Consumers choosing ‘value-add’ items

The oral care category remains a wide-open source of revenue for drug stores. Overall sales of oral care products in drug stores rose by at least 2% in every subcategory tracked by IRI in multi-outletss for the 52-week period ended Nov. 29, 2015. Portable oral care, in particular, posted a 21% volume jump. Moreover, a recent report from Packaged Facts pegged the category as positioned for continued growth, with retail sales projected to approach $6 billion by 2017.

(Click here to view the full Category Review.)



While whitening products as a whole continue to attract consumers’ attention, buyers said toothpastes that deliver a whitening component as an adjunct benefit to enamel-strengthening, polishing and gingivitis reversal are garnering heightened popularity with drug store shoppers. Examples of these offerings include Procter & Gamble’s Crest Pro-Health HD two-step system for “deep cleaning and advanced whitening,” as well as its 3D White Brilliance 2 Step Toothpaste. The former uses a purifying cleanser to strip plaque and help arrest gingivitis while fighting cavities; the latter is a gel with a hydrogen peroxide component to whiten and polish teeth and remove surface stains. Also on drug store buyers’ hit lists is Colgate Enamel Health toothpaste, which is promoted as strengthening weakened enamel by replenishing lost natural calcium phosphate and filling in rough spots, and as smoothing out the teeth and decreasing the potential for bacterial adherence via a simultaneous polishing.

“Customers are willing to pay a little extra for the ‘value-add’ on these products,” noted one top chain drug store buyer.

Merchants also pointed to heightened interest in natural, food-flavored toothpaste formulations like the Crest Be collection and the Hello Products line, along with formulations manufactured especially for use by younger children whose parents do not want them to use stronger products that are more appropriate for adults. Growing, too, is the “sensitivity segment,” which encompasses toothpaste and mouthwash alike.

“That segment has seen a compound annual growth rate of 7.7% over the last four years, versus 2.8% for toothpaste overall,” Bina Thompson, Colgate-Palmolive’s SVP of investor relations, said during a recent earnings call.

Oral care also is a category impacted by the recently announced ban on microbeads. While the issue in grooming is the environment, there is another danger in oral, according to Damon Brown, the CEO and co-founder of Luster Premium White. “Large oral care brands have been incorporating microbeads into their products for years as a way to market the popular ‘flavor bursts,” he said. “The ban on polyethylene microbeads comes as a result of their proven link to gum irritation and potential infection. He said Luster Premium has “always taken great strides to formula toothpastes that rely on ingredients free of microbeads.”

Specialty and “value added” formulations are the name of the game in mouthwash. “Whether it’s mouthwash to support gum health or strengthen the enamel, or is made for kids, it’s selling better than a ‘general’ variety,” a regional drug store buyer said. Thompson claimed Colgate-Palmolive’s Colgate Total For Gum Health and Colgate Enamel Health mouthwashes are “picking up momentum: Colgate Total For Gum Health option is “the No. 1 item in a leading retailer and (is) receiving full support in-store.” Crest is appealing to those who may have shied away from mouthwashes for fear of alcohol “burn,” with its Crest Pro-Health Advanced with Extra Deep Clean mouthwash.

As for toothbrushes and related items, drug store shoppers are biting into souped-up, tricked-out options, such as toothbrushes that use Bluetooth technology to connect to users’ smartphones, so that they can track their brushing activity and get tips about brushing techniques (e.g., Oral-B’s SmartSeries Electric Toothbrushes) and floss picks with textures and tongue cleaners or whitening agents (two offerings from DenTek). Whitening strips haven’t lost any of their power with the latest Crest 3D White Supreme Flexfit Whitestrips, which allow users to even talk and drink water while whitening.

Margie Nanninga, a home and personal care analyst at Mintel, said some of the greatest opportunities in the oral care category going forward will center on new product innovations within the floss/accessories/tools category. The development of portable products that allow for middle-of-the-day usage should also bode well for brands and retailers alike, she said.