Smile On
by Molly Strzelecki

Doctors and dentists will agree that taking care of your teeth and gums is one of the healthiest things for your body, warding off germs and diseases such as tooth decay and gingivitis. And having a nice smile and showing off those pearly whites is always looked upon favorably by the general public. In fact, it’s so important to some people that they will go with the latest techniques just to have a nice set of chompers. George Washington, for example, had teeth made out of a variety of materials considered high-tech and cutting edge back in Washington’s day, including hippopotamus teeth, ivory, lead, human teeth and cow and sheep’s teeth. (He did not, however, have wooden teeth, as legend and lore will tell you.)

Now that we’re in the 21st century, oral care has come a long way, and new and innovative products make it easier for consumers to take care of their teeth and gums. But despite the ease-of-use and new products, sales of oral care products across the board are falling, surely making oral care manufacturers frown.

According to Chicago-based Information Resources Inc., the mouthwash category gained a mere 1.3 percent for the 52 weeks ending July 11, 2004, and private label for the category actually fell 6.4 percent during the same time. In fact, most private label oral care subcategories tumbled, according to IRI data, with the exception of a few, such as private label toothpaste, which skyrocketed 215.8 percent and private label dental accessories and tools which had a slight jump of 6.1 percent.

Between the major dips and only a few gains, oral care is only half-smiling right now. But manufacturers aren’t satisfied with a half-smile, they’re going for the full-wattage, gleaming smile. And as the oral care category remains relatively untapped, there are a variety of opportunities for manufacturers to turn those frowns upside down.

Open Wide
“The oral care category for private label has expanded incredibly over the last year,” notes Gerald Martin, vice president of sales for BrushPoint Innovations, Toronto. “In the past, manual private label toothbrushes and dental floss were the mainstays in private label oral care. This has now expanded into broader segments like the whitening segment, and with our product, power toothbrushes.”

David Hirschman, national account manager for Totowa, N.J.-based Health-Tech, notes that the mergers and splits of retail giants like Eckerd, Brooks and CVS, are creating a better awareness of private label brands as the retailers become more national than regional.

“[Private label products] are competing more with national brands on a higher level,” Hirschman says. “As people travel through an area, they see the same [retailer’s] brand over and over again, and we think that’s going to make private label play a little stronger against the national brands.”
“The oral care category is a very personal category,” agrees Joel Warady, president of Wilmette, Ill.-based Wisdom Oral Care. “It is the only non-edible product that a consumer puts into their mouth every morning and hopefully every night. And it has the retailer’s name on the product. Therefore, it is important that the product be of the highest quality, because if the consumer has a poor personal experience, they will look at the name on the product and it will ultimately erode loyalty with the retailer.”

With store brands stepping up to the plate, retailers are taking the next step and introducing new products into their store brand lines.

“We have witnessed a completely new category with portable oral care, which includes products like Listerine Pocket Packs and Oral-B Brush-Ups,” Warady explains. “This fast introduction of innovative products has forced private label manufacturers to react significantly faster. Private label companies have to anticipate what will be successful, while in the past many private label companies reacted to the market with too much lag time.”

Innovative new products will catch consumers’ eyes, but, like food items, a key factor that will keep them coming back for more in oral care is taste.

“People really seem to like having a stronger, higher-impact flavor on floss for fresh breath,” notes Cynthia Klimback, product marketing and communications coordinator for Ranir, Grand Rapids, Mich.
A strong flavor preference crosses all categories, it seems, when it comes to oral care. And to find the next big flavor trend, many private label manufacturers look to the branded players for inspiration.

“When we saw the success of Listerine citrus mouthwash, we knew that was going to be the next Listerine pocket pack strip,” Hirschman says. “So we immediately geared up and went into production on formulating a citrus strip to stay ahead of the curve and be ready to ship as soon as the retailers were ready and saw that citrus was going to be a viable private label product for them.” Hirschman also notes that as Health-Tech will be ready to ship its private label citrus-flavored breath strips, a national brand equivalent to the Listerine Pocket Pack Strip, “more [manufacturers] are doing that. When they get wind that a national brand is coming out with a new type of product, I think the private label vendors are working hard to be on the cutting edge and come up with something quicker and possibly even beat the national brand.”

That’s a Mouthful
Keeping your mouth clean and healthy is important, but not always an easy task, considering it’s a small space with a lot of hard-to-reach cracks and crevices. Taking that into consideration, one factor in oral care products manufacturers are sinking their teeth into is convenience.
“I think there are a lot more opportunities and consumer benefits to be discovered,” Klimback says. “And I think a lot of it will be based on convenience and ease-of-use.” Klimback notes that the fast and furiously growing whitening category is being tweaked to accommodate consumer wants.
“Whitening strips brought the price down of being able to whiten at home, and now it’s a matter of ‘How fast can I whiten at home?’ for consumers. [The category] is fine-tuning and offering more consumer benefits than just price,” she explains.

“Whitening is certainly a very hot area,” adds BrushPoint Innovations’ Martin. “It goes across all the different segments in oral care. Private label offers different whitening benefits, whether it be in toothbrush or power toothbrush technology.”

Additionally, all the work of twisting floss around fingers – and then twisting your fingers this way and that to get the floss between those hard to reach teeth – has been made easier as well. National brands like Reach rolled out a daily flosser with a disposable head, Klimback says, and that innovation has already translated over to the private label side, with a focus on keeping quality as upscale as the pricier national brand.

“Our focus has always been on quality, and if we can, we’ll try and outdo the national brand,” Klimback explains. “But quality is an issue [for retailers] because there are a lot of imports, and while not all are bad, you really have to know what you’re looking for and look at what you’re getting to ensure quality.”

Smiling Pretty
Basic oral care necessities, like toothbrushes, are also getting an upscale makeover, with massaging grips and whitening bristles. To say the least, toothbrushes have come a long way since the first toothbrushes invented – made out of hog and cow hair.

But the big news in toothbrushes comes in the grandest ease-of-use and time-saving form: power toothbrushes. According to IRI data for 52 weeks ending July 11, 2004, power toothbrushes jumped a whopping 135.1 percent, while branded power toothbrushes dipped 4.7 percent. Granted, private label power brushes make up less than one percent of the entire subcategory, IRI data shows, but that only means there is room to grow.

“To date, there have been very few companies that have been able to bring a performance product with patent technology that would meet a national brand equivalent [in power toothbrushes],” BrushPoint Innovation’s Martin says. “Very few retailers carry a private label power brush, because of quality and patent issues.”

BrushPoint Innovations, however, has worked out their own patented technology, and will be releasing several private label power toothbrushes into the market in early 2005.
“What we’ll be launching is patent-protected and also proven technology with clinical data support,” Martin notes. The new power brushes, he continues, will be marketed aggressively in both the value and premium segments.

“What we’re bringing to the party is not just a national brand equivalent, but also a superiority within the marketplace. I think that’s an overall important trend that will start to emerge within the private label personal care area.”

Overall, oral care products are primed to grow with new innovations and convenience at the forefront.

“I think national brand equivalent products are becoming more readily available,” says Hirschman, “and the way the economy has been, everyone is watching their budgets, but is willing to try private label once. And if it’s true NBE and they’re happy with the flavor or the formulation or the look of the pack, they’ll continue buying it again, which will help the private label section grow.”
“People know that a nice, white smile will provide them with more self-confidence, as will fresh breath. On the other hand, the consumer continues to read reports how bacteria in the mouth, and periodontal problems, can cause heart disease and nutritional problems,” Warady adds. “Oral care products are advertised in health magazines as well as beauty magazines, and due to this focus on the importance of proper oral care and the introduction of new, add-on products, we see the oral care category continuing to have nice, steady, incremental growth for the retailer.”
And that’s the tooth…er, truth.

SOURCE: PL BUYER MAGAZINE