During my plastic-reducing journey, I came across a company called Bite. It sells… toothpaste “bits” and other plastic-free oral care products, and now, deodorant, of all things. Let’s go more in depth about this company and my experience with it.
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Impact
Environmentalism
Bite is rapidly becoming the forefront of innovative plastic-free oral care. None of its products include plastic, opting for glass jars and metal cases instead. Even the packaging in which the products are shipped in is made of paper and cardboard only, with paper tape.
The way the company ships is also environmentally conscious, because instead of sending products directly to customers, the company uses existing postal routes. That means the product might take longer to get there, but the reduction in the carbon footprint is significant.
Cruelty free and vegan?
This company does talk a bit about animal testing on their “About” page and the PETA “Beauty Without Bunnies” database has this company in their “cruelty free” category, although there’s no PETA logo anywhere to be seen on the company website. Bite unfortunately is also not Leaping Bunny Certified.
This company also claims to be vegan, but has no certifications proving that this is the case, so it’s hard to say whether or not this is a pro or a con. The company tries to be transparent about their ingredients and lists them under the products’ FAQ page.
Certified B Corp
As of October 2022, Bite has been a Certified B Corp, which is great news. This means that they are devoted to transparency and sustainability. It means that the company “takes action for the benefit of the people and the planet” which is a great thing to strive for.
Because of its commitment to the environment and its “vegan, cruelty free” branding, with some skepticism, I give this company a 4/5 for impact.
Quality
The products themselves are quite good. First off, there’s no fluoride in any of them, which, depending on your perspective, can be a good or bad thing. Instead of fluoride, the toothpaste bits and mouthwash bits have erythritol and xylitol, and other naturally occurring substances that help strengthen and whiten teeth.
The toothpaste and mouthwash bits are very easy to use and come in a glass jar, which just makes the whole process of cleaning your teeth feel fancy. Plus, the mouthwash bits came with a cute on-the-go tin that you can fill up to 15 bits with, if you are traveling.
The flavor
I will say that the toothpaste bits taste… weird. The unique fluoride free formula gives the bits this taste that reminds me of, for lack of a better word, a household cleaner. It’s a little strange but doesn’t altogether deter me from using the product. Also, that’s just the mint flavor. The berry flavor has less of that vibe, but still doesn’t taste anything like berries.
The mouthwash bits don’t have quite as strong of a flavor as the toothpaste bits, but it still feels weird to chew what looks like a mint and swish it with water.
Now, the overall feeling after brushing is clean. I have no complaints about my mouth feeling nasty or gross after using these products. The aftertaste stays there for a little while, and has a small effect on how foods and drinks taste afterwards, so you might want to give it a bit of time before eating after you brush. But that’s my personal experience.
The toothpaste bits don’t seem to have any real affect on whitening (or darkening) teeth. It just seems to clean them, which is fine. There is now a teeth whitening product on the site that I didn’t manage to get, so that will be an update later on.
Because of the weird flavor, but clean-feeling teeth, I give the quality a 3.5/5.
Variety
Bite is very much a niche company devoted to oral care and… deodorant? This being said, it does not have a huge variety of products under their belt just yet. And that’s okay.
Their toothpaste bits come in three flavors- berry blast, mint, and charcoal, and their mouthwash bits come in just one flavor. I do appreciate that there is a trial size (62 bits) for the toothpaste that doesn’t automatically refill, that is $12. The toothbrushes sold are bamboo and only have one design.
The deodorants have a couple different scents including Rose vert, Santal, and Neroli, whatever that is. I didn’t end up buying one because of the price so I can’t say whether or not it’s good.
Overall, there is a bit of a lack of variety to these products and a narrow range of flavors to choose from for the toothpaste, which is the core of the brand. So for this reason, I am giving Bite a 2/5 for versatility.
Price and Where to Buy
DISCLAIMER: I wrote this article sometime in early 2022 so the prices may have changed.
The price of these products can be a bit hard to swallow. A jar of 248 toothpaste bits is $30- but here’s the thing- it forces you into a four month subscription plan. That’s right- when you buy the regular sized toothpaste bits and mouthwash bits, it automatically signs you up for a refill and will charge you again after four months.
So if you don’t want to have recurring charges, after you complete your purchase, you have to make an account with Bite and cancel your subscription, which they they make hard to do on purpose.
I fell for this the first time I purchased and for some reason could not for the life of me log into my account to cancel the subscription. Luckily, the email sent to me gave me an option to delay the subscription services until my card expired, so the service was cancelled.
Bite is not available on Amazon or any major retailers. That means that you will have to go through their website to buy their products. It’s a bit of an inconvenience if you want to buy in person or as part of a grocery run, but oh well.
Because of Bite’s rather high prices and not-so-friendly user interface, I am giving them a 2/5 for this category.
In Conclusion
When I add the ratings together, the final score for Bite is a 2.875, or around 58%. Ouch. The thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was the forced subscription and the jumping through hoops to get out of it. Not a fan.
Overall, Bite is a pretty nifty company that cares about the environment, but it’s not exactly unique. There are other companies like it that are more affordable and accessible, like t-brush or SuperBee (their toothpaste bits come in a cute hexagon shape and taste like regular toothpaste), for example, that make similar products and don’t force you into a subscription.
Bite is ultimately a bit pricey and still a relatively new company, so I hope their products become more affordable and accessible as the company gains traction. But for now, it is ultimately a company that is easily replaceable by others.
The concept of what they are doing is solid, and I will continue to use toothpaste bits- whether they are Bite brand or not, because of the impact on the environment.
It’s important to make changes to our daily habits that will make even a small difference. I stand by Bite and other companies like it that are doing their part to be plastic free. Thank you for reading and until next time, hobble on!