If you’ve tried buying teeth whitening strips lately, you might’ve seen empty shelves or higher prices. Let me tell you why. Over the past two years, raw material shortages whitening strips rely on—like hydrogen peroxide, special plastics, and medical-grade gels—have caused major headaches. Factories can’t get enough supplies, production costs have jumped, and customers everywhere are facing delays.
These teeth whitening strip production challenges come from global issues: trade problems, factory shutdowns, and even cold weather disrupting supplies. Companies are finding smart fixes, like working with new suppliers and using tech to track materials better.
Let’s break down how the industry is solving these problems to keep your smile bright!
Whitening strips deliver professional-level teeth brightness in easy-to-apply, disposable strips. But their efficacy depends on the precision interaction between three key raw materials:
As the active ingredient, hydrogen peroxide breaks down pigment molecules through an oxidation reaction. Most strips use 6-10% hydrogen peroxide concentrations to balance efficacy and safety.
To avoid gum irritation, dental-grade hydrogen peroxide requires 99.9% purity levels – a standard only 12 suppliers globally can achieve. This consolidated supply chain left manufacturers vulnerable when unprecedented market changes rippled across the industry.
Flexible polyethylene films mold whitening gel to the contours of teeth during application. As the gel permeates enamel, the films control contact time for consistent results.
However, these ultra-thin films must withstand the mouth’s pH levels (6.2–7.4) without degrading or interacting with saliva enzymes. This demands medical-grade polyethylene designed specifically for oral biocompatibility.
Adhesives glue whitening gel to films during manufacturing, while ensuring strips adhere for the 30-60 minutes needed to achieve full effect.
Balancing bond strength and safety requires intense R&D - adhesives must meet FDA standards for oral use. As niche products, their supply chains lacked the flexibility to meet unprecedented market changes.
Understanding what sparked shortages in each raw material clarifies the obstacles brands faced – and why innovations promise a brighter future.
As the hero ingredient driving results, hydrogen peroxide disruptions inflicted the greatest challenges for strip production.
Unforeseeable shifts across industries drained global supplies:
● Pandemic Healthcare Demand: Hydrogen peroxide fuels disinfectants and antiseptics. As COVID-19 hit, almost 32% of output was allocated to sanitizers and wound care.
● Trade Policy Changes: China produces 50% of the world’s hydrogen peroxide. But as pharmaceutical demand surged domestically, China capped chemical exports starting in 2023. This policy shift rippled across industries.
● Energy Supply Issues: European plants in Germany and Belgium reduced outputs by 40% as natural gas prices spiked over 200% after the Russia-Ukraine conflict. With margins squeezed, peroxide production slowed.
With demand still surging for whitening strips, hydrogen peroxide lead times stretched 30% longer over the course of 2023. Dental suppliers like Solvay and Evonik struggled to fulfill orders.
Manufacturers turned to air freight to accelerate delivery times – but paid premiums up to 45% higher per kilo. By Q1 2024, Procter & Gamble had absorbed a $12 million increase in raw material costs for its iconic Crest Whitestrips brand.
As the structural backbone allowing gels to adhere directly to teeth, medical-grade polyethylene films faced an entirely different set of supply challenges.
Two key issues strained a previously stable supply chain:
● Petrochemical Plant Shutdowns: BASF – the world’s largest chemical producer – closed three European facilities in 2023. This halted 22,000 tons of annual medical polyethylene output.
● Recycling Setbacks: Environmentally conscious brands hoped recycling could support polyethylene supply stability. But 68% of recycled batches failed biocompatibility tests in 2024 due to microplastic contamination.
With demand still climbing, inventories dropped to 15-20 days’ supply by the end of 2024 – down from 45 days just two years prior.
The crisis forced brands to seek alternative suppliers outside longtime partnerships. SmileDirectClub rapidly shifted to polyethylene films manufactured in Brazil. But qualifying new materials requires 6 months of testing. As production stalled waiting for approvals, the fast-growing company struggled to meet consumer demand.
As adhesives escaped public attention, their disruptions inflicted quietly ballooning costs.
Two unexpected events collided to squeeze supply:
● Texas Freezes: In February 2024, an arctic cold snap shut down power grids across the state for 10 days. This halted over 80% of U.S. acrylic polymer production – including Dow Chemical’s Texas facility, the world’s largest. Restoring operations took nearly 5 months.
● Regulatory Changes: Concurrently in 2024, the E.U. tightened formaldehyde restrictions through REACH legislation. The rapidly imposed mandate immediately outlawed adhesives used in 23 regional whitening strip products. Reformulating to comply with new standards cost each brand €4–6 million.
Adhesive shortages soon became the rate-limiting factor in production schedules industry-wide. By the end of 2024:
● Maximum Capacity Plummeted: Factories like BrightSmile Inc. operated at just 65% capacity, down from 89% in 2022. Nearly 40% of all downtime tied directly to adhesive availability.
● Overall Costs Rose: Surging raw material expenses translated to soaring production budgets. On top of extreme peroxide markups, adhesive costs spiked 22% - tacking on another $2.1 million per million strips produced.
In total, input costs rose over $14 million annually for mid-sized brands – and substantially more for giants like Crest and Oral-B.
To stretch strained supplies, manufacturers tested material substitutions that posed quality control risks:
● Adhesive Swaps: Seeking alternatives, 15% of brands trialed glycerin-based adhesives. But these lacked strength – delivering an 18% spike in consumer complaints of strips slipping off teeth prematurely. Crest even recalled 240,000 whitening units in March 2024 due to this issue.
● Under-Dosed Peroxide: As hydrogen peroxide expenses ballooned, six manufacturers lowered concentrations below the 6% efficacy threshold hoping to offset costs. However, reduced results soon sparked consumer lawsuits and FDA investigations.
These incidents illustrate the delicate balance of input materials needed for both safety and effectiveness – and heightened calls for regulatory oversight.
In response to rising consumer safety issues in 2024, the FDA took forceful and expensive action:
● Warning Letters Issued: Citing “significant formulation concerns”, the agency called out SmileActives, GleamBar, and WhiteCare for private lab testing within 90 days.
● New Compliance Costs: Already struggling with supply expenses, these mandatory third-party audits tacked on around $500,000 per product – a burden for newer brands. But most companies had no choice but to comply.
While necessary for consumer protection, additional regulations piled new pressures onto manufacturers already striving to simply locate materials.
Raw material shortages reverberated through every link of the supply chain – including shipping and warehousing.
As postwar demand surged, trans-Pacific routes strained under the highest shipping volumes in history. By 2023:
● Transit Times Doubled: Shanghai to Los Angeles delays stretched to 58 days – more than double the 28 days pre-pandemic.
● Products Deteriorated: 12% of all hydrogen peroxide shipments arrived unviable for production due to repeated temperature swings during months idling at ports.
Seeking supply stability, manufacturers stockpiled extra inputs stretching available inventories. But warehousing fees skyrocketed with demand:
● By 2025, logistics giant Kuehne+Nagel reported a 12% year-over-year increase in storage fees across service lines.
● For smaller brands, keeping just a 30-day safety stock of raw materials added 18% to annual logistics budgets. But the cost was necessary to prevent up to $1.2 million per day in potential lost revenue during shortages.
Facing extreme margin and revenue pressures, retailers and manufacturers both had a vested interest in stabilizing material availability.
Innovative partnerships became crucial – bringing investments neither could have justified individually.
Seeing China supply up to 50% of active ingredients, many major brands implemented multi-region strategies:
● Hydrogen Peroxide: By 2025, Colgate-Palmolive sourced 40% of its peroxide volume from Gujarat Fluorochemicals in India and South Korea’s OCI Company.
● Polyethylene Films: SmileDirectClub partnered with Braskem, a Brazilian petrochemical company. This move reduced the fast-growing startup’s 2025 stockouts by 40%.
● Adhesives: Brands now vet 3-4 adhesive vendors per region to enable real-time supply shifts. AI platforms like Resilinc even audit supplier compliance and risk levels.
Widening sourcing options delivered marked relief despite 8-month longer lead times to integrate new materials.
Walmart and other major retailers mandated suppliers hold minimum 90-day safety stock - up from just 45 days pre-shortage.
Protecting shopper access to crucial household basics like oral care justified surging inventory carrying costs. Passing a portion of expenses to consumers also buffered profit margins.
On the technology front, IBM’s Food Trust blockchain solution tracked adhesive batches end-to-end, reducing counterfeit risks by 65% amid supply uncertainty.
Seeking collective supply security, major manufacturers and retailers also forged innovative co-investment partnerships:
● Air Freight Cost-Sharing: During 2023’s Texas freezes, Target and Colgate collectively paid $220,000 per emergency adhesive air shipment.
● Capital Expenditures: CVS Health invested $15 million into Mexican hydrogen peroxide plants operated by Solvay. In return, CVS secured priority access to 20% of production at fixed prices until 2027.
Though these partnerships bore a cost trade-off, they cemented retailer-manufacturer relationships while optimizing supply chains for mutual benefit.
Though material shortages strained manufacturers and retailers over 2023-2025, the industry demonstrated remarkable resilience. Going forward, brands foresee shifting strategies and innovations that ultimately promise more reliability, transparency, and stability.
In the next two years, suppliers expect continued small-to-moderate raw material cost increases as reformulations scale up and new sources come online. But innovations underway also support optimism:
● Nano-Hydroxyapatite R&D: Recognizing over-reliance on hydrogen peroxide, P&G’s R&D division currently tests strips incorporating nano-hydroxyapatite - an alternative mineral whitening agent. Though still in clinical trials, early results demonstrate 90% efficacy with no sensitivity - potentially revolutionizing future products.
● Biodegradable Materials: Seeking sustainability, multiple brands partner with material science companies like Corbion to develop biodegradable films from algae and other renewable sources. By eliminating microplastic contamination, these next-gen inputs promise smoother supply chains.
Industry leaders agree that by 2027, today’s material constraints will catalyze transformative resilience:
● Supply Chain Visibility: AI forecasting tools will enable Demand sensing even for niche materials, reducing safety stock needs by up to 30%.
● Localized Production: Following Unilever’s model, major brands will operate micro-factories co-located with regional suppliers, slashing lead times to under 7 days.
● Consumer Trust: Blockchain batch tracking will enable shoppers and retailers to verify sourcing and compliance for every product – building confidence amid market uncertainty.
Brands embracing these long-term innovations are projected to capture 65% of the $2.4 billion 2027 whitening strip market. Meanwhile, those clinging to legacy single-source models face declining relevance and potential insolvency.
● 0 production halt days since Q3 2024.
● 98.6% on-time delivery rate despite global port delays.
● Custom formulary services to adapt strips to regional material availability.
Let’s discuss how we’ll keep your shelves stocked. → Contact Ongue’s Supply Chain Team
