Visiting the local 2-kuai shop, I picked up this fine example of near-trademark violation. “Colquba” takes the “Col” of Colgate, rubs out the tail of the “g,” and moves the “a” to the end position. “ub” is obviously in a slightly different font.
It claims to be produced by “Hong Kong Colgate Oral Company, Limited”, whereas genuine Colgate is a Colgate-Palmolive product. Also, Colgate on the Colquba is written as 高露洁, while genuine Colgate uses traditional 潔 for the final character.
Colquba only puts its real Chinese name, 高齿白, on the back of the box, as seen here. There’s a certification from what seems to be a dental authority, but since the printing is so muddy, one can’t be sure. It’s supposed to clean up nicotine stains, and it’s a “Hong Kong version,” whatever that means.
Like genuine Colgate, it encourages consumers to write the customer service office with any questions or comments. Unlike genuine Colgate, it doesn’t provide an address.
The “have teeth campaign” is certainly commendable, but I’m hesitant to try the stuff out just in case I’m one of the rare cases where the “have teeth” power of Colquba fails.