Charcoal and herbs: the power of simplicity and innovation
Enterprise
By
XN Iraki
| Aug 12, 2026
Why should toothpaste be herbal or charcoal black? To most people, it’s just an enhancement, new branding. To those who grew up in the countryside, it’s simply nostalgic, a prompt into the nuances of growing up.
Why charcoal? Long before steel wool and Scotch Brite became common, charcoal was used for cleaning, mostly sufurias (saucepans).
And it made them shine. As kids, we tried to make our teeth white using charcoal!
Check my smile next time we meet. That was the innocence of childhood, a good example of frugal innovation and the power of observation. The charcoal used in cleaning was rarely prepared “scientifically” by burning wood with a limited supply of air; it was from the firewood that did not burn into ash.
Most rural folks started using toothpaste in high school. That did not stop some toothpaste companies like Closeup and Colgate from introducing toothpaste in primary school by giving free samples.
I recall getting such samples in my primary school in the white highlands. The only problem - we had no toothbrushes. Most of the toothpaste was simply eaten - you read right.
We cleaned our teeth using herbs. You started by chewing the tip of the herb to make it soft and look like a toothbrush.
The “right chewing” and choosing the right thickness of the herb was an art. Overgrown herbs were thick and hard to chew.
Nostalgia and emotions
The herbal on toothpaste labelling could also refer to herbal medicine, which still echoes despite advances in medicine. Herbal might be softening the backlash against modern medicine. It would be interesting to find out if herbal and charcoal products are sold in developed countries.
It’s amazing how marketers can make money from nostalgia and emotions. Classic FM and entertainment joints are doing that, playing music that topped the charts when we were young.
That music evokes great memories and is great in advertising and consumption. Remember Michael Jackson? Madonna? Gladys Knight?
Don Williams, or Skeeter Davis and Jim Reeves much earlier?
Money can be made without too much sweat; through parsimony, you don’t have to be complicated.
Is WhatsApp not imitating how we talk? Was M-Pesa not about paying someone using airtime?
The working of an internal combustion engine mimics cycling a bike.
Want to make money? Be simple and make us emotional, or better, nostalgic!