MegaBrands · Oral care, toothpaste

Colgate: How a Brand Carried on Hand-Carts Became India’s Everyday Smile

Colgate, selected as the Mega Brand for Oral care, toothpaste by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC, reached Indian homes in 1937 on hand-carts carrying Colgate Dental Cream. Close to nine decades later, the company that owns it reports net sales of Rs 5,984 crore for FY2025-26.

By WCRC Leaders Editorial · Published October 2026 · 9 min read

At a glance

Colgate is the oral care brand of Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, a listed company headquartered in Mumbai and majority held by the promoter group of the US-based Colgate-Palmolive Company. The brand arrived in India in 1937, when hand-carts distributed Colgate Dental Cream. Led today by Managing Director and CEO Manish Anandani and Chairman Mukul Deoras, the company runs four plants and reaches about 7.1 million stores. It is the Mega Brand for Oral care, toothpaste in WCRC MegaBrands.

Colgate is the toothpaste many Indians reach for before they are fully awake, and that habit has deep roots. The brand’s Indian story began in 1937, when, as the company tells it, hand-carts were used to distribute Colgate Dental Cream. From that modest start grew a business whose products now reach about 7.1 million stores.

Over those decades the business has grown in scale. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, the listed company that owns the brand in India, says Colgate is “the brand of first choice for more than half of India”. In July 2026, as it closed one sustainability chapter and opened the next, the company marked the moment as “a fitting milestone as we celebrate 90 years in India,” in the words of Shilpashree Muniswamappa, its Director, ESG and Communications.

WCRC MegaBrands covers 501 categories in India and selects one benchmark brand in each. It looks at brands through five pillars: Brand Positioning & Recall; Consumer Trust & Sentiment; Product, Innovation & Delivery; Sustainability, Governance & ESG; and Digital & Financial Soundness. Colgate has been selected as the Mega Brand for Oral care, toothpaste by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting). Here is how Colgate’s record lines up with each pillar.

Pillar 1: How Colgate Owns Share of Mind

Brand Positioning & Recall · weighted 28% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Colgate’s recall starts with sheer familiarity. The brand has been on Indian shelves for close to nine decades, long enough to become part of the morning routine in millions of homes. The company’s own description is that Colgate is the brand of first choice for more than half of India.

The brand also keeps its message tied to health rather than to fashion. Its range is built around clear, named needs: Strong Teeth, MaxFresh, Visible White, Sensitive and PerioGard for gum care, plus Total and a range for children. Each variant has its own name, while the Colgate name on every pack carries the trust.

Colgate keeps that message in front of families through mass media. In September 2026 it announced its first collaboration with the quiz show Kaun Banega Crorepati, now in its 18th season, to promote brushing at night. Over the season the show’s host is to deliver 100 sign-offs carrying the line “Colgate aur KBC dwaara Daant hit mein jaari”, which the company translates as “Issued in dental interest”.

Pillar 2: Why India Trusts Colgate

Consumer Trust & Sentiment · weighted 26% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Trust in Colgate is built on a promise that is easy to test: the product works the same way every morning. The company says it has had zero product recalls for over a decade, a record it reported in July 2026.

The brand has also spent decades teaching good habits, not just selling paste. Toothpaste is now in nearly every Indian home. “And the category today is at absolutely universal penetration,” Prabha Narasimhan, then Managing Director and CEO, told analysts in August 2026. Colgate’s task has shifted from getting people to brush to getting them to brush better, and to see a dentist.

That is the aim of Colgate’s Oral Health Movement, run with the Indian Dental Association. Shoppers can scan the QR code on any Colgate toothpaste pack to receive a dental screening report and a free consultation with a participating dentist, in person or online. The company reported more than 4.5 million dental screenings in the programme’s 2024-25 run, with about 63,000 dentists onboarded through the association. In April 2026 the company presented the programme as free dental check-ups open to all.

Gunjit Jain, Executive Vice President, Marketing, explained why the push matters: “Our country has a crisis of apathy - 9/10 Indians suffer from a dental problem, only 1/10 visit a dentist.” By the company’s count, only about 9% of Indians visit a dentist each year.

Children are a long-standing focus. Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures, the brand’s school oral health programme in India since 1991, has reached more than 200 million children, the company said in September 2026. In 2025-26 alone it engaged more than 11 million children across 35,000 schools.

Pillar 3: The Science and Scale Behind Every Colgate Tube

Product, Innovation & Delivery · weighted 20% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Colgate’s delivery begins in four company-owned plants: Goa, Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, Sri City in Andhra Pradesh and Sanand in Gujarat. The company’s registered head office and technology centre are in Mumbai.

From those plants, Colgate reaches a very wide market. The company’s August 2026 presentation shows direct coverage of about 1.7 million stores and total reach of about 7.1 million stores, based on retail audit and internal data. The company describes its network as one of the widest in India. It sells through traditional grocers, modern trade, e-commerce, quick commerce and social commerce.

Innovation keeps the range moving. In FY2025-26, Colgate launched Colgate Total Plaque, Colgate Kids Squeeze and Visible White Purple Serum. It relaunched Colgate Strong Teeth with an upgraded flavour and relaunched PerioGard. In the June 2026 quarter came Colgate MaxFresh Berry Blast and a new Colgate Total toothbrush.

Gum care is a newer area of focus. In August 2026, the company presented PerioGard as a complete regimen of toothpaste, toothbrush and mouthwash. “We fundamentally believe that healthier gums are the foundation of a healthier mouth,” Ms. Narasimhan said at the time.

Premium products are now driving growth. In the quarter to June 2026, Colgate’s toothpaste portfolio delivered high-single-digit volume growth, led by premium variants, with the core range also growing.

Pillar 4: Colgate’s Commitment to Cleaner Packs and Healthier Communities

Sustainability, Governance & ESG · weighted 16% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Colgate’s most visible sustainability step sits in every bathroom. Since 2021, the whole Colgate toothpaste range made in India, by volume, has moved to recyclable tubes, and the company reports a milestone of more than 2 billion recyclable tubes. Its Chief Financial Officer told analysts in August 2026 that the company has opened the technology to another toothpaste maker free of cost.

The company’s July 2026 sustainability update set out more results. It reports 101% plastic waste neutrality under India’s Extended Producer Responsibility framework and a 43% cut in carbon emissions against its FY2020-21 baseline. Renewable sources supplied 60% of the electricity used at its plants, and the company describes itself as water positive at a country level. It says 95% of its packaging is recyclable, reusable or compostable. Its 2025-26 annual report adds that all four company-owned plants are Net Zero Water.

The next phase, called the 2030 SMILE Strategy, sets new goals. They include reaching 245 million more children and families with oral health education, cutting virgin plastic use by a third against 2019, designing all packaging for recycling, using only renewable electricity at its industrial sites and reaching Net Zero across the value chain by 2040.

Community work reaches beyond oral health. In FY2025-26, the company says, more than 237,000 people, mostly women, received financial and digital literacy training across 650 villages. Its Keep India Smiling and rural development programmes have benefited more than 640,000 people to date, the company said in September 2026.

Governance follows the discipline of a listed company. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited trades on the BSE and NSE, and its promoter group holds 51% of the shares. Five of its eight board members are independent directors. Leadership changes are disclosed and planned: in August 2026 the board approved Manish Anandani, who worked at Colgate-Palmolive from 2005 to 2018, as Managing Director and CEO from 28 September 2026, subject to shareholder approval, as Ms. Narasimhan moved to a wider Asia-Pacific role in the group.

Pillar 5: Colgate’s Steady Financial Engine

Digital & Financial Soundness · weighted 10% in the MegaBrands framework · How MegaBrands measures this

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited does not publish revenue for the Colgate brand alone, and its figures also include Palmolive personal care. At company level, net sales rose from Rs 5,188 crore in FY2022-23 to Rs 5,644 crore in FY2023-24 and Rs 5,999 crore in FY2024-25. In FY2025-26 they held steady at Rs 5,984 crore, with net profit of Rs 1,325 crore. The company linked the profit dip mainly to tax-related charges after GST changes and a higher base from interest on tax refunds a year earlier.

Momentum picked up in recent quarters. Net sales grew about 9% in the January to March 2026 quarter, and 12% in the April to June 2026 quarter, to Rs 1,591 crore, with gross margin at 69.7%. “We are pleased to report another quarter of strong and competitive performance,” Ms. Narasimhan said in July 2026. The company paid dividends of Rs 48 per share for FY2025-26.

Digital channels are a growing part of the mix. The company told analysts in August 2026 that e-commerce now contributes a double-digit share of its sales. Digital tools also support the brand’s health mission: the QR code on Colgate toothpaste packs connects shoppers directly to dental screening and online consultations.

The Colgate Benchmark

Every category has leaders. A MegaBrand is the brand its category is measured against. Colgate holds that place in Indian toothpaste because its record is strong on every pillar at once. By the company’s account it is the first choice of more than half of India. It is trusted for consistent quality, delivered through millions of shops, backed by measurable progress on packaging and emissions, and owned by a company with steady sales and strong margins.

Above all, Colgate shows how a daily habit can become a public health platform. A brand that started on hand-carts now uses its packs, its schools programme and its dentist network to push India towards better oral care.

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About Colgate

Colgate is the oral care brand of Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited, a listed company headquartered in Mumbai and part of the New York-based Colgate-Palmolive group. Sold in India since 1937, Colgate is made at four plants and reaches about 7.1 million stores. Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited reported net sales of Rs 5,984 crore in FY2025-26. Colgate has been selected as the Mega Brand for Oral care, toothpaste by the Business Intelligence Unit of WCRC (World Centre for Research and Consulting).