When you name your brand Cocofloss and you are in the business of producing dental floss, you do paint yourself into a corner as the “floss guy.” So it stands to reason that if you want to expand your horizons and offer other products, you’ll probably have to change your name and rebrand.
And that’s just what Cocofloss had to do. And now you can call them Cocolab.
To evolve the brand and expand their product range—while trying to score a beauty-focused retail aesthetic—Cocolab enlisted Wedge to help them reimagine what was possible.
“Cocofloss reached a natural inflection point. Its vision had grown far beyond the single product it launched to cult-hit in 2015,” says Wedge co-founder and CCO Sarah Di Domenico. “They hit a wall with the name, as it no longer reflected the breadth of innovation or premium, dental-designed experience they were building. The rebrand creates space for an expanded portfolio, strengthens our position at the intersection of oral care and beauty, and more clearly signals quality to new consumers who are willing to pay a higher price. Critically, though, it helped bring all of the brand’s offerings under one umbrella, unifying it into one big beautiful brand world that would lend itself to the business’s next chapter.
At the core of the brand’s transformation and expansion was a new kind of strategic approach: “Your Daily Hit of Dental Dopamine.” To be fair, back when they were ol’ one-product-Cocofloss, they had fun, expressive packaging, but to really drive home that feeling of joy, they reframed oral care as beauty care with what Di Domenico calls a “system worthy of the MoMA store.”
“We evolved the packaging system by updating the brand to feel fresh, modern, and true to Cocolab’s personality,” she says. “Every object needed to bring that ‘dopamine hit’ to life.” The old look relied on soft pastels and rainbow foils, which didn’t fully express how bold and flavorful the products actually are, prompting some consumers to question the quality. Since the flavors are such a big part of what makes Cocolab unique, we shifted to vibrant, sunny colors and simple, graphic shapes that communicate flavor in a more straightforward, energetic way.” The brand had already laid a foundation rooted in delight, but Wedge managed to tease out some extra tricks, making it feel vibrant and louder, and it’s hard not to be swayed by the starburst and bubble pattern on the toothpaste boxes.
“As part of the transition from Cocofloss to Cocolab, we took the opportunity to refine the logo,” Di Domenico says. “We kept the boldness and personality of the original mark, but tightened the forms so it feels more polished and contemporary—taking a few cues from the clean, confident approach you see across fashion brands. We also kept our unique symbol, giving it a light refresh, and paired it with the new position, ‘Dentist-Designed Smile Care,’ which helps ground the brand and clearly communicates our expertise.” The agency also brought in a signature blue inspired by the floss that’s woven throughout the brand system, including the wordmark. A new serif font, Ivory TT by Aurèle Sack, impeccably complements this.
However, for a company that touted itself as a refillable brand (and yes, you can still purchase their floss refills), it is a bit disappointing that Cocolab didn’t quite extend its sustainable ethos into its new toothpaste. Which is not to say they aren’t trying—for instance, you won’t find any plastic clamshell packaging for the toothbrushes, and both the new toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes use ocean plastic (98% and 30% respectively). But it does feel like a mishmash of approaches, which isn’t foreign to a category drowning in single-use plastics. Yes, it’s great that they’re using ocean plastic, but you still can’t really recycle a toothpaste tube (asking consumers to consult their local curbside program isn’t an ideal approach). And it’s not as if there aren’t a few recent examples that dial up the innovation in the space. Of course, it’s worth noting that they’ve partnered with Pact Collective on those nearly impossible-to-recycle tubes. Still, consumers don’t often take that extra step to get a shipping label (and I’m not entirely sure they’re willing to pay $5 for the hassle).
If you’re already at a premium price point, you might as well use an aluminum tube. So while the rebrand is buffed and flossed to precision, they might want to go back to the drawing board with some of their packaging materials.
Regardless, it’s a brand glow-up and expansion that will bring a smile to consumers’ faces and brighten up dreary medicine cabinets and toothbrush caddies everywhere.
