BUSINESS

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

Group No 2
 TOOTHPASTE INDUSTRY: AN OVERVIEW

The toothpaste history in India can be tracked back from 1975 with 1200 tonnes of toothpaste
produced by the toothpaste industry. Prior to the toothpastes Oral Hygiene was the domain of
local homemade powders and Ayurveda practitioners. With the entry of Colgate in Indian
marketplace the awareness about Oral care and the importance of oral care. In recent years the
Industry has shown impressive growth rate of 18.6% (this growth is calculated in terms of value
growth in Rs.     ).

The growth in the urban market has been largely by the Gel Segment. Presently, a large chunk of
the Market is still held by Colgate. The major players in the toothpaste Industry being Colgate
Palmolive and Hindustan Lever Limited and several minor players like Balsara hygiene, Dabur
etc.

Presently Colgate Dental Cream holds 52% of market share. HLL’s Close up lies  far behind
with 23% of the existing market share. The third player in the marketplace in terms of market
share is Colgate Gel with 10.5% of the market share. That leaves 14.5% market share for other
Brands like Pepsodent, Pepsodent G, Promise, Babool, Sensofoam, Forhans, Cibaca,
Neem, Vicco etc. The toothpaste market is presently valued at Rs. 750 crores out of which the
Gel segment has already bagged 1/3rd portion of it. The Gel segment presently stands at Rs. 248
crores and is growing at a rate much faster than Cream. In India toothpaste usage as compared to
other countries is very low which signifies about the potential of the market. In Urban India the
usage of toothpaste per person per year is just 190gms. Whereas it is 200gms of toothpaste per
person per year in developing countries as Indonesia and Thailand. In developed countries as
USA and other European countries the toothpaste usage is 375 gms per person year. In India the
toothpastes companies are going in for advertising on a heavy note, on an average the companies
managing this FMCG category are spending 6.15% of their sales on development. Colgate
Palmolive had shelled out 15% of their sales on ads in the year 1994. Dabur had an ad
expenditure of 5.07% for the year 1993. Whereas balsara Hygiene spend a huge 10.17% of their
sales.
Toothpaste companies and toothpaste brands
(1) Company : Shri Niranjan Aurvedh Bhawan, Tumsur
(Mah)
Product Range : Niranjan
(a) 200 gm Tube   Rs
 (b) 100 gm Tube   Rs
(c) 50 gm Tube   Rs
Segmenting Factor : Veg. / Non-veg. Population
Target : 20% educate customers that all toothpastes
have di-calcium phosphate or bone ash
which is animal based. Whereas they use
calcium rich PIPAL insted.
Availability : Maharashtra
Distributors : 107 (newly appointed)
Positioning Stance : Yoga For Teeth.
Direct Competitor : Vicco Vajradanti, but they feel that will beat
them in the price game as VICCO’s 200 gm
tube for Rs 44.
 
(2) Company : Hindustan Lever Limited
Brand Name : Close Up
Marketed By : Hindustan Lever limited (HLL)
Product Range : Close Up (Red, Green, Blue)
    50 gm Rs
100 gm Rs
150 gm Rs
Pepsodent : 50 GM Rs
100 GM Rs
200 GM Rs
Pepsodent G : 50 gm Rs
150 gm Rs
Segmenting Factor : Age
Targeted At : Young people. The target market being
“Multi Brand Households” where young
does not use what their parents. This
particular targeting was significant when 
 Close Up was launched because Colgate
positioning was a sort of Flip flop between
Tooth  decay and Bad Breath and Colgate
was going for a Broad market constituting
of all the age groups.
 
Sought to be perceived by the customers was Fresh Breath. The physical appearance by the
users, the Bright Red Gel synerized well with the Fresh breath Benefit. The advertising account
was handled by LINTAS which focused on Fresh Breath that brought teenagers closer.
By 1980 Close Up had 3% of the 16,000 tonnes toothpaste market. The production capacity was
doubled through a deal with third party manufacturer and the Brand was taken National over the
next year and a half, the Premium slashed by 30%. In 1983 Colgate started fearing after
witnessing a downfall in market share and started airing its campaign by inviting customers into
its Dental ring of confidence, by stressing more on breath and posing as a complete toothpaste.
Close-up countered this move by sharpening product benefits, while urging the customers to do
the HA test by blowing air on the palm, the message was that Close Up feels a lot cooler which
reiterated the basic benefit of a fresh breath.
1987 was a “Probe into Problem” year for HALL as Close Up was much below expectations
with only 4.5% of the 32,000 tonnes toothpaste market. They identified two basic problems:
(1) Appearance of Toothpastes detracts prospects from its serious buyers.
(2) Commercials displayed too much of proximity between couples which was too much for a
mother, who actually purchased the Toiletries.
1998 Lever reworked 3 Ps in its Marketing mix in Tamil Nadu where people have a strong sense
of Oral Hygiene and the area has a cost effective media Reach. The three reworked Ps are as
follows:
 (1) Product:
·        Blue mint flavour introduced.
 Tangerines of Read reduced. (For serious buyers.)
 Soft Squeeze lamitubes for toothpastes introduced for the first time in the country.
(2) Communication
 Advertisement focus moved from spotlight to gregarious couples. This group
orientation was more acceptable to the Mother.
(3) Distribution
 Took Brand to Sub Urban and Rural areas.
  Posters and Mobile Vans arrived in areas where urban lifestyle was a matter of
aspiration. This was a purposeful move as the company did not want the Brand to be
saddled with a restrictive.
Up market image
In the year 1990, Colgate followed Close Up by launch of its Blue Colgate Gel. It was targeted at
the youngsters within its Brand fold who were seeking Freshness. It was priced at par with Close
Up gel. The Colgate ad showed a fluorescent Blue spiral round the users body and it talked of
Fresh Breath Energy. By this time Gel became the Battleground in order to become the leader
because:
 There is rapid expansion in gel segment.
 Youngsters thought white paste to be outdated.
In 1991, Close Up launched Zing Green and simultaneously Lever sponsored “Close up Sangeet
Muquabala” targeted at the rural youth. In 1991 Close Up’s market share increased to 16% of Rs
377 crores per year market. 1991 witnessed a few problems for Close up Blue, which was
faltering on repeat purchases as customers did not perceive much freshness value in it. In 1992,
HLL launched “AQUA BLUE” with added attributes like increased Mouthwash contents and a
more Minter flavour, so that customer’s perceived benefit is Freshness which is Lever’s
positioning stance. In response Colgate introduced “Red Actirinse” and then “Colgate Blue”.
People at HLL thought to counter Colgate’s growth by cashing in on Medicinal appeal and came
out with “Pepsodent” with Germicheck snf “Mentadent G” now renamed as “Pepsodent G” for
Gum problems. Colgate countered this move by launching “Colgate Total” as an advanced paste
to fight.
Tartar, Gingivitis, and other Dental ailments. 1993 was the year when HLL tried to woo the
customers by innovative packaging. Firstly it introduced “Stand up Pump dispensers” for metros
but it bombed in the market because of High price perception as compared to benefits. Sachets
formula was used by lever to break into Colgate’s fort. The Close Up sachets was priced at Rs. 3
per unit and it offered 20 uses, which means that a family of five could use  it four times each.
The year it sponsored zee Close up Antaksharee. HLL also went in for Close up Toothbrushes
under the Brand name “Confident” and launched it in Tamil Nadu.
The confident toothbrushes were taken National and most importantly HLL advertisement
account shifted from LINTAS to FTA due to
Global alignment move by Lever’s parent Unilever. The brief given to the new agency was to
“Strengthen the Audience’s perception of Brand’s functional values.”
Close Up’s formulation was reworked and the new Close Up was enriched with “Micro
whiteners” so that the perceived benefit by the customer be that he will have Shining Teeth. As
the ad account was handed over to HTA, the ad moved closer to the Indian Culture, they also
took note of the cultural changes which showed in their ads like Females were now more than
equal participants in Boy Girl activity as in Salim Anarkali ad which showed her confidence by
joining the Boy on the stage and saving the day.
1996 nessed introduction of “Close up Liquifresh” a liquid in a carry along squeeze can in two
sizes:
 30 gm Rs.
 100 gms Rs.
HLL gave it a dual positioning platform of a Mouth rinse and a toothpaste, like squeeze the Gel
directly into Mouth. Close Up is pushing hard for semi Urban and Rural areas were disposable
incomes are rising rapidly and in order to tap these markets it is going for Vernacular
Advertising in Eight languages. In Bengal as the communication did not work all that work
initially, HTA has contracted Anjan Dutta a signer popular with both Young and old alike in
Bengal. 
3) Company: Colgate Palmolive (India) Limited
Brand: Colgate
Product Range:
1. Colgate dental Cream
 50 gm       Rs.
 100 gm     Rs.
 150 gm     Rs.
 200 gm     Rs.
 250 gm
2. Colgate Gel (Blue and Red)
 50 gm       Rs.
 100 gm     Rs.
 150 gm     Rs.
 200 gm     Rs.
 250 gm     Rs. -
3. Colgate Total
 50 gm       Rs. -
 100 gm     Rs.
 150 gm     Rs. -
 200 gm     Rs. –
4. Colgate Calciguard
 50 gm       Rs. -
 100 gm     Rs. -
 150 gm     Rs. -
 200 gm     Rs. -
5. Colgate Sensitive
Segmenting Factor: Family
Target Audience: The Brand Colgate and it’s extensions are targeted at Indian families taking
booth economical and premium stances.
Availability: All over India.
Positioning Stance :  on Health care through Duality of benefits, talks about “Stops bad breath
and fights tooth decay.” This positioning stance has worked well in Indian probably because
Oral. Now also the company is constantly following the fresh breath route which proved
successful for the company.
Care is not taken in a sensitized manner and hence the custom looks for multi-benefits.
History of Colgate:
For people in Colgate volume is the key. This is the Mantra for India a. Today the Indian arm is
one of the top 10 subsidiaries of the global giant; one of the top three volume drivers in
toothpastes. In India, the Multinational is first and foremost identified with Toothpaste (Dental
care) are currently there is a lot of curiosity on how C-P is responding to the challenges that HLL
is throwing its way. On toothpastes, where C-P claims an overall 62.3 percent market share a
clear cut strategy is evident i.e. maintaining leadership in Oral care and expand the oral care
market size. Consistency of communication is of strategic importance. More so in an
increasingly cluttered environment. Vice President of C-P (India) limited dually complies “We
have not changed the platform - Duality of Benefits - for the last 15 years.”
The main growth in the urban toothpaste market for C-P has for some time been coming from the
Gel segment. Colgate gel has been performing well with its market share standing at 11 percent
and a growth faster than Close Up’s market share, which has declined by the end of 96.
In an effort to capitalize in the growth, C-P recently introduced its latest extensions, Fresh
Stripes, with “Stripes of Benefit”. this latest launch brings C-P’s toothpastes to a total of six,
with mega Brand Colgate Dental Cream (CDC), the category volume driver; Colgate Gel-
Positioned as giving long lasting fresh breath; Calciguard with an anti-cavity therapeutic
positioning marketed in the Metros; Colgate Total with its therapeutic positioning and multi
benefits and Colgate Sensitive being Marketed through Dental Profession.
To expand the category, C-P has an ongoing Rural Van programme, rather similar to the HLL
idea of expanding the market and also not being confused as a premium consumers. An intensive
investment this Video van develops the market by teaching people to use a brush or seen a finger
properly to clean their teeth with the Big Red CDC. In addition there is also a school programme
which covered 1.5 million children last year. According to Rechard Usuquen VP C-P (India) Ltd.
C-P’s action will center around finely balancing the urban market - where it claims a 59.5
percent market share - with the Rural where it claims a 68 per cent share. So while the company
has introduced such premium packaging as stand-up toothpaste tubes with Flip up caps in the
Urban market,  it is also selling sachets of CDC at low prices.
In 2001, the company has come up with a lot of schemes such as 25% extra in 100gm pack. In
50% gm pack there is an off of Rs 5.5. In 200gm pack the company is providing 2 toy planes for
kids. They are also providing a lot of discount and incentives to its stockiest and retailers. They
have also come up with transparent packaging in gel segment to attract the customers.
Top ten toothpaste brands
1. Colgate
2. Close-up
3. Dabur Meswak
4. Sensodyne
5. Oral-B
6. Himalaya dental cream
7. Pepsodent
8. Dabur Babool
9. Amway glister
10. Vicco vajradanti
Toothpaste makers volume market share

NAME OF THE COMPANY MAR-18 MAR-17

Colgate India 53.4 55.1

HUL 17.3 19.0

Dabur India 15.4 15.0

Patanjali Ayurved 7.4 3.7

Objective: To examine the external factors influencing purchase decisions.

To find out how promotional schemes are influencing the consumers.
Topic: Consumer perception on toothpaste in North Goa.
Targeted audience: High class, middle class and lower class people (North Goa).
Type of survey: House hold survey.
List of places in North Goa
1. Aldona
2. Quitula
3. Mapusa
 4. Bicholim
5. Candolim
6. Calangute
Pilot Questionnaire

 Which brand of toothpaste do you use?

 Are you satisfied with the brand you use? If Yes/ No, why?
 What are the factor considered when you buy toothpaste?
 Would you change the brand? Why?
 What would be the factors for changing the brand?
 Where do you prefer to buy toothpaste?

1) Which brand of toothpaste do you prefer?

 Colgate
 Close-up
 Dabur Meswak
 Sensodyne
 Oral-B
 Pepsodent
 Dabur Babool
2) How many times in a month do you buy new toothpaste?
 Once
 Twice
 More than twice
3) Where do you prefer to buy toothpaste?
 Super market
 General store
4) Which are the factors that you considered when you buy toothpaste?
 Price
 Availability
 Packaging
5) What are the attributes that you consider when you buy toothpaste?
 Long lasting freshness
 Use of natural herbs
 Whiteness
6) Which Mode of Promotion do you get attracted to?
 Advertisement
 Celebrity
 Others
7) Which promotional tool is preferred by you when buy toothpaste?
 Gift
 Discount
  Extra quantity
 Others
8) Rate the factors of toothpaste?
Good Very Good Bad Very Bad
Price
Availability
Packaging