Stay ahead of the curve and secure future growth for your business with Mintel’s Oral Care Market Report. The report provides a data-led understanding of the current oral care market and opportunities within the industry for brands in the UK.
Topics Analysed
- Current market dynamics, including key trends, growth drivers, and challenges within oral care.
- Marketing and branding strategies used by leading companies to engage consumers and foster brand loyalty.
- How brands/retailers can boost product repertoires with seasonal innovation and oral care wardrobes.
- The impact of sustainability concerns on purchase activity.
- Opportunities to target consumers at different life stages (including young adults and women during pregnancy).
- How technology can improve purchase journeys and user experiences in the category.
UK Oral Care Market Overview
Despite easing inflation, savvy shopping habits will continue to persist. Consumers are looking to save on larger investments, such as electric toothbrushes. However, general acknowledgment of the importance of preventative care can tempt consumers to trade up, particularly as NHS appointments remain challenging to secure.
Oral care consumer behaviour
Interest in veneers poses a threat to the oral care category. If people are switching spend and investing in cosmetic procedures, this will lessen the need to trade up when buying oral care products. Given that TV shows, such as Love Island, are driving searches around ‘Turkey Teeth’ on social media, brands can instead partner with these types of TV shows and position oral care products as more affordable alternatives to cosmetic procedures, such as veneers.
Opportunity for brands
Seeking inspiration from facial skincare is an opportunity to drive growth. Oral care brands can callout hero actives and link ingredients to their benefits, and invest in research to help consumers offset the impact of lifestyle/diet choices that negatively impact oral health through NPD. Brands can also learn from skin longevity trends and focus innovation/marketing efforts on oral health as opposed to oral aesthetics.
Buy your copy of this report and gain pivotal insights into the UK oral care industry.
Report Scope
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
- Toothbrushes – standard manual, electric (rechargeable), battery-powered (non-rechargeable), replacement toothbrush heads, travel brushes, and combined toothbrush/tongue scrapers.
- Toothpaste – including pastes, gels, polish, and powder formats.
- Mouthwash/rinse – primarily for the maintenance of dental and oral hygiene, including medicated and non-medicated.
- Denture products – cleaners and fixatives and cleaners for orthodontic appliances.
Dental accessories/ancillaries – includes cosmetic whitening products, eg gels, fresh breath dental chewing gum (ie Colgate Whitening Dental Gum) with product licences for the treatment and maintenance of oral hygiene, tongue scrapers, fresh breath strips and other breath fresheners, dental floss/tape, interdental sticks, and brushes, disclosing tablets.
Meet the Expert
Maddie joined Mintel as a Beauty and Personal Care Analyst in 2021, writing reports and articles across various Beauty and Personal Care categories. She has over four years’ experience in insight roles at other research agencies, across food, personal care, and retail property.
As value sales of oral care rise in line with CPI, brands can drive growth by beautifying the category and positioning products as preventative solutions.
Maddie Malone
Beauty and Personal Care Analyst
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Executive Summary
- Opportunities for the oral care market
- Drive value sales with preventative solutions
- Learn from facial skincare to elevate oral care
- Tap into the next generation of oral care users
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Oral care market size and forecast
- Market predictions
- Growth will slow as inflation eases
- What consumers want and why
- Consumers embrace electric toothbrushes
- Graph 1: usage of toothbrushes in the last 3 months, 2022-24
- Alternative toothpaste formats gain momentum
- Graph 2: usage of other oral care products in the last three months, 2023 and 2024
- Highlight the health benefits of using dental floss
- Graph 3: barriers to using dental floss, 2024
- Price and convenience pose challenges for electric toothbrushes
- Graph 4: reasons for using a manual toothbrush over an electric toothbrush, 2024
- Promote the usage benefits of oral primers
- Graph 5: factors associated with negatively impacting oral health, 2024
- Preventative care is the preferred approach
- Graph 6: oral care behaviours, 2024
- Ease anxieties amongst Millennials in oral care
- Graph 7: oral care behaviours, by generation, 2024
- Innovation and marketing
- Toothpaste accounts for a growing proportion of NPD
- Graph 8: new product launches in the UK oral care category, by sub-category, 2021-24
- Blur the lines between oral care and OTC remedies
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Market Dynamics
- Market size
- Encourage spend beyond inflation
- Whilst premiumisation supports the category…
- …savvy shopping still hinders growth beyond inflation
- Market forecast
- Growth set to slow as inflation eases
- Look for ways to drive genuine value growth
- Black Friday discounts risk eroding value sales
- Graph 9: Google searches for ‘electric toothbrush’, 2019-24
- Combat the wisdom teeth pain point for younger consumers
- Learnings from the last income squeeze
- Market segmentation
- Toothpaste sees a boost from trade up mentalities
- NPD and eco priorities support the toothbrush/toothpaste segment
- Mouthwash gained traction for its anti-COVID-19 benefits
- Graph 10: Google searches of mouthwash, 2019-2024
- Prominence of viral infections supports mouthwash spend
- Elongate the medicinal associations of mouthwash
- Combat taboos in denture products
- Channels to market
- Own-label spend supports grocery and H&B retailers
- Online-only retailers can offer more-personalised recommendations
- Discounters can build on their reputation for dupes
- Market share
- Tech and eco trends drive growth for toothbrush brands
- AI innovation supports Oral-B’s growth
- Toothpaste benefits from significant surge in spend…
- …but winning toothpaste brands are polarised
- Leading mouthwash brands see a boost in spend
- Major brands grow largely in line with the mouthwash segment
- Own-label sees value growth in dental accessories
- Major brands drive growth in dental accessories
- Poligrip and Steradent struggle in denture products
- Macro-economic factors
- Consumer sentiment: wellbeing is up, but the recovery has slowed
- Graph 11: the financial wellbeing index, 2016-24
- Consumption of oral health stressors is common
- Hospital admissions due to smoking rise
- Offer preventative solutions
- Graph 12: trends in the age structure of the UK population, 2023-28
- NHS appointments are hard to come by
- Searches for NHS dentists intensifies
- Graph 13: Google searches of ‘NHS Dentist’, 2004-24
- Interest in veneers/whitening persists
- Stress the importance of oral health
- Graph 14: causes of stress in the last 12 months, 2023
- Sugar tax reduces extractions amongst children
- Offer pregnancy and postpartum solutions
- Offer refillable solutions in oral care
- Make gum protection easier
- Graph 15: oral care purchase drivers, 2023
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What Consumers Want and Why
- Usage of oral care products
- Combat reliance on manual toothbrushes
- Usage of manual toothbrushes dips
- Graph 16: usage of toothbrushes in the last three months, 2022-24
- Emphasise the benefits of electric to men
- Graph 17: usage of toothbrushes in the last three months, by gender, 2024
- Usage of traditional toothpaste/gel dips
- Graph 18: usage of other oral care products in the last 3 months, 2023 and 2024
- Promote the dosage benefits of tablets
- Position products as alternatives to professional treatments
- The future looks bright for oral care
- Graph 19: repertoire of dental products used in the last three months, 2024
- Barriers to floss usage
- Combat lacking usage of dental floss products
- Spotlight the value in flossing
- Graph 20: barriers to using dental floss, 2024
- Provide helpful reminders to floss via an app
- Help mothers achieve comfort when flossing
- Reassure those experiencing bleeding when flossing
- Reasons for using a manual toothbrush
- Commit to price freezes on replacement heads
- Graph 21: reasons for using a manual toothbrush over an electric toothbrush, 2024
- Create easy-to-use solutions
- Create an all-in-one travel solution
- Create subscriptions aimed at the over-65s
- Graph 22: agreement that it is easier to replace manual toothbrushes, by age, 2024
- Maximise on seasonal opportunities
- Promote the benefits of in-wall chargers
- Factors associated with negatively impacting oral health
- The impact of sugar on oral health is widely recognised
- Promote usage of oral primers
- Graph 23: factors associated with negatively impacting oral health, 2024
- Alcohol-free claims pick up in mouthwash
- Encourage toothpaste wardrobes
- Support parents with relevant NPD in oral care
- Men are in denial about the impact of sugar and smoking
- Graph 24: factors associated with negatively impacting oral health, by gender, 2024
- Prevent stress-induced teeth grinding
- Behaviours related to oral care
- Consumers are active when it comes to supporting oral health
- Innovate in oral care kits for special occasions
- Graph 25: behaviours related to oral care, 2024
- Tout the benefit of alternative flavours in toothpaste
- Tap into the hype around dental flossing
- Graph 26: social media posts featuring ‘dental’ and ‘floss’*, 2023-24
- Blur the lines with nutrition with holistic oral health solutions
- Graph 27: agreement with ‘I would be willing to support my oral health by adapting my diet’, by household income, 2024
- Tackle misinformation on social media
- Oral care concerns
- Appearance pressures persist in oral care
- Graph 28: concerns around oral care, 2024
- The Love Island effect drives searches for Turkey Teeth
- Graph 29: Google searches of ‘Turkey Teeth’ in the UK, Jan-Dec 2023
- Gen Z feel the pressure
- Pressures translate into broad dental repertoires
- Graph 30: agreement with ‘I feel under pressure to have teeth that look a certain way’, by repertoire of oral products used, 2024
- Renew the conversation around teeth aesthetics
- Diagnose damage from teeth grinding in-store
- Respond to an underlying demand for ingredient guidance
- Attitudes toward oral care
- Preventative care  is key
- Graph 31: consumer perceptions in oral care, 2024
- Ramp up private-label NPD
- Own label can invest in format innovation
- Graph 32: agreement with ‘I think own-label oral care products are just as effective as branded products’, by usage of oral care products, 2024
- Benchmark results in whitening products
- Graph 33: agreement with ‘I think natural whitening products are just as effective as non-natural whitening products’, by gender, 2024
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Innovation And Marketing Trends
- Launch activity and innovation
- Toothpaste accounts for a growing proportion of NPD
- Graph 34: new product launches in the oral care category, by sub-category, 2021-24
- At-home dentistry innovation sees a boost
- Brands focus on relaunches
- Graph 35: new product launches in the oral care category, by launch type, 2021-24
- Tap into beautification trends
- Long-lasting claims gain momentum
- Oral care gets a medicinal makeover
- Enliven the oral care experience with novel formats
- Colgate continues to lead NPD
- Graph 36: new product launches in the oral care category, by top 10 ultimate companies, 2023
- Tap into the ingredient opportunity
- Advertising and marketing activity
- TV dominates advertising spend in oral care
- Sensodyne leads with expert opinions
- Advertising spend in mouthwash picks up in 2023
- Graph 37: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on oral care products, by product type, 2022-24
- Haleon drives advertising spend
- Graph 38: total above-the-line, online display and direct mail advertising expenditure on oral care products, by top 5 ultimate companies, 2023
- Oral-B focuses on confidence
- Colgate recruits influencers
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Brand Research
- Sensodyne benefits from widespread awareness
- Graph 39: [no title]
- Gem Oral Care is well endorsed
- Graph 40: oral care brand satisfaction, 2024
- UltraDEX benefits from frequent usage
- Graph 41: frequency of oral care brand usage, 2024
- Hismile’s social media presence gains it a youthful perception
- Graph 42: oral care micro brand image, 2024
- Sensodyne offers value amongst younger demographics
- Graph 43: perceptions of Sensodyne, by age, 2024
- Gem Oral Care can better target men
- Graph 44: associations around Gem Oral Care, by gender, 2024
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Appendix
- Supplementary data
- Trends in the age structure of the UK population
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market size and forecast at constant and current prices (value)
- Market forecast and prediction intervals (value)
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Methodology
- Consumer research methodology
- Nielsen Ad Intel coverage
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