Sexual wellness products experience robust growth

While products that help promote intimacy and sexual wellness have become drug store mainstays, there are mixed feelings about what the future holds for the category.

(To view the full Category Review, click here.)



According to IRI data for the 52 weeks ended April 19, drug store sales in the three product areas under the intimacy health umbrella — male contraceptives, female contraceptives and sexual enhancement devices — increased 6.7%. Sales in the closely related personal lubricants segment, however, fell 2.2% during the period.



While those who closely monitor the category remain upbeat about the future, they admit that the recent downturn in some of the market’s most-regognizable brands and the huge gains made by smaller lines is reshaping the category.



For instance, IRI data shows that sales from the three largest condom suppliers — Church & Dwight, Ansell America and Reckitt Benckiser — grew minimally over the past year, while condoms offered by Majestic Drug and Global Protection shot up by 54.4% and 16.8%, respectively.



“After a surge of interest and support from large manufacturers, interest in the category seems to have waned,” TABS Group founder and CEO Kurt Jetta said, noting that despite efforts to drive sales through new products, line extensions and wider distribution, category giants like Reckitt Benckiser and Church & Dwight have been unable to increase their sales in this area.



Rather, Jetta said, smaller players have seized on the opportunity to give shoppers fresh options that may represent the category’s future.



Meanwhile, other market watchers said the slow growth in condom sales is due to demographic trends and changes in people’s attitudes about preventing sexually transmitted diseases.



“Decreased use has hurt the condom category,” Kline Market Research industry manager Laura Mahecha said, citing recent data from Indiana University’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation that shows that Americans engaging in sexual activity only use a condom a quarter of the time.



“Condom use has declined as the incidence of AIDS has decreased and the once-deadly disease has become treatable,” she added.



For their part, suppliers continue to try and lure shoppers with new technologies and marketing campaigns. Among the most visible of these efforts has been the ongoing race to market the thinnest and most natural-feeling product, and aiming ads and promotions at women.



In May, for instance, the Female Health Co. unveiled plans to develop a line of women’s reproductive health products in support of its sole item — the FC2 female condom.



“There are inherent risks associated with being a single product company,” said president and CEO Karen King, “particularly when that product is subject to substantial volatility in customer purchasing patterns.”



FHC hopes to develop a line of products aimed at women who are dissatisfied with the side effects of hormonal birth control, and who feel that the traditional male condom offers less enjoyment.