Oral healthcare market sparkles on rising public awareness, surging demand

China's oral care market is developing rapidly, thanks to rising awareness about oral health.

Chen Yin, a 30-year-old office clerk in Beijing, buys a wide range of oral care products, including electric toothbrushes, mouthwash, oral irrigators, mouth sprays and teeth whitening strips.

"I spend around 500 yuan ($69.3) on oral care every month. Paying attention to oral hygiene not only prevents diseases, but is also a courtesy to others as it helps me maintain fresh breath," she said.

With 710 million people suffering from oral health problems, China's oral care market is expected to reach 128.5 billion yuan by the end of this year, or about 33.8 percent of the world, said a 2023 white paper on oral care released by Chinese e-commerce giant JD.

In terms of products, toothpastes and toothbrushes are the core categories, while the orthodontic category is growing rapidly, according to the report.

Brands are actively entering the online market, and the concentration of electric toothbrushes is high. Competition among oral spray, tooth powder, and manual toothbrush categories players is fierce, the white paper said.

The high consumption group, users in smaller cities, new generation parents, Generation Z (people born between the mid-1990s and early 2010s) and women are the five typical consumer groups for oral care. In addition, differentiated oral health problems, such as gum bleeding, halitosis, aphthous stomatitis, and children's tooth decay, have brought in diversified needs.

In terms of function, the white paper found that demand for fresh breath, scientific fluoride, personalized flavors, soft touch like velvet, as well as convenience, health and exquisite care has been upgraded.

In 2022, sales of independently packaged dental floss and alcohol-free mouthwash both increased by more than 12 times year-on-year.

The survey showed that 83 percent of users use professional oral products when cleaning their oral cavity. The proportion of people who choose a combination of toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss and mouthwash is the highest, meeting the multiple needs of basic care and deep and immediate cleaning.

Up to 42 percent of users prioritize functionality while purchasing oral care products, rather than blindly pursuing cost-effectiveness.

"Currently, the oral care market in China has gone through the 1.0 stage of basic care, and the 2.0 stage of advanced care, transitioning to the 3.0 stage of refined care," said the white paper.

"With the constant improvement of people's living standards, the public's awareness of oral care is constantly awakening, and the demand for oral care is also becoming increasingly strong," said Wang Xinxue, a medical devices analyst at vbdata.cn, a Chongqing-based healthcare service platform.

With diversified oral care demand from consumers, oral care is receiving increased attention from the capital market.

Statistics from vbdata.cn show that between 2021 and 2022, there were 23 investment deals in China's oral care market, with the total amount surpassing 1 billion yuan.

Enterprises that received this capital include new brands such as Canban, BOP and Chingchi Lab.

New products, categories, and brands are constantly emerging. Apart from well-known oral care products such as electric toothbrushes and mouthwash, new product forms such as oral irrigators, tooth cleaners, whitening pens, and mouth sprays are also coming into play.

Among them, oral irrigators' gross merchandise volume contribution rate to the oral care industry has tripled in two years, a 2021 oral care report released by e-commerce behemoth Tmall showed.

Lian Minxiu, general manager of the oral care division of Philips China, said: "With the oral care industry booming, enterprises should ensure the quality of products, as consumers who have purchased low-quality products may raise concerns about the category, affecting their experience and forming misconceptions about the product, leading them to refuse a new way of achieving dental health in the future."

Cong Jia, vice-president of investment at Bai Capital, said oral care products are in high demand.

"Currently, the market competition is incomplete, containing new trends and opportunities. Market education and industry standards should be formulated to promote the development of the industry," Cong said.