The Economics of Everyday Things
00:14:57 · Stefan Habif, Zachary Crockett, Sergio Leite
[00:14:57] S3: The freshness obviously is what people look for when they want to have the sense that their mouth is clean. It comes from the act of cleaning, but it comes also from the sensates that are present in the flavor. [00:15:11] S2: In America, many of the most popular toothpastes have a minty flavor, but that's not the case in other parts of the world. [00:15:19] S3: Flavors really link to the kind of food that you like in the different regions. In some cases, people want to feel similar taste in their toothpaste that they have in the flavor of their food. [00:15:33] S7: Let's say India, where we have a big presence, the flavors are what we call more spicy. So imagine there is a little bit more clove oil in the flavor, more anise. You still get that undertone of mint, but you have other notes which are much more critical. China, we have flavors that are more, what we call, more oral perfume. They feel more floral, more jasmine. [00:16:00] S2: Flavor also has to be adjusted for kids. [00:16:04] S7: Kids tend to resist. You cannot give a too spicy, too minty flavor. The kids won't brush. So you have to tone down a little bit the flavor so the kids will be able to brush. [00:16:17] S2: Once all of the ingredients in a toothpaste are dialed in, they're mixed together in giant factories. Colgate has production facilities all over the world, in The US, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China.
00:16:17 · Zachary Crockett, Sergio Leite
[00:16:17] S2: Once all of the ingredients in a toothpaste are dialed in, they're mixed together in giant factories. Colgate has production facilities all over the world, in The US, Mexico, Brazil, India, and China. [00:16:30] S7: In the production area, you will feel the nice minty smell of the toothpaste. You can imagine large containers, large warehouses where the raw materials and packaging material are there, so you have liquid, powders, the flavors, the colors. Those components are blended, go through pumps and pipes, through our finishing lines, which are normally separated from the mixers by massive buildings. And that's where it's filled in the tubes that we receive at home. [00:17:02] S2: For a plain white toothpaste, the product is dispensed from a nozzle into an open tube, and the tube is sealed at the end. But multicolored toothpaste that comes out of the tube in stripes, that's a special feat of modern engineering. [00:17:18] S7: I worked many years on that in my life. That same nozzle, instead of carrying one color of toothpaste, it has multiple channels inside, separated by a wall. You run, let's say, green color. In other channels, the blue color. In other channels, the white color. And then the filling machine is able to fill at the same time those colors in the tube. We fill, and immediately that toothpaste has to stand still. It cannot be runny. It cannot move around. So you close the tube, you get your stripes inside.
00:17:18 · Sergio Leite, Zachary Crockett, Stefan Habif
[00:17:18] S7: I worked many years on that in my life. That same nozzle, instead of carrying one color of toothpaste, it has multiple channels inside, separated by a wall. You run, let's say, green color. In other channels, the blue color. In other channels, the white color. And then the filling machine is able to fill at the same time those colors in the tube. We fill, and immediately that toothpaste has to stand still. It cannot be runny. It cannot move around. So you close the tube, you get your stripes inside. [00:17:54] S2: Even the toothpaste tube itself is the result of years of tinkering. From a sanitation standpoint, it's much better than those jars from the eighteen hundreds. But consumers still gripe a lot about not being able to get the last dabs of product out. Colgate spends a lot of time trying [00:18:12] S3: to minimize consumer waste. It is designed to make sure that you can get the most product out of your tube. In our laboratory, we're using pressure gloves that enables us to measure the force it takes to get the paste out. So we're able to design the right tube with the right paste with the right size orifice to be able to maximize the experience for the consumer. It's really important to make sure that everybody can do it. You might have somebody who has arthritis. You might have somebody with a different strength like a kid.
00:18:12 · Stefan Habif, Zachary Crockett
[00:18:12] S3: to minimize consumer waste. It is designed to make sure that you can get the most product out of your tube. In our laboratory, we're using pressure gloves that enables us to measure the force it takes to get the paste out. So we're able to design the right tube with the right paste with the right size orifice to be able to maximize the experience for the consumer. It's really important to make sure that everybody can do it. You might have somebody who has arthritis. You might have somebody with a different strength like a kid. [00:18:53] S2: Sergio Leite and Stefan Habif know that for most people, toothpaste is just another product in the bathroom cabinet, a commodity that could be easily replaced by their main competitor's product. But for them, it's also a marvel of engineering, science, and modern health. [00:19:12] S3: I would hope that people have a bit more respect for that little product that's there. You just put it at the bottom of your drawer. You don't think twice about it. There are many people, brilliant people, scientists, passionate people, people in the factory that have made this product just for you. And this product is a great contributor to your health and your well-being. So please be nice to it and use it with a bit of respect and love. [00:19:49] S2: For The Economics of Everyday Things, I'm Zachary Crockett. This episode was produced by me and Sarah Lilly and mixed by Jeremy Johnston. We had help from Daniel Moritz Rappson. And thanks to listeners Jeff Sawyer and Brian Minajee for suggesting this topic.
00:19:49 · Zachary Crockett, Peter Miskell, S5, S8, S6
[00:19:49] S2: For The Economics of Everyday Things, I'm Zachary Crockett. This episode was produced by me and Sarah Lilly and mixed by Jeremy Johnston. We had help from Daniel Moritz Rappson. And thanks to listeners Jeff Sawyer and Brian Minajee for suggesting this topic. [00:20:13] S4: I'm speaking to you from The UK, which I think we pride ourselves on being the home of bad teeth. We kind of invented a lot of these problems and exported them to the world. [00:20:26] S2: The Freakonomics Radio Network, the hidden side of everything. [00:20:32] S5: Who knew Walmart Business could help boutique bed and breakfasts elevate the guest experience? Teri knew. She uses Walmart Business to get the items she needs for all the properties she manages. [00:20:41] S8: I'm in charge of creating an amazing stay for every guest in 12 different properties, which I do through food. Like gluten free bagels for the hillside property or low sodium saltwater taffy for the Bayside one. [00:20:52] S5: And when she needs more than just groceries, Walmart business has her covered too. [00:20:55] S8: From mini fridges to mini shampoos, I can get it all in one place. [00:20:59] S5: It's Walmart, built for your business. [00:21:01] S6: Who knew?