Prabha Narasimhan

About

When Colgate-Palmolive (India) scaled its Oral Health Movement (OHM) across the country, it wasn’t chasing incremental gains. The company screened 4.5 million people across 700 districts and more than 18,000 pin codes. The numbers are telling—nearly one in six of those screened went on to visit a dentist! For MD and CEO Prabha Narasimhan, the shift from awareness to action is central. “We are moving from a country that uses toothpaste to one that prioritises oral health,” she says. Despite Colgate’s deep reach, inconsistent brushing habits and low engagement with preventive care continue to cap growth. In Q3 FY26, Colgate-Palmolive (India) reported revenues of around ₹1,470 crore, up marginally year-on-year. For the company, which has been present for over eight decades in India, behavioural change, rather than just product expansion, is emerging as a key lever. “We’ve identified a massive opportunity to bridge the access-awareness gap,” Narasimhan says, “transitioning a nation that uses toothpaste into one that prioritises oral health as a gateway to systemic well-being.” The company is also widening its play by entering the “oral beauty” segment with the launch of the Visible White Purple Serum. For Narasimhan, the task is less about defending market leadership and more about expanding the category. “Our job is to drive penetration—getting the 55% of rural India that doesn’t brush daily to start brushing daily,” she says, linking growth to habit formation along with product innovation.