Colgate-Palmolive has handed Palmolive’s D2C and ecommerce operations to Bombay Shaving Company to accelerate the brand’s digital growth
The partnership comes as Palmolive struggles to gain momentum in personal care, while ecommerce and quick commerce become increasingly important for premium product discovery
Bombay Shaving Company will manage consumer-facing advertising and customer relationships, while Colgate retains control of product innovation, manufacturing, supply chain and offline distribution
Colgate-Palmolive India has partnered with D2C startup Bombay Shaving Company to drive the D2C and ecommerce business of its personal care brand Palmolive, as the FMCG major looks to revive the underperforming brand.
Under the partnership, Bombay Shaving Company will manage Palmolive’s consumer-facing advertising and customer relationships across D2C and ecommerce channels.
Colgate-Palmolive will continue to oversee Palmolive’s modern and general trade business, traditional advertising, product innovation, quality, and supply chain.
“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”.
While Palmolive leads the premium handwash segment, Narasimhan said the category remains relatively small and offers significant headroom for growth.
Colgate-Palmolive is looking to tap Bombay Shaving Company’s digital-first capabilities to address this gap. Narasimhan said the FMCG company did not understand the D2C “flywheel” as well as its partner and was looking to learn from the latter.
The partnership has shown “early green shoots”, she said, while cautioning that it remains at a nascent stage.
The two companies already share a strategic relationship. Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific acquired a 14% stake in Bombay Shaving Company for ₹18 Cr in 2018.
It is pertinent to note that Bombay Shaving Company’s parent, Visage Lines Personal Care, claimed adjusted EBITDA profitability in FY26as its operating revenue jumped 139% to ₹634.7 Cr and net loss narrowed 97.4% to ₹9 Cr.
The partnership comes as Colgate-Palmolive increases its focus on digital channels. Around 50%-60% of its advertising and promotional spending now goes 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.
Notably, ecommerce and quick commerce are emerging as important discovery and distribution channels for premium products, including in markets beyond India’s largest cities.
According to Inc42’s The Next Big Wave In Indian Ecommerce, Report 2026India’s D2C GMV is expected to grow from $65 Bn in 2026 to $310 Bn by 2031, registering a 37% CAGR.