Prabha Narasimhan, Managing Director & CEO, Colgate Palmolive India Ltd, delivered the keynote address at the 13th CavinKare – MMA Chinnikrishnan Innovation Awards 2024.
We’ve heard a lot about Mr. ChinniKrishnan, but I want to add that I’ve worked for a company where the idea of sachets drives the company. I spent the first 25 years of my career at Hindustan Unilever, a large company that is prominent in consumer goods, and particularly in products sold in sachets. If I knew the secret to what drives innovation, I would have certainly packaged and sold it. However, what I will share with you today are a few insights I’ve gleaned over the two and a half decades of my career.
I began reflecting on what the word “innovation” conjures up in my mind. Nowadays, when someone mentions innovation, the first things that come to mind are AI, ChatGPT, and similar technologies. So, I asked ChatGPT, “What is innovation?” Here’s what it said: Innovation is the heartbeat of progress and transformation in our world. It drives the creation of new ideas, methods, and products that fundamentally enhance existing systems or solve previously unmet needs. By cultivating a culture of innovation, we not only remain competitive, but also pave the way for economic growth and an improved quality of life through advancements in technology and services.
I have the privilege of working for Colgate-Palmolive, a company with a rich history spanning over 200 years. Before I delve into why I believe innovation is crucial to this organisation, I’d like to take a moment to reflect on its significance.
McKinsey conducted a survey asking company leaders how important innovation is. Unsurprisingly, over 80% said that innovation is critical. However, what was striking was that almost all the leaders—96%—expressed dissatisfaction with how innovation was happening in their companies, and they felt their organisations were not innovative enough. Given that so many leaders are dissatisfied, and knowing that, at least in the FMCG world, nine out of ten innovations introduced to the market fail, it becomes even more important for us to get a better grip on innovation.
Importance of Being First
As for my role, I have the privilege of leading Colgate-Palmolive’s business in India. Colgate is a brand founded by William Colgate in 1806. It has achieved many firsts throughout its history. In 1873, Colgate began mass-producing the first aromatic toothpaste, which came in a jar. It wasn’t until 1896 that the toothpaste moved to a tube and was called Colgate Ribbon Dental Cream. By 1937, before India’s independence, Colgate had already become the first oral health product in the country. In 1997, Colgate Total was introduced.
I am a marketer by profession. I could list many more firsts that Colgate has accomplished over the years, but what I want to emphasise here is the importance of being first. The idea of being first to market, being innovative, and offering something that no one else has, which fulfills a desire, is exceptionally important. However, beyond being first, successful innovation requires a few other key factors.
One of the most critical is, understanding the job your product is being hired to do. Whether your product is a life-saving blood clotting device, an air purification system, or sustainable packaging material, knowing the role it plays in the lives of your consumers is essential. Let me share an example I heard a long time ago.
The Milkshakes Conundrum
A researcher studying quick-service restaurants in the U.S. noticed that a lot of milkshakes were sold early in the morning, between 7:30 and 9:00 AM. They wondered why milkshakes were sold in high numbers at that time. For those of you who have lived, worked, or holidayed in the U.S., you’ll know that many people drive long to commute to work. They may live in one area and drive 100 kilometres or more to get to work. So, many would stop, buy a milkshake, put it in their car and take it along with them. A milkshake was better than a hot drink because it stayed at a consistent temperature longer.
When you understand that the reason your product is being “hired” is to last through a 100-kilometer commute, you can create a product to meet that need. A product that must last a 100 kilometres drive should, first of all, maintain a steady temperature—it shouldn’t get too warm or melt too quickly.
Secondly, the milkshake should be thick enough to require some effort to sip through a straw but not so thick that it distracts the driver. Most of these people were driving themselves to work. It would also be fantastic if the milkshake had little chunks or bits in it to surprise the consumer occasionally, as driving long distances isn’t fun—whether in the U.S., India, or anywhere else. Knowing these insights allows you to create a significantly better product. Understanding who your consumer is, why they buy your product, and the role it plays in their life is critical. This brings me back to Colgate, where at the heart of our business is the commitment to improve everyone’s oral health every single day. Supporting this commitment, we have over 900+ scientists, 10,000+ patents, seven global technology centres, and produce 2.7 times more oral care scientific publications than the next competitor. It’s this kind of dedication that keeps our brand at the forefront of innovation and technology.
I share these numbers at scale because we are a company built on scale. Many of you may work for large or small companies, but the core idea here is the commitment to delivering on the promises you’ve made to your consumers. Innovation needs to be first to market, relevant to consumers, and backed by science and data to truly fulfill its promise.
As David Ogilvy famously said, “The consumer isn’t a fool; she’s your wife.” And in today’s world, I would add: they are your parents, your partner, or your children. This is something we must always keep in mind because you can fool them once, but certainly not all the time—and that’s not how you build a sustainable business.
Sustainability and Innovation
The next aspect of innovation I want to touch on is sustainability. The gap between what consumers say and what they do, places a lot of responsibility on companies to be innovative in how they approach sustainability. It’s not enough to say, “Consumers won’t pay for sustainability, so I won’t do anything.”
Let me give you a Colgate example. Colgate developed the first-ever recyclable toothpaste tube—a significant achievement. Toothpaste tubes need to have adequate barrier properties to ensure the product’s safety, which makes creating a recyclable tube quite challenging. What’s more, Colgate made this technology open source so that everyone could use it. It’s not just a competitive advantage for Colgate; it’s a step toward a more sustainable future.
Secondly, here in India, we took this initiative further and set a goal: we want 100% of our toothpaste tubes to be recyclable, but with zero added cost. By the end of this year, almost our entire portfolio will be in recyclable tubes, all achieved without increasing costs. This success is thanks to India’s unique strength—frugal innovation. It shows the responsibility companies have to marry the idea of sustainability with innovation, ensuring we deliver value to consumers without adding to their cost burden.
Sustaining and Disruptive Innovations
Now, I’d like to talk about the two types of innovation I’ve observed, which I’m sure many of you are familiar with as well. The first type is sustaining innovation, where improvements follow a linear path, and the product becomes incrementally better. For example, if we take our Colgate Strong Teeth toothpaste and add arginine technology to it, that would be sustaining innovation. We would relaunch it with new packaging, updated communication, better formulation, and improved flavour. This steady progression is crucial for FMCG companies to ensure they keep moving forward and constantly maintain a competitive edge over the next competitor.
The second type of innovation is disruptive innovation. In the toothpaste world, many of you likely want a whiter, brighter smile. You can achieve that with toothpaste, but you could also achieve it with a leave-on whitening serum. When Colgate launched its leave-on whitening serum last month, that was disruptive innovation. As the name implies, it doesn’t follow a linear path; it disrupts the market. Yet, even with disruptive innovation, the key is still understanding why the consumer is “hiring” a product or service.
Organisations need both sustaining innovations to maintain the gap between them and their competitors and disruptive innovations to raise the bar and challenge the status quo. You can’t just sit back and think everything’s fine by doing more of the same; you need to push the boundaries.
Culture of Innovation
This brings me to the final part of what makes an organisation truly innovative. Throughout my career, I’ve had the privilege of working for two fantastic companies—Hindustan Unilever and Colgate—and here’s what I’ve learned. Beyond keeping the consumer at the heart of everything you do and delivering on your promises, organisations need a culture that fosters innovation.
The first element of that culture is the ability to bring the outside in—understanding and addressing the problems people face. I admire Mr.ChinniKrishnan’s vision that everyone should be able to afford what the wealthy can afford. What a fabulous vision!
Take Airbnb, for example. The company started because its founders couldn’t afford to pay rent. They had an empty loft and thought, “Let’s rent it out.” And from there, the idea was born. Similarly, my former company created the Sunlight Soap at a time when hygiene standards were exceptionally low. By mass-producing soap, lives were saved simply through better handwashing and better washing of clothes. This ability to look outward, identify consumer problems, and internalise them to create solutions is the first essential element of a company’s culture, in my opinion.
Space for Creativity
The second element is giving people the space to be creative. Creativity isn’t something you can demand on the spot. You can’t say, “Come up with three ideas now”—it doesn’t work that way. You need to foster an environment that encourages innovation and allows for free thinking. Many ideas will fail, and the ability to handle failure—both as a leader and as a company—is exceptionally important. After 30 years of working, I’ve learned far more from my numerous failures than from my limited successes.
The third key is that innovation requires discipline. It’s not about a single “apple-on-the-head” moment or Edison’s lightbulb revelation. High-quality innovation usually comes from hours of hard work—understanding your audience, understanding what your product can deliver, and making sure these two align.
As a side note, when I was a child, I used to look at Picasso’s paintings and think, “I could paint that.” For anyone who has seen his work, you might have thought the same. But now, as an adult, I realise how complex those works are. I certainly can’t paint like that. But then you realise that Picasso had the ability to paint beautifully in a traditional sense. Only after mastering the rules could he break them and create something as groundbreaking as Cubism.
Need for D&I
The fourth element an innovation culture needs is an ecosystem of diversity. These days, when we think of diversity, we often think about adding women to the team. But it’s not just about gender diversity; it’s about bringing in people with diverse thoughts, backgrounds, and problem-solving approaches. The more we have people from different perspectives in a room, the more likely we are to arrive at better, more creative innovations.
And finally, perhaps most importantly, we need people who believe that what got us here won’t get us there. It’s always easier to stick with the status quo than to break it and redefine it. In every group, you need individuals who are slightly on the edge of paranoia, who think, “We’re going to be overtaken; someone’s going to eat our lunch.” These are the people who push the organisation to challenge the status quo and move to a better place. Interestingly, this push for change often comes from outside the organization.
In conclusion, as the mother of two children—one who is hopefully about to join the workforce and another who is preparing for college—I can’t think of a better time to be an innovator, especially in India. I frequently serve on the jury for various award ceremonies, and the entries I see, including the fantastic ones we’ve seen today, are simply incredible. What India can create is truly inspiring. Sitting where I do, it’s an absolute privilege to witness all of you innovate and contribute to taking this country forward. I wish you all much success and happiness in your journey ahead.
