More teeth to whiten

Even whiter teeth, with electric toothbrushes is the trend for the toothpaste and toothbrush market. The big categories in mouth care are only developing very slowly, since Hungarian mouth care habits are hard to change. The most practical kind of promotion in this category seems to be on packs of the two products in different combinations. Average Hungarians use less than three tubes of toothpaste a year, and toothbrushes are not replaced every three months as dentists recommend, which means very slow growth for both products. Signal of Unilever makes several attempts to boost sales every year. They often organise promotions where 2+1 on packs of three tubes of toothpaste are used. Another type of promotions is also held frequently, where customers buying two toothbrushes get a tube of toothpaste as a gift. Consumers can most easily be attracted by promising whiter teeth. Whitening product account for almost a third of total sales in the category and there is still room for expansion. Multifunctional and herbal segments are also significant in the Hungarian market, while toothpaste for sensitive teeth is also a growing category. There are no radical innovations in the market, only developments of existing products like 3-D-White toothpaste by Blend a Med. The positions of traditional brands do not however, seem to be threatened by private labels, as these still only represent less than 5 per cent of total sales. In the market of toothbrushes, competition is tough among manufacturers’ brands, with 4-5 big players in the ring. The market share of private labels was up again last year to 24-25 per cent. Professionalism is also growing with the advance of electric toothbrushes, sold mainly in stores for electrical products. Among FMCG channels, hyper markets and chemists’ stores are the most significant. Sales of replacements heads are growing, as well as their average price, as a result of a deliberate strategy.