Reporter | Wu Rong
Edit | Ya Han Xiang
Oral care brand usmile is looking for more possibilities, and one of the directions is to upgrade the electric toothbrush. Recently, oral care brand usmile launched a new product "usmile F1 electric toothbrush", compared to ordinary electric toothbrushes, the selling point of this toothbrush is the use of artificial intelligence technology - it has built-in 6 smart Bluetooth chips, when consumers will put the belt into the mouth to use, it will be measured, the brushing time, brushing strength, brushing coverage and other specific data uploaded to the corresponding APP, thereby generating an optimized brushing program.
Usmile F1 electric toothbrush
usmile is a representative new consumer brand in the field of oral care. In 2015, the main cost-effective domestic brands have entered the market, and MengYajia, Jideng, Sushi, Huashang and other brands are the same, usmile was also founded in this year. Emphasizing cost performance, cleaning ability, long battery life, convenient portability and high value, it is its main selling point. In addition, usmile is also good at marketing and brand operations in the circle to accumulate users, lowering the purchase threshold of electric toothbrushes so that more people can buy a cost-effective electric toothbrush.
According to usmile
Data disclosed by its subsidiary, Guangzhou Interstellar Yuedong Co., Ltd
From January to September 2020, usmile's market share of electric toothbrushes on the Tmall platform was 11.2%, second only to Philips. During the "Double Eleven" period in 2020, usmile became the first Chinese local electric toothbrush brand with sales exceeding 100 million, ranking first in the sales list of cutting-edge brands in oral care.
But after a rapid development, usmile also needs to open up a larger market space.
In 2020, the epidemic has affected the sales of large home appliances, but the impact of personal health care small appliances represented by electric toothbrushes has not been great. According to the data of Aowei Cloud Network, in June 2020 (including 618 promotions), the monthly retail sales of electric toothbrushes reached 930 million yuan, an increase of 75.4%; the monthly retail sales of electric toothbrushes from August to December also maintained growth.
However, after entering 2021, the electric toothbrush market has not been able to continue this heat. According to the data of Aowei Cloud Network, from January to November 2021, whether from retail sales or retail volume, the online market for electric toothbrushes is in a downward trend. According to data from the Huajing Industry Research Institute, in the first half of 2021, China's electric toothbrush sales were 17.56 million units, down 19.7% from the same period in 2020.
An analyst who has been engaged in the electric toothbrush industry told Interface News that the overall raw material price increase in the home appliance industry is one of the factors in the decline of the electric toothbrush market, and the health small household appliances after the epidemic have ushered in the outlet, coupled with the drive of live e-commerce, the demand for the electric toothbrush market has been overdrawn. In addition, more importantly, the electric toothbrush industry has long been in a mixed development situation, and the market has cooled down so far.
Intelligently upgrading electric toothbrushes is one direction.
From the perspective of gender structure, according to the data of Huajing Industry Research Institute, the penetration rate of women compared with male electric toothbrushes is higher, and 58% of China's electric toothbrush consumers are women, with a male proportion of 42%; from the perspective of age structure, the proportion of consumers aged 21-30 reaches 47.3%, while the proportion of consumers aged 31-40 is only 31.4%. Artificial intelligence toothbrushes with more attention to technology will attract more male audiences, as well as young and middle-aged groups that may have higher incomes.
From the perspective of the entire market pattern of electric toothbrushes, Philips and Oule B accounted for more than half of the market share in 2019, accounting for 37.25% and 14.6% respectively. In recent years, with the increase in the number of electric toothbrush entrants, the market share of these two leaders has declined, but the position is still relatively stable. Compared with these foreign brands, usmile and other cutting-edge brand product positioning is mainly mid-range products, and when establishing a certain brand recognition, it also has the courage to expand the high-end product line to launch a positive confrontation with foreign brands.
Chen Jianqun, the founder of usmile, previously told the media that Philips and Oule B only produced new products in three or four years, but domestic brands were flexible in response and closer to the consumer end, research and development end and supply chain end. This will facilitate the product upgrade of local electric toothbrush brands.
From the usmile Tmall flagship store, the price of its electric toothbrush currently ranges from 369-599 yuan, and the price range of the toothbrush is 419-569 yuan. The launch of artificial intelligence electric toothbrushes is also believed to supplement the gap in high-end products of brands and further enhance product premiums. At the same time, upgrading the core category of electric toothbrushes and launching more subdivided products can also meet the requirements of different groups of people such as different genders, age levels and niche oral care needs, play a role in expanding product categories, and obtain new profit growth points.
And if you only develop a single large category, it is easy to encounter a ceiling, and usmile is also expanding around oral care.
The product classification of the usmile Tmall flagship store shows that in addition to the main products Sonic electric toothbrush and toothbrush, there are also dental care peripheral products such as floss, toothpaste, tooth powder, mouthwash, tooth sticker, mouth spray and so on. These peripheral products have also been partially upgraded last year, such as the addition of mouthwash sodas for young people, including coconut and other flavors.
usmile electric toothbrush and peripheral products (image source usmile Tmall flagship store)
Gargling soda (Image source: usmile Tmall flagship store)
According to chen Jianqun, the founder of usmile, the oral care brands currently on the market are clearly divided into "charged" and "uncharged" products. Traditional "uncharged" brands such as black people, Colgate, etc., mainly sell toothpaste and mouthwash, and have not entered the categories such as electric toothbrushes and toothbrushes; while "charged" brands such as Philips and Oule B are positioned in home appliance brands and have not yet entered the category of toothpaste and dental floss. In the field of total oral care specialists, there is a huge gap in the market.
"There is no brand that captures the user's perception and mind." He said. And usmile wants to become such a brand as Chen Jianqun,In addition to having advantages in product research and development capabilities and supply chain discourse, it is also necessary to increase its efforts in brand recognition.
One of the most obvious models in the new consumer segment is segmentation, and in each segment there are one or two more head brands, which are competitors of USMILE. If usmile can continue to take root in the brand dividend brought by the outbreak of the electric toothbrush category and operate finely, it may become the leading brand in the field in the long-term competition.