Oral care

Drug Store News, May 20, 1996

Less isn't more in the oral care department. In fact, if the rate of new products is any indication. more isn't even enough.

Advances in toothbrushes are causing a steady stream of introductions and have pushed price points upward. Colgate's Ultra Fit Compact Head and Johnson & Johnson's Reach Plaque Sweeper, which feature smaller heads for better cleaning, are just two of the latest introductions. In a market where consumers quickly get used to new product features, smaller-head brushes already represent 20 percent of the premium market.

Retailers say that the influx of superpremium new products have caused consumers to trade up. J&J's new Reach product, for example. retails for 82.99.

"I brought in Mentadentis children's toothbrushes, which retails at $3," said one East Coast retailer.

I couldn't believe it when they flew out of the store."

Children's brushes featuring neon colors or licensed decals, such as Colgate's new Total Youth brush and Colgate Plus Barbie, are also a profit center for the category. Growth of the children's brush segment, which accounts for 13 percent of category sales, has outpaced overall category growth, according to Colgate.

And dental accessories, which are becoming a larger part of the category as consumers take better care of their teeth. are also viewed as a profitable segment that can offset eroding margins in toothpaste and mouth rinses.

The floss segment has heated up since the success of Glide sparked other manufacturers to introduce their own versions of the product. J&J s Reach Floss Gentle Gum Care is one recent addition.

Higher tickets on new brushes and on dental accessories helped the brush/accessory segment stay profitable. While unit sales of toothbrushes and dental accessories dropped nearly 5 percent in drug stores last year, dollar sales in the category totaled $253.8 million, up 0.8 percent over one year ago.

The increases were more dismal for toothpaste. The toothpaste segment was down 7 percent in dollar sales in drug stores last year; unit sales for the segment slipped nearly 9 percent. In fact, drug stores fell ell behind the food and mass channels in market share for the segment.

Some new products did create consumer excitement by carving out new category segments. The wave of the future is gum care, and Procter & Gamble's new Crest Gum Care, rolled out this fall, was the first national product to address this niche. "Crest Gum Care is the only toothpaste clinically proven to fight gingivitis," said a P&G spokesperson. The dentrifice is billed as effective in reducing puffy gums and bleeding in addition to fighting cavities. Consumers have been willing to pay more for Crest Gum Care, which retails for $2 to $3, to fight cavities and gingivitis with one product.

The success of the product has spawned new introductions from the other major brands. Mentadent rolled out its gum care product nationally later in the year. And Warner Wellcome's Cool Mint Listerine toothpaste, which pairs a dentrifice with the famous germ-killing mouth rinse, also fits into the gum care sub-category. "Studies show that the Listerine ingredients can kill bacteria that a toothbrush can't reach," said a Warner Wellcome spokesperson. Retailers no doubt are dreaming of the day when manufacturers will combine all of the various oral care benefits provided by this plethora of products into one product that will do it all. Industry word has it that one such product will hit the shelves in September or October.

In the meantime, in an effort to differentiate their departments from those in other competitive channels, some drug retailers are adding more specialized products to their mixes. Brands such as Laclede Professional Products, Biotene, a line of products for people with dry mouth, and NuTec Health Product's First Teeth line of natural oral care products for babies and children are the kind of products consumers expect to find only on drug store shelves.

Drug stores have held on to their share of the denture market. Although dollar sales for the segment were down 5 percent in drug stores this year and unit sales dipped 6 percent, drug stores held nearly 37 percent of the market in dollar sales.

But the biggest increases for the category were in the breath freshener segment. Huge increases in the segment are credited largely to one offbeat niche product--Breath Asure--and the me--too products it has inspired.

Breath freshener dollar sales increased 40 percent across three outlets. In drug stores, which command 56 percent of the dollar share market, dollar sales increased nearly 43 percent to $24.1 million.

"Breath Asure created a new product category for an internal breath freshener," said one retailer. "The product has done so well, we created our own private label brand." In a category with intense competition, retailers are ferreting out growth opportunities wherever they can find them.

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