Sensodyne eyes SE Asia for expansion

Sensodyne, the dental care brand of GSK Consumer Healthcare, is looking to expand its export base for its toothpaste range from India, as it plans to sell its low-cost access packs in Southeast Asia.

Keeping in mind the needs of the price-sensitive Indian market, Sensodyne has already rolled out the smaller-sized access pack costing Rs 25.

Sharing export plans of Sensodyne with DH, GSK Consumer Healthcare Area Marketing Director (Oral Health) Anurita Chopra said, “As part of our journey in India — which began six years ago — we set up manufacturing capabilities in the country that helped us price our products right, in turn enabling us to develop the market.”

The brand’s toothpastes are manufactured in Goa, while it makes toothbrushes at Silvassa. It already exports toothbrushes to Southeast Asia. Currently, GSK Consumer Healthcare exports Sensodyne’s products to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka which are part of the ISC (Indian Sub-continent) market.

Explaining future plans, Anurita said, “The low-value access pack as an SKU has been manufactured especially for India, and there is potential to export these packs to other Southeast Asian countries that have similar needs as that of India (which could include Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia), within this year.”

At the moment, Sensodyne sells its products in around eight countries in Asia, tapping the dental sensitivity space.

“The toothpaste market in India is to the tune of around Rs 8,000 crore, with the sensitivity segment holding 12%. We are market leaders in that segment,” she claimed.

Sensodyne’s toothpaste portfolio in India comprises Whitening, Fresh Gel, Fresh Mint, Repair and Protect, and Rapid Relief as SKUs, to which, it added Deep Clean — a toothpaste engineered to provide sensitivity relief, advanced cleaning, and lasting freshness — on Wednesday.