Is digital-first marketing the secret agent in oral care now?

For decades, we have seen brands like Colgate, Dabur, and Pepsodent dominating the bathroom cabinets of Indian homes, collectively commanding nearly 80–85% of the market share (NielsenIQ estimates). India’s oral care market generated around $3.18 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach approximately $5 billion by 2030, according to latest market research data. 

In recent years, however, the dynamics of India’s oral care market have begun to shift, and with it, the advertising and marketing (A&M) landscape. What once involved mass television commercials, celebrity endorsements, dentist recommendations, and high-decibel hygiene messaging is now evolving into a more nuanced, digitally driven narrative.

For years, legacy players have relied heavily on television, print, and in-store activations, supported by pan-India campaigns that emphasised “strong teeth,” “cavity protection,” and “fresh breath.” But today, new-age oral care brands are prompting established players to revisit their advertising strategies and refresh their communication tone to stay relevant with evolving consumer preferences.

As reported by exchange4media earlier, Colgate-Palmolive India ramped up its advertising and promotional (A&P) spend to ₹822 crore in FY 2024-25, an 8.2% year-on-year increase, underscoring the intensifying competition in this category.

Read the Colgate financial report here

Now, driving this shift are young, urban, and health-aware consumers who are increasingly drawn to clean labels, natural or functional ingredients, and premium, aesthetic packaging. Today, oral care is no longer seen as a purely hygiene-driven category, it’s being repositioned as part of one’s lifestyle and self-care routine.

These shifting preferences are opening up new opportunities for challenger brands like Perfora, The Dentists, Salt, and others, while simultaneously compelling incumbents to innovate in campaign design, packaging, product formats, and influencer collaborations to retain their share of voice and relevance.

While some experts believe that new-age players are unlikely to surpass legacy brands in the near term, these startups remain confident in capturing a share of the market with their innovative strategies.

The Disruptors’ Playbook

While legacy brands continue to hold the lion’s share of the market, new-age oral care brands are carving a distinct niche by targeting digitally savvy, urban, health-conscious consumers. According to Vijay Shenoy, Deputy Vice President at LS Digital Group, who has years of experience working with new age brands, said, “These brands are not aiming to replace toothpaste in the conventional sense. They are redefining oral care as part of a broader lifestyle and grooming ecosystem, offering products that go beyond hygiene, from specialised flossers to electric toothbrushes and teeth-whitening solutions.”

Tushar Khurana, co-founder of new-age brand Perfora, stated that growth is being driven by a combination of product innovation, digital-first marketing, and influencer collaborations. “There is a genuine excitement around clean labels, functional ingredients, and aesthetic appeal,” he said. “Our marketing is primarily digital and performance-driven, focussed on e-commerce marketplaces and social media channels like Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. At the same time, we invest in regional content to reach local audiences in their vernacular languages, especially in southern cities like Bangalore, Chennai, and Kochi.”

However as per Shenoy, the new age brands are only focussed on consumers who are experimental and young and not targeting mass media, which legacy have already done.

Now, to understand how new-age and legacy brands are carving their space in oral care, we spoke with industry experts. Unlike legacy players who rely on broad mass-media campaigns, disruptors are more focussed on digital storytelling and influencer-led content that resonates with urban, health-conscious consumers. They use subscription models and bundled offerings to drive repeat engagement and maximise lifetime value. 

Many brands like Perfora focus on community-driven initiatives, including regional activations and lifestyle-focussed campaigns, to broaden their reach where they are less present. This targeted, audience-first approach allows these new-age brands to carve a niche and build loyalty in a market long dominated by established players.

From a media mix perspective, Shenoy highlighted that the majority of budgets for these new brands are spent on performance marketing, with 20–30% allocated to brand-building through influencer and content collaborations. Quick commerce platforms are becoming increasingly important, accounting for about 10% of overall urban distribution.

Shenoy adds that, from an oral care perspective, only a handful of new-age brands are starting to make noise. “Their advantage lies in fusing insights from their audience and carefully building holistic brands. Unlike traditional players, they aren’t positioning themselves as just a toothpaste replacement—they’re framing oral care more broadly, almost as a lifestyle category,” he added.

He further said, “These brands are realising that they don’t need a singular product to engage consumers. It’s a tough battle to beat the established players in the short term, but new-age brands are carving a niche by approaching oral hygiene at a more holistic level.”

A key differentiator for these new-age brands is that they often become the voice of their own brand, engaging directly with audiences on social media. What helps these brands build trust and credibility as per Khurana is that they rely on data-backed efficacy, influencer endorsements, and relatable storytelling to win over discerning consumers.

According to Sandeep George Varghese, Chief Digital Officer at ADK Rage, modern oral care startups focus less on the traditional “smiling celebrity” imagery and more on direct-response social advertising that drives instant purchases or subscription conversions. “No one really believes the ‘dentist in a white coat’ promoting toothpaste anymore,” he said. Unlike legacy, TV-heavy strategies, today’s content is built around utility, efficacy, and convenience—often optimized for digital-first platforms like Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. ROI from such performance-driven campaigns in India has roughly doubled between 2022 and 2025, driven by sharper targeting, influencer integrations, and data-led optimisation.

Keeping these strategies in mind, the founder of Perfora aims to capture about 10% market share in e-commerce for oral care products over the next 2–3 years—though how much of this will be realised remains to be seen.

Sumit Saxena, Vice President of Marketing & PR at Clove Dental, echoes this sentiment, noting that marketing has evolved from mass communication to meaningful connection. “While digital campaigns and influencer collaborations help discovery, community-driven engagement fosters trust. The most effective brands blend technology, data, and empathy, personalising experiences at scale while keeping the human touch intact. Today’s consumer doesn’t want to be targeted, they want to be understood. Authentic storytelling, participative communication, and purpose-led initiatives consistently outperform transactional promotions. The winning formula lies in relevance and consistency—creating ecosystems that reflect consumers’ lives rather than simply reaching their screens.”

Influence of legacy brands 

Despite their innovative approaches, the biggest challenge that stands in front of these young brands is that they primarily target tier-1 and tier-2 urban markets, with limited penetration in rural India. Legacy players still dominate these regions, and scale remains a challenge for disruptors. 

With decades of consumer trust, extensive retail penetration, and substantial advertising budgets, legacy players like Colgate, Pepsodent, and Dabur continue to wield significant influence in the Indian oral care market and are far from standing still.

Traditional marketing channels, television, print, and in-store promotions, remain central to the strategy of legacy players, but the digital shift is now unmistakable. Many established brands are no longer staying behind; they are experimenting with influencer collaborations, digital storytelling, and social media campaigns to engage younger, urban consumers. This reflects a growing recognition that oral care is no longer merely functional, it is increasingly lifestyle-oriented.

In terms of innovation too, legacy brands are keeping pace. Some of the recent developments include Colgate-Palmolive launched the Visible White Purple toothpaste, a pioneering product designed to address yellow tones on teeth. Incorporating purple optic brighteners, the toothpaste aims to color-correct yellow hues from the first use, offering an instant whitening effect. Similarly, Pepsodent has expanded its product line with the Triple Protection Herbal toothpaste. This variant emphasises natural ingredients, aligning with the increasing consumer preference for herbal and ayurvedic oral care products. Closeup too has launched a new gel to cater to this new set of consumers.

Experts note that while these moves may be slower than the nimble strategies of disruptors, the scale and speed at which legacy brands can pivot once they decide to innovate give them a distinct advantage.

As Shenoy observed, “Legacy brands take longer to pivot, whereas younger brands can bring products to market very quickly. That agility is a distinct advantage in the initial phase. But if they don’t make enough of a dent, larger incumbents may simply acquire them later.”

Ultimately, while new entrants can create buzz and carve out small urban niches, legacy brands retain the muscle to defend their market share—blending innovation with the trust and familiarity built over decades of presence.