Dental News - Toothbrush start-up receives millions from investors

Toothbrush start-up receives millions from investors

A New York-based start-up recently received $10 million in funding, which could help them reach a million customers by the end of 2018. (Photograph: boyisteady/Shutterstock)

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 8. January 2018

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NEW YORK, U.S.: A New York based start-up, Quip, recently received $10 million in funding. Quip is a toothbrush-focused company that aims to prove that good design could have a bigger impact on oral health than quick-fix gimmicks. After selling 100,000 toothbrushes in their first year of business, this new investment could well be the support the company needs to grow their business into an even bigger market.

According to Quip’s website, their promise is to: "align with dentist advice and put what is best for your teeth before all else." The company’s new-age approach and dedication to oral health however, does not come from a team of dentists or oral health professionals, but rather from a pair of designers.

Simon Enever and Bill May are the co-founders and masterminds behind the ever-growing project that, after launching in 2015, could have 1 million customers by the end of 2018. Speaking to CNBC, Enever said: "I'm a Brit who's trying to improve oral health in America, which is the reverse of how it should be."

The toothbrush costs $25 for a plastic one and $45 dollars for a metal one. Users can then sign up to have a new head and battery delivered to their door for $5 every three months, with additional accessories, such as toothpaste also available at an extra cost. The toothbrush is equipped with a vibration mode that helps with better brushing and a two-minute timer with thirty-second intervals so users can evenly cover their entire mouth.

It was after a trip to the dentist when Enever was advised to buy the cheapest electric toothbrush available to avoid brushing his teeth too hard that he realized the limited advancement in toothbrush design. It was then that Enever and May decided to set out to rectify some of the issues that inhibit many people from having good oral health—brushing too hard, not brushing twice a day, not brushing long enough and not regularly replacing their toothbrushes and brush heads.

Enever said to CNBC "We're trying to build an oral health subscription that, in the end, will do a lot more than just the brush heads. We're trying to make oral health, as much as you can, a bit more interesting."