In a MediaBrief exclusive, Asna Khursheed, General Manager – E-commerce & Marketing, INALSA Home Appliances, speaks about the brand’s nearly six-decade journey in India, its strategy of pioneering emerging appliance categories before they become mainstream, and how innovation has helped build enduring consumer trust. Read on.
Having built a strong presence in Indian kitchens over several decades and expanded across multiple appliance categories, INALSA has adapted to evolving consumer lifestyles, technological advancements and changing retail dynamics. Reflecting on the brand’s journey in India and its evolution over the years, Khursheed says, “INALSA has been part of Indian homes since 1967, which makes us one of the oldest home appliance brands in the country.
She continues, “What has kept us relevant across nearly six decades is that innovation has always been at the core of who we are. We have never been a brand that waits for a category to become mainstream before entering it. When there was no demand or awareness for food processors in India, we launched one in the early 2000s, at a time when the Indian kitchen was almost entirely a mixer grinder market. We did the same with air fryers, wet and dry vacuum cleaners, stand mixers, and garment steamers, categories that were niche or almost non-existent in India when we brought them in.”
“Today,” she says, “INALSA is part of the Taurus Group, which has strengthened our access to global technology and R&D while we continue to build specifically for the Indian consumer.”
How INALSA built consumer trust over nearly 60 years
With nearly six decades in the Indian market, INALSA has built a reputation for reliability and innovation. On what has enabled the brand to earn and sustain consumer trust over the years, Khursheed says, “I would say it is this consistent pattern of being first. Legacy brands often stay confined to the categories they built their name in. INALSA instead kept expanding into new, growing categories ahead of the curve, offering Indian consumers real choice, the latest technology, and a range of models and specifications, at a time when most of these categories barely existed here.
She adds, “That willingness to introduce something before the market asked for it, and to keep doing it consistently for decades, is what has built trust. Consumers came to see INALSA as a brand that brings new possibilities into their homes, not just one that follows trends.”
How INALSA evolved with changing consumer lifestyles
As consumer lifestyles and purchase behaviour have evolved, so too has the home appliances category. On how INALSA has adapted to these changes over the years, the GM says, “Our evolution has really mirrored the evolution of the Indian household itself. As lifestyles became busier and homes became smaller and more urban, we moved from single-function appliances to smarter, more versatile ones.
“And as the way people discover and buy products moved from general trade stores to marketplaces and digital platforms, we evolved our go to market and communication to meet consumers where they are, without losing the core promise of dependable, accessible innovation that INALSA has always stood for.”
INALSA’s strategy in India’s competitive home appliances market
As challenger brands, digital-first players and private labels reshape the competitive landscape, established brands have had to continually adapt. On how INALSA has evolved its strategy to stay relevant, Khursheed says, “Our strategy has been to compete with expensive international brands by offering the same level of quality and innovation at a significantly better price.
“And with newer challenger brands that largely compete on price and discounting, our approach is the opposite, we do not compromise on quality, and we continue to launch genuinely innovative products in niche, high growth categories rather than getting pulled into a pure price war. It is a strategy of staying ahead on innovation while staying accessible on price,” she says.
Adapting to demand for smart and convenient home appliances
With consumer expectations evolving from purely functional products to solutions that are convenient, well-designed and smart, Khursheed explains how INALSA has adapted its approach. She says, “You can see this shift clearly in our recent launches. Our Nutri Fry DuoSlim was built around the reality of modern Indian households managing different meal timings and food preferences at once, so we designed a dual zone, vertically stacked air fryer that saves counter space while letting two dishes cook independently and finish together.
“Similarly,” she adds, “with our SteelChef DW5.5, we responded to a real shift in consumer preference toward more durable, trustworthy materials by bringing food grade stainless steel into the cooking chamber itself, at a category where most competitors still use coated baskets. These are examples of how we are designing for convenience and material trust, not just for basic functionality.”
How digital platforms drive brand discovery for INALSA
As digital platforms continue to reshape the consumer journey, brands have had to rethink how they build engagement and drive discovery. On how INALSA has adapted to this shift, Khursheed says, “Digital platforms, especially marketplaces like Amazon, have fundamentally changed how consumers discover and evaluate a brand like ours. It is no longer just about being visible, it is about being verifiable.
“Over the years,” she says, “we have scaled our e-commerce and marketplace presence multiple times over, and a large part of that growth has come from consumers actively researching reviews, ratings, and real user feedback before they buy. Digital has moved from being a sales channel to being the place where trust actually gets built or lost, which is why we invest heavily in review integrity, genuine customer engagement, and being present where consumers are actively comparing and deciding.”
Balancing INALSA’s legacy with innovation for younger consumers
As a legacy brand with a long-standing presence in Indian households, INALSA faces the challenge of staying relevant to a new generation of digitally native consumers. Discussing how the brand balances heritage with innovation, Khursheed says, “We intend to appeal to younger consumers through social commerce, creator led content, and a genuine design refresh, but always backed by features that actually make sense rather than change for its own sake. There is a real difference between a product that is merely functional and one that looks good, is easy to use, and reflects the energy of a younger, always evolving consumer.
“Our approach,” she says, “is to keep that legacy of trust and reliability intact while presenting it through a more contemporary, design forward lens that a younger buyer can identify with.”
Why trust and brand reliability matter in home appliance purchases
In a category where consumers are often spoilt for choice, factors such as trust, reliability and brand familiarity can be powerful differentiators. On the importance of these attributes in driving purchase decisions, Khursheed says, “They matter more than ever, if anything. Price and discounting can get a consumer to consider a product, but with the number of choices and the amount of information available today, consumers are also checking whether a brand’s claims hold up in real use. Trust and reliability are what convert consideration into an actual purchase, and increasingly, what bring a consumer back for their next appliance purchase as well.”
Quick commerce, creator marketing and the future of home appliances
The home appliances category is being reshaped by several emerging trends, from quick commerce and creator-led marketing to the growing influence of social media and marketplace ecosystems. Looking ahead, Khursheed shares which shifts she believes will have the biggest impact on the category in the years to come, “I believe two shifts will matter most. First, quick commerce is going to compress the path from discovery to delivery for appliances the way it already has for daily essentials, which will push brands to be present and ready to fulfil demand in near real time rather than relying only on planned marketplace cycles.”
“Second,” she says, is the “unfiltered community conversations, on WhatsApp groups, YouTube comment sections, and creator comparison videos, are becoming a real trust layer alongside reviews. Consumers are increasingly cross checking brand and product claims in these unfiltered, third party conversations before they buy, which means brands will need to earn credibility in these spaces rather than simply advertise into them.”
INALSA’s roadmap for future growth
Finally, sharing her vision for the brand’s future and how it plans to build on its legacy while appealing to the next generation of Indian consumers, Khursheed says, “The next phase of growth for INALSA is about continuing to introduce new categories and products that are genuinely relevant to Indian homes, not just adding more variants to what already exists, but identifying where Indian consumers need more convenience, better design, or smarter functionality that isn’t yet being served well.”
She concludes by saying, “We will keep building on nearly six decades of trust by staying true to what has always worked for us, being first to bring meaningful innovation home, while presenting it in a way that resonates with how the next generation of Indian consumers discovers, evaluates, and buys.”
