Colgate-Palmolive will launch a "robust" pipeline of products in 2010, including toothpaste line extensions targeted to consumers with sensitive gums and to the Hispanic market.

"We believe in a steady flow of good innovation that fits consumers' behavior at price points they see a value in" Colgate President and CEO Ian Cook said during a Jan. 28 fourth-quarter earnings call.

The firm's U.S. launch of Colgate Sensitive Pro-Relief toothpaste is pending FDA approval, and Cook declined to speculate on when it would reach the market. But he said the product has been well received by consumers and dentists since launching abroad last year, and Colgate is committed to its global success as gum sensitivity represents a "1 billion global segment."

Formulated with patented active ingredient arginine, Pro-Relief is touted as providing instant relief of pain associated with sensitive gums, offering a considerable benefit over sensitive toothpastes that take two weeks of use to relieve pain (¹ Also see "Colgate Reflects On Winning Partnerships With Academia, Oral-Care Pros" - HBW Insight, 23 November, 2009.).

My First Colgate Infant and Toddler toothpaste - in non-foaming fluoride-free formulas - also is slated for launch in 2010.

Colgate Triple Action will be targeted to the Hispanic market in the U.S. with an "attractive" price point in a launch expected to leverage the product's 15 percent share in Latin America.

The firm's overall oral-, personal- and home-care sales in Latin American markets for the October-December period grew 22.7 percent to $1.2 billion. Sales in Colgate's other regions - North America, Europe/South Pacific and Greater Asia/Africa - grew more slowly, and total sales were up 11.5 percent to $4.08 billion, according to the same-day earnings release. For full-year 2009, net sales were flat at $15.33 billion.

Colgate will launch "innovative" Mennen Speed Stick and Lady Speed Stick Stain Guard deodorants with a patent-pending formula designed to fight yellow stains on shirts.

Colgate says the contribution of new products to 2010 sales will be higher than the firm's historical average and will likely exceed 2009 levels. The products will contribute to a double-digit increase in operating profit in fiscal 2010's first quarter and high single-digit growth for the full year, the firm says.

- Eileen Francis

Colgate's 2010 Product Pipeline Targets Niches In Oral Care, Deodorants

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