Superfoods like white turmeric and green tea may be kitchen cupboard rather than bathroom cabinet dwellers, but for the latest crop of toothpaste brands, that’s the point.
Non-traditional ingredients, commonly found in other consumable categories, are on the rise in the oral care, with botanical and plant extracts in particular playing a much bigger role in product innovation than they have before.
There has been a seven percentage point rise in claims of toothpaste launches featuring plant extracts in the last five years, according to Mintel
“It’s an exciting time as people have been sensitised to the notion that oral health and whole-body health are inextricably linked. They’re choosing more natural ingredients and offerings across many other daily-use categories, so the jump to modern ingredient profiles like Hello for their oral care needs just makes sense,” says Hello’s founder Craig Dubitsky.
“I don’t see the use of botanical and plant extracts as a trend, but more as a natural and sensible progression for the category at large,” he adds.“Popular superfoods or healthy ingredients from other categories, particularly from the food and drink market, come into oral care very well,” says Mintel’s Andrew McDougall, Director of Beauty and Personal Care, speaking at Omya’s Healthy Bite conference in June.
Mintel data shows a significant rise in the number of plant extracts being used in toothpaste over the past few years, jumping from 25% of claims in 2017 to 33% in 2021.
This ties in to the fact that consumers are taking a more holistic and health-led view of oral care, and that the addition of certain ingredients can act as positive triggers for people.
Hello’s White Turmeric + Coconut Oil and CBD + Activated Charcoal toothpastes feature ‘hero’ ingredients which consumers can easily identify with as they are familiar with them from their kitchen. “But it then allows brands to educate consumers about how these specific ingredients can help with anti-inflammatory or holistic benefits,” says McDougall.
And according to oral care brand Hello, which has become the leading US natural toothpaste and mouthwash brand in the mass channel, and expanded into the UK last October, interest in these types of ingredients among consumers is “incredibly high.”
Meaningful benefits
Hello uses white turmeric for its ability to remove surface stains and act as an anti-inflammatory
“Oral care is a wellness category, and we want to make sure our products provide meaningful benefits,” says Dubitsky.
“When we look at things like white turmeric, it’s because it’s known to be a great anti-inflammatory, absolutely, but it also helps with removing surface stains...and unlike traditional turmeric, white turmeric won’t stain your hands if you touch it.
“Tea tree oil is known for its incredible anti- bacterial properties, charcoal is known to whiten brilliantly and help reduce odour, and our charcoal is sourced from sustainable bamboo with a specific particle size and low level of abrasion that makes it gentle for daily use,” says Dubitsky.
Activated charcoal has become a mainstream ingredient for many whitening toothpaste launches, and Global Market Estimates projects that the global charcoal-based oral care market will grow by a CAGR of 4.2% to 2026.
Colgate features it in its first toothpaste that contains natural extracts, Elixir Cool Detox toothpaste, alongside coconut extracts with the brand claiming that it gently scrubs away impurities.
Moon, which launched an activated charcoal toothpaste in 2019 is now focusing on the wellness-inducing properties of rose
“Black charcoal is popular particularly in whitening products, where it promises both enhanced cleaning performance and dramatic visual appeal,” says Stefan Lander, Vice President Consumer Goods, Group Sales & Marketing at ingredient supplier Omya. He adds: “Plant oils such as coconut oil are also an ideal inclusion thanks to their moisturising properties, and ability to reduce the oral microbial load that causes plaque.”
Charcoal is also a key ingredient in Moon’s toothpaste line up featuring in the brand’s latest collection focuses on the benefits of rose as an oral care ingredient, stating benefits such as hydrating gums and helping to provide relief from inflammation.
The Rose Mint Toothpaste also features Elixir X, Moon’s blend of antioxidants and essential oils while The Rose Mint Whitening Pen includes lavender oil to soothe, strawberry extract to whiten and honeysuckle leaf extract to cleanse.
The new Be You formula from premium Swiss oral care brand Curaprox also contains a variety of herbal ingredients for their oral health benefits. Extracts of echinacea, bitter orange, devil’s claw and Indian pennywort are included to nourish the gums and the oral muscosa and to help stop inflammation. The range, available in Peach + Apricot and Watermelon flavours, also includes provitamin B5 to keep the mucosa and gums moist and help them to build new cells.
Brands are also focusing on the quality of ingredients in their oral care products, and communicating this to consumers. Simon Duffy, founder of Waken, says: “It’s interesting to me that Waken remains the only major dental brand using real natural spearmint and peppermint in our products. All the other major brands use much cheaper artificial mint flavourings.”
The brand features natural extracts in its toothpastes, with its Strawberry & Mint variant incorporating organic strawberry extract.
You are what you brush
The future of this space will see brands increasingly focus on the benefits of using plant-based ingredients. “I think beauty and wellness trends will continue to be instructive, so look to what’s happening in these areas,” says Duffy. “We will continue to see natural ingredients with added benefits coming in via certain products.”
Dubitsky agrees: “As more people continue to embrace the notion that ‘you are what you eat’, that natural ingredients no longer represent a compromise in performance, and that we need to think sustainably, I think we’ll continue to see more and more highly effective plant-derived ingredients enter the oral care space.
- Craig Dubitsky, founder, Hello
One area that will undoubtedly see more innovation, yet for now remains a largely untapped area, is the use of probiotics in oral care products.
“Probiotics are beginning to make their presence felt in the market, as consumers better understand the important role they play in a healthy microbiome,” says Lander, “Beneficial oral bacteria can also contribute to overall mouth health.”
“I can see a world where the next wave of ingredients will provide additional benefits related to enhanced mental and gut health,” adds Dubitsky. “It’s still early days, and the future looks very bright—brushing your teeth can be so much more than squeeze, brush, spit and move on.”
There are opportunities for brands to further explore the oral care benefits that could come from using ingredients that consumers are familiar with from food and wellness categories.
Educated consumers expect a new level of ingredient transparency in oral care. Brands that communicate the function and benefits of their ingredients can stand out as natural claims become increasingly used.
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