Personal care – sex care 2021: decline slows in sex care as Brits go out

As a result, “the category is still underperforming versus pre-Covid, which is impacting the brand landscape” Sisley says. “Larger brands have been able to consolidate and weather the impact more than smaller brands, potentially due to brand salience and awareness,” he suggests.

But there’s change in the air. Brits are getting braver about mingling with potential partners, suggests Melissa Quick, marketing executive at So Divine.

“It’s a great time to be going out and embracing new sexual partners again after being restricted for so long,” she says. “While some people are still staying cautious, I think for a lot of people it’s a very exciting time to be regaining freedom again.”

Her view echoes that of Laxman Narasimhan, CEO of Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser, who in October said: “We feel very good about what is to come.”

While there’s optimism for condoms’ recovery, lube’s resurgence appears to have already begun. After Top Products 2020 reported a 6.6% fall in value on volumes down by 9%, the sector has grown value this year by 3.8%. Unit sales have declined by just 2.3%.

“In comparison to condoms, lubes are more versatile, which may be why sales were not impacted as much,” says Quick. “They’re great as all-round pleasure products and can be used with or without a partner.

“Many people were stuck at home during this period and the lack of sexual interaction meant many people were turning to self-pleasure instead,” she adds.

Nevertheless, the two biggest names in lube, Durex and Kynect (née KY Jelly), both saw volumes decline – by 13% in the latter’s case. Wellbeing and health-related lines saw the brightest growth, with likes of Vagisan and Vagisil enjoying double-digit increases.

“Significant growth is coming from treatment or health-type products,” Sisley notes.

Little wonder, then, that Reckitt Benckiser now refers to sex care as “intimate wellness”.

As Narasimhan said this summer: “Durex has a right to play in a much broader space such as female intimate wellness, hygiene, treatment and libido, as well as toys, devices and broader sexual health.”