Oral care sector in India

Posted By Team MCG On

 

Oral care is an important part of the personal care market in India and has expanded considerably in the recent years. The Indian oral care sector is organised and has a large share of multinational as well as domestic players. Players are focusing on innovation and are introducing new product variants to attract different market segments. Marketing campaigns and promotional offers are now a strategic part of the oral care product market. Players also tie up with dentists and dental associations across the country and also organize free dental checkup as a part of awareness campaign on oral hygiene.

Apart from company led marketing campaigns, the Government has also initiated community dental health camps in several semi-urban and rural locations to spread awareness as well as address the very low dentist population ratio in the country.

The oral care sector was valued at INR 78 billion in 2013-14; witnessing growth at a rate of around 15% annually. Advanced oral products like mouth wash, dental floss and teeth whitening products are at a nascent stage in India and cater largely to the urban markets. The Indian oral care products can be broadly classified into 4 segments- toothpaste, toothbrush, toothpowder, mouthwash and others which include dental floss and whitening products.

Oral Care sector: Break-up by key segment, 2013-14

Total value market: INR 78 billion

Source: Secondary Research

The toothpaste segment in India has several product variants such as the basic segment and freshness gel toothpaste segments. Whitening toothpaste variants have been introduced recently and are gradually gaining ground.

The toothbrush segment is witnessing a robust growth driven by the demand for toothpaste and the increasing awareness of brushing twice a day. A recent entrant in the toothbrush segment is the introduction of charcoal toothbrush with black coloured and soft bristles, with traditional oral care benefits of charcoal.

Some of the other products in the oral care market include dental floss, teeth whitener and oral care chewing gums; the segments are mainly urban centric and are a small market at nascent stage.

Some of the key players in the oral care sector are Colgate Palmolive India Limited (CPIL), Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Proctor and Gamble (P&G), Anchor, Vicco Laboratories, Dabur, Johnson and Johnson.