Why is supermarket own brand sensitive toothpaste so cheap?
It’s not that supermarket own-brand stuff is cheap, it’s more that the major brands are expensive. The reason is the costs of distribution & promotion. Supermarkets tend to have their own distribution networks, so their costs are minimal, whereas supplier costs are a lot higher. Supermarket own brand stuff is rarely advertised, it’s just accepted as good but basic stuff, whereas the branded products have to advertise to sell at all. There has to be something to make the buyer pay more for a branded product, therefore something like added whitening agent or mouthwash or (as in the case of sensodyne) a nerve desensitiser gets added. All this adds to costs, but it is up to the buyer to decide whether it’s worth paying the extra. Bear in mind also that there’s probably a bigger mark-up on branded goods. Typically, branded goods return the retailer at least 50% “profit” i.e. you pay at least twice what it cost the retailer to buy the product, but own brand stuff may have lower mark-ups, may
