[Life Act 3 Companies] 'Blueleo' Captivates the US and Australia with a Toothbrush That Sucks in Rinse Water

Lee Seung-min, CEO of Blueleo

"Since high school, I often volunteered at a comprehensive welfare center near my school. I helped elderly people who had difficulty moving. At that time, I thought, there are many assistive devices to help with activities like eating, but why are there no devices or facilities to assist with tooth brushing?"

'Blueleo' is a startup developing an electric toothbrush that automatically suctions out rinse water. The electric suction toothbrush G100 developed by Blueleo operates with sonic vibrations built into the toothbrush, and small holes in the toothbrush suction the rinse water inside the mouth and channel it into a pouch attached to the toothbrush. This prevents rinse water from accidentally entering the airway or esophagus. It allows caregivers to assist patients with tooth brushing comfortably without worrying about dirtying clothes. On May 15, at the Senior Industry Innovation Center office in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, CEO Seungmin Lee explained, "The insight I gained while volunteering to help patients with tooth brushing at the welfare center led to the development idea."

Blueleo, composed of seven employees, has steadily grown and in seven years has discovered 29 buyers in 20 countries and is exporting its products. In countries such as the United States, Norway, and Australia, Blueleo’s products are registered as medical assistive devices, allowing buyers to receive discounts upon purchase. Production cannot keep up with demand, so they are currently recruiting staff. CEO Lee confidently stated, "Our export target for this year is $150,000, and achieving half of that in the first half of the year will be easy."

In addition to the flagship product G100, there are products for general consumers such as the S150, which offers five selectable vibration patterns, and the B200, designed to weigh 93g to minimize wrist strain. CEO Lee said, "We have a vision to grow into a K-healthcare company leading the global market with oral care products for the vulnerable, transforming the paradigm of oral health and inconvenient tooth brushing environments worldwide."

CEO Lee Seung-min of Blueleo. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

- What did you do before founding Blueleo?

▲ I studied at an engineering college and am an engineer by background. I worked at companies that developed and mass-produced aircraft parts and ultra-precision parts used in automotive mission clutches and airbags.

- Why did you start the company? What led you to develop the electric toothbrush?

▲ While volunteering to help patients at a comprehensive welfare center, I gained insight during the tooth brushing assistance process that led to the invention idea. Patients with limited mobility could not control their bodies and would swallow or spill rinse water. Caregivers or volunteers assisting with tooth brushing would support the head with one hand and suction out the rinse water with the other. It looked very uncomfortable.

When I returned home, I searched online for assistive devices to help with tooth brushing. There really were none. Since I enjoyed inventing enough to join an invention club in high school, I filed a patent myself in 2011. At that time, I had no intention of starting a business. Three years later, when I visited the same welfare center, almost nothing had changed except for the water purifier. Smartphones were advancing every year, but the welfare center remained the same except for the water purifier. I thought, 'Should I try to change this?' I felt I was not ready to start a business immediately, so I participated in various startup competitions and contests. Through that process, I prepared for the startup while listening to experts' opinions. The patent was registered in 2013.

Oral care is really important. Dental treatment costs a lot of money. If not properly managed, the likelihood of other diseases occurring organically is higher. Oral care is essential to improve quality of life and reduce economic burdens. Unlike existing electric toothbrushes, there were no oral care products targeting socially vulnerable groups such as people with severe disabilities and the elderly, so I judged that a clear niche market existed. Believing it was a necessary business model, I established the corporation in 2016.

- How is the sales performance?

▲ Starting with product sales of 160 million KRW in 2019 when the product was launched, sales grew to 580 million KRW in 2020, 1.2 billion KRW in 2021, and 1.5 billion KRW in 2022. Last year, we surpassed the break-even point (BEP) for the first time. Recently, we have exported to about 30 buyers in 20 countries, mainly targeting European and North American markets. In particular, in developed countries, our products are registered as medical assistive devices, allowing customers to purchase them with no out-of-pocket cost or with only up to 20% co-payment.

- How do overseas users respond?

▲ Group orders come from overseas welfare institutions in countries like Italy and Australia. We even opened an online shopping mall for foreigners' convenience. Since there is no toothbrush that can suction and vibrate simultaneously, it seems our product is sought after. Recently, I went to New York, USA, to participate in a medical device exhibition, and when I explained that the idea came from welfare facilities, participants showed even more interest.

- Since you created a product that did not exist before, development and launch must not have been easy.

▲ About three years after founding the company and completing research and development (R&D), we faced the biggest challenge just as we were about to launch the product. In the early days of the startup, we developed the product solely for launch without establishing a quality management system, and the results were disastrous. We had to recall and dispose of all initial products provided to clients, causing significant sales losses and disrupting business plans.

This became a critical turning point for Blueleo to declare "quality management." To establish a quality system, we hired personnel from research institutes of KOSDAQ-listed companies and invested in quality costs, establishing an internal policy of "quality first, second, and third." We also received feedback from caregivers and welfare workers during product development. Recently, we have proven this with high product satisfaction, purchase conversion rates, and significantly low defect and return rates. When we sold toothbrushes on a live commerce channel recently, we achieved a return rate of 0.2%, product defect rate of 0%, and purchase conversion rate of 99.8%, ranking in the top 5% of sales performance on the platform.

- Do you have any goals?

▲ We aim to gradually expand each business model?B2B, B2C, B2G?and secure 100,000 customers, targeting 3 billion KRW in domestic sales in 2023. So far, through local buyers in the US, Australia, and some Northern European countries, we have participated in national medical assistive device policies by registering our products, enabling customer purchase support and reimbursement policies. Going forward, we plan to lead the registration of our products under medical assistive device policies in most countries worldwide so that customers can easily access and purchase them.

CEO Seungmin Lee of Blueleo. Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@