Colgate-Palmolive India plans to step up advertising from already elevated levels as it seeks to accelerate premium toothpaste growth, with management saying the business is expanding at about six times the market and that expectations of 20 per cent growth significantly underestimate the opportunity.
The company spent ₹252 crore on brand investments in Q1 FY27, up 34 per cent year-on-year, taking advertising and promotion to 15.8 per cent of sales, and has signalled that spending could rise further.
The increased investment comes as growth accelerates. Q1 FY27 sales rose 12 per cent to ₹1,591 crore, while adjusted net profit increased 10.6 per cent to ₹343 crore.
“I think when you peg premium at 20 per cent growth, you are actually massively under-pitching it. There is significantly more opportunity,” Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and CEO, Colgate-Palmolive India, said at the company’s Analyst Meet 2026 on Monday. “We are also seeing that our premium business is growing 6X the market.”
Premium toothpaste still accounts for only 18.6 per cent of India’s toothpaste category, up from 14.8 per cent in 2023, leaving considerable room for consumers to trade up. Narasimhan said premium’s share could potentially move towards the 40-60 per cent levels seen in categories such as soaps and shampoos, though the company has not set a target or timeline.
“We have seen great growth on premium. We are going to double down there,” said Jacob Madukkakuzhy, Whole-time Director and CFO. “The bias here would be on higher advertising and EBITDA percentage may be impacted. We are not working towards any particular level of EBITDA.”
Madukkakuzhy said there would be an “upward bias” even from the latest advertising level. “If we think spending X more on Total and Visible White is going to give Y growth, then we are open to doing that,” he said, signalling that near-term EBITDA targets would not constrain investment behind premium brands.
Premium engines
Colgate has the financial headroom to fund the push. Gross margin stood at 69.7 per cent in Q1 FY27, while its “Funding the Growth” programme generated savings equivalent to 4.7 per cent of sales in 2026, creating room to reinvest behind brands.
Management sees volume, premium mix and pricing as the three legs of its growth model. Core brands will generate volumes, premiumisation will improve mix, while pricing will depend on inflation and competitive conditions.
“That is exactly the model that we will continue to drive,” Narasimhan said.
Companys Premium bets
Colgate Total, Visible White and PerioGard are the company’s three main premium bets. PerioGard net sales are doubling annually, while Sensitive, albeit on a smaller base, is growing around 10 times faster than the sensitivity category.
Whitening presents another large opportunity. Penetration in India is only around 2 per cent, compared with 20-25 per cent in the US. Narasimhan said increasing competition could help expand the category rather than hurt Colgate, whose Visible White brand pioneered the segment.
“Are we worried? No, I don’t think we are worried,” she said, adding that Colgate’s share in whitening is “massively ahead” of its overall toothpaste share.
Colgate will also seek to increase premium-product throughput across its roughly 1.7 million directly reached outlets, while selectively expanding direct distribution in urban agglomerations and emerging city corridors where purchasing power and quality retail are growing.
Digital channels will complement the strategy, with Narasimhan describing e-commerce as growth-, margin-, premiumisation- and share-accretive.
Protecting affordability
At the other end of the market, Colgate has taken low-single-digit price increases amid inflation but does not intend frequent hikes. Madukkakuzhy said the company would “definitely not look at increases every few months”.
Narasimhan said Colgate had also “ring-fenced the most vulnerable consumers” by retaining the additional grammage offered on its ₹10 and ₹20 packs despite inflation.
Published on August 18, 2026
