India is toying with sexual wellness more than ever

A handful of sellers but a burgeoning target audience signal the potential of the personal intimacy market

In just six months during the lockdown in 2020, the Sangya Project organically accumulated more than 2,500 customers. An Instagram account for sexual education quickly evolved into a thriving digital store, retailing queer adult intimacy products at an average price of ₹2,500. With over 18,000 followers, the Sangya Project is indicative of the potential in the personal intimacy space.“The pleasure products came in about six months [after launch] when we realised we needed to monetise our platform to keep writing and posting free material,” says Aashish Mehrotra, co-founder of the Sangya Project. “What started as us reviewing a few products to help our readers choose products for themselves more wisely soon turned into realising what kind of products we would be happy to sell ourselves and make available to Indian consumers.”Not coincidentally then, a survey conducted by one of the oldest and most successful players in the sexual wellness industry, ThatsPersonal.com—founded in 2013—reported a 65 per cent rise in the online sale of sex toys after the COVID-19 induced lockdowns in 2020. The survey— ‘India Uncovered: Insightful Analysis of Sex Products’ —also revealed other findings, such as the fact that women over 45 in India are the most loyal customers of the website.

Now and then

Back in 2008, though, only one in 20 Indian women admitted to using sex toys, according to the India Today-AC Nielsen-ORG MARG sex survey. Circa this time, those seeking battery-operated thrills relied on discreet walks through spots like Mumbai’s Crawford Market or Delhi’s Palika Bazar, fervently hoping known faces didn’t spot them. Today, a single online search surfaces hundreds of retailers in every city, guaranteeing that big O.

There’s something for everyone, budget and kink notwithstanding. Companies like Guptt retail luxury gender-inclusive intimacy products, while Bengaluru-based Love Treats aims to dispel shame around female sexuality. Mumbai-based MyMuse, also launched in 2020, wants to revolutionise how Indians make love. Both Nykaa and Amazon also retail sexual wellness products. Slightly more niche and very upmarket are Kosa Wellbeing’s sensual oils and aids available online. Indians are keen on exploring intimacy in a way like never before.

“But if you look closer, there are only three to four big players who have done something significant. It’s a very small industry,” says Rahber Nazir, founder of Anduril Retail Pvt Ltd, a company that owns Kaamastra, an online sexual wellness store founded in 2013.

Globally, the sex toys market size was valued at $33.64 billion in 2020. It is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.04 per cent from 2021 to 2028, culminating in a $52.39 billion industry. While India doesn’t have agencies tracking the sale or use of sex toys, different sources cite varying numbers. Projections tend to cover the entire sexual wellness gamut, of which sex toys are a significant segment. But firms like TechSci Research are exploring the numbers. Their latest ‘India SexToys Market By Product’ touted the industry to be valued at $91.34 million in 2020 with a double-digit CAGR of 15.87 per cent until 2026.

Entrepreneurs like Kaamastra who have stayed the course in India have reaped the benefits. Sales have tripled for the company over the last three years. They’ve also acquired the online adult store Itsplezure—founded by Divya Kaushik—in 2018. “From where it was back then, we have scaled up about 200 to 250 per cent in the last three years,” says Nazir. ThatsPersonal.com has been enjoying a 35 to 40 per cent CAGR for the past decade.

However, this growth is attributed to many drivers; the most important has been growing Internet penetration. Following the digital revolution spurred by the lockdown, e-commerce hit the roof in India, now sporting a projected growth of 84 per cent reaching $111 billion by 2024. E-commerce will grow to become a $350 billion industry by 2030. As a result, logistics and operations have improved, servicing wider areas. Naturally, D2C (direct to consumer) emerged as the most effective solution that propelled the adult intimacy market during the pandemic. As Nazir rightly says, “What else is there to do when you’re stuck at home? Customers are asking for specific stuff, and they want to experiment.”

Growing pains

However, not all is hunky-dory in the sex toys business. Sex was and still remains a taboo for a significant part of the Indian population. By default, the growth of the adult sex toy market dispels the misconception of these products being illegal in the country. Entrepreneurs have cleverly worked around Section 292 of the Indian Penal Code that deals with obscenity. “There’s a rule of thumb we follow: Does the product you’re selling resemble any part of the human anatomy and will a child recognise that?” reveals Samir Saraiya, founder of Thatspersonal.com, which retails massagers, not vibrators, disguised as a tube of lipstick or arousal oils in nail polish bottles. A cursory search for massagers on e-commerce giants Nykaa and Amazon too will bring up full body massagers (Pee Safe’s Domina) and other “pain-relief” gadgets.

Adult sex toys business owners have circumvented the law, but changing mindsets has been a slow journey. The stigma of the industry has extended to funding, which has remained a barrier that won’t budge. Money has and continues to drip from the high net-worth individual (HNI) level, rarely expanding to institutional sources. “The whole investor community also shies away and are prudish about this category,” says Saraiya. “Even when we talk about customs duties and logistics, etc., a fair amount is also spent to educate them about why you’re on the right side of the law; this whole taboo aspect is very much prevalent.” When competitors Kamakart and Gizmoswala launched the country’s first in-person sexual wellness products store, Kama Gizmos in Goa, they were shuttered within a month after public outcry.

Sangya Project’s Mehrotra echoes the sentiment. The response has been encouraging, but the journey, rough. “Navigating customs and engaging with banks to create a smooth e-payment gateway once they see the nature of our business has also been difficult,” he says, hoping for a clearer definition of the law. “It’s exhausting to meet with so much resistance when [customers] are clearly asking for access to these tools and resources.

The future is fun

So far, importing products has been the only recourse for entrepreneurs to sustain their businesses. Manufacturing in India is a gamble most aren’t willing to take, albeit Raj Armani’s IMBesharam announced the launch of India-made masturbators named ‘Samaaj’ and ‘Sanskaar’, which are yet to hit the market. Saraiya believes India has not reached a critical mass where manufacturing across the board is viable. “Also, government policy is again a question mark in terms of putting in so much capital,” he says.


But this won’t slow down customisation for the Indian market. With the D2C model, business owners directly converse with customers, quickly modifying inventory to suit India’s insatiable appetite for sex toys. “We’re solving genuine problems, and we’re fulfilling something important in the market,” laughs Nazir, who loves his job. “It’s literally making other people’s lives better and having fun while doing that!”

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