Q.

Explain in detail how colgate regained

its hold in the toothpaste market?
Colgate regained its hold in the
toothpaste market by the following
methods

INCREASING MARKET SHARE

Can occur in two ways: Increasing Depth (volume increase per consumer)
Increasing Width (variety increase, increase in SKU)

Increasing

depth

toothpaste to

is not possible because amount of

be used by a single consumer cannot be

increased substantially
Increasing width is the only option left
Colgate-Palmolive utilized the method of gaining market

share by increasing width

 Colgate introduced new brands to target various segments

of consumer
Segment

Brand

Price/ 100gm
(Rs)

Top End

Colgate Total

36

Breath Freshness
Segment

Colgate Gel

35

Oral Hygiene Segment

Colgate Sensitive
Care

38

Regular Paste

Colgate Dental

30

Natural

Colgate Herbal

23

Economy

Colgate Cibaca Top

16.50

Tooth Powder

Colgate Tooth
Powder

19

Colgate launched Colgate Total for premium users

Acquiring the economy segment

Greater threat because of the presence of multiple brands like;
Babool
Cibaca
Aim (HUL)

Colgate acquired Cibaca and relaunched it as Colgate Cibaca.

Colgate launched Colgate Herbalpriced low at Rs.23/ 100gm to

compete against Aim by HUL priced at Rs.6/50 gm

For low end consumers, colgate had toothpowder priced at

Rs.19/ 100gm.

Gaining market share

Increase in Sales

Sales can increase in mainly 3 ways

Sell New to Same
Sell New to New
Sell Same to New

1st

method

involves

increasing

product

width

and

successfully implemented by Colgate

Remaining 2 methods involves the finding of new customer

base
This two methods were also effectively used by Colgate

Analysis of the Lower End of Pyramid

4.5 out of 10 Indians used toothpaste
6 out of every 10 Indian used toothpaste or tooth powder
That means 4 out of every 10 Indian use neither toothpaste

nor tooth powder

Challenge was to convert these 4 Indians to use Colgate

toothpaste or tooth powder

73% of the Indians li8ve in rural areas
65% of them donot use either toothpaste or tooth powder
Hence target is the rural population and rural market
Objective is to convert the rural population into using

colgate toothpaste or tooth powder

In order to gain new customer base, Colgate began its mission

in the rural market and used the following measures;PROMOTION
In 1976 it launched Operation Jagruti to create hygiene

awareness in rural areas

Used vans that went deep into rural areas to generate trials
Colgate

reached 60000 villages and 18 million rural

consumers through this policy

Also associated with IDA and reached 18500 dentists in

1280n towns and cities

 Launched another programme called Bright Smiles, Bright

Future to teach children to keep their teeth healthy

Reached 35000 schools and 112 million children in 112

towns across the country

DISTRI BUTION
Used a three pillar structure for effective distribution1. Physical distribution reach that includes the width and depth of

it
2. Customer marketing approach
3. Modernization of sales operation and enhancement of sales

efficiency

Pillar 1
Presence felt in Haats and shandies and promotional

activities carried out

Target was to reach every single village and 3 million retail

outlets of rural India that kept toothpaste or tooth powder

Pillar 2
Treating everyone in the distribution network a scustomer

and keeping them satisfied

Direct sales to 850000 outlets
Introduction of different incentive plans like Colagte Dil Se

plan for wholesalers

Pillar 3
Tracking of material data in real time by stockists helping

them to forecast
Renting out shelf space in kirana stores for display
POPe material for smaller retaileres

Q2. Considering the growth agenda of Colgate, suggest

appropriate measures to gain stronghold in rural markets
The main elements of the growth agenda are: Expand product offerings
Improve efficiencies
Widen coverage
Partner dental professionals
Leverage technological leadership
Empower and energize human capital
Strengthen brand building

Some measures are:1. Door to Door visit in rural areas demonstrating the need to

keep teeth healthy by using toothpaste or powder

2. Advertisements of low cost toothpaste and powde among

the rural population

3. Free dental check up in the rural areas
4. Distribution of the products in the small paan shops and

kirana stores of rural areas

5. Organize exhibitions and sampling in the rural government

health centres