One is twenty or thirty yuan at a time! Why is it difficult to get cheap toothpaste on supermarket shelves？
BEIJING, Oct. 30 (Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Yiguan) Toothpaste is a necessity in life, but recently many people have found that toothpaste sold in supermarkets is becoming more and more expensive. "I remember that in the past, the most expensive toothpaste was only a dozen or twenty pieces. Now the toothpaste is generally twenty or thirty pieces." Some consumers spit.
Why did two or three yuan toothpaste disappear?
It costs twenty or thirty yuan, but toothpaste under ten yuan is hard to find.
Regarding the rising price of toothpaste, Xiao Ni, a consumer who recently went shopping in the supermarket, has a deep understanding.
"Looking around, most of them are toothpaste of twenty or thirty yuan, and the better ones are thirty or forty yuan. The cheapest Crest salt white toothpaste also needs 6.9 yuan, and the price is too outrageous."
As Xiao Ni said, recently, Sino-Singapore financial reporters visited a number of supermarkets, and the price of toothpaste was generally above that of 10 yuan. Among them, the range from 15 yuan to 40 yuan was relatively concentrated, and the price of a few brands of toothpaste such as Shushida could reach above 40 yuan, while only two or three models were below 10 yuan.
This is also consistent with the data of the offline research of Ai Media Consulting. According to previous research, among the 40 or 50 kinds of toothpaste sold by large supermarkets, the price of a toothpaste is 10-mdash; 20 yuan accounts for 60%, 20 yuan or above accounts for 35%, and there are only two or three kinds below 10 yuan.
In addition to the disappearance of low-priced toothpaste on supermarket shelves, many consumers have also found that the price of some toothpaste has doubled.
"This cold sour toothpaste is now selling for 7.58 yuan. I remember that it only costs two or three yuan; Chinese toothpaste, which once cost a few dollars, is now ‘ Upgrade ’ Later, it was also sold to 20 yuan. " Xiao Ni mentioned.
According to Huaxi Securities Research Report, the average price data of ordinary toothpaste of about 120g released by the National Development and Reform Commission showed that its price increased from 8.38 yuan/box on June 30, 2015 to 10.61 yuan/box on February 28, 2021, and the overall price of the industry showed an upward trend. This also proves that the price increase of toothpaste is not "somatosensory".
Why is toothpaste more expensive?
Toothpaste, which used to cost tens of dollars, was called "Hermes" in the toothpaste industry. Nowadays, the average person in the toothpaste industry is "Hermes". What caused the toothpaste to become more and more expensive?
Many people may consider the cost factor. According to national standards, toothpaste is mainly composed of friction agent, humectant, thickener, foaming agent, fragrance, water and other additives. Although corresponding effective ingredients will be added based on different efficacy, according to published data, the production cost of raw materials is relatively low.
Dengkang Dental owns brands such as Lengsuanling, and its prospectus shows that from 2019 to 2021, the unit cost of the company’s adult toothpaste was 1.53 yuan, 1.47 yuan and 1.50 yuan respectively.
Screenshot from Dengkang Dental Prospectus.
Although the unit cost remained stable, its sales unit price increased year after year, driving the gross profit margin to increase year by year.
In this regard, Denkang Dental said that the company has grasped the trend of consumption upgrading, complied with the development direction of diversified demand for toothpaste and high-end products, continuously carried out research and development upgrades on the basis of existing products, and continuously expanded its market share in mid-to high-end adult toothpaste. The unit price of product sales has increased year by year.
Denkang’s remarks also unveiled the tip of the iceberg of toothpaste brand collective "momentum".
In recent years, toothpaste enterprises are addicted to product upgrading, promoting whitening, anti-allergy, anti-sugar, refreshing breath and other effects by adding enzymes, probiotics, hyaluronic acid, amino acids and other ingredients, and even refining the use scenarios, on the one hand, catering to consumers’ demand for toothpaste functionality, on the other hand, because there is huge profit space behind all kinds of "gimmicks".
All along, the toothpaste market is in a fierce competition situation. At one time, the domestic toothpaste market was occupied by two-faced needles and cold acid spirit. Later, foreign-funded enterprises poured in. Under the circumstance of "attacking the city slightly", the industry once fought a price war, coupled with the rising price of raw materials, the gross profit margin continued to decline. The sudden emergence of functional toothpaste such as Yunnan Baiyao has enabled the industry to find a "wealth password".
"As a result, toothpaste companies have stopped producing traditional toothpastes that don’t make money and started to focus on functional toothpastes. The pricing of functional toothpastes far exceeds that of traditional toothpastes before, so that many toothpaste manufacturers introduce a new efficacy every once in a while, and then mention a price by the way. In this case, it is a natural trend for toothpaste to become more expensive. " Jiang Yan, a senior researcher at Pangu think tank, believes.
With the continuous "upgrade" of products, we still need to make great efforts to carry out marketing, and please all the stars to speak for us. From the research report of toothpaste listed companies, the sales cost of toothpaste has been rising all the way. These marketing costs ultimately require consumers to "pay the bill".
Can you still buy cheap toothpaste?
During the reporter’s visit to the supermarket, a male customer was shopping for toothpaste. After looking at the price, he chose the favorite one between the two toothpaste with the lowest price. At the same time, the reporter noticed that the special price of Shuke baking soda toothpaste in 10 yuan in a supermarket in Beijing was sold to only one.
The demand for low-priced toothpaste is still strong. Nowadays, the price of toothpaste is tens of yuan, which also makes many netizens miss the days when they bought a toothpaste for two or three yuan. Where did the cheap toothpaste go?
The reporter’s online search found that domestic old-fashioned toothpastes such as Baiyu and Tianqi are still on sale, and the price of a single one is mostly below 10 yuan; A Crest toothpaste with strong roots and strong teeth is sold at a high price only in 4.5 yuan. In addition, some unknown brands of toothpaste are also cheaper.
People who stay in the hotel will find that toothpaste, such as double-sided needles, which we are familiar with, frequently appears in disposable articles in the hotel. But these low-priced products are hard to appear on supermarket shelves.
Jiang Han said that for most supermarkets, the cost of each shelf is basically fixed, and the cost of selling various toothpaste products is similar. Therefore, toothpaste with higher profit level is often more attractive to supermarkets, and more and more supermarkets tend to sell high-priced toothpaste.
Xiao Ni once mentioned that low-priced toothpaste is mostly displayed on the lower shelf. This is also consistent with what the reporter observed in some supermarkets.
With the increasing "efficacy" of toothpaste, the publicity is increasingly "cosmetic" and the industry supervision is also improving.
The Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Toothpaste issued by the State Administration of Market Supervision this year clearly stipulates that toothpaste shall be put on record, and the toothpaste filer shall be responsible for the quality, safety and efficacy of toothpaste. In the industry’s view, after the implementation of the "Measures", it may be possible to publicize the efficacy of various toothpastes to "lower the fire". (End)