Colgate Bets on Better Brushing for India’s Next Growth

Colgate-Palmolive India sees significant growth potential in the country’s oral care market, not because toothpaste penetration is low, but because consumption and replacement habits still have plenty of room to improve.

The company believes its next phase of growth will come from three key areas: more frequent toothpaste usage, faster toothbrush replacement and premiumisation.

Better brushing habits create new demand

While toothpaste penetration in India is almost universal, everyday consumption remains relatively low.

The proportion of urban consumers who do not brush twice a day has fallen from 80% to 76%, while rural consumers who do not brush daily have declined from 55% to 45%.

Colgate says these changes represent meaningful progress, but building new habits requires sustained consumer education.

Premiumisation is still a big opportunity

Only around 19% of India's toothpaste category currently sits above the ₹140 price index, leaving considerable headroom for premium products.

Colgate is pushing this opportunity through products such as Colgate Total, Colgate Visible White Purple and Colgate PerioGard.

The company says its premium toothpaste portfolio is growing significantly faster than its key competitor.

Digital and quick commerce accelerate growth

E-commerce and quick commerce have become important growth engines for Colgate-Palmolive India.

The company says these channels are helping drive growth, margins, premiumisation and market share, with e-commerce delivering high double-digit topline growth and more than half of sales coming from premium products.

Rural consumers are another growth opportunity

Changing lifestyles, increased access to information, rising affluence and improved availability of oral care products are helping rural consumers adopt better brushing and replacement habits.

However, toothbrush replacement remains relatively infrequent in India. The average Indian replaces a toothbrush roughly once every nine months, compared with six months in the Philippines, while dentists generally recommend replacing one every three months.

The bigger takeaway

India's oral care opportunity is shifting from simply getting consumers to buy toothpaste to getting them to consume, replace and upgrade more regularly.

For Colgate, the next growth phase will depend on turning better oral hygiene awareness into everyday habits — while using premium products and digital commerce to capture more value from the category.