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The ORAL-B toothbrush can give instructions for brushing your teeth, entertain you while exercising, and connect to your smartphone. The company has been producing advanced oral care products for more than half a century. Today, the production that started in the basement is recognized as a global brand in the $XNUMX billion personal care market.
Brand History
In the middle of the last century, the American periodontist Robert Hudson drew attention to the frequent damage to the gums of his patients. The reason was the too hard bristles of the toothbrushes. The doctor decided to create his own safe brush with thinner and more pliable nylon threads. Hudson increased the number of bristles several times and placed them in tufts on the brush head. As a result, he received a product that was supposed to solve the problem of constant injury to the gums and poor-quality brushing of the teeth.
The progressive doctor understood that in order to advance to the masses, he needed financial and marketing support. Hudson approached a local California company with a partnership proposal. The first mass production of the innovative brush began at the Owens Brush Company. To optimize sales, the company immediately turned not to customers, but to dentists. Oral-B 60 was the first toothbrush approved by dentists. It was thanks to this move that orders began to grow for a small startup.
In 1963, a completely new product enters the American market – an electric toothbrush under the Oral-B brand. The innovation consisted of a handle with a drive device, recharging, attachments. Oral-B Automatic made 150 rotations per second, and was unparalleled until Braun released a similar product. Thanks to advanced technologies and the constant expansion of the range, the brand occupied 1984% of the market in its segment by 27.
Oral-B joined Gillette to enter the international market. Over the 34 years of its existence, the brand has been valued at $188 million. Instead of competing with Braun, the management of both companies decided to cooperate. The development strategy focused on innovation, in the same 5, a brush model was released that moved vertically and horizontally. Under the auspices of Gillette, the Oral-B brand has become a global market leader in oral hygiene products.
Production of the company
Toothbrushes were the beginning of the birth of the brand. Today it is the main product of the company. In the assortment, the overwhelming share falls on electric brushes, and the manufacturer is also a leader in sales of conventional mechanical brushes and auxiliary oral care products. A separate segment falls on the children’s line. Oral-B’s cartoon character brushes were the first of their kind at a time of rapid development.
A narrow range of the company is compensated by the quality of products. In today’s markets, the Oral-B brand supplies:
- manual and electric brushes;
- oral care products for children;
- super thin floss for cleaning teeth;
- accessories: cases, interchangeable nozzles, chargers, etc.;
- mouth rinses;
- toothpastes.
One of the latest product lines is designed for the care of dentures and false teeth, braces. These are: special double-sided brushes, soft pastes and rinses. Another innovative product from the American company is irrigators. This is a tool in the form of a brush with a nozzle. From the hole in the nozzle, liquid is supplied under pressure with the formation of microbubbles. Such a system is designed to clean more thoroughly the soft tissues of the mouth from bacteria.
The company’s latest product won fans and the media especially quickly. Oral-B GENIUS brush connects to the phone, determines the time to brush each zone of the teeth. To ensure that all areas of the oral cavity are well cleaned, GENIUS gives a signal when it is necessary to move on to the next zone. It also controls the force of pressure and a color signal will fall to ensure that the user holds the tool correctly. Especially for her, a smartphone application was released with recommendations from dentists, an entertainment program and tests to determine the condition of her teeth.
Manufacture
The merger with Gillette gave impetus to expand beyond the US market. On the basis of this company, Oral-B gradually began to open their factories and research centers in all developed countries. After joining the Procter and Gamble family in 2006, the market expansion began to take place even more actively. Today, products of this brand are present in almost every country.
The main research center of the brand is located in Kronberg. This is where Oral-B innovations are born. The process of creating a new product begins with research:
- consumer habits;
- needs;
- dental standards;
- wishes and latest trends.
Based on the results of surveys, tests and surveys, the development team creates more and more new products. The main office is located in California, the central production facilities are in Germany and Ireland. The main materials for the production of brushes, as in the early days of the brand, are durable plastic and nylon. Numerous improvements, tests and innovations guarantee the safety and high quality of each of its products.
Quality control
The world-famous brand has conquered the international market thanks to its know-how. But it retains its position only because of the high quality of the products, which the company controls at every stage of production. The first phase of quality control begins at the time of development. In the research centers, the Oral-B development team makes the first mock-ups and testers of the future product. At the development center in Kronberg, all products are tested on robots and then on consumer analysis groups. In the lab, the test areas are specially designed to mimic bathrooms in order to create the most identical conditions of use.
The operation of electric and manual brushes during the testing phase is controlled by high-precision cameras. Shooting up to 1 million frames per second allows you to accurately track the process of brushing your teeth, refine the bristles and their location. Irrigators and threads for cleaning the gaps between the teeth are also checked. The production of products is maximally robotic in order to eliminate the human factor and errors.
Reputation is very important for a global brand, so the company pays great attention to the verification of its products. The final stage in production is the check by the technologist of each unit of goods. Also, the guarantor of quality is consumer surveys after using brushes, pastes and threads. For example, in Russia, a 2004 survey showed that 80% of dentists use Oral-B products.
company in the world
In the oral care segment, Oral-B is the most valuable brand in the world ($4,5 billion). It is the leading manufacturer on the international market. In the electric toothbrush segment, Oral-B is recognized as the leader, and in the production of manual toothbrushes – the second, giving way to Colgate. The company conducts distribution in foreign markets in the same way as it once did in its homeland. Promotion always starts with working with dentists, not with customers.
Oral-B has gained a foothold in the Russian market thanks to its quality, bright advertising campaign and the work of dentists. So, in 2004, the brand introduced the “Clean like me” campaign throughout the post-Soviet space. The goal of the program was to provide free education to consumers in the field of oral care and increase sales. During the campaign, everyone could get advice from a professional on dental care, participate in drawings and try Oral-B products. Later, as part of the program, participants could evaluate the professionalism of their doctor, the winner received a branded award.
In central and eastern Europe, the company’s cutting-edge products are only gaining momentum, as electric toothbrushes are less popular there. However, the non-profit organization Cochrane Collaboration published the results of their independent study. The report says that a reciprocating-rotary toothbrush removes plaque better than a manual toothbrush.
Activity of the company
Oral-B allocates $2 billion annually to develop innovations and new technologies. Therefore, in the field of innovation, it remains a leading brand. The company systematically conducts surveys to identify customer needs, complaints and wishes. Developers start from this, introducing the possibilities of science and technology. This is how the Triumph brush with built-in pressure and time sensor was first born. It tells the user how much to brush their teeth and when to change the brush head. A more ingenious brainchild of the company, the already mentioned GENIUS, is a professional assistant in home dental care.
The goal of the brand is to become a leader in its segment in each country. Therefore, developers are forced to focus on the needs of absolutely every category of people. So there were lines of products for the care of braces, crowns, bridges and prostheses. For an electric brush, the buyer can choose one nozzle with a specific function or a set at once. Nozzles are of several types:
- whitening – polishes the surface more thoroughly;
- for sensitive teeth;
- taking care of gums;
- professional cleaning – maximum removal of plaque;
- with micropulsation technology – for better cleaning and against gum bleeding.
The children’s line is developed just as carefully as the adult line. Since 2004, the Stages series has been produced under this brand – these are products for caring for children’s teeth. It was created with the participation of pediatricians and dentists. To create products, four stages of tooth growth in children are taken into account, each of them has its own brush and auxiliary products. Toothpastes are hypoallergenic and non-toxic, so parents do not have to be afraid that the child will swallow some of the product. In order for the child to like the cleaning process, the brushes are made in the form of famous cartoon characters, and the pastes have a pleasant aroma and taste.
The brand does not stop there, and continues its bright advertising campaigns with the participation of dentists. The management is confident that for its own promotion it is necessary to convey information about the rules for caring for teeth to the population. Therefore, the Oral-B Institute has been launched on the official website with educational materials on the topic of oral diseases and preventive measures.
Where to buy Oral-B products
It is difficult to find a pharmacy or hypermarket where there are no products of this brand. Easy accessibility and a wide sales network is one of the brand’s marketing moves. You don’t have to shop for quality oral care. Verified online pharmacies also offer Oral-B products.
Evrofarm
This is a large pharmacy where you can buy online from medical cosmetics to medical equipment. EUROPHARM also has Oral-B products in its basic assortment: manual brushes, threads, brush heads for electric brushes.
Pharmacy WER.RU
Online pharmacy since 2000. To buy an Oral-B toothbrush or other product, you just need to add it to your shopping cart and place an order. You can also check the licenses on the Wer.ru website.
ZdravZona
Online pharmacy ZdravZona with convenient feedback and site navigation. Huge selection of Oral-B products: heads, baby brushes, toothpastes and more for professional dental care.