PRODUCT STORY
Bring more youth and beauty by
oral care product development
Create is a group of specialists of oral care products. Our products go through various dramas before
reaching our customers.
We would like to share with you the development story of one of our products,
COBRUSH, which challenged the new genre of “beauty toothbrushes”. Following content is the development
story of COBRUSH.
- ホーム
- Cobrush
Acquaintance
Shared our passion with Dr. Watanabe and
then
Project started!
It all started with a phone call.
On February 18, 2015, Yoshinori Taniguchi, president of Create
Corporation, a group of specialists in the planning and development of oral care products, received a
phone call from an executive with whom he has a close relationship: “Did you see today's TV? Mr.
Taniguchi's company should definitely make it! He was recommended to watch a popular section of an
economic program. Taniguchi immediately checked the video with his employees. There was a man with a
homemade sample of a toothbrush made of cut super balls attached to a toothbrush with a bond, and he said,
“We are looking for a company that can commercialize this. That was Dr. Hideki Watanabe, a dentist and a
famous inventor.
Dr. Hideki Watanabe
Handmade sample from Dr. Hideki Watanabe
“This is interesting!” This is interesting! Taniguchi's passion for commercialization was suddenly ignited, and he immediately contacted Dr. Watanabe. After several phone calls and e-mails, on March 4, he and the employee in charge went to Ehime Prefecture where Dr. Watanabe was opening a dental clinic. With our product in hand, we explained the high level of our planning and development capabilities, conveyed our enthusiasm for commercialization, and returned to Osaka with a sample of the doctor's own work. After discussing the development plan in the company for a week, he was convinced that it could be done, and he told Dr. Watanabe about it, and that was the start of Create's “Toothbrush with Knob”development project.
In fact, five companies, including Create, had come forward to Dr. Watanabe to commercialize the product. The reason he chose Create was not only its high development capability, but also because Create was the only company that visited Ehime. This passionate vibe between Dr. Watanabe and Create became the driving force of the development.
Development
Pursue the most suitable size, texture of ball,
and ideal handle shape for women users
Why a bump on the toothbrush is in the first place? Dr. Watanabe's purpose was to activate the salivary glands by stimulating the masseter and orbicularis oris muscles in the cheek area from the inside. In recent years, it has become known that saliva plays such an important role in preventing tooth decay and gum disease, disinfecting and sterilizing, digesting, and maintaining chewing and swallowing functions, that it has been called “nature's panacea”.
In addition, massaging the cheek area from the inside relaxes the tense muscles, which can be expected to have cosmetic effects such as reducing facial swelling and nasolabial folds. However, they needed the best size bump for this. Taniguchi and his team first made a sample using a soft super ball, a little smaller than the sample made by Dr. Watanabe on April 23. But Dr. Watanabe gave them a bad review, saying, “If the bump was too small, it would be easy to brush the teeth, but the massaging effect would be weakened.” On the other hand, if too big, it will be difficult to brush the teeth. The optimal size was a delicate matter. So Taniguchi and his team sent five prototypes of different sizes to the doctor after testing the texture in their own mouths. Dr. Watanabe said, “This is it!“ and used one of them. And it has been in use until today. The texture of the bump was also important. Taniguchi and his team wanted a soft texture, but such kind of material had a weakness that it would easily attract dust. As the product is to be placed in the mouth, this must not be the case. It was also difficult to select a material that would not easily get dusty.
Development of handle and bump of Candy beauty toothbrush
Dr. Watanabe was also particular about the handle. Since this product is a “beauty toothbrush”, it had to
be a design that women would like.
The first prototype, which was said to have “weak stimulation of the
knob,” also failed the test. We followed the shape of the toothbrush handle that Dr. Watanabe had used in
his own sample, but he pointed out that it was straight and looked cheap. Next, when I added a curve to
the handle to enhance the design, he replied,“ It's opaque and still looks cheap, like a mass-produced
product”. In fact, Dr. Watanabe had researched with her family, the female staff of the dental clinic, and
her patients, and conveyed the honest opinions of women to Create. This is how the handle, made of clear
material and cut on the side, was born, glittering and shining from different angles.
At the same time, we had to create the packaging. The name of the product was decided to be “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” after the nickname “Candy” that Dr. Watanabe had given to the product when he appeared on TV. Several designers came forward to design the base, and several rough designs were gathered. Each design was unique, but after considering the female perspective, we narrowed it down to one and brushed it up.
Various rough package designs
Production
Bump or filament, which go first——
Days we
search for best solutions
Replace handles manually for tufting one by one
Thus, Taniguchi and his team finally moved on to the production of the “candy beauty toothbrush”. This was
the first time for them to put a bump on a toothbrush. In the case of a regular toothbrush, the handle is
molded, then the bristles are planted, and finally the product is packaged. But what about the “Candy
Beauty Toothbrush”?
“Shouldn't it be done after tufting?”
“Oh no, if it comes off, it's
dangerous.”
In order to anticipate all possible patterns, we decided to add the nubs during molding and
then implant the bristles. However, because of the nubs, we had to find a way to manufacture the
toothbrush that was not possible with a regular toothbrush.
In the molding process, the process of covering the core with rubber material occurred after the molding
of the handle where the semicircle, the core of the cob, protruded.
For the tufting process as well,
the existing fully automatic line cannot be used. A device had to be prepared to fix the bump that faces
down during tufting. Therefore, each toothbrush had to be implanted while the “candy beauty toothbrush”
was replaced by hand. This is a very time-consuming and costly process that reduces the efficiency to less
than one-fifth that of a fully automated line. However, in order to achieve the ideal product, Create
always pursues quality. No compromise was allowed in this regard. Once the product was finished, it was
time for the packaging process, and Taniguchi and his team had a hard time here as well. The package
itself is a blister package, which is often seen in toothbrushes, but because of the knob, if there is a
gap, the product will spin around inside. The blister mold had to be adjusted so that there was as little
space as possible between the knob and the handle.
Thus, the “candy beauty toothbrushes” were produced one after another. At last, we were ready to introduce the “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” to the world. The season was summer.
Birth
First generation Candy Beauty Toothbrush
made its debut
in drugstores
Finally, in December 2015, the “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” was released to the market. It was displayed
in drugstores, popular general discount stores, and famous large general merchandise stores, and
Taniguchi and his colleagues were excited to see it.
In May of the following year, the product was
introduced on a popular Kansai local TV program as a “bestselling super convenient product”. From that
point on, inquiries poured in, and the women in the office were busy dealing with them, while the
stock on Amazon was almost exhausted.
We quickly expanded our business overseas. When we exhibited at an exhibition in Shanghai, women
passing by our booth were intrigued by the “beauty toothbrush? They were intrigue d and asked for
samples. Taniguchi and his team did not plan to sell the toothbrushes, and had only prepared about 100
“candy beauty toothbrushes,” but when people insisted, they hurriedly held an exhibition and sale. In
just one day, they sold less than half the number they had prepared. The response was so positive that
he found the potential of China market.
He was also approached by a TV shopping channel in the U.S., but unfortunately, this offer was not
accepted because of the lack of sales results immediately after the launch.
However, Taniguchi and
his team thought, The Candy Beauty Toothbrush will be accepted worldwide. And found a ray of light for
the future.
On the other hand, sales at the domestic stores, which were the key to success, were not doing well.
Taniguchi and his team, who never neglected the pursuit of the latest and greatest, immediately
started to work on a renewal.
First of all, they considered changing the bristles immediately after
the launch. The “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” had a “single taper” with a mixture of long and short
bristles, which was a little harsh on the teeth and gums. We changed it to a “double tapered”
toothbrush with a uniform bristle tip for a gentler brushing experience.
Next, we focused on color development. Of the pink, orange, and blue lineups, only the pink ones
were selling, leaving the orange and blue ones in the stores, a phenomenon observed in many stores. We
quickly replaced the orange and blue with elegant purple and pale yellow, and the unevenness in sales
was resolved. However, sales were still low.
“It's the packaging, isn't it?”
The first generation “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” came in two types of packaging: pink for the “soft”
bristles and blue for the “normal ” bristles. As with the product, they thought that blue was not
favored by women, so they changed it to purple.
They accomplished these renewals in about a year after the product was launched.
Unfortunately, sales were sluggish even after that.
Since the “Candy Beauty Toothbrush” was sold individually, it was buried among other toothbrushes when
hung on hooks in stores. In addition, even if customers noticed the product, it was difficult for them
to take action to purchase because the catchphrase on the package did not convey its effectiveness
completely.
Taniguchi and his colleagues were confident in the product and wanted to develop it somehow. It
was during this time that they met a distributor, which led to a major change in the sales channel for
the “Candy Beauty Toothbrush”.
Candy beauty toothbrush in drugstore. Catch phrase like “teeth cleaning”, “Nasolabial folds” are printed on the POP display
Tip of Single taper(left), Double taper(right)
Maternity tie-up advertisement on the Toei Mita Line
Evolution
To create a product that is popular with women.
Sublimated stylishly into COBRUSH
Beauty toothbrush COBRUSH with sophisticated packaging.
“Wouldn't it be interesting if this toothbrush was sold in beauty salons?”
It was November 2016 when an agency contacted us with this question. Taniguchi and his team had a hunch that this was a good idea, and the agency mat became an important partner. At that time, Create did not have any channels in the hairdressing industry. After about a year of preparation, they entered the hairdressing industry.
In the meantime, our partner agency was researching the distribution channels of the industry. The
hairdressing industry had a hierarchical structure with wholesalers specializing in hairdressing at the
top, and regional dealers acting as intermediaries to deliver products to each salon.
“Let's try to cooperate with the biggest one.”
Taniguchi and his team contacted the largest barber
and beauty wholesaler in Japan with great enthusiasm to know that , the unit price of the “Candy Beauty
Toothbrush” was about 400 yen, which was a luxury item for a toothbrush, but a very low price for a
hairdressing product
“We can't handle something that cheap.”
Taniguchi and his team's enthusiasm was shut down with such
a single word. Despite repeated attempts, they were still unable to sell the product.
“What should we do?”
After much thought, we changed the shape of the bristles to a spiral structure to
create a more luxurious feeling. In addition, we decided to sell them as a set of three to increase the
unit price. The spiral structure of the bristles is effective in removing plaque from the teeth and has
improved functionality.
The reason for selling the set of three was based on the assumption that women would go to the salon
at least once every three months, and assuming that each piece would last about one month, the strategy
was to create repeat customers by having them buy the set once, and 3 months later buy again when they
went to the salon to get their hair done.
In order to make a set of three pieces, we had to change the packaging. The product logo and packaging
were upgraded to a more stylish design with more beauty-conscious women in mind.
In May 2018, the
product that would open up a new future for Create was named “COBRUSH” and made its debut again.
From Candy to COBRUSH
Unlimited potential to the world
With the expansion of
channels
After many twists and turns, Create finally managed to sign a contract with a wholesaler specializing in
hairdressing with “COBRUSH” , but the market in the hairdressing industry was not booming,because it is not
always possible for local dealers to pick COBRUSH up from the huge number of items.
Therefore, in the winter of 2019, the company decided to sell the products to 2,000 beauty salons in
Hokkaido and 600 salons in Yamaguchi Prefecture on a trial basis. The idea was to appeal directly to beauty
salons and users. And several thousand sets were sold immediately.
“The demand was there!”
For the manufacturer, it was a pain to sell the products on consignment because
they had to be collected after sales, but it was a great achievement to feel a solid response.
Since then, consignment sales have become an important sales channel for COBRUSH.
Media attention has also been increasing.
In 2019, the company collaborated with “Bi-te” (Shogakukan), the No. 1 selling beauty magazine, and
exhibited at an exhibition of wholesalers specializing in hairdressing in September, appealing to a wide range
of interested parties.
In November of the same year, the product was introduced as one of the “evolutionary tooth brushing
products” on a nationwide morning information program. This helped to raise the popularity of COBRUSH, and
orders started pouring in.
Furthermore, hair and makeup artist Igari Shinobu, a charismatic figure for women of all ages, introduced
COBRUSH on Instagram. The limited release of a beauty toothbrush with a cob produced by a cosmetic brand,
which is produced by a famous makeup artist in the fall of 2020, has also boosted the product's recognition
among beauty-conscious women by leaps and bounds. Sales of the product will resume as “COBRUSH” to famous
large general merchandise stores in Japan, and sales will also begin at one major “cooperative” that has
changed its packaging to the original. The overseas expansion of the Candy Beauty Toothbrush, which has been
on track in China since its launch, has expanded to Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea, with the United States
and Europe in the near future. A woman's desire for beauty knows no borders. The journey of COBRUSH to
contribute to the beauty of women all over the world has just begun.
The 48th Takigawa Trade Fair 2019 (September, Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba)
2017「MEGA SHOW」（November,South Korea）
2019 Beauty World Japan (May, Tokyo Big Sight)