Looking for an oral care that’s made with natural flavors and sweeteners? Well, thanks to hello products, they have introduced a new toothpaste that delivers a healthier approach to oral health. Find out how passionate Founder, Craig Dubitsky is about his commitment to offering consumers a transformational experience from product design to product performance.
Hello, what a familiar, but unique name for a company, how did you come up with that?
Oral care didn’t seem all that friendly, and when it came to naming the company, we tried to think of the friendliest word possible. Tah-dah, hello! Everyone knows it, everyone says it (I hope), and it usually always elicits a response, hello seemed like the perfect fit for us!
How did the company get its start?
I have history with what I like to think of as “transformational” consumer brands; I was a founding investor and board member at Method a company that produces gorgeous, fun, naturally derived household cleaning products. I was also the co-founder of eos, where I served as the creative and design lead on the shaving cream and now ubiquitous organic lip sphere. I’ve always loved design, form, function, retail, and how people write their personal narratives through their stuff. I’m kind of obsessed with all of this. So I was walking through the oral care set in a drugstore one day, and I noticed there were so many products with pictures of extracted teeth on them. I thought, How on earth did the extracted tooth become the global icon for good oral health?! An extracted tooth is the LAST thing I ever want to see when it comes to taking care of my teeth and my mouth! Then, I thought about the messaging and positioning of typical products and brands in this category, and how they use fear and shame to get their message across like, if you’re not whitening your frightening, or if you don’t kill everything in your mouth, your next dental visit is going to be awful and painful. Then I saw lots of artificial ingredients—in both adult and kids pastes—and I thought, it’s time for something new, and that was it. I got started right away, and here we are.
Talk to us about your toothpaste. What are the active ingredients and their key benefits?
We love talking toothpaste! In terms of the active ingredients in our extra-whitening paste, we use fluoride to help prevent cavities, and an extra-fine silica and calcium carbonate to gently and effectively polish teeth and help remove surface stains. We don’t use peroxide, because we think it’s harsh and unfriendly towards enamel.
What’s the difference between your toothpaste and other traditional brands?
How much time do we have? ;-)
Let’s start with the outside: our boxes are made from FSC Certified paper, which means we’re not killing more trees, and we print with soy-based inks. Our tubes are custom numbers, made with a special barrier layer that helps maintain the integrity of our formulations while preventing our natural flavors from degrading. They also have a cool outer layer that feels great in your hand, and they don’t get all crinkly-nasty like traditional tubes. We make our packaging and our pastes here in the USA in FDA approved facilities.
Our pastes are also vegan, and never tested on animals. In fact, we’re Leaping Bunny Certified, which means not only are our finished products never tested on animals, but our ingredient suppliers also verify that the individual ingredients we use are never tested on animals either. PETA and Logical Harmony also recognize us for our cruelty-free positioning.
What we don’t put in hello is just as important as what we do put in. We had this wild idea, that anything that goes into your mouth should be delicious, and as natural as possible. So when it comes to our pastes, we make sure we use natural flavors and natural sweeteners like xylitol (from non-GMO corn) and sustainably harvested stevia. Our mint is grown in the Willamette Valley in Oregon. And we make sure from day one that our pastes don’t include triclosan, microbeads, and artificial sweeteners like saccharin, synthetic dyes, or peroxide.
Another difference about hello is the people! We’re an independent, entrepreneurial bunch of peeps, wildly passionate and committed to making safe, effective, wildly delicious products that work and that elevate everyday. We’re super-reachable—you can even skype with me right from our website! You can’t say you want to make personal care more personal, and then not be reachable, right? ;-)
What can consumers expect when they use your toothpaste?
A fabulous experience all-around. Polished teeth. Fresh breath. Awesome mouth feel. A smooth, creamy paste that smells and tastes incredible, with no yucky aftertaste. A funky tube that doesn’t get all crinkly-nasty, and that feels great to touch. Oh, and a gorgeous, clean, naturally friendly smile.
How long can they expect to see whitening results?
Guess that depends on what you eat and drink to some degree, and of course, how long you keep brushing with hello! ;-)
What’s next for hello?
We never stop innovating, dreaming, designing, formulating, tinkering, so be on the lookout for even more innovation over the next several months. The company is called “hello products” and not “hello oral care,” and we believe there are a lot of other categories that could benefit from a little more love, and a heightened sense of thoughtfulness. We’re just getting started with making naturally friendly products, and we just happen to be starting with your mouth.
Each of our monthly subscribers will be receiving a deluxe sample of hello extra whitening toothpaste in pure mint in their box, what is the one take-away that you’d like to leave them with?
We’re so psyched that your subscribers are going to be rocking hello! Thanks for including us, and for sharing the friendly! Big takeaways, let’s see... a big one for us is that whole body health and oral health are inextricably linked, so taking care of your mouth is critical! Another thing to think about, if something is going in your mouth, we like to think it should be delicious, and as natural as we can make it. Oh, and it should be gorgeous and fun to live with, too! #brushhappy
To keep up with hello, you can follow them on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
Alexia Roca is a brand builder, merchandiser, jewelry designer, life coach and lifestyle blogger. Design your life with Alexia @TheRocaReport A lifestyle guide to inspire all women to design a life they desire to find their purpose, be creative and to be authentic.