India to Repackage State-Supplied Condoms in Bid to Attract Users
Wednesday, April 1, 2015
When it comes to the wrappers of India’s state-supplied condoms, boring is out, attractive is in, but erotic is too much.
India is readying a redesign of the staid packaging of its half-century-old condom brand, incorporating pictures of handsome men and gorgeous women, in a desperate bid to seduce customers drawn to fancier versions sold by private firms.
The government gives away 650 million ’Nirodh’ condoms each year in its safe sex campaign, but the text-heavy display and condoms crammed into a white plastic wrapper are a turnoff for many.
“The government-made condom looks sick,” said Vinod Poddar, a taxi driver in the capital, New Delhi, who has avoided the brand for years. “We need looks and quality, and it lacks both.”
To change this perception, India’s health ministry has set up a panel to review pictures as well as more vibrant colours for the wrappers of condoms made by state-owned HLL Lifecare.
The male condom market in India, which has a population of more than 1.2 billion, was worth $152 million by 2011 and is expected to grow 18 percent this year, says market research agency Ken Research.
Source: Reuters (link opens in a new window)
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