Since its launch in 2016, Spotlight Oral Care has grown from a start-up teeth whitening company to a beauty behemoth in the making. It is sold in more than 4,200 stores in the US alone and has backing from some of Ireland’s most prominent investors.

Founded in Galway by two sisters, dentists Dr Vanessa Creaven and Dr Lisa Creaven, the brand has also become ubiquitous with social media marketing, running one of the most successful and pervasive Instagram strategies in Ireland. Now, nearly five years on from launch, Spotlight’s objective is beyond innovation and into disruption.

It has grown beyond its original Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) model in Ireland into the UK, Europe and crucially, in the US, where they have deals with Target, CVS and Ulta Beauty. Their 17-product portfolio began with an at-home teeth whitening kit in 2016, created in response to a growing demand among patients who wanted to improve their teeth colour but couldn’t afford the usual pathways.

“I know this term is bandied about, but it really was an authentic beginning for us,” said Vanessa Creaven. “My sister Lisa and I are both dentists in Galway, which is a very college-based town, and we found that most patients were looking to us to whiten their teeth. But the only options we had in our clinic was an in-house surgery whitening procedure which costs between €300 and €500.

“We knew by virtue of them being students that this was a demographic who wanted the experience without making that type of investment. We wanted to create an at-home whitening system that was effective and affordable, because we knew that was a barrier towards teeth whitening.”

Creaven adds: “Originally, we developed this product to sell in our clinics. We already invested significantly in a state-of-the-art clinic and we were among the top providers of Invisalign [a clear, retainer-like alternative to braces] in Ireland. We were innovating within our own practice and that’s really where Spotlight began.”

The Creavan sisters are among the most celebrated women in Irish business, particularly in their generation complemented by an expansive Instagram following and slew of awards from female-led publications. Vanessa and Lisa won Start-up of the Year at the IMAGE Businesswoman of the Year Awards 2017, Vanessa was listed in the Sunday Independent 2019 30 Under 30, and both sisters were awarded Tatler Businesswoman of the Year 2020.

“I’m not coming at it from a technical business standpoint. When we launched, I didn’t think, ‘we see a gap in the oral care market’ and tried to fill it. We just catered to our patients and it evolved from there,” Vanessa says.

The Uber of beauty

After launching beyond their practice – Quay Dental Practice on the outskirts of Galway city – they first launched as a DTC brand, relying primarily on word-of-mouth to create buzz in the market. “Ireland is such a small country and we’re grateful for that word-of-mouth, because really, that’s what launched the business. Those early customers became really strong advocates for the brand, and it helped expand Spotlight nationally.

“Traction really continued from there and we became excited about the opportunity because of its scalability; it has allowed us to connect with people beyond our own practice.”

Their purpose is clearly outlined, they use only sustainable packaging in their product suite and created a new segment in the oral care market, particularly, the oral beauty buyer; one who is looking beyond a commodity like toothpaste when it comes to teeth care.

“I call toothpaste the ‘ugly duckling’ of health and beauty. Very little innovation has been done in toothpaste over the last 50 years,” Creaven explains.

“In the last year, as we launched into the States, strategy is coming more into play. We’ve launched into 3,000 CVS stores, 1,200 Targets and we’re in the top five emerging brands in Ulta, which is a strong position for us. Where we fit in is not just about oral care, but about beauty. We’re not competing with Oral B and Colgate – not that they’re not selling toothpaste – but our buyer is an oral beauty buyer.

“So, when our customer is weighing up a purchase decision, they’re deciding between the newest Charlotte Tilbury lipstick or another box of Spotlight teeth whitening. It’s about bringing our products out of the oral care aisle and into the beauty and wellness aisle.”

Spotlight is hoping to bring to beauty what Uber did to taxis. The global at-home beauty industry is booming, thanks in part to the rise of DTC products, especially those in place pre-Covid. Up to the first half of 2020, 85 per cent of beauty purchases were made in-person, even among millennials and Gen Z shoppers, according to a recent McKinsey report. In mid-2020, while most larger brands were scrambling to implement a digital business model, Spotlight was already well-positioned to gain market share.

“Our European products are made in Ireland so if ever there is an issue here, I would just drive to meet them.”

Behavioural changes around consumption also led to their profits tripling in the span of 12 months. An increased focus on virtual communication also meant that fashion purchases took a backseat, and brought certain beauty products to the fore.

Oral care has the potential to be a key leader in the oral beauty segment, Creaven believes, but  timing is crucial. Like many businesses, Covid has proven to be either a death knell or an accelerant, and in Spotlight’s case, it was the latter. Turnover tripled to €19 million and earlier this year, they secured €12 million from Development Capital to further its international expansion. In 2020, they received a €3 million boost from Dermot Desmond’s International Investment & Underwriting Fund.

In short, these last 18 months have given Spotlight a first-mover advantage in a rapidly changing market.

“I feel like oral care is the next haircare,” Vanessa says. “If you look at haircare 20 years ago, it was just shampoo and conditioner, and you probably bought it in a grocery store. Similarly, I see a huge move within oral care. I think over the next five to 10 years, you’re going to see a huge shift in oral beauty care. You could argue that we are a year or two early, but that shift is happening.”

International ambitions

Since growing their team of staff and advisers and bringing those formal business functions in-house, Spotlight’s growth is being orchestrated through a more strategic lens. Its stratospheric advancement is the stuff of start-up fantasies, but it also requires a more precise launch in the US, for example.

“Pre-Covid, our thought process around US expansion was that you need to live there. So many retailers don’t even look at you if you don’t have an American office and I understand that point. Having an office there signifies that you are very focused on that market. Saying you’re launching in the US is the same as saying you’re launching in Europe; it’s so geographically vast, the people within it are so diverse and the groups and sections of behavior are equally diverse.

“That’s why we were investing so much time going over and back pre-Covid. At that point, I was going to move to New York because we were travelling there every single week. We had set up a New York office and then Covid hit.”

Creaven’s plans for moving to New York have since been put to the wayside, and the travel ban for non-American citizens has stopped any more in-person visits for now. But this shift has allowed the company to adopt a “geographically agnostic” approach in its hiring and securing the best talent from around the world without the constrictions of physically working in an office in Ireland.

It has also cemented her motivation towards creating an American base from which to direct Stateside operations.

“I still think you need a US-base if you are going to launch there. You need employees on the ground who natively understand the marketplace and to get those crucial meetings with retailers. In one respect, you still need that US-focused team, but in other aspects, it is now easier to work with international retailers, rather than flying to Minneapolis to meet with Target and then to Chicago for Ulta.

“You’re able to jump on a call much easier and it really lessens the burden of time spent travelling. That level of travel will burn you out – there’s no question about it.”

She adds: “I think it’s important to do those hard slog days of travel to make a good impression, though. Even now, a lot can be done remotely, but when travel opens up again, we will be actively going to the US. Especially as a native Irish brand, you need to over-travel, in comparison to an American brand. You need to show you’re always available and you can always be there.”

That anytime-anywhere mentality synonymous with start-ups is a key part of its formula for success. And while virtual meetings have lifted the geographic barriers in some cases, Spotlight’s ethos is still rooted in creating best in class products and that requires boots on the ground.

“Our US products are made in Connecticut. There was an issue with the toothpaste very early on as we were about to launch into Ulta, one of the biggest retailers in the States and it was a huge deal for us,” Creaven recalls. “Our European products are made in Ireland so if ever there is an issue here, I would just drive to meet them.

“So, I got on a flight Monday morning, went over and met the manufacturers on Monday night then flew back Tuesday morning. I’m saying that because that’s what you need to do. You need to think of any of your manufacturing plants as being 20 minutes down the road. There’s a lot that can be done over Zoom, but I think you still have to make that face-to-face meeting.”