June 8th, 2022Sourcing Nova already recognizes the electric toothbrush is an excellent option for e-commerce business. Those willing to work hard for success will find these personal care devices to have a decent profit line for the Amazon seller. Which models are the best for your business? What do you need to understand about electric toothbrushes? This article will help make you an authority on them and help you convert visitors into customers. Read on to learn more.
Sourcing Nova works hard to find you the products that will sell well. This is our job as your personal Chinese purchasing agent. However, getting the Philips brand manufacturers to produce private label electric toothbrushes is an impossible task. After all, the Philips brand does not want to make products for their direct competition. What does this mean for you?
Rather than focusing on brands, we want to focus on what matters in an electric toothbrush – the features.
So, what are the best features of an electric toothbrush?
Why should you understand the technical parameters of electric toothbrushes?
Let’s start with the leader in the electric toothbrush industry – Philips. Sourcing Nova’s research team reviewed the Philips brand high-end electric toothbrush and learned its specifications. We use those specifications to compare a high-end model from our Chinese manufacturing partner. This way we learn key differences in those specifications.
Here is the product description of one of their models from Amazon.com:
Look carefully at the information provided. The descriptive information contains the following you need to consider as part of your private label model:
- Removes up to 10x more plaque and improves gum health up to 7x in just 2 weeks (in gum health mode vs. a manual toothbrush)
- Removes up to 100% more stains in just 3 days (in white+ mode vs. a manual toothbrush)
Why does the manufacturer include this information over the hardware specifics? This is for the consumer and not for the professional business owner. Consumers want the benefits of using the electric toothbrush. You are looking at the features of the electric toothbrush.
Features are the physical basis of the benefits. Sourcing Nova wants to explain to you the importance of the features. Again, the goal is to convince the visitor to your business you are an authority and to be trusted. This will lead you to better conversions.
As an example of what Sourcing Nova means, we found the features of the Philips high-end series electric toothbrushes from here.
The HX9954 represents the high-end of the Philips brand. You can see the price, $329.99, is considerable. What is so special about the HX9954 electric toothbrush to demand such a premium cost? What information can you learn from this that you can leverage into your business?
Let’s look carefully at the main features. Sourcing Nova will compare the Chinese model features to those of the Philips model. You will note the features of the Chinese model are exceptionally close to the Philips model.
This model is a rechargeable, sonic vibration electric toothbrush and has four core performance indicators:
- High cleaning power while maintaining healthy teeth and gums;
- Battery life
- A waterproof body
- Quality materials in the construction
In addition, there are dimensions such as appearance design, visualization, matching disinfection box, smart brushing capabilities, and refined oral health management under the background of intelligence.
What is lacking are the core features of the model – the information you need before sourcing your own model electric toothbrush.
There are two obvious differences in each of the Philips electric toothbrushes: motor configuration and battery life. Here are the core features of this particular model:
- Brand: Philips
- Product model: HX9954
- Product Type: Sonic
- Vibration frequency (times/min): Up to 62000 brush movement/min
- Kinetic energy output: magnetic levitation pulse motor (the amplitude output is stable, to avoid the sudden strong and weak vibration from hurting the teeth and gums)
- Charging method: dual charging (glass wireless inductive charging/USB travel charging case)
- Pressure Reminder: Sensing force and friction, the bottom indicator lights up
- Smart APP: (12 areas to remind to refresh) Bluetooth connection
- Bristles: American DuPont (obvious bristle discoloration reminder)
- Timing Capability: 2 minutes smart 30 seconds zone change
- Battery life (days): 14
- Waterproof level: IPX7 level (shower available) the whole machine is waterproof
- Noise decibel: Unknown as of publication
- Cleaning Mode: 5
- Strength level: 3
- Price (USD): 329.99
It is important to look carefully at each of these specifications. Let’s look at each individual element, and the information you need from that specification. Again, the goal here is to make you an authority on electric toothbrushes – necessary for your business.
Electric toothbrush speed
The calculation of the speed of the electric toothbrush is brush movement/minute.
What does this mean? Imagine a pendulum in an old pendulum clock.
The electric toothbrush produces high-frequency oscillations perpendicular to the direction of the toothbrush handle. This means the bristles move up and down vertically as the handle is held left to right horizontally. The brushes move in a circular motion, swinging twice each cycle. The Philips team calculates the unit count per movement.
The micro motor manufacturing industry does not measure this way. They use the vibrations (brush strokes) per minute, VPM, as a standard of measurement. The VPM represents two complete vibrations. Using this measurement instead of the Philips’ proprietary measurement, the speed is 31,000 brush VPM/min. Brush strokes per minute is the same standard used by people outside of the electric toothbrush manufacturing industry.
What does brush strokes per minute mean to you as a buyer and business owner?
The VPM, brush strokes, frequency is the number of strokes across the surface of the tooth. The more strokes across each tooth, the more effective the cleaning power. Note also that the lower vibrations may mean the cleaning bristles are not as effective as they could be. If you take time to review lower-end Philips electric toothbrushes, you will see the fewer brush strokes/min the cheaper the cost.
What is the VPM of high-end electric toothbrushes in China?
The current motors of high-end Chinese manufacturered electric toothbrushes range from 31,000 to 48,000. The 31,000 brush stroke value will meet the needs of the average consumer. The 48,000 brush stroke value is for the user wanting a much higher frequency.
A stable power output is vital in a high-quality motor. An electric toothbrush with a weak motor will not provide a satisfactory level of cleaning for the user.
Electric toothbrush kinetic energy output
The Philips model electric toothbrushes use magnetic levitation pulse motors. These are high quality motors with stable amplitude (more on this later) output. The stability keeps the vibration from varying from harsh to week as this can cause damage to gums.
This vibration frequency is higher in lesser-end electric toothbrushes. The kinetic energy (more on this later) is unstable.
Electric toothbrush amplitude explanation
Swing range is the angle of the left and right swing of the brush head. The smaller the swing angle range, the smaller the cleaning force.
The current, mainstream electric toothbrush head is 5 to 6 mm.
3 intensities velocity switch
Philip’s highest-end electric toothbrush, the DiamondClean Pro, has three different velocity switches: Low, Medium, High. This is a feature available on only the highest-end models currently on the market.
There is a similar style in the Chinese make, but there is no large scale demand. It may be best to forgo this particular feature in favor of other, more attractive features.
Motor limited warranty
Many think it is a money saving option. In as little as two or three months, replacement becomes necessary, effectively not saving any money at all.
All Philips’ model electric toothbrushes come with a 2-year warranty. This means the motor will not show any noticeable drop in performance for two years.
The equivalent Chinese models Sourcing Nova can source on your behalf have a service life of three years, more than enough to ensure no attenuation after two years.
Electric toothbrush battery life
Lowest-end electric toothbrushes use batteries, although these are now obsolete. Mainstream electric toothbrushes use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
The Philip’s HX9954 battery life will run for two to three weeks based on a full, 24 hour charge and use of two times a day for approximately one to two minutes of brush time.
Electric toothbrushes will not charge as rapidly as other electronic devices. Electric toothbrushes use a low current, slow charge method. This makes the charging process safe and prolongs the battery life.
Chinese high-end electric toothbrush manufacturers use a similar charging method, and a full charge takes around 16 – 24 hours. China is a huge producer of lithium-ion batteries, and most high-end electric toothbrushes use lithium-ion batteries that will provide up to 240 minutes of battery life. This means using the electric toothbrush twice a day use and two minutes at a time, a recharge will not be necessary for about 45 days.
China being a producer of lithium-ion batteries, this will considerably lower your cost on electric toothbrushes.
Sourcing Nova’s electric toothbrush manufacturing partner uses an 800mAh battery.
Some high-end electric toothbrushes will have a low battery warning. Users will be sure to know when a recharge is necessary.
Electric toothbrush charging method
The most common method is a charging base like in the images below. Place the unit on the base, and charging begins automatically.
Philips has stepped up the charging design to offset their low battery life.
Notice what Philips has done. There is not a proper charging base but a glass. The glass is a power bank with wireless charging capability. This is of particular interest to high-end buyers, but this will also increase manufacturing costs significantly.
Smart Sensor Technology
Smart Sensor Technology is the core strength of the Philips brand. The recognition and reminder functions have considerable power and draw for the electric toothbrush high-end user. The downloadable App allows users to brush their teeth in a much more scientific way. Specifically:
- Brushing mode changes – insert brush head, and the built-in chip sensor swaps to the corresponding brush mode;
- Brush head replacement reminder – each three months;
- APP sensing and positioning – Brush the entire area of the mouth, divide mouth into 12 sectors, customization allows the APP to track areas and remind to rebrush missed places;
- Intelligent force sensing – Track brush force; too much force yields a purple light and handle vibration to remind the user to reduce force
- Intelligent friction sensing – Improved brushing methods: prompts of left and right, horizonal and vertical
- Intelligent movement sensing – The unit informs the user about excessive swing, which can damage gums.
The majority of Chinese electric toothbrush models only have pressure sensing. The toothbrush will alert users to excessive force via a vibration, indicator light or both. A custom app will raise the procurement cost, and it is difficult to replicate the success of the Philip’s app.
Bristles
The bristles on the Philips electric toothbrushes are made by the DuPont company in the U.S. Some styles feature color-changing bristles. The color fades over use, reminding the user when to replace the bristle head.
The bristle softness, hardness and tip (some are not rounded) will have an effect on the user’s experience.
- Hard bristles + high vibration frequency = Uncomfortable user experience.
- Medium soflt bristles + high vibration frequency = Comfortable and clean user experience.
- Hard bristles + low vibration frequency = Poor cleaning experience and mouth damage.
- Medium soft bristles + low vibration frequency = Exceptionally poor cleaning experience; manual brushing becomes necessary.
Timing ability
Mainstream electric toothbrushes pause each 30 seconds. This allows users to move to a new brushing area within the mouth. After two minutes of use, the unit powers off.
The Chinese high-end model has this particular feature, just as the Philips.
Waterproof level
IPX7 level (Safe for the shower) waterproof capability.
The Chinese high-end model has this particular feature, just as the Philips.
Noise in decibels
A loud electric toothbrush that makes too much noise leads to an uncomfortable brushing experience.
The Chinese national standard for electric toothbrush noise must be less than or equal to 65dB (approximately the sound of a typical conversation).
Cleaning mode
The Philips premium model electric toothbrushes have five modes: Clean, White, Gum Health, Deep Clean+ and Tongue Care.
The difference in model is the vibration frequency of the brush head.
The Philips low-end model, HX6850, offers three modes, also dependent on vibration frequency. Faster vibrations mean cleaner and whiter teeth but also leads to more wear and tear on the tooth surface.
Chinese high-end electric toothbrushes have the same features and at a much lower cost. More modes are available on the higher-end models.
The grip of the toothbrush
The feel of the toothbrush is the most intuitive experience. All handles of electric toothbrushes are plastic, but the high-quality models have non-slip design. Philips has a frosted plastic, and Oral B will use an anti-slip robber.
Sourcing Nova’s electric toothbrush manufacturing partner uses the same frosted plastic handle as the Philips brand. This is a four oil spray finish.
How to import electric toothbrush from China?
Like all of the products Sourcing Nova can find for you, we want you to understand the specific electric toothbrush industry cluster.
Tip: First, the better electric toothbrush manufacturers in China are from Guangdong. This includes the Philips brand, which is manufactured in Zhuhai, Guangdong.
There are other electric toothbrush manufacturers in other provinces but these lack in comparison to Guangdong.
If your customer base in from underdeveloped countries like Africa or Southeast Asia, purchases from the Yiwu wholesale market has a considerable price advantage.
If your customer base is high-end consumers from the U.S. and Europe, you need to source from the better manufacturers in Guangdong for your electric toothbrush needs.
The appropriate choice is vital as it is the first step to your success.
Tip: Second, focus on what is important.
You cannot use the same manufacturer as Philips for a private label electric toothbrush. Philips electric toothbrushes are not OEM/ODM but OBM. This means Philips has its own factory.
If you are not familiar with OBM, the following article will provide you the necessary information: OEM, ODM and OBM – A Primer On Each.
Warning: Sourcing Nova does not recommend you spend much time and money on the app. The investment is exceptionally high.
Rechargeable glass is not necessary. This will increase your purchase cost. Instead, offer additional brush heads – a nice addition for your customer. Another consideration is many people do not use a glass when brushing their teeth. If the recharging glass should break, replacements are expensive.
Final thoughts
It is a hope this article helps you source the best possible electric toothbrush from excellent Chinese manufacturers. Sourcing Nova works with the finest manufacturers of electric toothbrushes for small and medium-sized sellers around the world.
Our OEM/ODM partners manufacture for the following name brands: Best Buy, Walmart, Flyco, Saky, Huawei, LG, Haier, Mi, Dr. Fresh and Honeywell.
The manufacturer has advanced technology, exceptional production capacity and a solid quality management system in place.
Best of all, the price is competitive and fair.
As always, Sourcing Nova’s goal is the best product not the cheapest. If electric toothbrushes are a product you would like to carry, contact Sourcing Nova. We are always ready to help.
