campaign through amplification and media attention, Naik insists its foundation lay in product innovation. By pushing paint performance to near-space conditions, Kansai Nerolac sought to demonstrate—not merely claim—the resilience of its technology. The message to consumers was clear: if a coating can withstand the extreme conditions of the stratosphere, it can certainly endure the challenges faced on Earth. And to prove Nerolac’s claims right, the payload returned completely intact. The paint sustained zero cracks, zero color fading, and no peeling.
The initiative also reinforces a lesser-known aspect of Kansai Nerolac’s identity. Although consumers often associate paint advertising with aesthetics, colours and home beautification, the company’s roots are deeply technology-driven. Beyond decorative paints, Kansai Nerolac is a major player in industrial and automotive coatings, sectors that demand continuous innovation and rigorous research. “Our DNA has always been that of a tech-led brand,” says Naik, pointing to the company’s Japanese technology heritage and longstanding focus on product development.
As competition intensifies across the paint category, Naik remains focused on creating meaningful value rather than obsessing over market-share rankings. Whether it is protecting the walls of a home, the surface of a refrigerator or the finish on a car, he believes success lies in making a tangible difference to consumers’ lives. And with its latest stratospheric experiment, Kansai Nerolac has found a striking way to prove just how far its products can go.
Watch the full interview here:
