Backed by Herbal Toothpaste Vedshakti, Colgate Poised to Compete with Patanjali’s Dant Kanti

India: It has been almost 80 years after Colgate-Palmolive entered India, the oral care giant is launching an India-focused brand as a result of threat posed by Patanjali Ayurved. Colgate is poised to launch a toothpaste under the Cibaca sub-brand named Cibaca toothpaste. Though Colgate has been selling herbal variant such as clove & neem in the country, this new product is the first indigenous brand in ayurvedic segment for the USD16 billion global giant controlling more than half the oral care market in India.

The new product is positioned as a toothpaste packed with the goodness of natural ingredients to help keep dental problems away. Last quarter, the Indian unit of Colgate, responded to this by revitalizing Active Salt Neem and launching Clove toothpaste. This unit has a small presence in this segment and their products have a combined share of more than 7% of the overall toothpaste market now. However, Patanjali has objected to the new name saying it is not appropriate and suggesting names like Ayush or Jadibooti should be used.

Although Patanjali’s oral care market share is pegged at nearly 2% last year as compared to Colgate which still dominates at 55%, even after losing 1.5% in market share. As Patanjali has grown to a USD 0.77 billion company in less than a decade, other MNCs have shifted their focus to Ayurveda too. HUL has relaunched Ayush and acquired Indulekha while L’Oreal launched a hair care range under Garnier Ultra Blends made with natural ingredients.

According to TechSci Research, despite of being a late mover, Colgate is expected to fight back against local competition. Colgate has global experience in natural segment and has acquired Tom’s of Maine in the US last decade and even Colgate Mishvak is present in Turkey, Indonesia and elsewhere. Colgate also has a wider reach, having access to more than 5 million stores as compared to Patanjali’s products in 0.2 million traditional retail outlets.

According to a recently published report by TechSci Research, “India Oral Care Products Market By Product Type, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021”, the oral care products market in India is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during 2016 – 2021. On the basis of product type, the market has been segmented into five categories, which include toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, tooth powder and other oral care products. Among these categories, toothpaste segment dominated the country’s oral care products market in 2015, and the segment is anticipated to maintain its dominance over the next five years as well. Few of the leading players operating in the India oral care products market include Colgate-Palmolive (India) Ltd., Hindustan Unilever Limited, Dabur India Limited and Patanjali Ayurved.