'People in India do not brush their teeth'; toothpaste company makes strange claim

NEW DELHI: Renowned toothpaste company Colgate has made a strange claim that "people in India don't brush their teeth." According to the company, this is one of the reasons for its sharp drop in sales across India. The company made this claim after its sales fell sharply for the third consecutive financial quarter.

Earlier, the company had said that Indians use very little toothpaste compared to other countries. The biggest decline was witnessed in urban areas, where Colgate once had strong sales. According to the company's assessment, distribution issues have also seriously affected sales. To attract customers, Colgate recently launched new premium toothpaste products, which are of higher quality and price. However, even its recently introduced “Colgate Strong Teeth” variant failed to make an impact in rural markets. Meanwhile, Noel Wallace, Chairman and Global CEO of Colgate-Palmolive, said that the company does not expect to regain market strength anytime soon.

The company’s revenue fell by 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Although the GST on oral care products was reduced from 18% to 5%, Colgate says supply chain problems have heavily affected sales. The company added that it will conduct a detailed review next week to understand the decline and will soon introduce new strategies to regain market strength.