When it comes to oral care, flavor is important for consumers. Mint, bubble gum, flavorless, you name it…consumers will have preferences, which can change over time. Brands that want to stay ahead of their competition must be attuned to the changing landscape of oral care flavors and consumer preferences.
To keep up, brands should be proactive about developing new and innovative flavors. They should also have a robust marketing strategy considering the latest flavor trends. By staying ahead of the curve and preparing for consumer demand, brands can ensure that their products are always in line with consumer tastes.
As consumers become more open to a broader variety of flavors, there’s an opportunity for more unique flavors to enter the market and earn a share of voice. But, which flavors will consumers be most interested in 2023? Keep reading to find out.
Here are our Predicted Oral Care Flavors Winners and Losers 2023
The graphic below dives into the nine oral care flavors we believe possess the lowest potential for growth in 2023. Need state opportunity scores are determined by looking at both share of voice (a leading indicator of market share) and year-over-year growth rate.
To help brands better understand the needs of their consumers, we’ve leveraged our White Space AI tool to analyze 400 vitamin market consumer need states to forecast what will be trending in 2023.
Coconut Oil
First up is Coconut Oil, which our team predicts will dominate the oral hygiene flavor market in 2023 with a 17.42 growth trajectory. This natural ingredient has recently gained popularity as a healthier alternative to other oils and butter.
Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid, which has antibacterial, antifungal, and antiviral properties. It’s also known for its ability to help improve oral health by reducing plaque and gingivitis. Coconut oil is an effective oral care ingredient and is slowly gaining traction on popular flavors like mint or citrus.
Companies like Banyan Botanicals are incorporating Coconut Oil into their mouth rinses and other oral care products and are becoming more popular with consumers with each passing month.
Lemon
Lemon is another oral care flavor predicted to have a significant growth (16.28 percent) in 2023. This citrusy flavor has long been used as a natural remedy for bad breath, and it’s also known for its ability to whiten teeth. That’s why we expect it to see a noticeable increase in popularity and share of voice (0.16 percent).
Lemon is a refreshing and invigorating flavor that can help wake you up in the morning, and it’s also a great way to freshen up your breath after a meal, contributing to the feeling of having healthy teeth. If your brand hasn’t considered lemon for oral care products yet, add it to your list for 2023 as soon as possible.
Spearmint
Spearmint (0.10 percent share of voice) is a classic oral care flavor that has been around for many years. This refreshing flavor is known for its ability to freshen breath, and it’s also believed to help reduce plaque and gingivitis, which is why you see it so commonly used in everyday oral care products like toothpaste.
While spearmint is a popular flavor, it’s not expected to see the same growth as other flavors like lemon or coconut oil despite the 5.56 percent growth rate our AI is projecting for 2023. This may be because spearmint is already a well-established flavor in the oral care market, but it doesn’t mean you should shy away from creating new products with the taste. Just don’t bank on it being a massive hit with your consumers.
Orange
The first of our predicted losers is orange. While in the same citrus family as lemon, this flavor is not nearly as popular in oral care. In fact, our data shows that orange is actually declining in popularity, with a -1.38 percent predicted growth rate for 2023.
Orange, which holds a 0.11 percent share of voice, is a strong flavor that can be overwhelming for some people. It’s also not as effective as other flavors in freshening breath or whitening teeth and typically isn’t thought of as a go-to flavor to make your mouth feel fresh. Products like toothpaste and mouthwash containing orange are likely to decline in sales in the coming year, so we advise steering clear of Orange as best you can.
Want to learn more about our data predictions in the oral care industry? Check out one of our recent posts here.
Watermelon
We’re sad to say that even though it’s summertime, Watermelon (0.03 percent share of voice) is on its way out. As far as the oral care industry is concerned, Watermelon is another flavor that our team predicts will decline in popularity in 2023, making its way out of people’s healthy dental routine. This fruity flavor is not as refreshing as other oral care flavors, and it’s also not known for its ability to freshen breath or whiten teeth.
Watermelon-flavored products are likely to decline in sales (-3.40 percent negative growth rate expected) as consumers move toward more traditional flavors like mint or lemon.
Mint
Mint (1.42 percent share of voice) and Spearmint are slightly different versions of a similar minty flavor. Spearmint is a classic oral care flavor that has been around for many years, while Mint is a newer flavor term that has only recently gained popularity.
Despite its recent surge in popularity, our data shows that Mint is actually declining in popularity, with a -5.34 percent predicted growth rate for 2023. This indicates consumers will not be as excited about Mint-labeled products like these toothpastes from Crest as Spearmint-labeled products. While the difference might seem small, it can impact your brand’s bottom line next year.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon, which currently holds a 0.28 percent share of voice, is a warming flavor often used in baking and cooking. This flavor is not as popular in oral care because it’s not as refreshing as other flavors and most people prefer to have something clean-tasting instead of something that numbs the tongue or tastes like the holidays.
Cinnamon products like this Cinnamon Clove Toothpaste from Tom’s is predicted to see a -13.94 percent year-over-year growth rate. This flavor will likely decline in popularity as consumers move away from intense, warming flavors and toward more refreshing options.
Peppermint
Another tally for the mint category here. The team here at Simporter predicts consumers won’t be as excited about Peppermint-flavored products next year (-14.68 percent growth rate) for similar reasons to what we mentioned before, which is why we won’t see any growth on the 0.25 percent share of voice it currently holds. Improve and distribute industry 4.0 new technologies.
Mint is a saturated category with too many varieties for a single type of flavor to stick out and rise above the rest. The reality is that it’s a waste of your time and money to research and develop new and exciting products if your goal is to promote Peppermint-focused flavors.
If new and exciting is your goal, Peppermint isn’t your solution. The best oral hygiene routines all seem to include something with Mint in it, so don’t waste too many resources on this category.
Chocolate
Chocolate (0.03 percent share of voice) and healthy dental routines don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand. Our data predict that chocolate will be one of the least popular oral care flavors, with a -20.96 percent indicated growth rate for 2023.
Chocolate is not known for its ability to freshen breath or whiten teeth. In fact, it’s actually quite the opposite – chocolate is known to cause tooth decay.
While chocolate-flavored dental products are explicitly designed to protect and clean your teeth (not harm them), it’s a challenging mental hurdle for the average consumer to overcome. Products that contain chocolate are likely to see a decline in sales in the coming year.
Strawberry
Strawberry oral hygiene products have been popular in recent years, but our data shows that this flavor is declining in popularity. Strawberry is expected to see the most significant decline of all oral care flavors, with a -28.32 percent predicted growth rate for 2023. Products like Colgate’s Strawberry toothpaste for kids won’t be nearly as popular in 2023 as they’ve been in years past.
While Strawberry (0.09 percent share of voice) can be an approachable flavor to those who don’t like minty-flavored toothpaste, it’s typically not as effective as other flavors when it comes to freshening breath or whitening teeth.
Conclusion
The team at Simporter has analyzed the data and predicts that Watermelon, Mint, Cinnamon, Peppermint, Chocolate, and Strawberry will be less popular oral care flavors in 2023. These flavors are expected to see a decline in year-over-year growth as consumers move towards more traditional flavors like mint or lemon. If your brand relies on any of these flavors to drive sales, it’s time to rethink your strategy.
On the other hand, traditional flavors like mint and lemon are predicted to surge in popularity. Oral care products labeled as such are likely to be more successful than those not. When formulating your products for the coming year, be sure to keep this in mind.
Thanks for reading! We hope this was helpful. For more on 2023 Oral tips and trends, check out our blog. If you’re ready to see Simporter AI in action and learn what it can do for you, request a demo on our website for more insights on Oral Care trends.