EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The oral care market is considered as one of the rapidly growing dynamic markets in FMCG sector India.
Due to increase standard of living and changing lifestyle, the demand for specialized oral care products
like multipurpose toothpaste, prestige toothbrush, mouthwash, etc. are greater than ever, thereby
providing high momentum to the Indian oral care market. The wealthy class requires the premium and
value added oral care products in order to maintain oral hygiene and they use multipurpose oral care
products such as mouthwash, dental floss and other specialized oral care products to keep fresh breath
and mouth. Oral care has become an thrilling legroom for new product developments and producers are
trying to convince consumers through aggressive campaign and advertising that they should adopt a oral
care products to improve oral hygiene and to be protected from dental related issues. A multipurpose oral
care product is an emerging trend in the industry. However, the penetration of modern oral care products
is low, but this opens the door for new and enormous opportunities in Indian oral care industry.

India Oral Care Market is growing with a CAGR of 11.4% from last five years and is projected to get
more than double by the year 2021 due to rising oral care, brand awareness, increasing disposable
income, growing demand in middle class people and affordable price of oral care products in the
form of mass oral care products.
Mouthwash is a growing category in oral healthcare segment .It is being majorly purchased in
urban and semi urban cities since it is more of a luxury product that is being associated with quick
oral hygiene .The Mouthwash category is being dominated by players like Coalgate Plax , Listerine
etc.
Even though it a fast growing category due to arising of western culture in India , still there are many
factors inhibiting the acceptability of the same.Various aspects and factors have been analysed in
this report to understand the factors of dissonance that prevent usage of mouthwash among
consumers.

INTRODUCTION
Developing countries are slowly adopting mouthwashes. Mouthwash stands as one of the fastestgrowing segments in India in the overall oral care product market. Consumers are buying more
alcohol-free mouthwashes or mouthwashes that contain natural ingredients. Mouthwashes are
considered as secondary oral care products. Companies are increasing awareness on integrating
these products in primary daily regime of oral care. Dental associations are working on
increasing awareness of the benefits of mouthwashes, for example, their liquid form and rinsing
action enable deeper penetration and help disinfect entire mouth.
Indian Oral Care Industry, over the last few years, has been one of the fastest
growing FMCG sectors. The growing population along with the increasing health awareness
amongst this population has opened a new opportunity in the oral health care market. In spite of
very high growth potential of oral health care products, mouth wash products have witnessed
very limited usage only among the users who are aware of its benefits.
PROBLEM STATEMENT:
Our motive is to study the consumer behaviour which are the factors affecting decisions made by
users of Mouth wash Products (For ex Colour, taste, strength etc.)
Market driver - Increasing awareness of dental health and effective, easy, and quick solution to
fight germs
Market challenge - Preference for primary oral care products over secondary products
Market trend - Demand for different flavored mouthwashes

Research questions

Motivational or influential factors of preference of one brand of mouthwash over the

other competitors
In survey data collected , analysis indicated that majority of the samples were not brand
loyal, this study was also targeted to study the reasons for the same

The preference of Colgate over an established brand like Listerine , through this study
the aligned factors have been identified

METHODOLOGY
In a view to accomplish the research objectives and to address the research questions both
primary and secondary data collection methods were used. Initially through the secondary
research study allowed to understand the research topic at a closer dimension.
Primary Data Collection
Survey
In order to collect data from viewpoints of the consumer, a survey was conducted for which 87
participants were sampled (Components of the questionnaire given in Annexure 1). The age
groups were divided into :
Below 15 years This group of participants was perceived to have major influencers as parents
and dependent on parents for financial stability. This age group is also expected to have the
maximum issues with oral carries
Between 15 years and 23 years This group of participants was perceived to have major
influencers as friends and additionally students whose individuals level of dependency can be
shaped.
Between 23 years and 40 years Working professionals who is stable financially and are
information seeking while choosing a particular brand
Above 40 years issues with oral carries reemerge, are usually brand loyal to the chosen brand
product
Through this survey the views of dentists (experienced) who are major influencers (with regards
to products like mouthwash) for all the age groups were collected.
Focus group Discussions
Two focus group discussions were conducted, description is given as follows :
The first focus group discussion was conducted with 6 participants in the age group of 22 years
to 26 years at T. A. Pai Management Institute. In the group four participants were users of
mouthwash (regular and irregular) and the other two were non-users.
The second focus group discussion was conducted with 6 participants in the age group of 40
years to 50 years at a restaurant. In the group four participants were users of mouthwash (regular
and irregular) and the other two were non-users. (Components of the questionnaire given in
Annexure 2)
Interview

16 interviews were conducted among different age groups among the users and the non-users in
the area of Manipal. The factors that were assessed are oral hygiene pattern, frequency of usage
of mouthwash, brand preference, motivational factors for usage of mouthwash and preference for
certain brand, expected attributes ad concerns from using a mouthwash and influential factors for
selecting a particular brand. The sampling technique used was convenience sampling. 2 dentists
were also interviewed.
Blind Test Experiment
The analysis of data collected through survey, interview and focus group discussion lead to the
necessity to understand the reason of preferring the brand Colgate over the brand Listerine in
terms of taste and price among consumers.

RESULTS
Survey
Among the 87 participants 23 were in the age group of 23-40 years, 22 were in the age group of
15-23 years, 24 were in the age group of below 15 years and 18 participant were in the age group
of above 40 years.
Majority (54%) of the samples were graduate and 46% of the samples were postgraduates.
82.2 % have previously purchased mouthwash and currently 54% of the participants used
mouthwash.
Among all the brands listed 55.2% used Colgate, 28.7% used Listerine and followed by other
brands.
Considering the frequency of usage for 6 months the number of bottles to be utilized should be at
least 4 in number (estimating one bottle to be 250ml). Based on this criteria , the participants
were divided as
1-3 bottles in 6 months were termed as irregular users
More than 4 bottles in 6 months were termed as regular users and also a strong indicator of brand
loyalty
In the survey study conducted approximately 50 % of the samples were not considering to buy a
mouthwash in the near future.
For majority of the samples the major source of information for buying a particular brands
mouthwash product was previous purchase experience, somewhat importance was given to the
views of friends, family and dentists followed by packaging information as well as TV
advertisement . Majority of the samples gave No importance to in-store advertising and the
efforts of retail store staffs.

With respect to product attributes for preference of a particular brand majority of the samples
gave importance to total oral care and familiarity of the brand and the flavor followed by
attributes like brand name, price and packaging respectively
In terms of buying the mouthwash from a particular store majority of the participants preferred
super market followed by general stores and medical store respectively.
Survey data indicated the brand loyalty while using mouthwash of a particular brand majority of
the samples preferred changing the brand of mouthwash , the reason being influence by others
(maximum impacting factor), advertisement impact, price and impact of packaging(the least
impacting factor).
In terms of attributes majority of the participants expected the attributes in the following order:

Refreshing
Anticavity properties
Pleasant
Antiseptic properties

Results from Focus Group Discussions

The first FGD consisting of participants in the age group of 22-26 years indicated the following
results:

Convenience: All the users verbalized that the purchase of mouthwash need not be
necessarily from a medical store but preferred buying the product from a retail shop
because of the perception that mouthwash is not a highly medicated product which
needed a health professionals views further and more importantly the convenience
factor.
Inappropriate oral hygiene pattern: All the users had an inappropriate oral hygiene pattern
and used mouth wash as a substitute to brushing teeth with toothpaste. Increased use
among these users was also contributed to the fact that a mouthwash product was easy to
carry while travelling and during college time.
Colgate over Listerine: the users verbalized that they preferred Colgate over Listerine
owing to the larger number of flavor available in the brand of Colgate than Listerine.
Brand Loyalty: the users were not brand loyal to any of the product , the reason being
they liked experimenting with different flavors and brands available but they never
repeated purchase of the same brand in case of bad previous experience.
Reduced effectiveness of mouthwash: different type of mouthwash is restricted for
specific use, none of the users were about this aspect. Additionally they were also
unaware about other important aspects after using a mouthwash e.g. do not rinse mouth
soon after using mouthwash. This was the reason for reduced effectiveness of mouthwash
(for 12 hours) among the users.
Influential factors for selecting a brand:

1. Price was an important factor for selecting a particular brand in this age group as all the
samples were students. Majority of the samples preferred Colgate over Listerine as the
price of Listerine was higher than Colgate.
2. Promotional offers of some brands motivated majority of the samples in purchase
behavior.
3. After taste played an important role in selection of a brand
4. Packaging of the product : Colgate on its packaging specifies points like No alcoholic
content, No burning sensation, etc which also is an influential factor for this age group
Low involvement product : all the users did not involve in searching for information or
spending time in making a purchase decision . The major source of information was
through TV advertisement, word of mouth, dentists, friends, posters and finally on an
online platform
Post consumption of alcohol and smoking : samples preferred using mouthwash over a
chocolate due to its higher effectiveness
For non-users of mouth wash the factors was the perception that their oral hygiene pattern
was appropriate and mouthwash was not necessary. A common factor among these
samples were that less number of oral checkups and less awareness about oral hygiene.

The second FGD consisting of participants in the age group of 40-50 years indicated the
following results:

1.

2.
3.
4.

The samples had appropriate oral hygiene pattern and considered mouthwash product for
maintenance of hygiene
Listerine Over Colgate : The samples in this age group preferred the higher burning
sensation of Listerine . The perception was higher the burning sensation, higher the
effectiveness of the mouthwash product.
Brand loyalty: the samples did not prefer experimentation therefore preferred a familiar
liked flavor and the brand
Samples preferred buying from a medical store due to the easy availability of product
information
Influential factors for selecting a brand:
Price was not an important factor for selecting a particular brand in this age group as all
the samples were working professionals. Quality of the mouthwash was a major
influential factor.
After taste played an important role in selection of a brand
Packaging of the product : Colgate on its packaging specifies points like No alcoholic
content, No burning sensation, etc which also is an influential factor for this age group
Major influencers for this age group were dentists and pharmacists at the medical store
rather than TV advertisements
Post consumption of alcohol and smoking : samples preferred using mouthwash over a
chocolate due to its higher effectiveness

For non-users of mouth wash the factors was unawareness about appropriate oral
hygiene, these samples never had a dental check-up and also had complaints related to
oral cavity
Results from interviews of samples
The samples for interview had an equal representation from each age category in terms of gender
and usage (user and non-user)
Below the age group of 15 years, characteristics that were analysed: dentists and parents were the
main influencers, considered an association of increased usage of mouthwash leads to decreased
visits to a dentist and unaware about the effectiveness of using a mouthwash appropriately.
Listerine was the most preferred brand in this category (the reason being parents and dentists
prefer Listerine). Among the non-users ,the reason for not using a mouthwash was such products
not being introduced by their influencer. Additionally a higher level of brand loyalty was
analysed in this category and dental complaints were higher in non-users than users.
In between the age group of 15-23 years, characteristics that were analysed: Price was a crucial
factor for purchase decision, least brand loyal compared to any other category , found
mouthwash as a substitute to brushing teeth with toothpaste and major source of information was
TV advertisements. Preferred brand was Colgate.
In between the age group of 23-40 years, characteristics that were analysed: effectiveness and
taste were the two crucial factors for a purchase decision, major source of information was
through TV advertisements and no brand loyalty observed. Preferred brand was Colgate due to
its packaging content, taste and increased number of flavors.
Above the age group of 40 years , characteristics that were analysed: brand loyalty present,
dentists were the main influencers and aware about most of the important details of their
respective brands. Preferred brand was Listerine.

Results from interviews of dentists

As influencers dentists preferred the brand Listerine due to the clinical research evidences
acquired by the brand and for post-surgical purposes it is Betadine mouthwash . But as
consumers dentists preferred Colgate as the medical representatives of this brand provides
promotional offers to the dentists.

Blind test experiment were done on samples (the packaging was removed from the product of the
same flavor of Colgate and Listerine) , the results indicated that since Listerine had an irritating
burning sensation over Colgate due to which the preference was more inclined to Colgate

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR LISTERINE

Increase the number of flavors or options: majority of the samples preferred Colgate due to
larger number of flavors available than Listerine, therefore introduction of more number of
flavors into the market could help increase the market penetration at least among the present
users of mouthwash
Increase awareness about its research studies: presently only the dentists were aware about the
research studies approval of Listerine products, market campaigns should include these details
as well as on packaging content to increase the awareness among non- health professionals
Increase its promotional offers: the youth samples in this study were largely attracted to
promotional offers, therefore Listerine can introduce promotional offers to dentists as well as
other consumers.
Increase awareness about the correct measures of using a mouth wash which could lead to
increased perception of greater effectiveness
Increase awareness about the advantages of using a mouthwash among non-users