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Colgate, Oral-B brush against each other

This follows Colgate's recent attempt to block the retail space for Oral-B toothpaste in modern trade

Viveat Susan Pinto Mumbai
To take on Procter & Gamble (P&G)’s Oral-B on every front, rival Colgate has launched SlimSoft, a new product in the Rs 1,000-crore toothbrush market. This follows Colgate’s recent attempt to block the retail space for Oral-B toothpaste in modern trade.

The SlimSoft is priced at Rs 50 apiece. Colgate is also pushing a value pack comprising two brushes for Rs 80. Billed a game changer, Colgate claims SlimSoft has slimmer and softer bristles than regular toothbrushes.

Traditionally, Indians prefer brushes with tough bristles. In recent years, however, dentists have been advocating the need for using a brush with softer bristles.
 

Though Oral-B also has products with softer bristles, SlimSoft is the first toothbrush with ultra-fine bristles (17 times slimmer tip bristles, according to Colgate).

Colgate is the leader in the toothpaste and toothbrush segments in India, with market shares of 55.9 per cent and 41.4 per cent, respectively.

In the past few quarters, it has grown faster in the toothbrush category, partly due to a lower reach in this segment. Analysts say volume growth for Colgate toothbrushes has been 14-15 per cent in the past few quarters, against nine-10 per cent for toothpastes. Between January and June last year and the corresponding period this year, the company added 270 basis points to its market share in the toothbrush category, against a 120-basis-point rise in its share in the toothpaste segment.

The company is fighting competition from Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble and GlaxoSmithKline Consumer in the toothpaste market, at the mass and niche ends. In the toothbrush segment, it is a two-way battle between Colgate and Oral-B; the latter is ranked second, with an estimated market share of 27-28 per cent. Globally, Oral-B is the leader in the toothbrush segment. After P&G acquired the Gillette portfolio in 2005, it secured the Oral-B brand as well. Since then, it has been aggressive in pushing its products in the toothbrush segment in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

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First Published: Aug 28 2013 | 12:48 AM IST

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