Prabha Narasimhan, the CEO of Colgate-Palmolive India Ltd, has outlined a bold growth strategy for the company’s Palmolive brand. She envisions Palmolive’s growth to outpace the rest of the company’s business by at least twofold, aiming to significantly increase its contribution to the overall business. Narasimhan emphasized that while the majority of their business is centered on oral care products like toothpaste and toothbrushes, the Palmolive segment represents a smaller proportion.
Narasimhan highlighted the remarkable 67 percent awareness level Palmolive enjoys in the country, despite being relatively underrepresented in their portfolio. The brand’s potential lies in the cleansing sector, encompassing body and hand cleansing, where they plan to focus and enhance efforts. Drawing upon its extensive global portfolio and product technology, Colgate-Palmolive intends to introduce and promote Palmolive’s offerings in India, becoming a cornerstone of its strategy supported by effective communication.
The CEO acknowledged ongoing macroeconomic recovery and an improvement in rural sentiment. In terms of financial performance, the company anticipates expanding gross margins and maintaining EBITDA margins at their current healthy levels. The focus will be on driving higher product usage, premiumization, and retaining market share.
Narasimhan’s strategic pillars encompass growing the overall oral care category by encouraging more frequent usage among consumers, emphasizing core brands like Max Fresh, Colgate Strong Teeth, and Colgate Active Salt, and venturing into premium offerings such as Colgate Total and other innovative launches.
Colgate-Palmolive’s Q1 earnings demonstrated strong growth, with consolidated net profit reaching Rs 273.7 crore and revenue climbing to Rs 1,338.6 crore. Although Colgate-Palmolive (India) shares are trading slightly lower, the stock has risen 28 percent year-to-date, prompting analysts to raise target prices and earnings-per-share estimates in response to the company’s impressive first-quarter results. Overall, Narasimhan is optimistic about the company’s growth trajectory, driven by effective strategy execution and a focus on enhancing its market presence and offerings.
