Pepsodent and frank. Singapore put Kholidin’s bite at the heart of sporting performance

Unilever’s Pepsodent has launched the world’s first oral care performance partnership for a para athlete* with Indonesian para-archer Kholidin. The partnership, Bite Into Glory, entails Pepsodent supporting the sporting technique Kholidin uses to draw and release his bowstring with his teeth, shifting the brand’s positioning from everyday oral health and prevention into a category no oral care brand has claimed before: performance.

The Bite Into Glory initiative sees Pepsodent providing oral health support tailored to Kholidin’s specific needs as a para archer who uses his bite to shoot. This includes professional periodontal care, alongside an enhanced oral care regime designed to maintain his overall oral health as he prepares for the 2026 Para Games in Asia.

Kholidin, who lost the use of one arm in a 2017 accident, developed an adapted technique that uses his mouth and teeth to draw and release his bowstring. With every one of the roughly 300–500 arrows he shoots daily passing its full draw tension through his bite, the health of his teeth and gums is essential to his competitive advantage.

Madhurjya (Banjo) Banerjee, Senior Global Brand Director, Oral Care, Unilever, said, “For more than 100 years, Pepsodent has championed the importance of strong teeth and gums, grounded in the belief that good oral health enables people to embrace more of what life has to offer. Through Bite Into Glory, we’re extending that belief into the world of sport for the first time.

“Athlete sponsorship typically attaches a brand’s name to someone else’s excellence, but our partnership with Kholidin is unique as Pepsodent is instrumental to Kholidin’s preparation and ability to compete. It’s not just an endorsement, we’re maintaining the equipment for performance. Kholidin has been a longtime user of Pepsodent, which made this partnership feel like a natural fit from the start, and we’re grateful to him for trusting us to be part of his journey.”

Bite Into Glory was conceptualised by frank. Singapore, Omnicom’s dedicated Unilever team.

The partnership also includes a short documentary following Kholidin’s preparation for Aichi-Nagoya, capturing his training, daily challenges and the specialised care behind every shot.

frank. Singapore Global Business Director Benoit Freyburger said, “Brands usually sponsor the visible parts of an athlete’s performance — their speed, strength, or agility. But nobody had thought about the power of their bite. Every one of the roughly 300 arrows Kholidin shoots a day passes its full force through his teeth and that’s what the whole partnership is built on. We wanted to deliver something real that enables Kholidin’s performance through a dental program specific to him, not only a sponsorship that puts our name next to his.”

Ahead of the 2026 Para Games, which will take place from 18-24 October 2026 in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, Kholidin continues to strengthen his preparation through focused training, consistency, and a commitment to continuously improving his performance.

“For me, every competition is an opportunity to learn, evaluate myself, and continue improving. My technique may be different, but my ambition as an athlete remains the same: to become better every day and give my best for Indonesia. I’ve been a Pepsodent user for many years, and having their support and partnership now means even more as I work towards achieving bigger goals in my sporting journey,” said Kholidin.

*World’s first oral care performance partnership for a mouth-draw para-archer: Based on publicly available information reviewed as of September 2026, this refers to the first known partnership between an oral care brand and a competitive para-archer whose teeth are integral to his mouth-draw technique.

Credits
Unilever
Gaurav Datta, Global Brand Vice President (Personal Care)
Ana-Maria Paslaru, General Manager (Personal Care)
Madhurjya Banerjee, Senior Global Marketing Director (Pepsodent)
Rikka Anggitha, Oral Care Category Lead (Indonesia)
Uma Moorty, Senior Global Brand Manager
Cheryl Lee, Assistant Brand Executive

frank. Singapore
Terence Punn Chieu Leong, Executive Creative Director
Omar Sotomayor, Group Creative Director
Meryke Naude, Global Creative Director
Glenn Tan, Art Director
Kyara Avrillie Yanto, Art Director
Anisa Attaya, Copywriter
Benoit Freyburger, Global Business Director
Daniel Rivera, Account Manager
Sonia Sushiyanthini, Account Director
Gonzalo Olivera, CEO
Carlos Rodriguez, Chief Creative Officer
Kevin Koh, Growth Director
Saji Abraham, Senior Strategist
Aditya Banerjee, Associate Strategy Director
Federico Duberti, Global Business Director (Personal Care)

TBWA Indonesia
Sharmine Panthaky, Senior Business Director

Production Partners
Seven Sunday Films
The Quiet Lab
PlusOne
Nelson Digital Imaging
Rodney Louis Vincent, Director
Boogie, Photographer