Inside Crompton’s reset: Marketing first, products next in a crowded durables market

For decades, Crompton has been one of those brands that quietly lived in Indian homes, most recognisably through ceiling fans, without demanding too much attention. However, beneath this familiarity, the consumer durables market has become increasingly complex: premiumization is on the rise, categories are fragmented, and technology is no longer a novelty but an expectation.

In response, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. (CGCEL), the consumer-facing arm of the original Crompton group, is attempting a reset it calls ‘Crompton 2.0’: a structural rethink of how it designs products, spends marketing money and connects with consumers.

To clarify the split that happened in 2015–16, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals (CGCEL) focuses on homes, offering fans (ceiling, pedestal, exhaust), LED lighting, residential pumps, air coolers, water heaters and kitchen appliances like mixer grinders – a pure B2C play.

CG Power and Industrial Solutions (formerly Crompton Greaves) operates in industry and infrastructure, supplying transformers, switchgears, high-tension motors, factory drives, and railway traction and signalling systems as a B2B business.

In short, one keeps Indian homes running; the other powers factories, grids and railways.

According to Tanmay Prusty, chief marketing officer, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, the shift begins at a very basic level. “Earlier, marketing was one of the last steps in the process. Now, we want to bring it right to the first step in value creation,” he says.

From product-first to consumer-first

At the heart of Crompton 2.0 is a move away from a traditional product-led approach to what Prusty describes as a deeply consumer-first way of working. The idea, he explains, is to understand how consumers actually live with products, not just how they purchase them.

“Business decisions today are built around a deeper understanding of how consumers live, use and choose our products over days, months and years,” Prusty says. “It’s about genuinely improving empathy for how people interact with our products.”

That shift is visible most clearly in the company’s recent product innovations, which are rooted in everyday Indian frictions rather than abstract feature upgrades.

Designing solutions for everyday consumer problems

Take indoor air quality, an issue usually discussed in the context of outdoor pollution. Crompton’s research found that air quality inside homes often deteriorates sharply during cooking, particularly in smaller urban apartments with compact kitchens and low ceilings.

“During deep cooking sessions, AQI can spike significantly, especially when tadka is being prepared,” Prusty notes.

“There’s a lot of conversation globally around outdoor pollution, but very little around what happens inside homes.”

The result was Sylvaire, a high-suction kitchen chimney equipped with an AQI sensor that actively responds to changes in indoor air quality during cooking.

Similarly, in water pumps, a category often considered purely functional, Crompton identified deep-seated consumer anxiety.

“Consumers either worry they haven’t run the pump long enough, or they forget to switch it off and the tank overflows,” says Prusty. To address this, the brand introduced an IntelliSense panel that automatically senses tank levels and enables auto cut-off.

In the fan category, Crompton identified another behavioural tension. While the category has witnessed a shift towards smart, remote-controlled fans, the proliferation of remotes at home has increasingly overwhelmed consumers.

Crompton’s response was the Regmote BLDC fan, which can be operated both by a traditional regulator and a remote, restoring choice rather than forcing a single mode of use.

“These are not just features,” Prusty says. “They’re solutions built around real consumer pain points.”

Innovation beyond metros

One assumption Crompton is actively challenging is that sophisticated products only find acceptance in metro markets. According to Prusty, demand for intelligent solutions is pan-India.

“One of our biggest pump markets is actually Bihar,” he says, pointing to how innovation-led products are finding strong traction far beyond urban centres.

This thinking also informs the brand’s approach to categories like water heaters and air coolers. In water heaters, Crompton has adapted its technology to operate in high hard-water conditions of up to 2,000 ppm, a common issue in many Indian households.

In air coolers, the company has made adjustments to address excess humidity, particularly in coastal markets where traditional coolers tend to be less effective.

Marketing spends follow the strategy

Crompton's marketing investments have also reflected the strategic shift. As part of Crompton 2.0, the company has significantly increased its A&P spends, moving from about 1.5% of revenue in FY23 to nearly 3.5–4% today, according to Prusty.

But it’s not just about spending more; it’s about spending differently.

Crompton now follows a hybrid media strategy, continuing to invest in television and conventional media for scale, especially in leadership categories such as fans and pumps, while simultaneously building presence on newer platforms.

Recent initiatives include sponsoring podcasts such as Serving It Up with Sania for its kitchen appliances, partnering with platforms like Cricbuzz during peak summer, and using AI-driven content for culturally rooted campaigns, such as an AI-led communication around Chhath Puja in Bihar, where pumps are closely associated with water use.

“These platforms allow us to be more contextual, more relevant, and more culturally tuned,” Prusty says.

Creators, content and younger consumers

Digital-first formats and creator-led storytelling are playing an increasingly important role in how Crompton connects with younger homeowners and renters. 

Beyond sponsorships, the brand has experimented with participatory content formats—such as launching an audio jingle for its air coolers on Spotify and inviting creators to build their own versions on top of it.

Influencer-led topical campaigns, Prusty adds, have become a recurring part of Crompton’s marketing playbook rather than one-off experiments.

Omnichannel, not digital versus offline

Despite its growing digital focus, Crompton remains firmly channel-agnostic. General trade continues to be critical, especially given the company’s scale as India’s leading fan brand and one of the largest pump manufacturers.

At the same time, its e-commerce business has crossed Rs 1,000 crore and is growing at around 20%, driven largely by categories such as kitchen appliances and small domestic appliances. The company is also seeing early traction from emerging formats such as quick commerce.

“You don’t achieve leadership in India by operating on just one platform,” Prusty says. “You have to win channel by channel and category by category.”

Premiumisation as a growth lever

One of the clearest shifts Crompton is seeing is premiumisation, particularly in fans. Premium fans now account for about 25% of the company’s mix, up from the mid-teens three to four years ago.

Platform-led innovation, with proprietary technologies such as Nucleus for BLDC fans and XTech for induction fans, has anchored this growth. Design has also emerged as a differentiator, with products like the Crompton Silent Pro Fluido.

A quieter transformation

At a philosophical level, Prusty describes Crompton’s approach as being “tech-forward but consumer-backward”, using technology not to add complexity but to simplify everyday life.

“Smart technology for us isn’t about bells and whistles,” he says. “It’s about building solutions that truly matter in people’s lives.”