Mouth care brands focusing on special needs

The weakness of Hungarian mouth care culture is well illustrated by the single toothbrush used by consumers per year. In countries with an insurance-based healthcare system, the insurance company only pays the bill for dental treatment, if clients have attended regular dental check-ups. In the opinion of Tibor Veress Tibor, Category Operations manager from Unilever, the under-developed mouth hygiene market offers a lot of potential for growth. According to Gabriella Flesch, brand manager from GlaxoSmithKline Kft, the Hungarian mouth care market is still primarily composed of toothpaste and toothbrushes, while other categories like dental floss or mouthwash remain marginal. Whitening, children’s and sensitive segments show expansion in the market of toothpaste. The segment of toothpaste for sensitive teeth produced double digit growth last year. Growth is expected to continue in these segments. 50-75 millilitre sizes still account for almost three-quarters of total sales, but the 100 millilitre size and the super premium segment is producing spectacular growth. Sales are highly concentrated in drugstores and hyper markets. The market share of private labels remains low, but it is growing. Major brands usually launch an innovation each year. Last year, a new variant has been added to the Sensodyne range under the name Sensodyne Pronamel, which is intended to prevent erosion by acids. Unilever is increasingly focusing on target group specific solutions, like Signal White Now. While sales of toothbrushes have dropped somewhat in terms of quantity, the value of total sales shows some increase. Sales of electric toothbrushes are expanding. Products for sensitive teeth are also increasingly popular. Private labels continue to increase their market share. Premium toothbrushes account for nearly 50 per cent of the total market in terms of value. Gel-Flex was a remarkable innovation launched last year by Aquafresh.