Colgate-Palmolive India has partnered with Bombay Shaving Company to strengthen Palmolive’s presence across e-commerce and direct-to-consumer (D2C) channels, as the FMCG major looks to revive growth in its personal care business.
Under the partnership, Bombay Shaving Company will manage Palmolive’s consumer-facing advertising and customer relationships across digital commerce and D2C platforms. The company will also bring its expertise in digital commerce, customer acquisition and engagement to the brand.
Speaking during Colgate-Palmolive India's earnings call, Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director and CEO, acknowledged that the company’s personal care business, particularly Palmolive, has not performed at the level it had targeted.
“Honestly, I don't think we were best-in-class,” Narasimhan said, adding that the company is focused on becoming best-in-class across its businesses.
Palmolive has, however, shown some positive momentum. According to Narasimhan, the brand has emerged as a leader in the premium handwash category. She noted that the category remains relatively small, leaving significant room for further growth.
As part of the new arrangement, Bombay Shaving Company will take responsibility for Palmolive’s consumer-facing advertising and customer engagement on e-commerce and D2C platforms. Its mandate goes beyond media management, with the company expected to apply its experience in building D2C businesses to drive customer acquisition and engagement.
Colgate-Palmolive India will retain control over product innovation, quality and supply chain. The company will also continue to manage Palmolive’s presence across modern trade, traditional trade and conventional advertising.
Narasimhan said the decision to partner with Bombay Shaving Company was driven by the latter’s deeper understanding of the D2C growth model.
“It’s not a flywheel that we understand as a company,” she said, while noting that the partnership would also allow Colgate-Palmolive India to learn from Bombay Shaving Company’s experience in the digital-first space.
The partnership is still in its early stages, but the company has already seen some positive indicators. Narasimhan said Colgate-Palmolive India is “very, very optimistic” about the contribution Bombay Shaving Company has made so far, pointing to “early green shoots” from the collaboration.
However, she cautioned that Palmolive is starting from a performance base that remains below the company's expectations. While some initial improvements may be easier to achieve, the larger impact of the partnership is expected to become clearer over the next two to three years.
The tie-up marks a renewed push by Colgate-Palmolive India to build Palmolive’s digital commerce and D2C business, while retaining its control over the brand’s product portfolio, supply chain and offline distribution.
Narasimhan said she expects the company to have “better and better news” to share on Palmolive as the partnership progresses.
