Bringing boutique products to a wider market base is challenging.  To maintain value and avoid competing solely on price, boutique items must differentiate themselves through sales strategies and creative packaging. One company that accomplished this successfully was BriteSmile, Inc. (Walnut Creek, California). For years, the company’s patented teeth whitening process was only available at BriteSmile teeth Whitening Spas and dental offices.  Hoping to share the benefits of the process with more customers, the company created BriteSmile To Go™. This brand extension is designed to match consumers’ busy lifestyles: it is portable, easily dispensed and simple to use.

“Our loyal customers have high standards for their own physical appearance and do not compromise on quality or convenience in personal care products,” explains Steve Miller, executive vice-president of BriteSmile. “We wanted to convey to customers that while this is a convenience-based product, the BriteSmile tradition of quality is in no way diminished.”

Thanks to a unique distribution strategy and packaging support from FiberMark, the source for packaging materials that express brands, inspire designs and elevate products in the retail environment, BriteSmile was able to meet these goals.

Carving out a Niche

While most teeth whitening solutions reach out to general consumers via the drug store or supermarket channel, BriteSmile strategists determined that that this was not the way to reach their target market.

“Supermarkets and drug stores reach a wide range of consumers with many different priorities, and they are already served by a number of teeth whitening toothpastes and take-home trays. We decided the best way to compete with those products was not to copy but to carve out a completely new niche for BriteSmile To Go.”

BriteSmile To Go™ is a new, upscale product from the creators of the One Hour Professional Teeth Whitening Treatment. BriteSmile To Go was developed to help people look and feel their best without the hassle that comes with bleaching trays or store-bought options. BriteSmile To Go is convenient, simple, completely safe, and with just two easy 30-second applications a day. Many customers start seeing improvement after just a few days.

Since BriteSmile targets the shopper that recognizes quality in personal care products, the best place to reach these consumers is at the cosmetics counter of luxury department stores. This important venue is a high-traffic environment and shoppers are accustomed to a certain prestige look and feel for the products that are sold there.  To successfully compete, packaging for the BriteSmile To Go needed to be eye-catching, appealing, and effectively differentiate the product.  To accomplish this task, they turned to FiberMark, known as an innovative source for upscale packaging materials.

FiberMark helped BriteSmile develop a packaging solution that matched its unique distribution strategy. The final package: a convenient, reusuable box with a bright iridescent blue color and silky feel, made from FiberMark’s Corvon® Iridescent packaging material. It flips open and closes tightly, and emulates the look and function of packaging commonly used for luxury writing instruments -- perfectly matching the unique click pen brush applicator.  It successfully projects the quality of the BriteSmile brand, while conveying the simplicity of helping people look and feel their best without the hassle that comes with bleaching trays or store-bought options.  The distribution and packaging strategy reinforced the convenience while capitalizing on the trust consumers had in BriteSmile’s brand. 

Reflecting the Product in the Package

The BriteSmile Professional Teeth Whitening treatment consists of a gentle hydrogen-peroxide whitening gel activated by a special, patented light operating in the blue spectrum. BriteSmile To Go acts both as a follow-up whitener, applied to maintain the salon treatment; or as a stand-alone whitening product for at-home use.

With these attributes in mind, Miller explains how he developed the package. “I had worked with FiberMark in the past and knew they had a long history of working with upscale brands. Our FiberMark representative showed me some of their newest materials, and the Iridescent just seemed perfect!”

FiberMark materials have appeared for years on packaging for luxury products, including writing instruments. With compelling decorative effects that look and feel like leather, metal, textiles, or other textures, FiberMark materials enhance packaging so it captures the simplicity of an everyday product, like a pen, and elevates it to the prestige level. Since the BriteSmile To Go product is design as a pen dispenser, a similar packaging strategy seemed appropriate.

Gary Baker, vice president of FiberMark’s packaging strategic business unit says that this cross-pollination of ideas is increasingly common in the packaging business. “With brands constantly looking for new ways to differentiate and position themselves as a step ahead of the competition, they observe the successes of prestige products in other categories. With customized visual and tactile effects, BriteSmile was able to draw from this to create a unique package for the To Go product.”

From inspiration to implementation

Miller continues: “We created a box that easily opens and closes and selected Corvon® as the covering material. Our final design comes across as portable, elegant, and high-end. This was exactly what we needed for BriteSmile To Go.”

There are two sizes available, for one pen and for two pens. Both are small enough to fit discreetly in a pocketbook or make-up case. The packages open and close securely, even after repeated use.

“This packaging solution definitely conveys the image and feel of applying cosmetics, rather than dental products,” said Miller. “And FiberMark’s Corvon, a lightly textured covering material, adds a silky, expensive look and feel that really put the product in a class by itself.”

BriteSmile incorporated a bright blue color, reminiscent of the blue light that is used in the salon treatment. By adding an iridescent dimension to the material, the box commands attention on the highly competitive cosmetics counter. The material proved to be strong and reliable, resulting in no chipping or cracking during production, distribution or extended use.

The package positions To Go to be more than just a teeth whitener, and differentiates the product from other cosmetics products within department stores. “There isn’t any other packaging like this in the venue where it will be sold. It is a great way to capture consumer attention, and we expect sales to be very successful.”

BriteSmile To Go has just launched in Nordstrom department stores on the West Coast. It will be rolling out in stores in the Midwest and Eastern United States by the end of the year. It is also sold in BriteSmile Teeth Whitening Spas and by BriteSmile’s exclusive network of cosmetic dentists.

About BriteSmile

BriteSmile (Nasdaq: BSML) has developed and manufactures the most advanced teeth whitening technology available, as well as manages state-of-the-art BriteSmile Professional Teeth Whitening Spas. BriteSmile Spas are currently operating in Beverly Hills, Irvine, Palo Alto, Walnut Creek and La Jolla, CA; Houston, TX; Denver, CO; Boston, MA; Boca Raton, FL; Atlanta, GA; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; and, Phoenix, AZ. In addition to BriteSmile Centers, the Company has contracted with independent dentists to perform whitening procedures at more than 5,000 BriteSmile Associated Centers around the world. For further information on BriteSmile, BriteSmile ToGo or BriteSmile spas, please visit www.britesmile.com

About FiberMark

FiberMark (www.FiberMark.com) offers inventive packaging materials that express brands, inspire designs and elevate products in the retail environment. With over twenty product lines incorporating a wide range of visual and tactile elements, FiberMark materials provide a limitless array of package design possibilities. These specialty fiber-based materials are enhanced with an extensive palette of colors, finishes, and embossing techniques that create visual depth and invite touch. FiberMark’s design specialists work with creative teams to develop packaging that captures a brand’s unique personality to differentiate it from competitors, attract attention, and significantly drive sales. FiberMark crafts its materials in the U.S. and Europe, creating innovative solutions for world-leading brands.

For further information on Corvon and other brand-enhancing packaging materials from FiberMark, please contact Phyllis Custer at FiberMark, Tel: (802) 257-5934 or E-mail: packaging@fibermark.com.