A magic toothbrush that empowers the disabled
Dentists always say, “Brush your teeth at least twice a day – once for beauty and once for health”. Sounds simple, even boring. However, not for everyone, 42% of disabled people cannot brush their own teeth. In fact, they are facing challenges every single time they brush or get brushed from the caregivers. Now, Bluereo solves this problem with a wave of a magic wand, or a magic toothbrush as you like to call it!
The Seoul-based startup became the middleweight winner of Get in the Ring South Korea. A team of 8 people stands behind the idea of the perfect toothbrush that relieves physical and mental stress for both caregivers and care-receivers. Today with us is Jongmin Park, one of the masterminds behind the suction technology of “Bluereo: giving back the lives, people deserve.”
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THE STORY
As it’s usual in the startup world, many promising solutions come from personal experiences. The founders of Bluereo were doing volunteer work for people with disabilities. Soon enough they found out that a pressing issue in the lives of disabled people was maintaining personal hygiene. When the caregivers were brushing the disabled’s teeth, they were spilling or swallowing the gargled water. That physical and mental stress were not just for the disabled but also for all, including their loved ones, caregivers, and the volunteers. A niche need was present, and the startup took this opportunity to create the world’s first electric suction toothbrush, OralClean.
HOW IT WORKS
To use Bluereo’s toothbrush, OralClean, is certainly not rocket science! In a few easy steps, people who used to fear the brushing time can get their teeth brushed. With the first push, the LED light is on for caregivers to look inside the receivers’ mouths clearly. Another push will generate Sonic Vibration, and it will remind you of a regular electric toothbrush, but with gentle yet effective vibration. If you press the button for the third time, then the best part of the brush begins the “Suction” mode. After 23 prototypes, the team is confident to say that they are satisfied with their product and the mass production of this little helper is planned to be around March this year.
SUCCESS
According to Jongmin, Bluereo will be profitable by the end of the year and we are absolutely sure about it! The startup recently signed $1.5M contract with a Korean medical company that manufactures devices for blind people. Bluereo has also potential opportunities in Thailand and the United States. Recently, Bluereo was also part of the global consumer electronics tradeshow CES in the USA and got the attention from a lot of companies in an attempt to create a joint venture together.
CHALLENGES
To distribute your product is probably the hardest task for every startup. As Bluereo is targeting mainly B2B, they are hoping to make as many contacts with corporations as possible. The team is challenging to get Bluereo set up in an insurance list in Korea. Therefore, their end users only have to pay 0~20% of the retail price, rest will be covered by insurance. Once they get it registered, they are challenging to try similar procedures in other countries as well. So that they could provide the highest quality service and product with the lowest price for the people in actual needs.
CONNECTIONS
Bluereo is looking for partners, investors, and fans, with not only economic value but also social value, for collaboration, research, and possibly a joint venture. In addition, they are hunting high and low for a distributor who can sell their product in multiple countries and a research center that can start a short and long-term testing or do a co-research together. Are you any of the mentioned above? Contact us at corrinke@gitr.co and we can answer all of your questions!
Bluereo will be part of our Global Conference from 17th to 19th of May in Singapore! Do you want to meet Bluereo in person? Join the Global Conference at getinthering.co/globalconference