Oral Care in Japan

PROSPECTS

Continuous growth is expected in oral care despite the ageing population

Oral care in Japan is expected to maintain a positive performance in current value terms over the forecast period, despite the ageing population and the declining birth rate. Whilst poor performances are expected in the domestic market in many other beauty and personal care categories due to the ageing population, oral care is likely to continue to see increasing demand, as people are now retaining more teeth when they get old, partly thanks to the target 8020, which is set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to promote keeping more than 20 teeth at the age of 80.

Fresh breath products have been gaining traction

Within oral care, fresh breath products are gaining increasing popularity, on the back of rising awareness of the concept sumehara, which translates as “smell harassment”. Sumehara, which means that other people’s unpleasant odours, such as body odour or bad breath, may cause distress or discomfort for certain people, has been rapidly spreading, and more and more people care about how their breath smells, especially those in the workplace.

COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Lion Corp remains the undisputed leader

Lion Corp continued to lead oral care in Japan in 2018, supported by the company’s long history and presence in personal care. During the review period, the company benefited from the strong performance of its new brand Nonio, which was launched in 2017 in order to attract younger consumers, who are less interested in oral care than older consumers.

Sunstar poses a strong challenge

Sunstar is a strong contender and is increasing its value share due to the strength of its powerful brands Gum and Ora2, renewing and positioning them as focus brands in 2018. In 2018, working in collaboration with leading medical professionals, the company launched a new line, Gum Pro Care, to further enhance its function of preventing periodontal diseases, and conducted a promotional campaign to actively promote the brand not only in stores, but also via television commercials and through social media.

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