A Simple Strategy That Helped Colgate Enter Indian Homes

Until yesterday, my 9-year-old son was convinced that Colgate tooth powder was meant to clean silver utensils. He has seen it used that way in our home. So when I told him it was actually a dental product, he looked genuinely surprised.

His confusion is understandable. Because historically, in India, tooth powder was the norm.

Long before glossy toothpaste tubes entered bathrooms, oral care in India meant powders, often homemade. People used charcoal, salt, ash, clove, neem, and herbal blends. The brushing ritual involved fingers more than toothbrushes.

When Colgate entered the Indian market in the 1930s, a large part of India did not use toothbrushes at all. The behaviour was different. The format was different. The habit was deeply cultural.

Instead of forcing toothpaste immediately, Colgate leaned into what already existed.

They launched tooth powder. 

Research in consumer behaviour consistently shows that adoption increases when innovation feels familiar. Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory calls this compatibility; new products spread faster when they align with existing habits and values.

Colgate understood this decades before it became management theory.

By offering tooth powder, they entered Indian homes in a format people already trusted. Once trust and brand familiarity were built, the shift toward toothpaste became easier. Over time, through education campaigns, dentist endorsements, school outreach programs, and advertising, Colgate gradually shaped a behavioural transition from powder and fingers to paste and brush.

They sold a product and successfully migrated a habit.

Today, India is one of the largest toothpaste markets in the world. But that shift did not happen overnight. It was a long game of cultural understanding, format familiarity, and patience.

If you enjoy stories like this, where everyday brands quietly teach us big lessons about strategy, behaviour, and design, you might enjoy my ebook The Story Folder.

Inside it, I unpack fascinating brand stories such as Pringles, GoPro, and others, looking at the small insights and clever decisions that shaped how these companies grew.

Not as case studies filled with jargon, but as simple stories about how good ideas travel.