Rembrandt toothpaste

Rembrandt toothpaste

Rembrandt Intense Stain toothpaste on a store shelf
Product type Toothpaste
Owner Johnson & Johnson
Country United States
Introduced 1990
Discontinued Gentle White line, in 2012
Previous owners Den-Mat Corp.; Gillette
Website Rembrandt Boutique website

Rembrandt toothpaste is an American brand of toothpaste. Rembrandt has built its brand around the promise of whitening.[1][2]

Brand ownership

In 1990, the Rembrandt toothpaste brand was developed and owned by closely held Den-Mat Corp, which had been founded in 1974 by dentist Dr. Robert Ibsen.[3][4][5] In 2003, it had about $73 million in sales.[4]

In 2004, Gillette purchased the Rembrandt brand, and included the brand in its Oral-B portfolio.[6]

As part of Procter & Gamble's acquisition of Gillette in 2005, the company was required by the Federal Trade Commission to divest itself of Rembrandt.[7] Consequently, it sold Rembrandt to Johnson & Johnson's McNeil-PPC division.[7][8][9][10] That year, Rembrandt had sales that likely exceeded $100 million.[7]

Toothpastes

Intense Stain and Deeply White

Rembrandt Intense Stain and Rembrandt Deeply White toothpaste contain hydrated silica.[1]

In a study published in 2011 in the Journal of Clinical Dentistry, Rembrandt Intense Stain was found to be mildly abrasive (RDA about 90), but was also found to be in the middle of those tested in terms of cleaning power.[1]

Gentle White; discontinued

Rembrandt offered Canker Sore Toothpaste for the benefit of "canker sore" (i.e. aphthous stomatitis) sufferers in 1993, reformulated the toothpaste in 2008, and changed its name to Rembrandt's Gentle White in 2012.[8][11] Johnson & Johnson marketed it as a whitening toothpaste that was gentle enough for people whose mouths were prone to canker sores.[8] The company targeted, and the toothpaste was used by, canker sore sufferers.[8] Approximately 20% of the general population suffer from canker sores, which can make eating, swallowing, or talking painful.[8]

Rembrandt's Gentle White does not contain sodium lauroyl sarcosinate (SLS), an ingredient that a Swedish study showed was dramatically correlated with canker sores, and some canker sore sufferers seek to avoid.[8][11][12] Similar to Rembrandt Intense Stain, it also did not contain sodium lauryl sulfate, which is known to irritate sensitive mouths in some individuals.[8]

Rembrandt discontinued the canker sore toothpaste line in 2012. This led to the three-ounce tube of the toothpaste, which had formerly sold for $6.99, being instead sold for approximately $50 on eBay in 2014.[8] The company's Facebook page also received critical backlash.[8]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Chris Woolston (July 4, 2011). "The Healthy Skeptic: Whitening toothpastes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  2. ↑ Robert Levine (2003). The Power of Persuasion: How We're Bought and Sold. John Wiley & Sons. p. 97.
  3. ↑ Davis Dyer, Frederick Dalzell, Rowena Olegario (2004). Rising Tide: Lessons from 165 Years of Brand Building at Procter & Gamble. Harvard Business Press. p. 348.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Gillette to Purchase Rembrandt", Los Angeles Times, March 7, 1995, retrieved April 12, 2014
  5. ↑ Stephen Nellis (November 25, 2011), "New owners sink teeth into DenMat", Pacific Coast Business Times (Santa Barbara, California)
  6. ↑ "Procter & Gamble squeezes toothpaste operations for Gillette buy". Cosmeticsdesign.com. June 23, 2005. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Jack Neff (October 24, 2005). "Johnson & Johnson To Buy Rembrandt Oral Care Line". Advertising Age. Retrieved April 12, 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 Julie Deardorff (March 5, 2014), "Loss of canker sore toothpaste angers loyal users", Chicago Tribune, retrieved April 12, 2014
  9. ↑ Byron, Ellen (April 24, 2007), "Merger Challenge: Unite Toothbrush, Toothpaste", Wall Street Journal, retrieved April 12, 2014
  10. ↑ Michael Hitt, R. Duane Ireland, Robert Hoskisson (2008). Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, Concepts. Cengage Learning. p. 153.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Joe Graedon, Teresa Graedon (2002). The People's Pharmacy Guide to Home and Herbal Remedies. Macmillan. p. 122.
  12. ↑ Phyllis A. Balch, Stacey Bell (2012). Prescription for Herbal Healing, 2nd Edition: An Easy-to-Use A-to-Z Reference to Hundreds of Common Disorders and Their Herbal Remedies. Penguin. p. 747.

External links