On December 14, " Black Toothpaste " under Haolai Group announced the name change of "Houlai Toothpaste", and launched the renamed full-line oral care products in March 2022, , and this was first revealed decades ago.
I heard the name "Black Toothpaste" for the first time. I believe many people will subconsciously think that this is a foreign toothpaste, but it actually has a history of 88 years and is a Chinese brand . In 1933, in that era of information blockage, people had a general impression of black people that white teeth. Ningbo Yan brothers seized this business opportunity well and launched "Black Toothpaste" in Shanghai, claiming that it contains magical drugs from Africa, which can clean teeth and cool lips and teeth. With publicity and strength coexisting, black toothpaste quickly became popular in China and went abroad, firmly occupying the Asian market.
Promotional Poster of that year
0 In 1985, it was acquired by Colgate and entered the Western market, European and American customers soon discovered that the English name of black toothpaste actually used the word "Darkie" (nigger), and complained and boycotted, and even banned exports for a time. Colgate urgently switched to the neutral "Darlie" (Darlie), whose Chinese name is still black toothpaste, and then replaced the packaging with a more deracialized avatar. Colgate's moves can temporarily calm people's hearts, but they also left hidden dangers for the future.
The most right side is the newly replaced avatar
On May 25, 2020, US police violently enforced the law, causing the death of black Floyd . The demonstrations quickly affected many "black"-related brands, including black toothpaste. Under the storm, Black Toothpaste finally announced the name change of " Haolai " on December 14 of the following year to improve the brand race stereotype problem.
In addition to black toothpaste, Pepsi 's century-old brand "Auntie Jamiema", and Mars' rice brand "Uncle Ben"... Even Google Chrome had to change the name of the "blacklist".
Some brands involved in this storm
Black toothpaste was the number one toothpaste brand in the mainland market as early as 2012, accounting for about 17% of the share of the toothpaste market in mainland China. Under the current situation where the scale of my country's toothpaste industry is expanding and competition is becoming increasingly fierce, veteran players like Black Toothpaste should indeed follow the trend of the times, break through the traditional upgrade brand positioning, and seek new development ideas.
But can the unfamiliar "Hailai" really bring new breakthroughs to black toothpaste?
Because the English name of black toothpaste has long been unrelated to black people, foreign buyers generally believe that there is no problem based on the packaging. Only when they are told the Chinese meaning will they be considered discriminatory. In the Chinese context, "black people" do not have any racial discrimination. The idea of "black people's toothpaste is racial discrimination" will only make the Chinese feel inexplicably absurd and ridiculous, and people can't help but question whether this is really the progress of the times?
China's toothpaste market share distribution in 2019
and destroying consumers' long-term sense of familiarity will undoubtedly bring a huge blow to the brand. From the dispute between "Jiaduobao" and " Wanglaoji ", we can see the huge risks that companies have to take to change their brand name, especially old brands such as black toothpaste. It takes a long time and a lot of manpower and material resources to change the already deeply rooted impression of consumers.
Just imagine, you picked up toothpaste printed with familiar black avatars in the supermarket, but the strange word "Haolai" was written on it. Did you suddenly feel that you got a copycat and lost the desire to buy?
Obviously, rebirth is still lonely, and black toothpaste with a name change still has a long way to go in the future...
R&D is king "Black toothpaste" favors Peking University Medical Industrial Park platform resources. Peninsula. 2014-11-06
Comprehensive news: The international community condemns the violent law enforcement of white American police to cause the death of African American men.Xinhuanet .2020-5-31
