Goby electric toothbrush subscription service
NEW YORK (FOX5NY) - A New York-based startup is trying to shake up the dental industry, introducing an electric toothbrush with half the needless bells and whistles for half the price.
Let's begin with their name: Goby. A goby is a little fish that feeds itself by cleaning other fish's teeth.
It's now the name of a new toothbrush subscription service that just launched on October 5, 2016.
If the Goby electric toothbrush looks simpler than the others out there, that's because it is.
Goby co-founder Ben Goldberg says there's just one simple button to turn it on. He and co-founder Claire Burke designed the product to take some of the pain points out of brushing. Burke says that like a lot of other people, she always wanted an electric toothbrush, but thought they were too expensive.
Goldberg was appalled by the price of the replacement brush heads, often $15 apiece at the local drugstore.
They decided to cut that retail cost by more than half, selling the brush on their website for $50 with a subscription. That subscriptions offers brush heads every one, two, or three months for $6 each. Shipping is free.
Opt out of the monthly brush delivery and the brush is $65. The price of the brush heads still $6.
But if you're like most people, you might want to opt for the subscription. Burke says consumers forget and, on average, only change their brush heads every 9 months.
Goldberg and Burke are well aware that dental hygiene is a tight market with a few familiar brands. So they worked with plenty of everyday people and pros to make sure their brush could compete. Goldberg says they aligned with dentists and, he believes, the Goby toothbrush is something any dentist would recommend.
Goldberg and Burke also brought in the design firm that worked on Harry's razors and aligned with the investors behind Casper mattresses and Venmo to make sure they were creating a modern consumers would buy.
Goby's battery holds a charge for two weeks, using a magnetic puck charger that pops on the back.
The stand is streamlined to take up less space, and has a removable tray that makes cleaning easy.
The brushing itself is simple too.
Goldberg say the less you do the better. Just guide the brush along for two minutes twice a day and let the toothbrush do the all the work.