Cult-Favorite Cocofloss Rebrands As Cocolab To Reflect Its Growing Oral Care Repertoire

Cocofloss isn’t just about floss. Now, it has a new name—Cocolab—that conveys its broader intentions. 

The former name painted the brand into a merchandise corner that it’s already been bursting out of with toothpaste, toothbrushes and other oral care tools. As it’s spread beyond floss, which it started with a decade ago, its sales have multiplied 5X in the past five years. Last year, nearly two-thirds of its sales came from returning customers.

The new name also make sense for Cocolab’s varied retail network of both traditional oral care destinations and not that encompasses Violet Grey, The Detox Market, Credo, Mighty Nest, Urban Outfitters, C.O. Bigelow, Bloomingdale’s, Erewhon, Grove Collaborative, Nordstrom and CVS. Outside of brick-and-mortar retail, luxury Palm Beach resort The Breakers features a full-size Cocofloss as an amenity in every guest suite, and the brand has been expanding in the professional dentistry realm. Over 2,800 dentists joined its professional channel in 2024 to bring the total number to around 8,000. 

To go with the new name, Cocolab is putting a megaphone to its marketing and advertising by increasing its budget over 200% and investing in strategies it hasn’t tried before, including connected television, direct mail and out-of-home, in tandem with existing community and influencer programs. 

While the “floss” has been excised from the name, co-founders and sisters Chrystle, a dentist, and Catherine Cu, who has a finance background, retained the “Coco” prefix to connect the brand’s products under a single umbrella. Many of Cocolab’s products are infused with coconut oil. The choice of “lab” in the name hints at Chrystle’s role as a dentist. In consumer research, the brand discovered current customers and target consumers unfamiliar with Cocolab appreciate dentist-designed products. 

“My sister jokes that I’m a mad scientist,” says Chrystle. “My home is a little crazy with all the concoctions I have in there. So, it is truly like a lab.”

Launched in 2023, Cocolab’s fluoride-free toothpaste Cocoshine is its fastest-growing product. It contains nano-hydroxyapatite instead of fluoride, an ingredient that anti-fluoride activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., newly-confirmed secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, has raised concerns about, in particular as an additive to water supplies across the United States.

With the brand name Cocofloss, Chrystle says she worried Cocoshine was “hiding in the shadow of Cocofloss being our true hero product with a following.” The hope with the rebrand is that people’s perception of what the brand offers will widen and boost sales of the non-floss products. 

Cocolab, then Cocofloss, first extended outside of floss in 2021 with the toothbrush Cocobrush. The minimalist toothbrush has a curved handle and compact head that speak to the brand’s dentist-led design approach. They provide easy access to the backs of teeth, where Cu often spots chronic plaque buildup, and the toothbrush’s patented bristle pattern combines tall tapered and rounded shorter bristles that, inspired by Cocofloss, clean in between the teeth as well as along the gum line. Cocolab claims its toothbrush is 16X more effective at cleaning in between teeth than a regular straight-cut manual toothbrush. 

“I know where everyone’s plaque is, so I’m going to try to help you get there,” says Chrystle, adding, “There is a dental hygienist who tattooed it on her arms because this is hands down her No. 1 favorite toothbrush she’s ever encountered.” 

Like several personal care categories, from bug repellent to cold and flu remedies, oral care has seen an influx of upstart brands in recent years that offer stylish, better-for-you options at premium prices. An early mover in elevated oral care, Cocolabs prices for individual products range from $9 for floss to $22 for whitening toothpaste. Among the other brands in the field are Essor-owned Boka, vVardis, Made By Dentists and RiseWell. According to research from Towards Healthcare, the global oral care market size is expected to advance at a compound annual growth rate of 6.74% to go from $43 billion this year to nearly $78 billion by 2034. 

Cocolab’s contemporary colorful look—bright pink, blue, yellow and orange is prominent in its packaging—is a big part of its draw for retailers and consumers. “That’s the first hook for them,” says Chrystle. “It doesn’t look like what your dental floss usually looks like.” 

Cocolab’s goal is to enlarge its footprint in national retail, where it’s made inroads with CVS. “I’m really trying to transform culture here with flossing,” says Chrystle. “People think of flossing as a punishment, and I really want to make it not a big deal. It just takes a minute. Why not make it a fun minute?”