Mouth full of politics: Colgate caught in US–India tensions
Key takeaways
- Indian toothpaste manufacturer Dabur urges consumers to forfeit US brands and buy local.
- Dabur launched a nationalist ad campaign on the front page of the Times of India newspaper.
- The ad hints at US-made Colgate toothpaste, and a QR code links to Dabur’s toothpaste on Amazon India.
Indian consumer goods company Dabur has launched an ad campaign urging shoppers to pick its “Swadeshi,” or made-in-India, toothpaste over American-owned Colgate. The campaign follows the US raising tariffs on Indian goods, sparking calls in India to buy local.
Under Washington’s decision, India currently faces tariffs of up to 50% on its goods. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is calling for citizens to avoid foreign brands, which has triggered his supporters to spread boycott messages on WhatsApp against US companies.
Dabur’s front-page ad in the Times of India hinted at Colgate without naming it. The ad showed a toothpaste pack in red, white, and blue font with the line: “Born there, not here.” A QR code in the ad linked directly to Dabur products on Amazon India.
Personal Care Insights reached out to Colgate-Palmolive for a comment, but has not received a response.
Colgate holds 43% of India’s toothpaste market while Dabur ranks third with 17%. Unilever’s Pepsodent holds second place with 23%, according to Euromonitor.
We previously reported on the current nationalist wave in India. “Why should our money go abroad? Let it provide livelihoods to our children. Buy only products that are made in India,” said Modi.
India’s population of 1.4 billion makes it a critical market for global consumer brands, many of which are widely available through Amazon and retail outlets.
In its Q1 2025 financial results, L’Oréal identified India as one of its fastest-growing markets, alongside Brazil and Thailand.
Following the results, the company announced it will expand its India business operations over the coming years, positioning the country as a central hub in its global growth strategy.
“India is a very strategic market for L’Oréal,” said CEO Nicolas Hieronimus at the time. “We intend to more than double our business in the next couple of years, expand our factories — which are today manufacturing 95% of what we sell in India — and also export to the rest of the region.”
