Colgate Dental Cream relaunched a second time in 18 months

agencyfaqs! News Bureau,

NEW DELHI, August 19

Colgate-Palmolive (India) Limited has relaunched its flagship brand Colgate Dental Cream (CDC) with an enhanced formulation. Coming just 18 months after the last re-launch, the company hopes that "this revitalization would further strengthen Colgate's position as India's number one brand".

Announcing the launch, the Colgate spokesperson said, "With increased awareness about their oral health, consumers' attitudes and preferences are evolving and they are now demanding products that address specific needs. We developed this product after extensive research, which revealed that 'strong teeth' was a key consumer aspiration."

To reinforce the changes in the product formulation, ‘CDC Super Shakti with Calcium' will sport a contemporised packaging complete with new graphics. Both the pack and the tube now have the international blue swirl to emphasise the promise of strong teeth. The toothpaste cartons are tamper-evident and have an all-laminate packaging in Colgate's eye-catching red.

Despite the changes in packaging and formulation, the price of ‘CDC Super Shakti with Calcium' will remain unchanged. It will be available nationally in 250 gm, 200 gm, 150 gm, 100 gm and 50 gm packs that will be priced at Rs 54.75, Rs 50.00, Rs 37.50, Rs 27.50 and Rs 14.50, respectively.

In rural India, it will be sold in combi-packs as well - comprising a 30-gm toothpaste pack with a Rs 9.50 toothbrush thrown in as a free gift. Colgate-Palmolive claims that it has designed combi-packs to encourage the usage of toothbrushes in rural India.

A multi-media ‘Mera Colgate' campaign that features the new pack will support the launch of Colgate Dental Cream Super Shakti with Calcium. It will also be promoted through special point-of-sale dispensers, danglers and focused promotions for both the consumers and trade.

Colgate's latest move comes in the wake of some major changes that are taking place both within the company and in the marketplace. First there was change at the top, followed by a major rejig of Colgate-Palmolive's product portfolio. In September 1999, Derrick Samuel assumed charge as vice-president South Asia Region and managing director of Colgate-Palmolive (India), replacing incumbent Jay Jayaraman.

He came in at a point when Colgate was steadily losing shares in the toothpaste market, which wasn't growing either. The Rs 1,000-crore toothpaste market (ORG-Marg estimates) reported a negative growth last year. However, post Samuel, Colgate, which once meekly faced Hindustan Lever's competitive overtures, began shooting from the hip.

The company managed to block the HLL onslaught, with its flagship brand CDC actually gaining market share over the past several months. The company closed its books in March 2000 with a 2 per cent growth in CDC's market share. Currently, Colgate commands over 50 per cent share of the market, with close competitor HLL at about 35 per cent. Toothpaste forms the bulk of the company's sales (Rs 1,121 crore in 1999-2000).

The company has swiftly rolled out a number of product initiatives, including the revival of Cibaca Top, the relaunch of Colgate Fresh Energy Gel, and now a new Colgate Dental Cream, among the important ones.

Colgate-Palmolive's renewed aggression is also evident from a recent interview that its managing director Derrick Samuel gave to one of the financial dailies. He said, "As per our estimates, the market as a whole is growing at about 4 per cent. The challenge is to take the growth to the double-digit levels. We are putting in place strategies to grow the business in terms of triggering the growth to 10 per cent - which is the lowest spectrum of double-digit growth."

With oral care being the obvious focus area for Samuel, more such product initiatives by the company are not entirely unexpected.

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