'TTK Healthcare is well-placed to talk to couples when it comes to pleasure'

Leading healthcare and consumer goods company, TTK Healthcare has launched an all-new homegrown sexual pleasure brand, MsChief. Encouraging women to #ClaimYourPleasure, MsChief offers a wide range of products such as accessories, lubricants, stimulants and condoms that aim to bridge the Pleasure Gap. The brand has launched a campaign with a social experiment film that showcases a grandmother and granddaughter and encourages women to #ClaimYourPleasure. 
Why #ClaimYourPleasure? Vishal Vyas, AVP Marketing, TTK Healthcare highlights some statistics, “In a study conducted by MsChief in confluence with Unomer Inc.; we have uncovered that over 81% of women reported to be dissatisfied with their sex lives, with 73% rarely reaching their climax. The same has been corroborated by various researches conducted in the past, e.g. A study conducted by Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy in the US in 2015 put the number of women hardly reaching orgasm at 81.6%.”

In addition, TTK Healthcare conducted a survey with India Today is called The Pleasure Gap powered by MsChief, it is an exclusive sex survey conducted by the India Today Group. Some findings from the survey are:

- 45% of women have faked an orgasm with their partner as compared to the 16% of men who have faked an orgasm.
- 57% of women admit to needing more sex than they currently get.

Vyas says, “While women have seen progress in many areas of their lives, an area where there still exists a big gap is the pleasure gap. This campaign establishes the presence of the pleasure gap and looks to start a conversation around this pleasure gap.” He continues, “We realised that there is a need for a women pleasure brand to talk to women in their own language. That is where MsChief comes in as a pleasure product brand which caters to women’s sexual and physical needs.”

MsChief offers products, such as its condoms, that are safe and friendly on the skin coupled with discreet delivery options. The condoms are paraben-free and glycerin-free specially crafted keeping in mind the woman's physiology and thus women-friendly. The two condom variants – dotted & ribbed and ultra-thin contain no artificial flavours or fragrances. This is because many flavoured condoms contain sucrose or sugar that could affect the pH balance of the vagina and increase risk of infections. Positioned as a brand for women and with the objective for women to carry the condoms on them, special attention has been paid to the packaging. MsChief has a specific product - a compact case resembles a powder compact case and can store two condom foils. This can be carried by women in their handbag and look like part of their make-up kit. This ensures discreet packaging so that women feel safe carrying condoms in their bag. According to Vyas, “We have ensured that all products from MsChief are built with discreetness in mind for storage & carrying. The accessories come with a sleeve that can disposed of so that the box doesn’t have any details and can be stored openly on shelves. The packaging of lubes and stimulant gel looks like a moisturizer or a cream and hence gain carried in handbag without any issues. MsChief believes that no woman can be denied her right to pleasure and ensures that she is comfortable to use, store, order products and encourage women to claim their pleasure.”

A Pioneer in Sexual Wellness in India
In addition to MsChief, TTK Healthcare is also home to the condom brand Skore, Vyas states that Skore currently holds a market share of 9%. In June 2022, TTK Healthcare launched the sexual pleasure e- superstore, “Love Depot” which guarantees that sexual pleasure products are attractively packaged and discreetly delivered to consumers’ homes thereby making passion products accessible and available to all.

Says Vyas, “The pandemic saw a shift in how consumers were buying products and this led to the launch of our own D2c marketplace or e-superstore called lovedepot.com. We pioneered the offline distribution of condoms in India and when the online shift occurred, there was no better segment for us to venture into in the D2C segment than in the sexual wellness segment where our expertise and know-how remains.”

LoveDepot stocks international brands such as plusOne, Love Honey, We-Vibe, Je Joue, Satisfyer, as well TTK Healthcare’s own brands Skore and Mschief, among other with the price-points ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 30,000. Vyas says, “When we launched condoms in 1950s we were ahead of the curve, and we continue to remain ahead of the curve with the launch of our e-store. People are getting more experimental and assertive as far as their sex lives are concerned. Irrespective of gender, pleasure is demanded now, and as a company with three brands - Skore, lovedepot.com and MsChief – in our portfolio, we are at the forefront to change the sexual landscape in the country.”

LoveDepot has till date seen more than 1 million visitors on the website. Vyas says the conversion rate (Visit to sales) is very healthy and it’s encouraging to see the time spent on the website which shows curiosity and interest level among pleasure seekers. The split is slightly skewed towards female with 52% and male at 48% with majority of sales from 1 Mn+ towns. Rabbit Vibrators, Male Strokers and Bullet vibrators are some of the best-selling products with MsChief products like Crescendo & Virtuoso performing extremely well.

The Big Potential in Pleasure
According to the latest data presented in Parliament by the Union Health Ministry, the national average for current use of male family planning methods i.e. male sterilization and condom is only 5.9 %. This just shows how underpenetrated the market is and the scope for growth available for companies in the sexual wellness and pleasure category.
 
The size of the condom market in India was valued at USD 0.69 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 1.02 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 5.1% from 2022 to 2029 (GlobeNewsWire).The global condom market size was valued at USD 10.7 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.57% from 2023 to 2030 (Grand view research). Vyas says, “We expect the market for condoms to grow more than the present projections as there is increasing awareness and open conversations with regards to its use and the increased awareness of protection against STI’s and HIV.”

Looking at the sexual wellness market, according to a report published by Allied Market Research, the Indian sexual wellness market generated $1.15 billion in 2020 and is expected to reach $2.09 billion by 2030. The global sexual wellness market is expected to reach $ 108,320.0 million by 2027 at a CAGR of 4.6% from 2021 to 2027.  

Looking ahead, plans are to launch an education sector called ‘The Pleasure School’ on the LoveDepot.com where consumers are educated. He says, “As a responsible marketer and company our attempt is to educate people. We want to keep it in a fun and as far as MsChief is concerned, this is a different approach altogether. We want to start a movement where pleasure is equally demanded and shared. That’s why our tagline says #ClaimYourPleasure.” On a final note Vyas says, “With Skore, MsChief and LoveDepot.com, TTK Healthcare is well placed to talk to couples with authority when it comes to pleasure.”

History of TTK Healthcare Protective Device Devision to be TTK’s journey into protective device began way back in 1952 when the company started importing and marketing Durapac in India. By 1963, the company started manufacturing condoms in the country in a joint venture - with the London Rubber Company (India) Ltd – called LRC India and then renamed to TTK LIG when LRC changed its name to London International Group (LIG). The company then started exporting condoms and was the pioneer in setting up the distribution network for condoms in India. A gamechanger for the company was the launch of a new condom brand in India, Kohinoor Condoms in 1979 and this quickly became a brand leader and remained so till 2012. TTK was also responsible for the roll out of Durex in India in 1997, while also manufacturing and exporting the brand globally. However, the acquisition of LIG by SSL International and then by Reckitt Benckiser in 2010 saw the eventual demise of the JV with both brands Kohinoor and Durex now in Reckitt Benckiser’s kitty.

However, despite the fact that the company now had its back to the wall, the company set up TTK Protective Devices Ltd and leveraged its manufacturing capabilities, distribution capabilities and business acumen to launch a new brand, Skore in 2012, positioning it as a pre-marital pleasure enhancer.