Sunday, May 02, 1999
P&G's premium product, premium price
BY RANDY TUCKER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Procter & Gamble Co., whose Fixodent denture adhesive is already the market leader in the category, will introduce a new denture-cleaning system this week under the same brand.
P&G's Fixodent Denture Cleanser System with ProGuard represents the company's first major oral-care initiative since it acquired the brand from Richardson-Vicks in 1985.
It also illustrates the Cincinnati consumer-products giant's renewed emphasis on being first to market with new products and rolling them out globally within a tight time frame.
Unlike many previous product introductions, P&G will introduce its new denture cleanser without the formal market tests that normally accompany its major line extensions.
“Quickly rolling out this superior technology to the world's denture wearers exemplifies the principles of our new global structure,” Michael Kehoe, P&G's vice president and general manager of global oral care, said.
The Fixodent cleaning system — already available throughout Europe, where it debuted in Austria in June 1998 — is to hit U.S. store shelves June 1.
Retailer demand has been big.
Wal-Mart — which P&G said sells about one-third of all denture cleansers — and several other major retailers apparently can't wait to get their hands on the product. They have elected to begin receiving shipments as early as May 17 through P&G's early-shipment program.
The new Fixodent product won't be available nationwide until July.
Bryan McCleary, a P&G spokesman, said retailers are excited about the new Fixodent denture-cleaning system, which includes a plastic denture bath and effervescent tablets that dissolve in water, because it's different from any other cleanser on the market.
The Fixodent system not only cleans dentures, it coats them with a thin polymer finish that prevents plaque build-up, stains and odors for prolonged periods, Mr. McCleary said.
The Fixodent cleaning system “will keep your dentures clean from that first cup of coffee in the morning until the end of the day,” he said. “This is a premium product innovation.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, the cleaning system will command a premium price - about 20 percent to 30 percent more than competitors Polident, Efferdent and private-label brands.
The suggested retail price for the Fixodent cleaning system “starter kit,” which includes the plastic bath and 36 tablets, is $3.99.
Refills range from $3.99 for 42 tablets to $6.99 for 102 tablets.
P&G said the premium pricing should help it reach its goal of becoming the dollar-share leader in the $167 million denture-cleaner category, which includes pastes, powders and tablets.
P&G controls 43.4 percent of the $212 million denture-adhesive market with $120 million in annual sales of Fixodent adhesives.
But the company has not competed in the U.S. denture-cleanser category since it sold its Kleenite denture cleanser, which it also acquired from Richardson-Vicks, in 1994.
In addition to Fixodent, P&G sells denture cleansers in Europe under the Blend-a-dent and Kukident brand names.
Polident tablets lead the category in the United States with a 30.4 percent share in dollars and $43.5 million in sales for the 52-week period that ended March 28, according to Information Resources Inc.
Efferdent tablets rank No. 2 with a 25.7 percent dollar share of the market and $36.8 million in sales for the same period, Information Resources said.
Private-label brand tablets are the third best-selling denture cleansers with a 16 percent share in dollars and $22.9 million in sales.
P&G estimates that about 45 million Americans wear dentures, creating a vast market for its new denture cleanser.
And the company is sparing no expense to reach potential customers with an advertising budget of more than $40 million to promote the Fixodent cleaning system, mainly with television commercials that will begin appearing in late summer.
P&G will also enlist the help of dentists, whom company salespeople will ask to hand out millions of Fixodent samples to their patients to help with the product launch.
And, the company has signed an agreement with DENTSPLY International Inc., which makes about 65 percent of all dentures, to include product samples with denture orders.
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