Something to smile about
According to the February 2013 report \"Oral Care Products in the U.S.\" from the Packaged Facts division of Rockville, Md.-based MarketResearch.com, sales of oral care products will top $5.9 billion by 2017 – a compound annual growth rate of approximately 4.0 percent – with private label oral care products growing at a pace that exceeds that of the overall oral care market.
One reality that bodes well for growth is that many retailers are no longer content to mimic the national brands across the category. On the toothbrush side, for example, they are now looking to bring innovative, upscale and interesting products to the shelf that will attract the consumers eye.
\"In the past 18 to 24 months, [retailers] have chosen to move away from the copycat toothbrush of the national brands and have come in with well-designed upscale toothbrushes that are unique from anything else on the shelf,\" says Denny Eatherton, vice president sales and marketing, United Exchange Corp., Cerritos, Calif.
Paul Cira, managing directior, Brushpoint, King City, Ontario, agrees. With so many retailers emphasizing a strong \"wellness\" movement within the store, unique and innovative oral care/dental products under their own brands will enhance the brands value and ensure a strong link to corporate wellness programs, he says.
Innovation could refer to physical attributes such as the design of a toothbrush or the color of its handle. Eatherton gives the example of CVS/pharmacy, which debuted a black-handled toothbrush recently to much success. Or innovation could refer to the functional attributes of the product.
Do
offer store brand oral care products that are unique in terms of design and/or functionality.
Dont
ignore the power toothbrush and teeth-whitening subcategories.
\"We have a toothbrush product called QuadFlex,\" says Tony Clark, vice president of sales for the DentaCare division of Team Technologies Inc., Morristown, Tenn. \"It has four moving parts that split apart as you brush to go under the gingival line. This is something that the national brands dont have and is actually better than what they do offer.\"
And dont forget about the entertainment factor for kids and adults when looking to oral care innovation.
\"The products that make the most sense for store brand programs are the entertaining and educational-driven brushes,\" says Jessica Reza, director of consumer products, BrushBuddies, Fontana, Calif.
Such products include brushes that have lights, play music or other sounds, and help promote brushing for two minutes, Reza explains.
\"Consumers are always looking for something to make their daily activities more exciting. By introducing a private label version of these unique brushes, the perception of private label will change and surprise many consumers,\" Reza adds.
Bring the dentists office home
Another opportunity for private label growth lies within the dental accessory subcategory. The category includes items such as scalers, mirrors, floss picks, and cap and crown repair kits.
\"Its a very profitable category, and its not a real price-sensitive category,\" Clark adds.
In addition, the dental accessories category is a function-oriented category, not a brand-oriented segment, he says. Therefore, its very easy for a retailer to offer just one branded product and a private label equivalent. Plus, by reducing the number of options for consumers, retailers could simplify the section.
\"This section can be confusing to consumers when there are a lot of different offerings,\" Clark says.
Consumers also have become increasingly interested in buying products that mimic what is done in the dentists office, opening up growth opportunities for products such as power toothbrushes and teeth-whitening products, Cira says. For example, Brushpoints power oral care system offers a power brush, two replacement heads, floss heads, sulcus tips and gum stimulators.
\"This is a whole kit that is not NBE to anything. And it meets all the trends of bringing the dentists instruments into your home,\" Cira states.
Oral care also encompasses care of dentures. Although high performance counts here, too, retailers also would be wise to emphasize the value of their store brand denture cleaners.
Do
consider simplifying the dental accessories subcategory by offering just one national brand and the store brand.
Dont
forget that many oral care products are impulse buys and should be merchandised in high-traffic areas.
\"Private label products own a very meaningful share of the denture cleanser market,\" says Don Mesite, senior vice president and general manager, Tower Laboratories, Centerbrook, Conn. \"This is probably because of the demographic. Denture care users tend to be older people who are very cost-conscious.\"
Merchandise strategically
When it comes to merchandising products in the oral care category, there are two schools of thought. One is the common trend of merchandising the store brand to the right of the national brand equivalent. However, with more and more retailers showcasing innovative products, retailers could find that the store brand item has no national brand equivalent. In that case, they might want to consider merchandising store brand oral care products in a block format, Eatherton says.
\"When retailers block oral care products, it seems to make a big impact and statement. It shows they are trying to be a brand, not just a store brand. It really makes a difference in the merchandising because its less confusing to the consumer, and there is the added benefit of it being more convenient for the clerk to stock,\" he explains.
Retailers also need to keep in mind that oral care products attract two different shopping behaviors: impulse and planned. For example, consumers often will plan to shop for toothpaste but not for toothbrushes, Clark says. Retailers need to place those impulse buys in high-traffic, high-visibility areas to attract the consumers attention. He recommends adding oral care impulse products to checkout aisles, end caps and on clip strips.
\"Another great merchandising trick is to use an end cap to mix a national brand with a private brand. That way the retailer can get some store brand sales in addition to the national brand sales,\" Clark adds.
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| Look whats new |
| New from Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co. are Well at Walgreens Floss Threaders. Said to assist flossing around braces, bridges, implants and crowns, this shred-resistant product retails in a 25-count blister pack. |
| Rite Aid Pharmacy Kids Oral Care Toothbrushes from Rite Aid Corp., Camp Hill, Pa., are said to feature suction cup bases to stand on the counter top, power tips to reach back teeth, rubber ball handle grips and interdental bristle trims to clean between teeth. The product retails in a two-count value blister pack. |
| New from Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Supervalu Inc. is Equaline Multiple Benefit Anticavity Mouthwash. The mouthwash is said to help prevent cavities, restore enamel, strengthen teeth, kill bad breath germs, freshen breath and leave the mouth feeling clean. It is described as a sodium fluoride and acidulated phosphate topical solution. The mint-flavored product retails in a 33.8-fl.-oz. PET bottle. |
| CVS Pharmacy Dissolving Whitening Strips from CVS/pharmacy, Woonsocket, R.I., have a new design. They are said to feature a new easy-peel application, to offer whiter teeth in seven days, to dissolve with no messy residue and to freshen the breath. The product is enamel-safe and retails in a cardboard carton containing 56 strips. |
| Source: Mintels Global New Products Database |