Ian Claydon-Butler explores the growth in popularity for own-brand products in dentistry.
Own brand products have become a staple part of our lives. Just last year Nielsen data revealed UK supermarkets saw a 3% increase in own brand sales. And in just one four-week period shoppers spent £85m more on own-label products.
As consumers we’ve shifted our buying habits, shopping less for branded items and instead being open to try own-brand items that offer better value without compromising on quality.
I’m not for a second saying we can compare baked or tinned supermarket goods to specialist dental materials and consumables. But what we can see is that buying habits are changing and in dentistry that’s spilling over into our professional lives.
Stick with what you know or innovate with alternatives
Back in 2015 we commissioned some research which revealed that for the majority of dentists, the materials they teach with at university tends to be the materials dentists buy throughout their professional careers.
Fast forward five years and we can see how this is changing.
Due to their consumer experience dentists are now savvier about own brands and what they can offer them, their business and their patients.
Stop looking for a catch – there isn’t one
There must be a catch with own-brand products, right? That’s a question customers ask a lot. The truth is, there really isn’t.
With Unodent we work hard to keep our prices low. We buy in high volume, which allows us to pass on economies of scale to our customers. Additionally, we don’t include any unnecessarily expensive packaging and branding.
We don’t compromise on the quality of our product either. In fact, we’re confident that each of the 3,000 items within the Unodent range can stand up to any brand comparison. Something we promote through our 28-day money back guarantee.
The same high standards and manufacturing excellence
Some dentists think regulations make private brands better, but that’s not true. Any brand whether private or own, falls under the same regulation standards.
We manufacture the majority of Unodent products in the UK and in western Europe.
We believe in sourcing from countries that deliver the best solution and where we are confident of continuity of supply and product quality. Not where we can make the greatest cost savings.
A great result for patient and professional
Dentists also claim they can’t use own-brand products during treatment on their private patients.
Patients just want a great result, the majority don’t even know the brands dentists use. So, they can’t be brand loyal when it comes to the products used in their mouths.
Own-brand products provide the same great results, the only difference is, with a recognised brand product your profit margins are lower than the own brand alternative.
We regularly carry out blind testing with our independent clinical panel of dentists, hygienists and industry professionals. Time after time they struggle to identify a private brand from an Unodent product. We sometimes blind test Unodent against Unodent too.
This testing helps us evolve our products, and because we’re an own-brand range that focuses on the dental market specifically, we are agile and get a new product, or improved variations, to market quickly.
Designed to offer true value
And the final common myth I bust on a regular basis is – own brands don’t look as good.
We carefully consider our design and we’ve received great customer feedback on it.
We remove any unnecessary costs that don’t deliver value, quality or performance for the customer.
For example, the private brand has decided their packaging will look better by using a glossy card and embossed printing. This doesn’t make the product itself any better or add any value to the customer, but it does make the product more expensive for the customer.
Dentists will always buy some branded products. But it’s becoming harder to be so brand loyal when own brand is doing such a great job.
Throughout February DD is offering a saving of up to 48% on selected Unodent products. For more information visit www.dental-directory.co.uk/offers/latest-offers.
