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Alex D’Souza (named changed), a 27-year-old marketing professional, recently bought his first adult toy, nudged by an Instagram account extolling the virtues of self-pleasure. After hours of research, he zeroed in on a product he liked.
D’Souza is among a growing tribe of Indians who are open to exploring the sexual wellness market for products, content, and safe spaces for conversations on the subject.
Although it remains largely under the radar, given society’s conservative mores, the sexual wellness industry in India is nevertheless booming. Poised to hit $2.09 billion by 2030, it boasts a compound annual growth rate of 5.8 per cent, according to market intelligence platform Statistia.
Categorised under sex toys, sex therapists and performance enhancers, the global sexual wellness market was pegged at $39.42 billion in 2017 and expected to reach $122.96 billion by 2026.
In India, the industry has grown rapidly over the past three years, with the number of sexual wellness companies doubling to 40. The post-pandemic period has seen more and more Indians exploring this market, emboldened by the privacy and convenience of online shopping, the companies say.
Since 2020, India-based sexual wellness companies have collectively secured $24 million in funding, according to data research and analysis firm Tracxn. Prominent names include MyMuse, Sangya Project, BoldCare, The Sassy Project, and Lezus, among others.
Data shared in 2023 by ThatsPersonal.com, an online retailer of sexual wellness products, shows a 60 per cent surge in sale of sex toys and other adult products after the pandemic-induced lockdown.
Ready to talk
In recent years, start-ups and direct-to-consumer brands have been driving much of the activity in the sexual wellness sector.
Founded in 2021, amid the raging pandemic, Sangya Project is a ‘sex tech’ company, manufacturing vibrators. Founders Shweta Sangtani, Tanisha RK and Aashish Mehrotra started off by launching a sex education page on Instagram in 2020, before branching into product manufacturing.
“When we started the Instagram page we began receiving requests for guest writers... it became amply clear that India was ready to have conversations around sex, sexuality and pleasure,” says Sangtani.
The founders soon decided to monetise the brand, while continuing to enable free access to information.
“We decided to sell pleasure products to provide our customers with resources that can help them in exploring their sexuality,” says Sangtani.
It aims to make pleasure products affordable for Indians and help normalise conversations around sexuality in a country like India.
Made-in-India sensuality
With imports dominating the sex toy market, Sangtani says most of them are not designed for Indian bodies, besides falling short on quality.
“We sought funding specifically to manufacture products here in India as we don’t want to be reliant on imports, especially [with the uncertainty in supplies] during geopolitical tensions or the pandemic,” she adds.
The company designs all its products and uses contract manufacturing.
“So, right from the programming on the PCB [printed circuit board] to the other components that go inside the products, we source from India; a few parts, including the moulds of the product itself, are sourced from China. We use medical-grade silicone, which is FDA-approved as well,” Sangtani says.
Sangya Project reports 4x year-on-year growth in sales and revenue, apart from 60 per cent gross margin in terms of profit margin; thanks to manufacturing in India, it expects about 70 per cent gross margin next year.
MyMuse, founded in 2021 by Sahil Gupta and Anushka Gupta, offers gender-neutral sexual wellness products. Its portfolio of 25-plus products includes original educational content. The start-up aims to break social taboos around sexual health.
“We want to help our customers in forging connections and intimacy, and having the tools in the bedroom to get better at that, both individually and as partners,” says Sahil Gupta.
“In the realm of shared experiences, having a good date with your partner, being able to communicate effectively with your partner... a lot of our products are built around those experiences,” he adds.
Blessed by angels
MyMuse reports 15 per cent month-on-month growth and 1.5-plus lakh customers across 800 cities, including tier II, III markets.
It has raised pre-Series A funding of $2.7 million from Trifecta Capital and fintech company CRED’s founder Kunal Shah.
GetVantage, an equity-free funding marketplace and growth platform, has backed two sexual healthcare startups — BoldCare and MyMuse. Fireside Ventures and Sequoia among other well-known venture capitalists, as well as several angel investors are backing sexual healthcare start-ups.
“Platforms like BoldCare and MyMuse are helping people explore sexual well-being products and spreading more awareness about self-discovery. With growing awareness, the industry is expected to grow exponentially,” says Karun Arya, chief growth officer, GetVantage. The success of the two start-ups backed by it has enthused GetVantage to deepen its focus on the sexual wellness space. “We are keen to back more brands in this space through non-dilutive capital,” Arya says.
In recent years, various factors have fuelled greater interest in sexual wellness, both from customers and brands. While the availability of products and content online has helped attract more engagement from customers, privacy concerns, however, lead to a continued preference for discreet packaging for the pleasure products.
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