"They were just disgusting. We couldn't, kids couldn't, I mean, adults couldn't even use them."
Tammy Aronson is the general manager of Grants of Australia, the natural toothpaste brand her parents, Mike and Michelle Aronson, started in Melbourne in 1984. It's still family owned, and it's still made in Australia, right down to the tubes and cartons.
I grew up with Grants without even knowing it. It was the toothpaste in my mum's bathroom. When I noticed "fluoride free" on the tube, I thought it was a bit odd, because back then I was a Colgate girl. I haven't used another toothpaste since about 2011. My kids and I swap between the flavours.
Here are the 3 things I learned from my chat with Tammy
1. Grants started because kids refused herbal toothpaste
Tammy's parents ran a health food store in Prahran, so their kids tried everything first. "We were the guinea pigs of all the new health food trends." That meant carob and tofu, and "We weren't allowed sugar or salt."
In the late 1970s, fluoride was added to Melbourne's water. Her parents wanted a fluoride-free toothpaste for the family, and the only ones around were herbal. "They weren't white toothpaste, they were like a green and browny colour." Tammy and her brothers refused to use them. "They were just disgusting. We couldn't, kids couldn't, I mean, adults couldn't even use them."
"So that's when they got the idea to look at making a fluoride-free toothpaste that the whole family could use, including their kids."
They worked with a local manufacturer and tested it on the people around them. Customers in the shop and their kids at home were asked the same thing: "Oh, do you like this flavour? Do you like that flavour? We'll add this. We'll take that away."
That first toothpaste started out as a "mineral and herbal toothpaste". Today it's the Grants Mild Mint, and Tammy says it "has been refined over probably over about 15 year period to get to where it is now." She doesn't pretend it was easy. "We're definitely not an overnight success story."
I know that feeling. When I first started selling fluoride-free toothpaste, people called me a conspiracy theorist. Back then I reckon 80% of people thought I was a nutbag. Now it's more like 40%.
2. Natural toothpaste should be affordable for every family
I told Tammy on the show, "It's so cheap for a quality product made in Australia from an Aussie company that is natural." She told me that's on purpose. "That's really one of our main values is also to be really affordable."
Tammy thinks about the whole bathroom cupboard. "If you've got a family of five or a family of six," spending "10 or 12 dollars or 15 dollars on toothpaste for the whole family, like that's quite a big expense."
And it's made here. "It's all manufactured here and all the packaging is made here as well, which is quite unusual."
Families stick with it. Lots of people tell Tammy "I've been using your toothpaste for so long." She says "it actually warms my heart."
Tammy grew up on the Grants Fresh Mint and uses a Grants whitening toothpaste now. "I go to the dentist every year. My teeth are perfect."
3. Kids need a toothpaste they don't hate
My son hates brushing his teeth and he'll tell me he's done it when he hasn't. Tammy's a mum too, and her kids are no different. "I often go and check and they've got to, sometimes they'll like wet the toothbrush, just pretend."
That's why Grants had real kids taste test its kids range. "My kids and their friends and then all the kids from school." It's a "very mild flavour designed for kids", and Tammy says the idea is to "train your kids to brush their teeth properly, have a little bit of foam, spit it out."
She says "it's just important to get the kids used to it so they're not loathing brushing their teeth." Once their taste matures, they move up to the "more mintier flavours".
The kids picked a winner. The Grants Kids Strawberry Surprise "has actually overtaken the blueberry in terms of popularity." The Grants Kids Blueberry Burst is still in the range too.
Since we spoke, Grants has launched a third kids toothpaste, the Grants Kids Bubblegum Bliss +HA. It has 10% non-nano hydroxyapatite and extra xylitol, with no added sugar. It foams gently to help kids from 2 years learn to spit, which is exactly what Tammy was talking about.
Tammy's advice for getting them to brush depends on their age. With older kids, "it's about education really. Like this is what happens if you don't brush your teeth." I Google photos of kids with bad teeth to show my son. It works for about a week. Tammy also thinks older kids have "got to take responsibility a little bit themselves."
Little ones need you to get involved. She suggests brushing "in the bath and stuff like that making it a little bit fun, that can really help."
And keep an eye on what they drink. Tammy wouldn't give them "juice or soft drink or anything other than water", and she says to avoid sugary foods. "Often that's the biggest precursor really to poor dental hygiene is the foods and drinks."
To see the whole range, including the new hydroxyapatite toothpastes, read my full guide to Grants toothpaste.
About the Author
Irene Falcone is the founder of Clean Nectarine and co-host of The Lee & Irene Show. She started her first clean beauty business in 2011 with $100 in her garage and grew it to $20m in four years. She has spent over 15 years reading the backs of beauty and wellness labels, is a Telstra Business Women's Awards winner and an EY Entrepreneur of the Year finalist, and has been featured on A Current Affair, The Project, Sunrise, Channel Nine Mornings and Sky News.
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