FMCGs polishing their oral care offerings

It could as well be the War of Mouth.
With home-grown fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies and consumer-centric multinationals desperately seeking a slice of the Rs 5,000 crore oral-care pie in the country, this year is set to see a host of launches, mainly of toothpastes and toothbrushes.

As per industry sources, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer, Elder Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson (J&J) India, Procter & Gamble (P&G), among others, are aggressively looking to either enter the segment or expand their existing oral care ranges.

GSK Consumer, the maker of Horlicks, is looking to re-launch its toothpaste brand Aquafresh, which was phased out a few years ago. The company forayed into oral care last year by launching Sensodyne, a medicated toothpaste brand for sensitive teeth, which is sold on prescription. Re-launch of Aquafresh will give it presence in the mass-end oral care market.

J&J is also likely to re-launch its oral care brand Reach in India this year. The company had introduced toothbrushes under the Reach brand eight years ago, but later discontinued it.

Dabur India, which has Red Toothpaste, Promise, Meswak and Babool in its oral care portfolio, is now prototyping Babool Gel toothpaste at attractive price points in certain pockets.

P&G’s Crest toothpaste is widely awaited. Crest is the largest toothpaste brand in the US and analysts believe P&G will launch it in early 2011. The company currently has presence in oral care category with toothbrushes under OralB.

Elder Healthcare, the FMCG division of Elder Pharma, is also keen to expand its oral care range this year. Elder, which sells the AMPM mouthwash and toothbrushes, is now looking at toothpastes. Both Elder and J&J are believed to be in talks with JHS Svendgaard Laboratories for manufacturing tie-ups.

Svendgaard already manufacturers mouthwashes and toothbrushes for Elder.

Nikhil Nanda, managing director, JHS Svendgaard Laboratories, declined to comment. “We are working closely with national and international brands in oral care,” Nanda said. He said Svendgaard was also looking at expanding its chain of dental clinics and has bid for opening 35 clinics in the NCR region under the Central Government Health Scheme.

The oral-care consumer goods market in the country mainly comprises toothpastes, toothbrushes, toothpowder and mouthwashes. Colgate Palmolive is the largest sold and distributed player, with a market share of 50%. Hindustan Unilever, with the Pepsodent and Close-Up brands, has a market share of 26%, while Dabur has 10% market share.
The segment also recently saw the entry of Kishore Biyani-led Future Group with toothpaste and toothbrushes under the brand Sach.