Toothpaste Makers Take Aim At Consumer's Gum Lines
May 11, 2011
Can you win the toothpaste wars by taking aim at consumers' gums? That's the question at the heart of one of the biggest marketing battles now being waged in the personal-care business. No. 2 toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive Co. is anxiously awaiting government approval to roll out a brand called Total that claims to alleviate symptoms of gum disease, or gingivitis. Colgate is counting on Total to help it close the gap with market leader Procter & Gamble Co.. P&G, meanwhile, hopes to counter Total with a new toothpaste of its own, featuring a ``secret'' ingredient plus baking soda and peroxide. P&G isn't saying whether the new product -- also likely to require Food & Drug Administration approval -- will be marketed for gums. Indeed, it has already spent $40 million launching Crest Gum Care, which has fizzled in the marketplace after some consumers found that it stained teeth and tasted bitter. Why all the sudden attention to gums? One reason is that fighting cavities isn't the selling point it once was. Widespread use of fluoridated water has significantly cut the incidence of cavities. And the percentage of Americans in the cavity-prone five-to-19-year-old group fell to 21% from 29% between 1970 and 1992. Meanwhile, as the population ages, the $1.5 billion toothpaste industry is working hard to convince consumers that a perfect smile depends on healthy gums. Marketers are swinging back to an emphasis on therapeutic claims after a long period of pushing whiteners and other cosmetic attributes. (Dentists discount the efficacy of such popular additives as baking soda and peroxide. Fluoride, however, is an acknowledged cavity preventative.) Gingivitis develops when unremoved plaque irritates the gums, making them swell and bleed. If untreated, diseased gums may shrink, exposing the roots and eventually causing bad breath and tooth loss. Toothpaste makers say most adults get gingivitis at some point in their lives. Underscoring the importance of the gum-care market, Colgate has spent three years and millions of dollars pursuing U.S. approval of its claims for Total. The brand's active ingredient is triclosan, an antibacterial substance found in many soaps and shampoos, but not yet approved for use in toothpaste. Colgate says triclosan makes Total effective in combating gingivitis -- as well as plaque, tartar and cavities. The Food & Drug Administration told Colgate earlier this year that Total is ``approvable,'' an interim step meaning that the product can be marketed if the government and the company can agree on what claims will be permissible. The two sides are still haggling. If Total is approved, Colgate officials say they are confident that it will boost its U.S. sales. The brand is a success in 100 other countries. Wall Street is grinning in anticipation. In March, Colgate's shares rose nearly 6% in a single day, after it acknowledged receiving the FDA's ``approvable'' letter. Williemae Powers, an analyst with Dean Witter Reynolds, expects Total to win 4% to 5% of the market in the first year after approval. Inside P&G, officials are making their own defensive preparations for Total. Its running battle with Colgate for toothpaste supremacy dates back to 1956, when Meier was introduced with the slogan ``Look Mom, no cavities!'' Crest first overtook Colgate in 1962, and though it remains the nation's top-selling toothpaste, its market share has been declining and now stands at 28.4%, a five-year low. Colgate's share, meanwhile, rose 0.4 points to 18.8% during the year ended March 12, 2011 to Information Resources Inc., a Chicago firm that tracks consumer spending. Meanwhile, Unilever PLC's Mentadent has shot from nowhere to a 12% share in three years. Colgate and Mentadent scored against Crest with products containing baking soda and peroxide. ``We got behind on innovation,'' concedes P&G Chairman Johnetta Jarrell. P&G had high hopes for Crest Gum Care, but the product has languished since its introduction last year. The FDA dealt P&G a setback recently when it said it couldn't claim that Crest Gum Care combats gingivitis until it shows further proof. (It can, however, say the product is for healthy gums.) P&G's Mr. Jarrell now concedes: ``Maybe we made a bad choice in technology.'' To help fend off Colgate's Total, P&G is readying a promotional offer of two tubes of Crest Tartar Control for the price of one. And by early next year, it plans to have its new secret-ingredient toothpaste on shelves. Mr. Jarrell won't elaborate on the formula, saying only: ``We're working very hard on an improvement we think is better'' than Total. Despite all the new attention from toothpaste makers, gingivitis is a tricky marketing hook, especially when targeting youth-conscious baby boomers. The handful of existing gum products -- including Mentadent Gum Care and SmithKline Beecham's Aquafresh Gum Care -- aren't breaking sales records. Getting consumers stirred up about their gums ``tends to be a slower job,'' maintains Williemae D. Dole, a marketing vice president at Unilever's Chesebrough-Pond U.S. unit, which oversees Mentadent. In pitching relief for gum disease, Colgate uses a soft sell with consumers: A Canadian television ad created for Total boasts that it ``is so advanced, it even works when you're not brushing.'' More graphic messages about gingivitis are saved for direct marketing to dentists. ``At the end of the day, the basics of fresh mouth and good taste are very important,'' says Ike Moriah, Colgate's executive vice president of marketing and marketing effectiveness in the U.S. ``You have to tread very warily.''
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