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Remember when actor and Bold Care co-founder Ranveer Singh and adult film actor Johnny Sins teamed up to talk about men’s sexual health in 2024? Launched around Valentine’s Day 2024, Bold Care’s #TakeBoldCareofHer campaign blended humour in the otherwise taboo conversation, sparking conversations and capturing the audience's attention. The campaign took a satirical approach, parodying the over-the-top drama of Indian daily soaps.
In the film, Singh questions his on-screen brother Johnny's wife about why she’s leaving their home. What follows is a sequence of exaggerated slow-motion reactions as the wife drops a truth bomb — action in the bedroom was lacking. The entire scene, peppered with metaphors such as ‘inki daali pe kabhi phool nahi khilta’ and the opening of a ‘teejori ki chabi,’ subtly yet humorously implied issues related to sexual pleasure. With the intervention of a capsule, the drama resolves, making a statement on the importance of addressing sexual wellness. The ad didn’t just entertain got people talking.
By the end of the year, the brand was amongst the top three brands by value in the sexual wellness category.
Valentine’s Day has long been synonymous with love, grand gestures, and thoughtfully curated gifts. From chocolates and flowers to romantic dinners, the day is all about celebrating affection, with sales of gifts, chocolates, and romantic experiences spiking. There’s another lesser-discussed product category that experienced a surge during the period — condoms. But between the roses and heart-shaped trinkets, there’s one conversation that remains largely unspoken — sex.
Data from previous years has shown that condom sales increase by 10–12% around Valentine’s Day. In fact, quick commerce platforms like Blinkit reported condoms as one of its most ordered items during Valentine’s week. Clearly, people are engaging in intimacy — but why does talking about it still feel like a social taboo?
India, a country with a population of over 1.4 billion, is proof that intimacy is anything but rare. Yet, open discussions about pleasure, sexual wellness, and self-care are often pushed to the sidelines. With the sexual wellness industry projected to reach $2.09 billion by 2030, it’s evident that consumer attitudes are shifting. More individuals are seeking reliable, stigma-free conversations around sexual health and pleasure.
With this, brands in the sexual wellness space are pushing the envelope to make these conversations more mainstream, especially around Valentine’s Day.
Changing consumer attitudes toward sexual wellness
According to Devansh Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO of Peppy, “Valentine’s isn’t just about being single or in a relationship—it’s about embracing intimacy in all forms. As conversations around self-care and pleasure evolve, brands are using this time to normalise intimacy, remove stigma, and make self-pleasure a part of mainstream discussions.”
Younger consumers, particularly Gen Z and millennials, are demanding openness, humour, and inclusivity in how brands communicate about sexual wellness. Instead of whispering about it, brands are leveraging bold, engaging campaigns to celebrate intimacy as an essential part of self-care. Talking about last year’s ad, Rajat Jadhav, Co-founder and CEO of Bold Care, notes, “That dominated our comms last year, but we also run sales which encourage users to celebrate with their partners without any hiccups or issues in the bedroom. We make sure that we stay on brand with our science-backed, objective approach but add punny touches to our Valentine’s Day comms.”
Jadhav sees many players thinking outside the box, moving away from cheesy messaging and innovating with their campaigns.
For example, MyMuse has launched its Valentine's Day campaign - ‘Dil-Do’, encouraging consumers to be the giver this Valentine's Day, moving beyond the cliches to other gifts, especially the pleasurable kind.
The brand has released video films inspired by Bollywood romcoms, creating a spoof from some of our loved Bollywood movies, naming them ‘Dil Do Pagal Hai’, ‘Dil Do Wale Dulhania Le Jaayege’ and more.
Additionally, its social media is full of tips on satisfying a partner through subtle messaging. But that’s not the only pleasure brands in this category are focusing on. Other brands are positioning intimacy beyond traditional couple narratives. Brands like That Sassy Thing want consumers to satisfy themselves, specifically catering to the female gaze.
Sachee Malhotra, Founder, That Sassy Thing shares, “Everyone’s trying to woo couples to make their brand as ‘the choice’ to couple up this Valentine’s. While this is a technique that’s been conventionally working for decades, we’re yet to see brands break through the clutter and go beyond this narrative.”
It is advocating for self-love through its ‘Crushing On Me’ campaign, targeting women and breaking the notion that Valentine’s Day is only for couples. Its content game focuses on pleasuring oneself through tips and tricks, honest conversations with partners about likes and dislikes and more.
The brand wants consumers to not fall for the over-hyped trends and to focus on themselves. Malhotra comments, “Our products are used by women across ages and geographies. In terms of demographics, our customers are from ages 21-40, from young single women to married women and mothers too. We’re going out there with messaging that you don’t really need ‘someone else’ to make you feel loved.”
Additionally, brands like Peppy have focused on humour. Its new campaign featuring co-founder Bhuvan Bam sees him taking on the role of a podcast host video ad where he interviews the brand’s sexual wellness products, using his signature wit to break taboos and encourage open conversations around intimacy.
When interviewing the products, who have their own personalities in the ad, respond with clever and cheeky remarks, addressing common misconceptions about sexual wellness. The ad highlights the importance of self-care while challenging societal taboos around intimacy in an engaging and entertaining manner.
Its campaign, ‘Fun Doesn’t Need a Plus One,’ highlights self-intimacy as self-care. Peppy’s Devansh Agrawal mentions that the campaign challenges the outdated narrative that pleasure is only for couples by making self-intimacy a loud, fun, and stigma-free conversation.
“Our messaging is bold, playful, and unapologetic, encouraging people to explore what feels good without shame. For us, Valentine’s isn’t just a day—it’s an opportunity to redefine how India sees intimacy.”
Brands in the sexual wellness space are now embracing diverse themes and content strategies to engage with consumers. Shiva Shrivastava, Brand Head, Love Depot at TTK Healthcare, shared insights on its approach. “To capitalise on this, we launched The Great Indian Pleasure Fest, India’s largest pleasure event, now in its second year—making pleasure products as mainstream as Big Billion Days did for e-commerce. This Valentine’s, we’re encouraging everyone to ‘Win Big in Love’, taking another step toward normalising pleasure and exploration.”
Shrivastava shares, with 65% of India under 35 and rising digital adoption, demand is soaring, especially in Tier II cities. The fest meets this with deals, discreet shopping, and influencer collaborations on self-love, long-distance relationships, and more.
Catering to different demographics
The acceptance of sexual wellness products varies across different age groups and geographical locations. Devansh Agrawal divulges that younger consumers between the age group of 18 to 30 years are more open, experimental, and eager for guidance on intimacy, resonating with meme culture, influencer collaborations, and educational content.
On the other hand, older audiences (30+) prefer a more subtle approach with expert-backed insights, scientific validation, and discreet branding.
Regionally, metropolitan consumers are more comfortable engaging with the category, while Tier II and III audiences are still hesitant. They prefer ads that emphasise safety, doctor approvals, and discreet delivery.
Shiva Shrivastava of TTK Healthcare notes that language plays a crucial role in resonating with consumers in India. She mentions, “Across segments, we prioritise a discreet, trust-led experience backed by expert content. While metros engage with Hinglish and Tanglish, Tier II and III audiences require vernacular narratives. This Valentine’s, we’re expanding our reach by experimenting with Tanglish and Malayalam, driving impact through vernacular influencer collaborations to ensure greater accessibility.”
The brand has highlighted relatable situations one finds themselves in when keeping their pleasures discreet like hiding sex toys from parents, arguments with your partner and more.
Rajat Jadhav of Bold Care shares that the brand takes a more relatable, humorous tone to target younger audiences with a problem-solving approach.
On the other, it runs targeted performance campaigns for the older audiences, reaching them across touchpoints to enhance engagement and raise consideration.
Interestingly, That Sassy Thing has seen consumers from Tier II and III towns too, including Ludhiana, Indore, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Coimbatore, Salem, Siliguri and more. Sachee Malhotra aptly puts across that self-love is a universal and super relatable emotion, and its messaging, which focuses on prioritising your pleasure, resonates with the community.
The dilemma of advertising on social media
Despite the growing acceptance, advertising for sexual wellness brands remains tricky, especially on social media, where strict policies regulate suggestive content. Paid ads on Google and Meta-owned platforms are often rejected or taken down, while Amazon prohibits sexual wellness brands from promoting or sponsoring their products on its site.
Bold Care’s Jadhav explains, “Our creative teams have cracked the code on this very well. We use indicative copy and imagery that effectively navigate the restrictions and prompt the user to try our products. Whether it's puns, pop culture references, or just plain humour, we create ads that capture the user’s interest without being obscene or out there.”
That Sassy Thing, a community-led brand, has sidestepped restrictions by focusing on organic engagement, newsletters, and referrals, according to Malhotra. Love Depot, on the other hand, is investing in SEO, influencer partnerships, and educational content to drive visibility while navigating platform restrictions.
TTK Healthcare’s Shrivastava shares that navigating ad restrictions has inspired innovation. The brand is investing in SEO, influencer partnerships, and organic social engagement.
“By creating value-driven content, we ensure that our audience finds us through trusted sources rather than just direct promotions. We collaborate with wellness experts, therapists, and educators to create insightful discussions, making sexual wellness part of a larger self-care narrative.”
How Quick Commerce is changing the game
With platforms like Blinkit and Zepto dominating last-minute gifting and essentials, quick commerce (Q-com) has refined accessibility for sexual wellness products. Rajat Jadhav predicts a lot of same-day orders or last-minute orders for Bold Care’s Extend Range and Condoms. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, the brand has noticed pre-emptive purchases to enhance the mood with date-night kits.
Additionally, Q-comm interfaces have new options to advertise and navigate product placement with the incognito feature also gaining traction.
Sachee Malhotra echoes this sentiment, stating that Q-com platforms are strategically pushing the category with UI/UX changes during Valentine’s week, making products more visible and accessible.
“Channels like Blinkit and Zepto have their entire UI/UX owning Valentine’s week and really pushing the category and traffic towards sexual wellness brands, by giving super prominent visibility and space on the app homepage.”
These platforms have specific brands and products curated for each of the seven days, such as Rose Day, Chocolate Day, Hug Day, and more. On the other hand, Blinkit has ‘Single Mode’ and a curated section around ‘Kinks’, while Zepto has different tiles and curated brands according to different stages of a relationship. It features That Sassy Thing’s products, such as massagers and handcuffs.
“We are already seeing a 5X jump in our sales, and interestingly, we’re seeing a lot of interest in our newest handcuffs that we just launched on Blinkit.”
She shares that initiation into the self-care routine often starts with an impulse purchase, which is why quick commerce plays such a crucial role. Additionally, offers like pay-in-EMIs over 3 or 12 months have helped sexual wellness brands.
Redefining love, one conversation at a time
While Valentine’s Day continues to be a celebration of love, it’s also an opportunity to expand the conversation around intimacy, self-love, and pleasure. Brands are taking bold steps to normalise these discussions, using humour, education, and cultural relevance to shift perceptions.
Shiva Shrivastava comments that collaborating with sexual wellness educators and influencers across wellness, travel, and self-care helps brands like Love Depot educate, engage, and empower consumers in authentic and relatable ways.
“Consumer attitudes are evolving—younger generations see pleasure as self-care, and over time, we expect conversations around sexual wellness to be as normalised as skincare or mental health.” This could potentially shift the perception of such gifts merely being for Valentine’s Day to a movement that champions intimacy, confidence, and self-expression all year round.
The road to breaking taboos is long, but this Valentine’s Day, one thing is clear: love isn’t just about roses and chocolates. It’s also about embracing intimacy, understanding pleasure, and creating a space where these conversations are as normal as any other aspect of love.