Turning the Tide for Pepsodent Germicheck in India

become Unilever’s leading toothpaste brand in India. But by the time The Marketing Clinic was brought in, its market share had plummeted to just 4%.

International competitors were gaining ground, but the real shift came from closer to home: a resurgence of belief in Ayurvedic and “natural” healthcare was fueling the rapid rise of local and regional toothpaste brands. Indian consumers weren’t just looking for clean teeth—they wanted products that aligned with their values, their culture, and their emotions.

Unilever had already made logical moves. They launched their own Ayurvedic brand. They invested in innovation. Yet the numbers continued to fall.

That’s when they came to us—with a clear brief:

“We need a different kind of answer.”

Beyond Logic: The Emotional Currency of Belief

We know that for a healthcare product to succeed, it must work. But for a brand to win hearts and wallets, that’s not enough. Consumers must believe it works—and that belief is built on emotion, not logic.

Our mission was to uncover the emotional truths driving the rapid changes in consumer behavior. Through deep psychological insights, we identified:

• The three core emotional triggers that led consumers to switch toothpastes.

• The hidden reasons people abandoned their current brands.

• The unspoken emotional pull drawing them toward Ayurvedic and local alternatives.

What we found was clear: while consumers could articulate logical reasons for switching, their decisions were driven by unconscious emotional motivators—trust, nostalgia, cultural identity, and the need to feel safe and cared for.

A Shift in Strategy: From Messaging to Meaning

Armed with these insights, we helped Unilever:

• Reformulate the product to align with deeper emotional needs.

• Reposition the brand to rebuild trust and belief.

• Craft communication that tapped into the unspoken emotions driving choice.

This wasn’t about telling consumers Pepsodent Germicheck was effective. It was about making them feel that it was. And that shift—from logic to emotional truth—was the game-changer.

The Impact

Pepsodent Germicheck is now on a steady path of recovery, reclaiming market share in one of the world’s most competitive oral care markets. It’s rebuilding loyalty among existing users and winning over a new generation of consumers.

Because when you speak to what people really feel, they listen.

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Chris Lukehurst is a Consumer Psychologist and a Director at The Marketing Clinic:

Providing Clarity on the Psychological relationships between consumers and brands