What do you feel are the major barriers to growing the whitening market overall? Discuss how these might be overcome.

The market for oral care products is strong at $7.5 billion.
However, growth is relatively slow in this mature market and companies continue to innovate to stay competitive.
A recent innovation has been the teeth whitener systems, including trays, gels, and strips. The whitener market was launched with Crest Whitestrips and has attracted considerable competition. Growth was initially very strong in this product niche, with sales reaching almost $500 million at their peak. However, growth has slowed considerably and whiteners are actually losing ground, with the most recent sales data putting the market at around $300 million. And while the market is sizable, at 32 million adults, that represents only 15 percent of all U.S. adults.
Despite the downward sales trend and relatively low overall market penetration, companies such as Crest are bullish on the whitener market if approached correctly. As the market leader in this category with over 65 percent market share, Crest is taking two steps to bolster this market.
First is new products aimed at new market segments.
For example, they launched Crest Whitestrips Renewal Age-Defying Strips to go after an older demographic, including Gen X and younger baby boomers. One description of the product and its target segment is as follows:
Description: In just 10 days, you’ll eliminate up to 20 years of stain build-up. Crest Whitestrips Renewal uses the same, enamel-safe ingredients dentists use for tooth whitening so your stains are safely removed.
Target Segment: The product [Crest’s fi rst in the antiaging arena] is geared toward women aged 35 to 54 who are interested in whiter teeth, but have not purchased overthe-
counter whitening systems in the past.