An Analysis Of The Product Toothpaste

Toothpaste History

The development of toothpaste began in 300/500BC in China and India. According to Chinese history, Huang-Ti studied the care of teeth and claimed that by sticking gold and silver needles into different parts of the jaw, different types of pain felt in the teeth and gum could be cured. It was such theories that led to the development of toothpastes.

Initially crushed bone, crushed egg and oyster shells were used for tooth cleaning. They helped to remove debris from the teeth and make them clean. First noticeable advancement was the invention of tooth powders which were made by bark powder, powdered charcoal and some flavoring agents. Powders were applied to clean the teeth by using a simple stick.

In the late eighteen century Toothpowder was first available in England. It was available either as a paste or powder in ceramic pot. The rich used it by brushes and the poor with their fingers.

In the 1800s, Modern toothpastes were developed. In 1824, A dentist called Peabody was the first who added soap to toothpaste. In the 1850s John Harris Chalk first added chalk to toothpaste. In 1873, for the first time toothpaste was massively produced into nice smelling toothpaste in a jar. Toothpaste was first put into a collapsible tube by Dr. Washington Sheffield of Connecticut in 1892 and the toothpaste was called Dr. Sheffield’s Crème Dentifrice. After World War II advancements in synthetic detergents replaced the soap used and introduced the emulsifying agents such as Sodium Lauryl Sulphate and Sodium Ricinoleate.

The 1960’s more innovation was made and the introduction of fluoride into toothpaste was made. In 1980’s this development was followed with the more innovation and addition of soluble calcium fluoride to fluoride toothpastes. It is therefore within the last thirty years that toothpastes contain calcium and fluoride as the most important ingredients. (www.parentingtoddlers.com)

Due to innovation and technological advancement toothpaste seems to improve every day. We have variety of products having different type of features like extra-whitening toothpastes, anti-cavity toothpastes, toothpastes for sensitive teeth, toothpastes with mouthwash, toothpastes with stripes, even liver flavored toothpaste for dogs.

Modern toothpaste has to deal with many things. It must have feature to clean bacterial films. To harden and protect the teeth from decay it must have fluoride in it. Flavor must have the attributes to hide the bad tastes of decomposing bits of previous meals and the unpleasant taste of some of the other ingredients, such as detergents and phosphates.

Thickeners should be there in the toothpaste so that it stays on the toothbrush, and squeezes out of the tube. It must have detergents, water softeners to make the detergents work well and sweeteners (preferably non-nutritive) so bacteria are not encouraged.

(www.sci-toys.com)

Toothpaste ingredients

Fluorides are the most recognized ingredient in toothpaste ingredient. Stannous fluoride was the first to be used in toothpaste because it could be used with the calcium phosphate, the most common abrasive of that time. Later sodium monofluorophosphate was used because it could be used with abrasives common at the time. (www.sci-toys.com)

Innovations did not stop after fluorides in toothpaste, after the fluoride breakthrough addition of ingredients with special abilities to toothpastes and toothpaste packaging. In the 1980s, tartar control became the catchphrase in the oral hygiene industry. Tarter control toothpastes claimed that they could control tartar upsurge around teeth. In the 1990s, a new innovation took place and resulted in toothpaste for sensitive teeth. In 1990s, to remove tatar and promote healthy gum Bicarbonate of soda and other ingredients were also added in toothpastes.

Every toothpaste contains the following ingredients: sweeteners, humectants, binders, abrasives, flavors, a preservative, fluorides, tooth whiteners, and water. Binders thicken toothpastes. During storage they prevent partition of the liquid and solid components.

The speed and volume of foam production is affected, the rate of product dispersal and flavor release, the exterior of the toothpaste ribbon on the toothbrush, and the risibility from the toothbrush. Most important Binders are sodium alginate , carrageen, bentonite, methylcellulose, and magnesium aluminum silicate.

The most commonly used abrasives are softened silica, chalk and baking soda. Other important abrasives include calcium sulfate, dibasic calcium phosphate, sodium metaphosphate, tricalcium phosphate and hydrated alumina. Each abrasive has different cleaning properties and a blend of them is used in the final product.

Toothpastes have different flavors that make them more attractive and pleasant for use. The most common flavor used in toothpastes is Mint because it gives the feeling of freshness. This feeling of freshness is resulted due to long term habituation by the toothpaste industry. In American public, mint is associated with freshness. There are basis for this fact as mint flavors contain oils that volatize in the warm environment of mouth. This volatizing action of mint brings a cooling sensation in the mouth’s warm environment. The mostly used toothpaste flavors are spearmint, peppermint, wintergreen and cinnamon. Some of the more unusual toothpaste flavors include bourbon, clove, coriander, eucalyptus rye, anise, caraway, nutmeg and thyme.

In addition to flavors, sweeteners are there in toothpastes that make it pleasant for palate because of humectants. The most important humectants (sorbitol and glycerin) have a sweetness level about 60 percent of sugar. Artificial flavor is required to make the toothpaste palatable. The mostly used sweetener is Saccharin.

Increased strength of teeth by using Fluorides which reduces the decay of teeth. The most commonly used fluoride is Sodium fluoride. The most important teeth whitening agent is Sodium perborate. P-hydrozybenzoate is the most commonly used preservative for toothpastes.

(www.madehow.com)

Gillani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan, more than 72% of all Pakistanis use toothpaste for dental care followed by Miswak (18%) and Manjan Powder(9%). Amongst those who are against the use of tooth paste, majority of them (27%) claim that toothpaste is an expensive product, 25% of them say that there is no specific reason for the use of tooth paste, 17% are of the view that tooth paste does not clean teeth properly. 22% gave their opinion that they use Miswak instead because it is cheaper and 6% said that their teeth cleaning method (i.e Miswak) is a Sunnat (practiced and promoted by the Prophet sws).A sample of men and women from across the country were state formally a list of oral care methods and were asked “Which of these do you use for cleaning your teeth?”

The results showed that majority (72%) like to use toothpaste and the remaining 18% claimed to use Miswak and 9 percent said they use Manjan Powder.It is seen that a relatively higher %age of people in rural area use Manjan Powder and Miswak as compared to those who live in urban areas who mostly prefer using toothpaste. The data also showed that the usage of toothpaste is higher in the higher income groups. Interestingly a higher percentage of men (22%) and women (16%) use Miswak to clean their teeth.

“Which of these do you use for cleaning your teeth?”

The latest investigation showed that among a sample of 2754 men and women in villages and cities of all four provinces of the Pakistan, during June 2009. Error margin is approximately + 2-3 % at 95% confidence level. (Gillani Research)

www.gallup.com.pk

The oral care market in Pakistan has increased between 2002-2007; growth rate is average annual rate of 3.4%.The leading company in 2009 was Colgate-Palmolive Company. The second-largest company was GlaxoSmithKline Plc with Unilever in third place Oral Care. Colgate’s most familiar yield in oral care includes Colgate-brand toothpaste, dental floss, toothbrushes and mouth rinses. By the end of 2008, the company had a 44.8% global market share with its flagship toothpaste product line. Growth in this product line is highly due to innovation and more and extensive use of technology. Pharmaceutical products are also produced by Colgate for dentists and other oral care experts.

Colgate-Palmolive has largest consumer base by market share and is present in six continents. Since its founding in 1806, Colgate has grown into a MNC renowned for its toothpaste and oral care products with a $15.4 billion in net sales and $2.1 billion in net income for Fiscal Year 08.

(www.scribed.com)

Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

“The factor or consideration presented by a seller as the reason that one product or service is different from and better than that of the competition”

The Unique Selling Proposition was firstly anticipated as a theory to elaborate a model among thriving advertising campaigns of the early 1940s. It explains that such campaigns made distinctive propositions to the consumer and this persuaded them to switch brands. Rosser Reeves first used this term of Ted Bates & Company. The term USP is normally used in marketing and other fields to create differences in similar products or similar items. Nowadays a large number of companies and businesses used USPs for their marketing and advertising campaigns to differentiate and creates some unique attributes in their brands from other similar brands.

(Rosser Reeves, www.wikipedia.com)

If you are going to sell you brand or service to consumer or anyone then you have to put yourself on it and sell yourself first. This is very important when your manufactured goods or service is alike to those around you. Only few businesses are similar. Just have a look around you and see how many hardware stores, clothing retailers, air conditioning installers and mechanics are truly distinctive?

This kind of effective selling is called “unique selling proposition” (USP) by advertising and marketing professionals. Until and unless you can identify what makes your business distinctive in a world of identical competitors, you cannot achieve your sales goals successfully.

Identifying your USP requires some hard soul-searching and innovation. One way to start is to scrutinize how other companies use their USPs to their improvement. This needs careful examination of other companies’ advertisements and marketing messages. If you explore they sell, not just their product or service uniqueness, you can learn new things about how companies make a distinction themselves from rivals.

For example, Charles Revson, creator of Revlon, always said that he sold hope, not makeup. Some airlines sell affable service, while others sell on-time service. Neiman Marcus focuses opulence selling while Wal-Mart sells bargains.

These are the examples of a company that has originated a USP “peg” on which to dangle its marketing strategy. A business can peg its Unique Selling Preposition on product features, price structure, placement strategy or promotional strategy. Marketers call it “4 P’s” of marketing. The manipulation of 4P’s gives a business a market position which sets it apart from the competition.

Sometimes focus of a company is on one particular “peg,” which also drives the strategy in other fields. A very compact example is Hanes L’eggs hosiery. Many years ago when hosiery was sold in department stores, Hanes struck a new idea of distribution channel for hosiery sales.

Here is how you can uncover your USP and use it to increase your sales

Put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Occasionally, entrepreneurs love their product or service and forget that it is the customer’s needs, not their own and the customer need must be satisfied. Step back from your daily business activities and carefully examine what your customers really want. Suppose you are the owner of a pizza parlor. Customers will come into your pizza place for food. Is just food, what they want? What can attract them to come back again and again and ignore your contest? Quality, convenience, reliability, cleanliness, courtesy and customer service is the right answer.

Price is never the only reason for the people to buy. If your competition is thrashing you on pricing then you have to find other sales characteristics that fulfill the customer’s needs and construct your sales and promotional efforts around that feature.

Know what motivates your customers’ behavior and buying decisions.

Efficient marketing demands you to be an amateur psychologist. You must have the knowledge what attracts and motivates customers. Go further than the conventional customer demographics, such as age, gender, race, income and geographic location that most businesses analyze to enhance their sales trends. For earlier example of pizza shop, it is not enough to come across that 70 percent of your customers are in the age group of 18-to-25. You need to have an idea about their motives for buying pizza-taste, take in pressure, ease and so on.

Liquor and cosmetic industries are best examples of industries that know the value of psychological based promotion. People purchase these products on the basis of their desires not on their needs.

Uncover the real reasons customers buy your product instead of a competitor’s. As business grow customers become most reliable source of information. For example, the pizza shop owner could ask them why they like his pizza plus ask them to rate the significance of the characteristics he offers such as taste, size, ingredients and service. You will be amazed to know that how honest people are when they are asked how you can improve your service.

If you are just starting you business, you will not have a lot of customers to ask so “shop” your competition. Many retailers regularly visit their competitors’ stores to have an idea what and how they are selling. If you the courage, try to ask a few of the customers after they leave the business place what they liked and disliked about the competitors’ products and services.

Once you have completed these three-steps of market intelligence process, you need to move to the next and hardest step. Clearing your mind of any rigid ideas about your product or service and being roughly honest. What can you promote that will help your customers to stand by your business? How can you position your business to bring to light your USP?

Triumphant business ownership is not about having a unique product or services, it is about making your product place even in the market is filled with similar items.

(www.entrepreneur.com)

The Art of Finding Your Unique Selling Proposition:

Positioning is all about making your submission different and more valuable from the offerings of your competitors and capturing the minds of the target group of customers. Positioning creates a positive and unique identity of the product of your company and its offerings. Positioning is very important for making your product and offering distinctive your offering from everybody else’s.

In the era when there are more and more innovative products and services every day, your customers are on publicity burden all the time. They pick something to believe and hold that notion until a publicity forces them to change.

People can’t retain militaristic thoughts in their minds. The main thing in positioning is your effort to argue a high ground in that stuffed customers head and hold it against competition.

Your product and your competitors’ can have very small difference but if you can’t find a effective way to communicate exclusivity and link it to the need of your target customer group, you have to find a unique and innovative way to fight with your competitors to sell out your product in the market. There are different ways to create a unique position in the market. Keep in your mind, the more the uniqueness of your product becomes the unique selling proposition against your competitors in the market and it makes your offering product more precious to your customers than what’s being offered by your competition. (www.businesstown.com)

Factor Analysis

“Factor analysis is a statistical method used to describe variability among observed variables in terms of a potentially lower number of unobserved variables called factors”.

We can also say, it is possible that variations in four or five observed variables mainly show the variations in a single unobserved variable, or in a lesser number of unobserved variables. Factor analysis seeks for such combined variations in response to unobserved variables. The observed variables are modeled as linear combinations of the prospective factors plus error and omission terms. The information gathered about the interdependencies between observed variables can be used on the later stage to minimize the set of variables in a dataset. Factor analysis evolved in psychometrics and is being used in behavioral sciences, marketing, product management, operations research and other applied sciences that deal with huge quantities of data.

Factor analysis is somehow close to principal component analysis (PCA) but not alike. Because PCA takes into consideration all changeability in the variables. On the other hand, factor analysis takes into account how much of the changeability is due to common factors. The two methods are in actual fact equivalent if the error terms in the factor analysis model can be assumed to have the same variance.

(www.wikipedia.org)

Factor analysis in marketing

The basic steps are:

Check out the main features that consumers use to judge products in this category.

Use surveys as technique to collect data from a model of potential customers concerning their ratings of all the product features.

Put the data into a statistical program and scuttle the factor analysis procedure. The computer will capitulate a set of underlying factors.

Use these factors to create perceptual maps and other product positioning devices.

Information collection

The data collection is done by marketing research professionals. Survey questions reveal the respondent to rate a product sample. Anywhere from five to twenty characteristics are chosen. They could include different things like: weight, accuracy, permanence, colorfulness, price, or size. Various attributes are chosen depending on the product being studied. Statistical program such as R, SPSS, SAS, Stata, JMP and SYSTAT are used to evaluate the coded data.

(www.wikipedia.org)

The analysis separates the essential factors that explain the data. Factor examine is an interdependence technique. The thorough interdependent relationship is examined. There is no design of dependent variables, independent variables, or causality. There is an assumption in Factor analysis that all the rating data on different attributes can be condensed to a few important dimensions. As the attributes have a relation this reduction is possible. The rating of one attribute is partially due to the influence of other attributes. The statistical algorithm gives a raw score into its various parts, and reconstructs the partial scores into fundamental factor scores. The relation between initial raw score and the final factor score is called a factor loading. There are two approaches of factor analysis;

principal component analysis

common factor analysis

It is important to note that principal component analysis and common factor analysis are different in terms of their concept. The only difference is that the diagonal of the relationships matrix is replaced with communalities the variance accounted for more than one variable in common factor analysis. This result makes the factor scores indeterminate and make differs depending on the method used to compute them whereas those produced by principal component analysis are not dependent on the method of computation. Although there have been so many heated debates over the merits of these two methods, a number of leading statisticians have concluded that in practice there is little difference in these two methods(Velicer and Jackson, 1990) which makes sense since the computations are quite similar despite the difference in conceptual bases, especially for datasets where communalities are high and there are many variables which reducing the influence of the diagonal of the relationship matrix on the final result (Gorsuch, 1983). (Bryant and Yarnold, www.wikipedia.org)

Principal component analysis (PCA)

PCA is a mathematical procedure that changes a number of possibly correlated variables into a smaller number of uncorrelated variables which are called principal components. The first principal component shows maximum possibility of the variability in the data and each after coming component show as much of the remaining variability as possible depending on the field of application.

Karl Pearson invented PCA in 1901. Now a day it is being used as a tool in making predictive models and for exploratory data analysis. PCA is used for the singular value decomposition of a data matrix or calculation of the decomposition of a data covariance matrix. It is usually used after mean centering the data for each attribute. The findings of a PCA are normally discussed in terms of component scores and loadings.

PCA is the simple and accurate eigenvector-based multivariate analysis. Its operation can be used for the internal structure of the data in such a way which best explains the variance in the data. If a multivariate dataset is visualize as a set of coordinates in a high-dimensional data space (1 axis per variable), PCA supplies the user with a lower dimensional picture, a “shadow” of this object for most informative viewpoint.

PCA is closely related to factor analysis, certainly the statistical packages knowingly conflate the two techniques. The accurate factor analysis makes different assumptions about the underlying structure and solves eigenvectors of a slightly different matrix.

(R. Kramer and Marcel-Dekker)

The Basics of Principal Component Analysis

Principal component analysis is suitable when you wish to develop a smaller number of artificial variables called principal components to obtained measures on a number of observed variables and that will account for most of the variance in the observed variables. The principal components can be used as predictor or standard variables in consequent analysis.

A Variable Reduction Procedure

Principal component analysis is used for the variable reduction procedure. PCA is useful when you have a data of large number of variables and you find there is some redundancy in those variables. Which means that obtained some of the variables are correlated with one another, which may be possibly measuring the same results due to this redundancy in variables, then you believe that it should be possible to reduce the observed variables and convert them into a smaller number of principal components (artificial variables) that will the description for most of the variance in the observed variables.

PCA is a variable reduction procedure; PCA is similar in many with the exploratory factor analysis. The steps which are used to conducting an exploratory factor analysis are almost same and identical which are followed when conducting a principal component analysis. However, there are significant conceptual differences between these two procedures, when you are performing these two procedures and you can not be claim even mistakenly that you are performing principal component analysis when you are actually performing the factor analysis. The differences between these two procedures are described that “Principal Component Analysis is not Factor Analysis.”

(www.support.sas.com)