Of course, it’s essential to offer oral care products that provide direct oral hygiene benefits such as plaque control, fresh breath, or whitening. But in order to win over consumers, products must also offer sensory attributes that are appealing and make people want to keep buying their oral care products over and over.
In this blog post, we’re taking a deep dive and looking at the top 6 trending oral care sensory attributes for 2023 to see why they’re on the rise. To help brands better understand the needs of their consumers, we’ve leveraged our White Space AI tool to analyze 48 sensory attributes specific to oral care to forecast what will be trending in 2023. Throughout the rest of this year and next, we believe oral care brands should be paying close attention to how their products make customers feel almost as much as what their products actually offer benefit-wise.
Take a look at our 2023 Predictions for Oral Care Sensory Attributes
The graphic below breaks down six oral care sensory attributes our data believes will have the highest potential for growth in 2023. Sensory Attribute opportunity scores are determined by looking at both share of voice (a leading indicator of market share) and year-over-year growth rate.
Relieving
Relieving is the first sensory attribute to make it onto our predicted winners’ list. People want oral care products that can alleviate pain and discomfort, making this a top priority for consumers.
Brands should be looking at how their products (ones like these) can address these needs, perhaps by using ingredients like menthol or natural analgesics to target the nerve endings in the mouth. With a 0.04 percent share of voice, there’s a ton of room for growth (37.33 percent growth rate is expected for this next year), so we believe Relieving will dominate the sensory attributes list for years to come.
Fresh
Next up is another prevalent sensory attribute – Fresh. We all want that Fresh, minty feeling in our mouths, and brands are responding to this demand by creating products like these that have a robust and Fresh taste.
With a 0.20 percent share of voice and an expected year-over-year growth rate of 13.70 percent for 2023, brands like LIVFRESH are right on the money with marketing their products toward a Fresh-focused audience. We think this is an excellent opportunity for other companies to pay attention to this trend and consider how they can create products that have a strong Fresh taste.
Gentle
Gentle holds the second-highest share of voice on this list at 0.73 percent but with just a 3.12 percent expected growth rate, there won’t be much of a market takeover coming anytime soon. With that said, we think it’s still crucial for companies to consider how they can make their products more Gentle for consumers. One way to do this is by using natural ingredients that are known to be gentle on the various component of the mouth (we covered lots of natural themes in our recent oral care blog here).
Strong
People want their teeth and mouth to feel extremely clean after using oral care products, and that’s why Strong is such an important attribute in this category. Brands like Colgate have been able to capitalize on this trend by using Strong ingredients like fluoride to ensure that users feel a deep clean after using their products.
With a 1.81 percent share of voice and an expected year-over-year growth rate of 1.11 percent, Strong is still a trend worth watching in the oral care market. So if you’re exploring new product ideas for 2023, consider how you can make your products more potent and more effective for users.
Soothing
For those experiencing pain or discomfort due to oral problems, Soothing is a crucial attribute to consider. While it has the second-lowest share of voice out of all of the attributes on this list at just 0.06 percent, it will experience some positive momentum (albeit only 0.63 percent expected growth rate) in 2023.
As more consumers continue to look for products that can help alleviate pain and discomfort, this attribute will become more critical. Industry giants like Oral-B have already started to tap into this trend by marketing their products as being able to provide “sensitivity relief.” We think this is a trend worth paying attention to, especially as we see more and more people searching for solutions to oral pain and discomfort.
Flavored
Flavored is the final attribute to make it onto our predicted winners’ list. Nobody wants their oral care products to taste bad, which is why brands have been using flavoring agents to make their products more palatable for users.
We’ve all seen the classic bubble gum and mint offerings, but some brands can start taking liberties with oral care flavors now that consumers are voicing an interest in them. With a 0.22 percent share of voice and an expected year-over-year growth rate of 0.43 percent, we think Flavored is still a trend worth paying attention to in the oral care market.
These Attributes Make Sense
It’s no secret that people are drawn to products that make them feel good. Oral care is no exception. For brands to be successful in this category, they need to focus on the emotions their products evoke and the sensory experiences people have when using those products.
At Simporter, we help our clients leverage data to generate R&D strategies designed to create products that provide real health benefits and make customers feel great when using them.
If you want to learn more about how we can help you achieve success with your oral care brand, reach out to us for a demo. We would be happy to show you how our technology can help you create products that resonate with consumers and drive sales. For more insights on Oral Care trends, check out our recent webinar. Thanks for reading!