Constipation goes public as Dulcoflex tackles the quiet crisis

If there is one health complaint that can derail even the most efficient Indian household, it is constipation. Yet the reaction it draws is almost always the same: a familiar cycle of remedies involving asafoetida, cumin seeds, warm water or anything else passed down anecdotally.

These harmless home rituals, however, masks a deeper structural reality. Constipation affects an estimated 276 million Indians, according to Nielsen’s 2024 Functional + Perpetual U&A study. A third of those experiencing it never seek help, and nearly half depend on home fixes that provide uneven relief.

The paradox is that while constipation is widespread, it remains largely unspoken. Gastroenterologists often note that everyone claims it is common, but no one really talks about it. That silence takes a sharper shape for women, where physiological factors and cultural expectations compound the stigma. The issue rarely leaves the confines of personal discomfort.

Against this backdrop, Dulcoflex’s decision to launch its ‘kNOw Constipation’ campaign in late October 2025 takes on a particular significance. The brand placed constipation squarely in the public domain, prompting a reconsideration of whether humour can be a legitimate entry point into a subject still weighed down by embarrassment. The initiative arrived just ahead of Constipation Awareness Month in December, a timing the brand framed as strategic and an attempt to position digestive health within consumer conversations as the festive clutter tapered off.

Nupur Gurbaxani, head of brand and innovation at Opella CHC India

Nupur Gurbaxani, head of brand and innovation at Opella CHC India, was direct about the intent. “Launching ‘kNOw Constipation’ in November helped prime awareness so that by December, conversations around digestive health feel natural. Because only when you ‘Know constipation can you say ‘No’ to it,” she told Campaign. Context, she argued, has always shaped communication in this category.

For her, the stigma is not incidental; it is the defining barrier brands contend with. “One in five Indians suffer from constipation, but nearly half suffer in silence and are too embarrassed to seek help,” she said.

According to her, women bear a greater brunt of this problem, making this a taboo topic. “Humour can be a good route to open up the conversation. But most campaigns end up mocking sufferers, trivialising a real health issue and turning it into toilet humour, pun intended.”

Jumpstarting a low-engagement market

Constipation occupies an awkward space in India’s consumer health landscape. Market research firm Mobility Foresights estimates the laxatives market to grow from $8.6 billion in 2025 to $12.9 billion by 2031, a CAGR of 7%. Underlying this growth is a combination of processed diets, sedentary lifestyles, and rising rates of diabetes—drivers that have normalised digestive discomfort across demographics.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Aanchal Agrawal (@awwwnchal)

Yet despite this demand profile, the category’s advertising history remains thin. Laxatives are traditionally positioned as emergency products, which are used only when discomfort becomes intolerable. As a result, brands have struggled to engage consumers on preventive care or long-term digestive wellness. Campaigns have tended to be modest and often unimaginative; some have veered into unintentional condescension.

Gurbaxani suggested that the category suffers from a perception lag. “It’s ironic that laxatives are often perceived as a low-engagement or declining category when the reality is quite the opposite. Constipation prevalence is actually rising, even among children,” she said. She links this trend to behavioural and dietary shifts that have reconfigured India’s digestive health baseline.

This disconnect has created a peculiar demand–engagement gap: widespread incidence but minimal public dialogue. Dulcoflex aims to reposition laxatives as part of a proactive self-care routine rather than a last-minute fix. The brand’s messaging around “a scientific solution that is safe, effective, and non-habit forming” is, therefore, designed to push the product into the broader wellness vocabulary alongside hydration aids, gut-friendly foods and microbiome supplements.

But the challenge remains structural. Constipation often persists for months when untreated, yet many avoid clinical advice or even over-the-counter solutions. “No wonder almost 90% of sufferers worry about their condition yet stick to home remedies,” Gurbaxani added.

Humour without humiliation

To address the behavioural barriers, Dulcoflex turned to FCB India, the agency it onboarded earlier this year. Because constipation brings an unusual creative challenge: while humour is an attractive device to navigate sensitive conversations, the risk of sliding into ridicule is unusually high.

Ashima Mehra, CEO of FCB Neo, described the creative reset. “The constipation conversation has always punched down, mocking those who suffer until the topic itself became a taboo. We flipped that lens. Our humour targeted the culture around constipation, not the condition,” she explained to Campaign. Her distinction separates commentary on behaviour from commentary on the ailment itself—an approach intended to avoid the historical pitfalls of toilet humour, pun intended.

Mehra elaborated, “Using everyday language and comedians who ‘laugh with, not at,’ we made the conversation human. The humour disarms; the content educates.” The agency relied on creators known less for slapstick and more for observational sharpness, voices who can critique social norms without belittling individuals.

The initial roster—Aanchal Aggarwal, Srishti Dixit and Soumya Venugopal—is set to expand to include Gurleen Pannu, Jamie Lever and Shreya Roy. These choices were intentional.

“Cultural translators: voices who use humour not for laughs, but for self-aware commentary,” Mehra said. She added that beginning with women creators was not symbolic but strategic. “For women, talking about their bodies online is already a minefield… making constipation an even quieter taboo.”

What creators bring to the table

For influencers participating in the campaign, the underlying appeal lies in addressing health subjects that typically sit outside mainstream conversation.

“Comedy pushes the boundaries of what society considers sensitive or too uncomfortable to discuss,” said Soumya Venugopal. She linked constipation to a continuum of topics, be it periods, mental and physical wellness or sex education, which creators have helped normalise over the past decade. To her, constipation “felt too significant a topic to overlook.”

Content creator Urooj Ashfaq Dingankar, who is associated with the 'kNow Constipation' campaign.

Urooj Ashfaq Dingankar centred her approach on intent. “Are you using humour to shed light on the issue, or to make light of it?” she asked. Her content emphasises behaviours shaped by cultural silence, particularly among women. "My intent was to challenge the silence surrounding the topic and to use humour as a means to start an open, relatable conversation about an issue that affects many people but is rarely discussed,” she added.

Both creators point to an emerging pattern: comedy acting as a gateway rather than a distraction. But each acknowledges that sensitivity thresholds vary across subjects and audiences.

Digital-first normalisation with offline ambitions

The campaign’s first phase is entirely digital. Mehra explained why, “We kept the campaign entirely digital because that’s where real normalisation happens today.” Social feeds have become informal public squares where comment threads often outpace official health advisories in shaping attitudes.

But Dulcoflex’s roadmap extends beyond digital formats. The brand plans offline interventions, including radio, grassroots outreach and community activation, in subsequent phases, acknowledging that healthcare adoption is uneven across India. It describes this as one of the company’s biggest initiatives this year and future with a significant share of its marketing spend committed to it.

Mehra emphasised that effectiveness will not be judged by impressions alone. “Our success metric isn’t ‘Did people watch it?’ It’s, whether people talked back.” Signals include comment depth, private sharing via stories, repeat engagement on the brand’s pages and a possible shift in the language people use.

Ashima Mehra, CEO of FCB Neo.

Dingankar has already seen early signs. “So far, I have seen a whole lot of positive conversations on constipation on my feed since posting my reel,” she said, though she acknowledged the limits: “Like with any new initiative there will be people who appreciate and support the topic and many others will struggle to accept open discussions around them.”

A category at the crossroads

The ‘kNOw Constipation’ campaign enters a wellness market undergoing a transition. The boundaries between medical advice, lifestyle content and creator-led storytelling are blurring.

Subjects like sexual wellness, menstrual and mental health, which were once confined to clinics, have found a more visible place in public discourse. Constipation, however, sits at a more complex intersection: medically routine, culturally awkward and rarely discussed candidly.

The campaign’s reliance on humour is a calculated risk. It signals a shift in how consumer health brands attempt to humanise clinical subjects, but it also underscores how easy it is to misjudge tone. Constipation remains a category defined by contradictions: high incidence but low discussion; widespread knowledge but inconsistent treatment; universal relevance but persistent stigma.

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Jamie Lever (@its_jamielever)

Whether digital-led humour can reshape behaviours beyond urban centres remains uncertain. The deeper shift may depend on how consistently brands, creators and healthcare advocates sustain the conversation, without veering into triviality or sensationalism.

The broader takeaway is more structural than tactical because behaviour change is rarely achieved through media spends alone. It requires cultural sensitivity, credible insight and tone discipline. As wellness communication expands and commercial pressures rise, brands addressing taboo health issues will need sharper strategic guardrails.

Also, whether the campaign succeeds long-term will depend less on punchlines and more on whether it shifts perception around a discomfort Indians have long accepted but rarely addressed. For now, it represents a candid and deliberately uncomfortable step towards breaking that silence—one that the industry will observe closely as India’s wellness playbook continues to evolve.