From Product Push to Demand Creation in India's Lighting Market

In an exclusive interaction with Thiruamuthan, Assistant Editor at Industry Outlook, Anika Agarwal, EVP & SBU Head – Lighting, Orient Electric, discusses how changing consumer preferences and buying behavior are reshaping India's lighting market, and how brands can move beyond product-led sales to create demand and unlock new growth opportunities across consumer and professional lighting.

With over 20 years of experience, Anika Agarwal has held leadership roles at Orient Electric, MMTC-PAMP, Max Bupa and Nokia. Her expertise spans brand building, consumer marketing, product development, digital commerce, customer experience and business transformation, with experience in scaling businesses and developing new growth opportunities across markets.

What is changing in the way Indian consumers buy lighting today, and what does that mean for brands that have traditionally relied on product-led sales?

The way lighting is bought is changing, with a gradual shift from a largely product-led purchase to a more solution-oriented approach. Architects and interior designers are playing a bigger role in influencing specifications, while consumers are becoming more aware of how different lighting solutions serve different purposes within a home.

For lighting brands, this has implications for both the portfolio and the route to market. A comprehensive range is increasingly important, spanning conventional bulbs and ceiling lights to task and accent lighting, magnetic track systems, glare-reduced solutions and 3CCT products. The challenge is to offer the right solutions across price points while ensuring that retailers and influencers understand where each product fits.

Equally, the industry needs to invest in educating consumers. Through our retail network and digital channels, we want to build awareness of the choices available and help consumers make more informed decisions. Over time, the opportunity is to expand the category by moving the conversation beyond replacement and basic illumination towards better-planned lighting for different spaces and needs.

With LED now a mature category, how can lighting companies grow without depending mainly on higher volumes or lower prices?

With LED now a mature category, sustainable growth cannot depend on volume expansion or price competition alone. Rising raw material costs are putting pressure on margins, even as advances in technology continue to improve product performance and make new lighting solutions more accessible. The focus therefore needs to be on improving product mix, creating demand for higher-value solutions and expanding into new applications.

In consumer lighting, this means moving beyond a business largely driven by conventional bulbs and battens to a broader portfolio of lighting solutions, including products that offer better visual comfort, greater functionality and design flexibility. The opportunity is to increase the value of the lighting basket per household through better product mix and wider adoption of these solutions. Achieving this requires a strong retail presence, productive trade partnerships and greater engagement with architects, interior designers and electricians, who influence lighting choices and specifications.

In professional lighting, growth will increasingly come from application-led solutions rather than standalone product sales. Offices, industrial facilities, roads, public infrastructure and specialized environments have distinct lighting requirements. Brands need the capabilities to address these needs through appropriate products, technical expertise and project execution, while capitalizing on opportunities emerging from infrastructure development.

Ultimately, the industry needs to grow both the value of its existing business and the range of applications it serves. That calls for disciplined pricing and margins, a stronger product mix, effective channel execution and continued investment in technology and capabilities.

Why has smart lighting not yet become a mainstream choice for most Indian consumers, and what would make it more relevant to everyday needs?

Smart lighting has yet to become a mainstream purchase in India because, for many consumers, the benefits are not compelling enough to justify the additional cost or complexity. We have seen early adoption of standalone smart lighting products, particularly among younger, digitally savvy consumers, with e-commerce playing an important role in product discovery and purchase. However, adoption beyond this segment will depend on making smart lighting relevant to a wider range of households and everyday needs.

It is also important to recognize that smart lighting is not one homogeneous category. Standalone smart bulbs and lights offer a relatively accessible entry point, while integrated systems that connect lighting with other home devices require a broader investment and a more considered purchase decision. Each has a different target consumer and value proposition.

For wider adoption, products need to be affordable, easy to install and intuitive to operate. Features such as dimming, scheduling, remote control and integration with other smart-home devices can add value when they address specific needs. Reliability, compatibility with existing home infrastructure and a seamless user experience are equally important.

The opportunity for the industry is to focus on practical use cases rather than technology alone, and to make the benefits easier to understand. As connected-home adoption grows, smart lighting can become a more relevant part of that ecosystem. Ultimately, mainstream adoption will depend on delivering tangible consumer value at an accessible price point, with the right proposition for each consumer segment.

Also Read: India's Consumer Durables Market: The Rise of Premium Demand

As consumers discover products through e-commerce and digital channels, how is the buying journey for lighting changing, and what does this mean for brands and their distribution networks?

The digital buying journey has bifurcated into two distinct tracks. E-commerce marketplaces primarily capture replacement purchases and non-advisory utility products, which have grown into a sizable volume channel. Meanwhile, own-brand websites are transforming into advisory destinations powered by AI-based design journeys and spatial visualizers that let consumers preview room layouts before purchasing. Rather than replacing physical distribution, this enables an omnichannel model: digital channels inspire and qualify customer intent, while local dealer and contractor networks manage tactile validation, inventory, and installation.

Where are the bigger opportunities now for lighting companies new applications, premium products, professional lighting, or completely new categories?  

The opportunity lies in expanding both the value of consumer lighting and the range of applications served by professional lighting.

In consumer lighting, there is headroom to increase the lighting basket per home, as consumers adopt a wider range of products beyond basic illumination. In professional lighting, infrastructure development is creating opportunities in smart street lighting and public infrastructure, while growth in logistics, industrial facilities and commercial buildings is driving demand for specialized lighting solutions.

Sports lighting is also emerging as a high-potential segment. With India's ambition to host major international sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics, investments in stadiums, sports complexes, and related infrastructure are expected to create substantial opportunities for advanced sports lighting solutions.

New categories and technologies will create additional opportunities, but the larger prize is to identify where demand is building and develop the capabilities to capture it. Ultimately, growth will depend on expanding into higher-value segments and new applications while maintaining pricing discipline and profitability.

Also Read: The Reinvention of Product Development in an Era of Intelligent Engineering 

Looking at the next few years, what could change the way India buys and uses lighting, and how should companies prepare for that shift?

Over the next few years, I see three shifts changing how India buys and uses lighting.

First, lighting will be planned earlier, with consumers considering a wider range of lighting solutions. Rather than treating lighting as a finishing decision after construction, it will increasingly be integrated into architectural and interior plans. This creates an opportunity to expand the lighting basket per home, as consumers explore different solutions for different spaces and purposes. It will also make early engagement with architects, interior designers and electrical consultants more important.

Second, consumer expectations will move beyond brightness and energy efficiency. Visual comfort, light quality and the ability to adapt lighting to different activities and spaces will become more important. Companies will need to develop products that address these needs and help consumers understand the choices available.

Third, professional lighting will become more specialized and application-led. Infrastructure development and the growth of industrial and commercial facilities will create demand for solutions tailored to specific environments, from smart street lighting to warehouses and transport infrastructure. Companies will need stronger technical expertise and project execution capabilities to address these requirements.

Preparing for these shifts will require lighting companies to invest not just in products, but also in technology, technical capabilities and closer engagement with the people who influence lighting decisions.

Your Personal Leadership Mantra?

Think long term, challenge convention, and stay relentlessly focused on execution. Building something meaningful takes both the courage to think differently and the discipline to make things happen.

3 key pieces of advice for emerging leaders:

• Don’t be defined by your current expertise. Be willing to step into the unfamiliar.
• Stay close to the customer and the realities of the business.
• Build trust and bring people along. Leadership is about what you achieve through others.

What’s that one principle that guides your decisions?

Look beyond the immediate numbers to understand what is really driving the business. Good decisions come from understanding the underlying problem, not just reacting to the symptoms.