Global consumer healthcare company Haleon has announced a major investment of approximately ₹2,000 crore (£175 million) to establish a new oral health manufacturing facility in Madhya Pradesh, marking one of its largest investments in India to date. The initiative is part of the company’s broader strategy to strengthen local manufacturing, expand access to oral healthcare, and deepen its presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing consumer health markets.
The new facility will be Haleon’s first manufacturing site in Madhya Pradesh and is expected to become operational in early 2028, with production commencing the following year. The plant will manufacture oral healthcare products, including leading brands such as Sensodyne and Parodontax, and will support both domestic demand and exports to other Asian markets. The project is also expected to generate around 500 direct jobs while strengthening the company’s supply chain capabilities in India.
Haleon, which was spun off from GSK’s consumer healthcare business in 2022, views India as a critical growth market. The company noted that India is already among its fastest-growing markets globally, driven by increasing awareness of preventive healthcare and rising consumer spending on wellness products. According to industry estimates cited by the company, India’s consumer health market is expected to exceed £23 billion by 2030, creating significant opportunities for expansion.
A key objective of the investment is to improve access to oral healthcare in rural India, where dental services remain limited. Nearly 65 percent of India’s population lives in rural areas, spread across more than 650,000 villages. In many regions, access to dentists is scarce, with some communities relying on a single dentist to serve thousands of people. As a result, oral health conditions such as tooth sensitivity, gum disease, and tooth decay often go untreated for years.
To address these challenges, Haleon plans to expand the availability of affordable oral care products across rural markets. The company will increase the distribution of low-cost Sensodyne toothpaste packs priced at ₹20 and aims to make its products available through more than three million retail outlets across India by 2030. The strategy is intended to make specialist oral healthcare products more accessible to lower-income households and underserved communities.
Beyond manufacturing and product distribution, Haleon is investing in community outreach initiatives to improve oral health awareness. The company plans to expand its network of mobile oral health education vans and frontline health ambassadors equipped with diagnostic tools, product samples, and educational materials. These teams will travel to remote villages, conduct oral health screenings, educate residents about dental hygiene, and help identify common conditions such as tooth sensitivity and gum problems.
Haleon Chief Executive Officer Brian McNamara described India as a key strategic market for the company’s long-term growth ambitions. He stated that the investment would strengthen Haleon’s manufacturing footprint, improve access to trusted healthcare brands, and support its goal of reaching one billion additional consumers worldwide by 2030. The company aims to extend better everyday health services to more than 300 million additional consumers in India through a combination of local production, wider distribution, and community-based health initiatives.
The investment reflects the growing importance of India in global healthcare manufacturing and highlights increasing efforts by multinational companies to combine commercial expansion with public health outreach. By focusing on both production capacity and rural accessibility, Haleon hopes to play a significant role in improving oral healthcare outcomes while supporting economic development and job creation in the country.
