Beauty has grown rapidly in personal care, now it’s oral care’s turn: Gunjit Jain, Colgate

Colgate-Palmolive India is reframing its oral care narrative beyond hygiene, positioning oral health as a driver of overall wellbeing and even physical performance.

Speaking to e4m, Gunjit Jain, Executive Vice President, Marketing, said the shift is not a departure but an evolution of the brand’s long-standing mission.

“For us, hygiene has always been the starting point, but the larger role of oral health is to improve people’s overall lives,” Jain said, adding that the latest campaigns build on the “systemic connection” between oral health and broader health outcomes, including athletic performance.

The company’s flagship brand Colgate Total is central to this pivot, with communication anchored in the link between oral bacteria, inflammation, and its impact on stamina and recovery.

Media mix 

Colgate’s marketing investments are increasingly following audience behaviour, with a clear tilt towards digital, social and interactive formats.

Jain said the company remains “agnostic of touchpoints”, focusing on reaching the right consumer in the most effective and efficient way. 

“We are completely agnostic, both in terms of where consumers consume media and where they purchase. The starting point is always effectiveness and efficiency, not the channel,” Jain said. 

However, he acknowledged a visible ecosystem shift.

“There is a clear movement towards digital, social, connected TV, and formats that allow two-way engagement rather than one-way monologues,” he noted.

Campaign measurement, he added, is tightly aligned to objectives, with KPIs spanning awareness, conversions and brand associations. For instance, its recent Visible White Purple campaign featuring Kriti Sanon and Abhishek Sharma was evaluated on unaided awareness, conversion metrics and whitening association scores.

Premiumisation and habit gaps drive headroom in a saturated market

Despite near-universal penetration in India’s oral care category, Colgate sees significant growth headroom driven by habit gaps and under-indexed premiumisation.

“In urban India, about 80% of consumers do not brush at night, and in rural India, over 50% brush only occasionally. Toothbrush replacement cycles are also far longer than recommended,” Jain pointed out.

This behavioural gap, combined with low premium adoption, presents a dual opportunity.

At the same time, Jain outlined a clear premiumisation framework: relevance, accessibility and availability.

“For premiumisation to happen, these three levers must come together. If relevance, accessibility and availability keep moving northwards, there is no real ceiling because premiumisation follows better outcomes,” he said. 

The company is addressing this through a price ladder strategy, offering products across price points while maintaining a consistent proposition. For instance, the Visible White Purple range spans from mass entry packs to high-end serums, aimed at democratising access while driving trade-up.

Crucially, Jain underscored that pricing is not the lead story. “We are not selling on price. We are selling the proposition - the beauty ritual. The price-pack architecture enables conversion at shelf,” he said.

Omnichannel distribution and ‘many Indias’ approach

Colgate is also maintaining a channel-agnostic distribution strategy, spanning general trade, modern trade, e-commerce and quick commerce.

“We are present wherever the shopper chooses to buy. Our systems work seamlessly across channels,” Jain said.

On the demand side, the company is tailoring its approach to what it describes as “many Indias within India”, driven by a jobs-to-be-done (JTBD) framework.

“There are multiple Indias within India, each with distinct jobs to be done. Identifying these allows us to drive traction across segments,” he noted.

Affordability and pack innovation, particularly in rural markets, remain critical levers. Jain emphasised that pricing architecture must complement, not dilute, the core proposition.

Preventive care and oral beauty to shape next decade

Looking ahead, Colgate expects three structural shifts to define the category.

First, a move from basic to better habits, including twice-daily brushing and regular dentist visits. Second, a stronger focus on oral beauty as a growth driver. Third, a shift towards preventive care.

“Beauty has grown rapidly in other personal care categories. This is the time for oral care,” Jain said, adding that preventive health will become increasingly central to consumer behaviour.

The company is also sharpening cohort-based communication, tailoring messaging for Gen Z and other consumer segments based on their needs, motivations and language preferences.

As Colgate leans into science-backed storytelling, premium offerings and digital-first engagement, the market leader is looking to expand not just category value, but also redefine how oral care is perceived in India.