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Palmolive is looking to strengthen its digital presence through a new partnership with D2C startup Bombay Shaving Company, as Colgate-Palmolive seeks to accelerate the personal care brand’s growth across ecommerce and direct-to-consumer channels.
Under the arrangement, Bombay Shaving Company will take charge of Palmolive’s consumer-facing advertising and customer relationships across its D2C and ecommerce platforms. The partnership comes at a time when the brand is looking to gain greater traction in the personal care segment, where ecommerce and quick commerce are increasingly playing a key role in premium product discovery.
Meanwhile, Colgate-Palmolive will continue to oversee Palmolive’s product innovation, manufacturing, quality and supply chain, along with its modern trade, general trade and offline distribution business.
“Our learning has actually been that the flywheel of a D2C brand is slightly different from the flywheel of the kind of brand that we are used to doing,” Colgate-Palmolive India MD and CEO Prabha Narasimhan said at the company’s investor day. “We did try it on our own and honestly, I don’t think we were best in class,” she added.
A Digital Fix For Palmolive
Palmolive has emerged as a weak spot in Colgate-Palmolive India’s portfolio, with Narasimhan describing personal care as an “area of disappointment” and acknowledging that the company had “not done a great job with Palmolive”.
The Palmolive partnership reflects Colgate-Palmolive’s broader effort to strengthen its digital capabilities and tap new growth opportunities in personal care. While the brand leads the premium handwash segment, Colgate-Palmolive India CEO Prabha Narasimhan noted that the category remains relatively small, leaving significant room for expansion.
To capture this opportunity, the FMCG major is leveraging Bombay Shaving Company’s expertise in building and scaling digital-first brands. Narasimhan acknowledged that Colgate-Palmolive had not developed the D2C “flywheel” as effectively as its partner and was looking to learn from Bombay Shaving Company’s capabilities in the space.
The collaboration has already shown “early green shoots”, although Narasimhan cautioned that the partnership is still at a nascent stage.
The two companies also share an existing strategic relationship. Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific acquired a 14 per cent stake in Bombay Shaving Company for ₹18 crore in 2018.
Meanwhile, Bombay Shaving Company’s parent, Visage Lines Personal Care, claimed adjusted EBITDA profitability in FY26, with operating revenue rising 139 per cent to ₹634.7 crore and net loss narrowing 97.4 per cent to ₹9 crore.
The partnership comes as Colgate-Palmolive sharpens its focus on digital channels, with around 50 to 60 per cent of its advertising and promotional spending now directed towards digital, according to Narasimhan.
Colgate-Palmolive is also prepared to absorb some near-term pressure on margins as it increases advertising expenditure and prioritises expansion. “We intend to drive growth ahead of profitability as we go forward,” Narasimhan said.
