Brand building is the only way to scale up a product category: Keshav Bhajanka, CenturyPly

At the e4m India Brand Conclave 2026, Keshav Bhajanka explained how product differentiation, disciplined branding and AI-led interventions are steering the company's Rs 4,000 crore-plus journey.

At the e4m India Brand Conclave 2026, a full house witnessed an open fireside chat between Dr Annurag Batra, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of BW Businessworld, and Keshav Bhajanka, Executive Director of CenturyPly. Titled "From Plywood to Power Brand: The CenturyPly Growth Story," the discussion mapped the transformation of a company that now holds nearly 30% market share in the organised plywood segment and has surpassed Rs 4,000 crore in operating revenue.

Bhajanka highlighted the company's recent financial performance, stating that in the latest quarter of FY26, net sales reached Rs 1,146.56 crore, reflecting a 14% year-on-year increase. Profit after tax for the quarter stood at Rs 58.8 crore, while consolidated operating profit was about Rs 175 crore. Annual net profit ranged between Rs 186 crore and Rs 384 crore, depending on standalone versus consolidated figures.

With new greenfield laminate and MDF plants operational since the first quarter of 2025, he described CenturyPly as "a company that is growing."

Addressing the core question of branding in a category often perceived as commoditised, Bhajanka said, "When you look at plywood, a lot of people feel that it is a highly commoditized product.. But when you look at the cost of building a new home, the interior cost is substantial. Today, people are spending crores on interiors and more than 20% of that cost is the cost of plywood." He added that once consumers enter the purchase journey, plywood shifts "from a commodity to the backbone of the entire interior solution for your home."

He explained how product innovation built the brand's equity over four decades.

"Borer termite, the biggest problem our industry faced, we eradicated those in the 90s. Delamination, eradicated those in the 2000s." During the pandemic, the company introduced ViroKill technology. "Within the first three months of COVID hitting us, we came out with a product called ViroKill technology... We made our product corona-proof." This was followed by Firewall technology in response to growing concerns around fire safety and evolving fire codes.

For Bhajanka, differentiation is not a marketing gimmick but grounded in real product attributes. "Create a differentiation in the product, in the minds of the customer. These are genuine differentiating factors that are available in this product which you will not find anywhere else," he said.

On advertising, he reflected on the brand's high-decibel campaigns, including the widely discussed TVC inspired by the show Scam 1992. "Having a good product is all well and good. But if no one knows your product is good, you are never going to achieve the scale that you want," he said. "If you want to grow to scale, there is no way that you can do it without creating a brand. Brand building, in my opinion, is the only way to scale up any product category in India."

Despite being in a traditional sector, Bhajanka emphasised a measured approach to marketing spends. "For us, once we reached a certain scale, we kept our A&P spend at 4%," he said, adding that consistency matters more than headline numbers. "During difficult times, the simplest thing to do is cut your ad budget... With the brand, I think that is a big negative." With the company growing at 20%, he noted that even a steady percentage allocation translates into significant absolute growth in spends.

The discussion also turned to artificial intelligence. Bhajanka struck a balanced note:

"If you don't start using AI, you will regret it... Slow adoption of AI isn't the biggest worry. Wrong adoption of AI is a big worry." He cited examples from distribution analytics, where an in-house AI engine predicts dealers unlikely to bill in the coming weeks, enabling proactive intervention. In HR, AI tools help narrow down candidates by proximity and relevance, streamlining recruitment. A market visit in Bengaluru offered a pivotal consumer insight. A homeowner suggested that branded plywood companies merely outsource products and stamp their names. "It is a perception," Bhajanka recalled. Although outsourcing accounted for just 3-5% of total sales, the perception prompted a strategic shift. "Over the course of the next one year, we have decided that we will take 100% production in-house," he said, calling it a major change driven directly by consumer feedback.

On celebrity endorsements, he was measured. "The brand itself is very strong... To put a celebrity in it, we think that the brand itself is very strong," he said, noting that while endorsements may work in some categories, for CenturyPly the focus remains on communicating core product properties.

Looking ahead to 2026, Bhajanka expressed confidence that recent capacity expansions would begin delivering results. "The hard part has been done over the course of the last year, year and a half. This year, I think we will see the benefit of that," he said, projecting strong growth across plywood, laminates, MDF and particle board.

In a category driven by dealers, architects and carpenters, he acknowledged the importance of every stakeholder. "That live demonstration of a product can only be done by a contractor or carpenter... Ensuring that why our product is superior is communicated and ensuring that our team reaches them... is one of our top priorities."

As the session concluded, the narrative was clear: CenturyPly's journey from a plywood manufacturer to a power brand has been anchored in product innovation, disciplined branding, technological adoption and close market listening—an approach Bhajanka believes will shape its next phase of growth.