Colgate-Palmolive (India) is banking heavily on its market expansion strategies such as Oral Health

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Month and Bright Futures campaign to help it drive double-digit sales and profit growth.

“Around 30-35 per cent of the Indian masses still do not use toothpaste. A large percentage of those who do use it, do not brush twice a day,” said Rekha Rao, vice-president marketing at Colgate-Palmolive (India). In the financial year 2010-2011 the company saw revenues rise 13.2 per cent year-on-year. In the current financial year brokerage JP Morgan forecasts revenues for the firm to rise at a faster rate of 17.4 per cent. For the quarter ending December 2011 brokerage Spark Capital forecasts its net sales to rise 16 per cent year-on-year, while profit after tax (PAT) is forecast to rise by 43 per cent.

The company is emphasising basic oral care awareness in rural and urban India to connect with the consumers and the dental professionals, said Rao. The Oral Health Month was started in partnership with the Indian Dental Association (IDA) while Colgate’s Bright Smiles, Bright Futures initiative has reached over 95 million school children so far.

“Constant innovation in products and communications has been at the heart of our growth strategy. The programmes around oral health care will also drive our market share,” said Rao. The company claims that by focusing on the right and relevant products at the right touch points, it can connect with consumers. It has also made a long-term commitment to education campaigns as part of its integrated marketing communication strategy to reach different consumer strata and income levels.

The company competes with Hindustan Unilever’s Close-Up and Pepsodent toothpastes for dominance in the Indian oral care market. Unlike HUL, Colgate-Palmolive (India) derives over 90 per cent of its revenues from its oral care offerings.

Colgate on Wednesday said it has roped in actor Rahul Bose and tennis champion Mahesh Bhupathi to increase awareness of Colgate Total as it attempts to cash in on the trend towards healthy living amongst the upwardly mobile consumers in India. The stars will feature in a series of TV commercials to be aired across the country on national and regional channels. Available in 75 gm and 150 gm packs across the country, Colgate Total has been granted seal of acceptance by IDA. “2011 was a good year for us and we are excited about 2012 too,” said Rao.

‘The company’s advertising and promotion spend is likely to remain high, around 17 per cent of sales during FY12 as Colgate continues to aggressively promote premium brands like Colgate Sensitive and Colgate Total toothpaste,’ said Latika Chopra and Ritesh Gupta in a research report by JP Morgan, dated January 3, 2012. While market share trends for Colgate in the toothpaste segment have been fairly stable, share performance in the toothbrush category has been subdued owing to aggressive competition from P&G’s Oral-B, according to the JP Morgan report.

meghnamaiti@mydigitalfc.com