Who is the biggest European Whitelabel aligner producer?

Clear aligners are all the rage in today’s hyperaesthetic culture – one that features an ambivalence between sensory innervation and subtle yet niche aesthetics. In aligning with the expectations of the new world’s cry for cosmetic beauty, more and more products are being released each day to meet these striking demands. The global aligner market has been able to completely recalibrate itself in the past decade. What this has led to is a rise in interesting approaches for commercial and go-to business models that have been able to further highlight promising technologies and a new-found intrigue for clear aligners.

Align Technology – a leading US-based company launched Invisalign in 1997 and according to its own statements, has offered services to more than four million people in the past ten years. Following the expiry of the patent in 2017, new manufacturers and suppliers quickly got on-board to compete for the number-one spot of clear aligner provider in the US. Today, amongst the many business models that have sprung up recently, the White labeling clear aligner category is seeing increased use.

White labeling providers function as dealers for local dentists to help them deliver clear aligner services without the trouble of shipping and the additional middleman costs incurred through the laboratory. It was found that White labeling aligners continued to grow high-double in the first half of 2022 (even considering that the white label aligners’ segment does not exceed more than 4% of the global clear aligner market).

White labeling and its following in Europe

According to several surveys, the sale of aligners has gained considerable momentum and achieved high growth rates, especially in the last 3 to 5 years. It was estimated that about $2.5 billion clear aligners were sold in 2017, with an annual growth rate of 16% expected until 2023. At the heart of the clear aligner market, we currently have North America with a share of about 56% in terms of revenue in the past achieved through clear aligner sales.

However, with the evolution of concepts, we are witnessing an increase in activity in the European and German markets. In Germany, there are now 15 suppliers of clear aligners, ranging from the internationally established market leaders such as Invisalign or ClearCorrect to fresh start-up concepts such as DrSmile or Sunshinesmile.

In particular, one Düsseldorf-based company has been reshaping the way clear aligners are perceived in the wide lens and has been reinventing the White Label segment of clear aligner deals. K Line Europe GmbH is a manufacturer that has produced off more than 2.5 million aligners in the last few years and is quickly gaining a reputation among orthodontists in the dental market. According to reports, the company was able to survive in recent years solely off of its “strong knowhow and process optimization strategy”. These spectacular attributes has allowed the company to grow +200 percent in FY 20/21 alone.

Recent reports have also clarified that K Line Europe is now involved in the intraoral scanning category with their state-of-the-art software application that will simulate treatment outcomes for the patients who are considering clear aligner treatment. At present, the company’s production capacity exceeds 5000 aligners in a single day and spans more than 3.5 K square meteres with more than +150 strong workforce globally. K Line Europe has announced that its target was to reach a capacity of 10,000 aligners per day by the end of 2022 which it was able to easily accomplish.

Furthermore, K Line Europe has also entered the market with a new disruptive technology called 4D tech, branding it under ClearX. It has claimed that the aim of introducing this technology was to be able to cut down plastic consumption through the use of shape-memory aligners that could replace more than one aligner.

We can estimate that K Line Europe currently captures more than 70 percent market-share of the European white label clear aligner market, making them the biggest players today. K Line Europe was able to raise €5.3 million in a Series A funding round led by Nordic seed-fund Maki.vc. With this new capital, K Line Europe expects to continue expansion across Europe, as well as enter the Asian, Middle Eastern, and North American markets.

Currently, K Line Europe has positioned itself as an attractive proposition for not only dental clinics in Europe to partner with but also dental labs and DSOs based in North America and Europe who are looking for a promising clear aligner manufacturing partner. While the US continues to develop in clear aligner technology, advancements in Europe and Germany have been able to reproduce high degree of standardization and limite margins in the industry.