What is the current total market size and what are the growth
projections, in terms of dollars spent by consumers in the U.S., on
personal intimate lubricants, e.g. KY Jelly, Astroglide, Wet and the
many other brand names?

---

Request for Question Clarification by claudietta-ga on 28 Sep 2002 15:05 PDT

Dean,

What I have been able to find are the 2001 sales of personal lubricant
(and condomes) in drug stores, and the growth from the previous year.

If this information would satisfy your request, please let me know.

Claudietta

---

Clarification of Question by divinemarketing-ga on 29 Sep 2002 13:48 PDT

Claudietta
What you found sounds promising.   If the definition of "drug stores"
include any retail location selling Rx supplies, your answer would
satisfy the request.  So, for instance, would the big box companies
like Target and WalMart be included?  I would also need to be sure the
condom and lubricants were broken out separately in your data, not
combined.   Otherwise, the condom portion of the sales figure would
mask what I'm really looking for.
Dean

---

Request for Question Clarification by claudietta-ga on 29 Sep 2002 14:46 PDT

Dean,

I am still not sure if what I have is what you need.  The numbers I
got are for Drug retailers, and not Mass Retailers (Walmart) or Food
Retailers (Safeway).  The author of the industry article is Drug Store
News, and so it tends to cover only drug stores.  The numbers also do
not include condoms.  They are separate.

Let me know what you think,
Claudietta

---

Clarification of Question by divinemarketing-ga on 29 Sep 2002 17:00 PDT

Claudietta:
OK, I'll take the drugstore numbers for the posted List Price.   If
you come across additional data in the future, look us up.
Dean

Dear Dean,

There is surprisingly little about personal lubricants.  I searched in
other databases, and didn't find more inclusive figures.

SUMMARY - for drug stores revenues in millions.

1991: $22.6m
1992: $27.6m
1993: $28m 
mid-2001-mid 2002: $235.9m, growth = 2.2% over previous year; Growth
is expected to be strong in this segment due to aging baby boomers,
and therefore menopausal women. Liquid lubricants are showing
particularly strong growth.

COMMENT
It is perplexing to me how this segment has increased 10 fold over ten
years. I have listed below supporting quotes and other related
information.

I do hope this is of use to you. Let me know if you need further
clarification.

Thanks for using Google!
Claudietta

Search terms (combination of the following):
lubricant
personal
intimate
vaginal
mosturizer
market share
market size

Source [1] Michael Johnsen; Drug Store News; The male-dominated condom
set makes room for the ladies. (OTC/Natural Health), Trends in sales
of condoms, August 12, 2002

….”Personal lubricants accounted for $235.9 million in drug stores
during
the 52 weeks ended June 16, on growth of just 2.2 percent from the
previous year. Given certain societal shifts and consumer dynamics
that continue to redefine the traditional paradigm for so many
different segments of the self care industry, all signs point to
continued growth in this personal lubricants segment.” 
…………

                           Food/drug/mass *  Percentage  Drug $
                              $ sales +        change    sales +

Male contraceptives            $216.6            4.9%    $144.2
Female contraceptives            20.1           -7.1       13.7
Ovulation prediction kits        38.3           -0.1       29.4
Pregnancy test kits             211.7            4.8      136.1

                           Percentage
                             change

Male contraceptives            6.2%
Female contraceptives         -7.2
Ovulation prediction kits     -0.2
Pregnancy test kits            5.4
 
* Excludes sales in Wal-Mart stores
+ All sales in millions 

Source [2] Mike Troy , Drug Store News; PRIVATE LABEL DOES WELL IN
FEMININE HYGIENE; May 1, 1995
 
…”One segment of the feminine care category that continued to realize
its forecasted growth is the personal lubricants segment. Drug store
sales increased 16 percent during 1994, bringing the category's total
volume to $32.7 million, according to Towne-Oller. Last year's
increase and future growth are tied closely to the nation's aging
population of women. The hormonal changes experienced  by women as
they age and enter menopause tend to cause vaginal dryness, which
personal lubricants effectively alleviate. Changing demographics have
led to consistent growth of the segment.

Towne-Oller put sales of personal lubricants at $28 million in 1993,
$27.6 million in 1992 and $22.6 million in 1991.” …

Source [3]  PR Newswire Association, Inc.; Nationwide K-Y(R) Brand
Liquid Survey Reveals What Americans Sacrifice For Great Sex; Dr.
Pepper Schwartz Shares Insights on Relationships and Intimacy;
February 13, 2002

… “So, how do couples keep the fires burning?  Believe it or not,
personal lubricants are modern day love potions for many Americans. 
According to the study, an overwhelming 45% of respondents use
personal lubricants in order to keep their relationship sexy while 29%
indulge each other's fantasies.”
…
“Methodology of Study  
    The K-Y(R) Brand Liquid Study was conducted to gather information
on the interests, issues and challenges facing couples and the quest
for long-lasting relationships.  More than 1,000 American couples
(women and men) ages 18 to 49 were interviewed via telephone (margin
of error +/- 3%).”

Source [4] Chemist & Druggist, Liquid assets for K-Y,  June 8, 2002

….”The product is already established in the USA where it was
introduced
five years ago and now has a 7.1 per cent share of the total lubricant
market. Liquid lubricants are the fastest growing segment of the
American market.”
…
Dryness during sex is more common than most people think. 51 per cent
of women say they have experienced it at one time or another according
to Johnson & Johnson.” …….

Very good effort for the posted price.  The answer was not all that I
hoped it would be but it would appear that the data is very hard to
come by.  So the rating was just one star short of great.

No idea to your specific question, but only because he is my next door
neighbour do I know the major distributor in Australia for the jel
that is applied externally to a woman's pelvic area to promote coital
orgasm in women, i.e assisting women to orgams during normal sexual
intercourse. From what he tells me the market is booming and he is
looking for more sub-distributors all the time. Whether it works or
not I have no idea but it appears women,( or men??) are ordering the
product at a rate he can hardly keep up with.

  John From Mlebourne

John:
Thanks for taking the time to comment.  What does your neighbor do to
promote his product?  Web, store shelf placement, print ads?  Not sure
his results translate to the US but would be interesting to know if
you have a moment to comment back.
Dean in Orlando