Would you use toothpaste tablets or toothpaste from a jar if it helped clean up landfill? Photo / Supplied
Would you use toothpaste tablets or toothpaste from a jar if it helped clean up landfill? Photo / Supplied
Wellington-based dental therapist Laura Nixon, founder of toothpaste firm Solid, opens up about the decay she saw within the dental space and why she thinks tablets and toothpaste in a jar are the answer to the country's growing plastics problem.
What does your business do?
Solid makes sustainable toothpaste inTitahi Bay, Porirua. All of our toothpastes, powders and tablets come in returnable and refillable glass jars. They are vegan, cruelty and palm oil free and we also sell accessories such as bamboo toothbrushes, stainless steel tongue scrapers and dental floss dispensers. Our vision is a world where toothpaste doesn't have to come in miles and miles of plastic. My background is as an oral therapist so having a toothpaste that is good for your teeth was a non-negotiable for me. All of our toothpaste contains fluoride and are dentally-approved.
We have been going since mid-2019 and since last year we have been expanding. My husband has come on as co-founder this year, and we have another two people on board.
Having a background in dental therapy and hygiene, it was while I was working in the dental field that I started to notice just how much single-use plastic we were going through and throwing out. I looked at all the products that I was recommending to patients, which were all wrapped in plastic and a fair bit of waste involved, so I started to think that there must be a way that we could change up the way that we use oral care products.
Laura Dixon and Adam McConnochie, founders and owners of Solid. Photo / Supplied
I went on maternity leave and started to want something to occupy my brain so got into studying toothpaste formulating and then ended up starting Solid. We have three different products and ways of using toothpaste. Our bestseller is our toothpaste in a jar - when most people hear of that they think that the whole family is dipping their toothbrush into a jar but it is not like that - we have spatulas that you use to scoop your toothpaste out and apply it to your brush. We also have toothpaste tablets - basically toothpaste without the water - you just chew the tablet and it will transform into a paste to brush your teeth as normal. And then we have toothpaste powder, which is toothpaste without the water, and you just use a dry brush to pop that in and it turns into a paste once it touches saliva.
I just started the business with myself, very small. Every time we grow we put money back into the business.
How big is your team?
We have four in our team now. Myself as founder, Adam, my husband who has just recently left his job to come on board as co-founder - he has a background in business and working with entrepreneurs, and then we have two people working in manufacturing. We manufacture all of our product ourselves and plan to continue to do so.
What's the current focus?
We focused on getting into everywhere that you can buy toothpaste. We're focused on growing and getting ourselves out there so more people can try our paste because we have found once they try it, they love it. We're currently in most refill and eco stores as well as a growing number of dentists and pharmacies around New Zealand. In the next year or so we want to get into supermarkets, and we also do a lot of sales through our website as well.
What's been the response to your products?
With the tablets, there's a bit of "how does this work" but once they hear how it works they are quite keen to try it, it's the same with the toothpaste in the jar. We have quite a wide range of flavours that you don't see in the supermarkets so a lot of people are really keen to try our flavours like orange or strawberry because they are not keen on mint toothpaste. It's the same with kids and encourages them to enjoy brushing more, which is one of our goals. We follow the Ministry of Health guidelines when formulating our toothpaste so kids can use it as well, they just need a smaller amount.
Laura Dixon says Solid has helped to divert 30,000 tubes of toothpaste from landfill. Photo / Supplied
We have a jar refill scheme which means that our customers can return their jars both to retailers and us directly. A lot of the people selling our product are keen to come on board to collect people's jars - they collect a big load and then we bring them in, sterilise them, refill them and send them back.
Where do you see the business in three to five years' time?
In three to five years we want to be the leading New Zealand-made toothpaste brand in the country - it's good to have a big goal like that. We want to be making more impact; at the moment we've saved 30,000 toothpaste tubes from landfill, and we hope to have that number a lot higher and continue to innovate in the area.
What advice would you give others wanting to start their own business?
Talk to a lot of people and make sure there is a need for what you are thinking of. Ask questions and see what people think - seek feedback, as much as you think you want to keep everything to yourself, I think getting more people on board and talking about what you are doing is helpful.
