Brushing your teeth has always been a task that you want over and done with. You know you need to do it to maintain your personal hygiene, but those five minutes can feel too time consuming.
Most of us dread going to the dentist, especially when we’re lectured about how we aren’t flossing or brushing our teeth adequately. There really hasn’t been much to make cleaning our teeth interesting or “cool.” No matter the color or type of bristle used to make your toothbrush seem less boring… it isn’t less boring.
But a new type of toothbrush has emerged. It comes from Quip, a toothbrush subscription company. You’ve probably seen advertisements all over your Facebook and Instagram feeds. Quip has reinvented an item that has been a staple in all of our lives and made it more exciting and stylish.
The private company was founded in 2014 and is based in Brooklyn, New York. It provides subscribers with oral care products and dental services online. Quip jumped on the subscription business model, which has recently really taken off. There are a plethora of subscription-based companies; they deliver food, clothes, and shaving razors… just to name a few. The model offers convenience — deliveries straight to your door. What’s not to love?
What I’ve experienced with my subscription services is that I order these products, they get delivered to my door, and my account gets charged; it’s kind of an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. I get razor replacements delivered to me every few months. Now, I don’t have to think about going to the store to purchase them; but, until I get the email that notifies me, I also forget that I am being charged $9.99 each time the company sends those replacements to my house.
This business model has been successful. People want things to be easy. They want their groceries and clothes sent to them so they don’t have to go out and purchase these items themselves — just one less thing on an already long daily to-do list.
Quip started shipping the first version of its toothbrushes in February 2015, and it’s come a long way since then. In March 2018, the company announced that it will have a network of 15,000 dental professionals that could be connected to Quip devices and remind users when to schedule their next cleaning. And later in 2018, Quip began selling at Target. In early January, CNN reported that the company had sold more than one million toothbrushes and had more than one million subscribers.
Quip isn’t stopping. This week, it launched a brand new product line aimed at kids. These toothbrushes will be similar to the electric toothbrushes for adults. The kids’ toothbrush will have a timer that pulsates every 30 seconds and automatically turns off after two minutes of brushing.
The product line seems rather inexpensive and worth the price — it is your child’s health and oral hygiene we’re talking about. Prices for kids’ toothbrushes start at $25 for a starter brush head and flavored toothpaste subscription ($10 every three months). Or customers can choose a $30 starter set and brush head subscription for $5 every three months.
Quip is gaining some decent funding on top of its subscription revenue. Last May, it raised $10 million and acquired dental insurance startup Afora. To date, the company has raised more than $60 million in funding.
Quip is earning money and changing what used to be one of our most mundane daily tasks into something “cool.”
Until next time,