With rich experience in the oral care industry and support from our external partners, Colgate-Palmolive on a global level has developed a wealth of patents and proprietary technologies, enabling the company to develop some of the most innovative, effective and sustainable oral care products in the market.
Scientists
Patents Studied
Research Studies
Patents per year
Quality Specialists & Engineers
Strategic Global Technology Centers
Higher Oral Care Scientific Publications than the next player
Colgate-Palmolive recognizes India as a key part of its global Research and Development (R&D) agenda. With over 85 years of presence in India, the Company has established a state-of-the-art R&D center in Mumbai, which is one of its largest R&D facilities globally. This center is staffed by a highly skilled team of scientists and researchers, who collaborate with other research centers, including Colgate-Palmolive’s central R&D center headquartered in Piscataway, New Jersey, United States and leverages a trained workforce to deliver the finest quality products to the market.
Overall, the company’s investment in R&D in India reflects its commitment to developing innovative products and technologies. This meets the unique needs of consumers in the Indian market while contributing to the company’s global growth and success and meeting our ESG ambitions.
To provide an overview of this journey, we offer a compelling insight into CPIL’s product stewardship section—an essential component of our environmental and social pillar
We are committed to providing products of the highest quality while maintaining strict environmental compliance standards. Through an innovation focused strategy, Colgate-Palmolive (India) strives for manufacturing excellence and endeavors to meet the changing demands of today’s customers.
We cater to changing consumer needs by continuously innovating and improving our products to meet the evolving market demands. Our product development process is validated by consumer feedback received through various channels. Along with offering valuable insights, it allows us to improve procedures and systems, gauge customer satisfaction through surveys and enables employees to improve skill-sets for fueling product innovation. The company has also implemented a mechanism to drive greater sustainability and continuous improvement in its products.
We continue to deploy advanced technologies to enhance product quality, ensure process optimization and heighten production capacity. For example, ColgatePalmolive (India) has been working to incorporate recycled materials into its products and reduce the use of plastics in its packaging.
CPIL’s product quality and safety management system is designed to ensure that all of its products meet the highest standards of quality, safety and regulatory compliance. This begins with the selection of high-quality raw materials and the implementation of rigorous quality control processes throughout the manufacturing process. The company also conducts extensive testing on its products to ensure that they meet or exceed industry standards for safety and performance.
We follow a comprehensive set of 26 ‘Global Quality Standards’ based on the US FDA’s Six-system approach covering innovation, manufacturing and commercialization. These standards are applied across all our facilities to ensure monitoring of processes and testing of products. They guarantee that all our manufacturing facilities rely on state-of-the art technology and have the necessary audit and quality control mechanisms to respect health and safety of our people and consumers.
All our products conform to Key Release Specifications (KRSs) and meet the requirements specified for each product type. Any product which fails to conform to the required parameters is barred from unintended use or release15. Our efforts ensured zero incidents of non compliance concerning the health and safety impacts of our products in FY 2022-23.
products assessed for health and safety impacts prior to launch
In addition, we have implemented a number of measures to ensure that our products are sustainable and environmentally responsible. This includes reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing processes, using renewable energy sources, and developing products that are more environmentally friendly.
We launched the first of its kind Recyclable toothpaste tube which is made of HDPE*. We chose this material because the HDPE bottle stream has one of the highest recycling rates across the world. But It was not easy to work with; HDPE is rigid and not well suited for squeezable tubes. But by combining different layers of HDPE laminate at varying thicknesses, our engineers were able to produce a soft, easy-to squeeze recyclable tube with similar performance parameters.
We shared our recyclable tubes knowhow globally, including with our competitors. We, thus, promoted the transition to recyclable tubes, improving portfolio efficiency and contributing to a circular economy. We are committed to transition 100% of our toothpaste portfolio to recyclable tubes by 2025 in India.
We understand that our customers trust us to provide safe and reliable products. That’s why we take our responsibility to ensure the safety of our ingredients very seriously. We provide accurate and transparent information about our products, empowering customers to make informed decisions.
Our strict ingredient safety policy governs our processes and ensures compliance with our own safety standards as well as government regulations in all regions where we operate. Our guidelines for using ingredients are based on thorough scientific evaluations. We proactively collaborate with external experts and keep up with the latest scientific discoveries to continuously improve our knowledge and practices. We also work only with suppliers who meet our high safety standards and pass regulatory tests, to ensure the safety of our products at every stage of production.
All ingredients utilized in our products undergo a meticulous safety screening conducted by our scientists to ensure adherence to stringent safety and performance standards.
After the formula is finalized, our scientists conduct a comprehensive screening of the entire formula to confirm that it meets the set expectations.
Our ingredient and formula assessments are conducted beyond the laboratory environment and encompass real-world conditions such as manufacturing, transportation, storage and usage.
All our plants have on-site chemical, microbiological and packaging testing laboratories that are staffed by highly trained and qualified analysts/ technicians. These fully-functional labs are equipped with highly trained and qualified analysts/technicians, testing equipment and methods as well as programs for Quality Control.
To safeguard the safety and well-being of our consumers, we have established a standardized process to recall and recover any products that do not meet our high-quality standards, are defective, or potentially harmful. This process includes rigorous measures such as conducting mock recovery audits, utilizing FMEA (Failure Mode and Effect Analysis) technology to eliminate defects, and implementing product coding for traceability purposes. Through these steps, we ensure that our customers can have complete confidence in the safety and reliability of our products.
product recalls for almost a decade
We prioritize transparency to establish and maintain strong relationships with our valued consumers. Our constant endeavor to provide accurate information about our products is reflected on our website and e-commerce platforms. We also ensure that our packaging includes information on safe usage and disposal. In addition to meeting regulatory requirements, we proactively provide details such as directions for usage, product quantity, and suitability for different age groups. Our labeling and packaging also includes symbols and information on recycling and water conservation.
As a result of our responsible practices, we had no incidents of non-compliance with marketing communication regulations in the fiscal year 2022-2318. We had one incident of non-compliance with regulations and voluntary codes for product and service information and labeling, which was promptly resolved without any adverse impact.
incidents of non-compliance with marketing communication regulations in the FY 2022-23
