The condom market - United Kingdom

1.2 A growing contraceptive method worldwide

The condom is, on a global scale, a contraceptive technique that belongs to the short-term contraceptive methods. It is present on all continents, but although very easy to use, it is not in the majority.

Worldwide, *** million women of childbearing age use contraception, according to the UN. This sample is relevant in that it allows for the inclusion of all contraceptive methods, both those that are apparently purely female and those that are male.

Method of contraception used by women aged **-** World, ****, % Source: ****

In light of the above graph, in ****, only *** million women aged **-** worldwide report using the male condom as a method of contraception.

Number of women reporting use of male condoms for contraception World, ****-****, in millions of people Source: ****

The use of this method is growing worldwide, as are other methods of contraception, with its use tripling in ** years.

The male condom in the world

The global condom market is growing rapidly, driven by increasing demand from Asian countries.

Size of the condom market World, ****-****, in US$ billion Source Businesswire  

The above graph shows the value of the global condom market from **** to ****; during this period, a CAGR of around *.*% was expected.

However, this dynamism ...

1.3 The European market

In Europe, **.*% of women aged **-** report using any method of contraception, i.e. **.* million women in this age group across the continent.

Contraceptive methods used by women aged ** to ** Europe, ****, % Source: ****

If **.*% of European women aged **-** use condoms, this means that approximately **.* million women on the European continent will do so in ****.

1.4 The UK market

Lastly, in the United Kingdom, attitudes towards contraception are slightly different from the European average.

Trends in the use of contraceptive methods United Kingdom, ****-****, % Source: ****

There has been a marked change in contraceptive behaviour in the United Kingdom, with the male condom becoming the second most widely used contraceptive method, along with the pill (***).

Even if behaviour seems to be changing in the UK, it is still a relatively niche market.

Evolution of the condom market United Kingdom, ****-****, £ million Source: ****

These figures refer to condom sales in supermarkets and hypermarkets and do not include sales in pharmacies.

This market experienced a relatively significant decline in **** with a contraction in overall sales of -**.*% in one year. The fall in sales volume was even more significant, at -**.*%.

As the decline is greater in volume than in value, there is a slight premiumisation of the market. This is corroborated by a *.*% increase in the price per pack to £*.**.

1.5 Imports and exports

For this section we use UN Comtrade to obtain the trade balances of Spain with the world for category ****** - "Rubber; vulcanized (***), contraceptive sheaths".

Trade balance in condoms United Kingdom, ****-****, $ millions Source: ****

This graph shows us a slowdown in domestic production as well as a slowdown in condom imports into the UK. This slowdown on both sides is accompanied, however, by a trend towards a rebalancing of the British trade balance in condoms.

Importation of condoms United Kingdom, ****, millions of dollars Source: ****

In ****, in terms of imports, the UK is particularly dependent on * Asian countries - Thailand (***) - which together account for almost **% of the country's total condom imports.

1.6 Containment, a temporary shutdown of the industry

Durex CEO, Mr. Narasimhan says the global pandemic has had a significant impact on the number of intimate occasions, according to an interview with Guardian. When the lockdown was declared, the British government asked couples not living together to make a final decision on whether to spend this time together or apart.

In general, the stress caused by this period was a major brake on the expression of couples' passions. The younger generations have had significantly less sex than before the confinement began, according to Mr. Narasimhan.

However, according to Durex figures in the UK, condom sales are now on the rise after a decline in sales during the lockdown periods. There has been a significant rebound.

Condom sales at Boots United Kingdom, ****-****, base *** Source: ****

The Boots network being the second-largest retailer of personal care products in the United Kingdom, the trends it describes are sufficiently reliable to reflect the overall development of the market in the United Kingdom.

In line with this trend, it is observed here that condom sales doubled in May **** compared to May **** sales. The online sale of condoms is not left behind as it has also seen a spectacular growth over the same period at ...

2.1 Heterogeneous demand according to age

While we have seen that more and more women aged **-** are using condoms as a method of contraception between **** and ****, this dynamic can be qualified.

Indeed, there is a profound disaffection with condom use among younger people. In ****, **% of young British men who had had sex at least once in the four weeks preceding the survey said they had used a condom every time, but the results of the most recent surveys are radically different.

Condom use by British **-** year olds United Kingdom, ****, % Source: ****

The survey was the starting point for a national awareness campaign among British young people about the risks of unprotected sex. Launched in December ****, it promoted widespread condom use. It was also supported by many partners, such as Durex and the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV (***).

It was prompted by the finding that nearly * out of ** British people (***) diagnosed with an STI were in this age group.

This trend may even include other age groups, as in a recent survey by News Patrolling, only a quarter of Britons reportedly used a condom the last time they had sex.

This seems to suggest that a rather small segment of the British population is absorbing ...

2.2 Some stability in interest in online condoms

Here is the history of the evolution of searches for "condoms" in the UK over the last * years.

Evolution of Google searches on "condoms" United Kingdom, ****-****, base *** Source: ****

The graph above represents the proportion of searches for a given keyword in a given region and for a specific period, compared to the time when the rate of use of this keyword was highest (***). Thus, a value of ** means that the keyword was used less often in France, and a value of * means that there is insufficient data for this keyword.

While we can see that a minimum number of searches were carried out for condoms in April **** in the UK, we can see that the evolution of these searches seems to be rather seasonal and that the effect of successive confinements was not as important as expected. In the graph above, there is no real drop-off in Google searches for "condoms".

3.1 Global production polarized by Asia

Worldwide, the most common male condom brands are Durex, Manix, Intimy, Protex, Nepenthes, My.Size specialize. For women, the best known brands are Ormelle and Mifarma.

The male condom is made either of latex from the sap of the rubber tree or of polyurethane obtained from petroleum derivatives. The female condom, as for him, is composed of nitrile, derived from ammonium salts of organic acids, and sometimes of polyurethane.

According to a FAO, Asia accounts for almost **% of the world's natural rubber supply. Africa (***) share the rest of the production, with Oceania only managing to obtain *.*%.

Natural rubber (***) is produced mainly in Thailand, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, India, China, Ivory Coast and Malaysia.

World's largest producer of natural gum World, ****, in millions of tonnes Source: ****

If we look at the finished product side, the largest condom producer in the world is Malaysia's Karex, which in **** produced * billion condoms, which is about **% of the world's production according to Forbes.

According to an ADEME carried out in ****, based on **** data, polyurethane is also predominantly manufactured in Asia with **% of global production. Europe comes second with **%, followed by the United States with **% of global production. However, these figures should be analysed with caution as ...

3.2 Rather varied distribution channels

In the UK, there are * main distribution channels for condoms:

Large and medium-sized stores Pharmacies Internet (***) Vending machines Condoms distributed free of charge by various institutions/authorities (***)

While data specific to condom sales are not readily available, the market for condoms in this case can be extended to include personal care and toiletry products

Market share of toiletries United Kingdom, ****, % Source: ****

While Boots is the largest pharmaceutical network in the UK with near **% of the global figures, the market share of condoms sold by supermarkets and pharmacies is likely to be balanced in ****.

The C-Card as a means of promoting condoms by the public authorities

The C-Card is a tool introduced by the British health services to encourage mainly young people up to the age of ** to use condoms as a means of contraception by making them free. According to the latest study, approximately *% of Britons aged ** to ** would have a C-Card. According to the same study, about £*.* million a year is spent by the public authorities to provide this service.

The slogan of this campaign is "Free Condoms. No Names. No Judgement. No Problem" which means that every cardholder can get free condoms, all without giving any personal information about ...

3.3 A UK market largely dominated by Durex

In the UK market, one major player is crushing the others, taking over **% of sales.

Sales of the main condom brands United Kingdom, ****, EUR millions Source: ****

There is therefore a quasi-monopoly situation in the United Kingdom exercised by Durex.

Evolution of the turnover of the main condom brands United Kingdom, ****-****, % Source: ****

If Durex crushes the market by being ** times bigger than its first competitor, we notice nevertheless that new players emerge thanks to a slightly different positioning.

3.4 Growth captured by small players

The future growth prospects for the smaller players seem to be quite good compared to the large groups.

Growth of small players in the condom market United Kingdom, ****, % Source: ****

While Woowoo's growth looks exceptional compared to ****, this number needs to be qualified because the starting point for sales volumes in **** was very low.

The brand's founder, Lucy Anderson, entered the market in **** having identified a "real gap in the market for intimate hygiene products designed by women for women".

In ****, Woowoo began distributing its condoms in supermarkets, sensing the demand for new products. Woowoo's positioning promotes a sexuality free of stigma towards women, tends to shake up the codes within the products already available, or rather to bring them back to the forefront after the #metoo movement.

In general, in the UK market, new players in the market where brands with rather low market shares were the only ones to grow in **** when the more established brands struggled to maintain their share.

4.1 A major innovation for even more comfort?

In general, Britons who are reluctant to use condoms are reluctant for reasons of comfort: they don't know how to use them or don't feel pleasure when using them.

In an attempt to overcome the barriers to their use, researchers have been looking at ways to improve the condom through innovative materials and technologies.

They have identified graphene as the ideal material to improve the characteristics of the condom. Graphene is described as the thinnest, lightest and strongest material in the world, according to Aravind Vijayaraghavan, a material scientist at the National Graphene Institute at the University of Manchester. Because it is only one atom thick, however, graphene cannot be used alone. A combination with latex or polyurethane could, however, increase the strength of condoms by **% and make them **% thinner, according to the BBC.

If this type of condom is not yet commercialized, this type of innovative and reinforced rubber should allow brands, in the future, to seduce populations that were previously sceptical of the traditional condom.

4.2 Price analysis

Here is a summary table of the top-selling condoms on Amazon in the UK.

Two major findings can be seen in this table: Durex is the undisputed leader on the British market, with * of the ** best-selling products, including the top *. We also observe that the price per unit decreases proportionally to the number of condoms in the pack.

We can also identify two distinct positioning between the Durex and Skyn brands. The first one has a rather standard positioning with multiple references. The second one adopts a more premium positioning. For the same quantity, for ** condoms, the Durex Thin Feel pack costs £*.** each, while the Skyn Elite pack costs £*.** each.

This price difference can also be explained by the fact that Skyn offers exclusively latex-free condoms, made of Polyisoprene, a more expensive technology.

5.1 Regulation of medical devices in the UK

In the UK, condoms are considered medical devices.

If you are a UK-based manufacturer and intend to supply medical devices to the UK, you should be aware of the following regulations:

The Medical Devices Regulations **** (***) The General Product Safety Regulations **** (***).

These regulations are safety regulations under the Consumer Protection Act **** and as such the MHRA can investigate any commercial activity that is covered by these regulations under the Consumer Rights Act ****.

To ensure that medical devices placed on the market and put into service in the UK meet these regulatory requirements, we perform the following activities:

Evaluate all allegations of non-compliance made to us, using a risk-based system Monitor the activity of UK recognized organizations appointed by the MHRA to assess the compliance of manufacturers Investigate medical devices based on adverse event reports or information indicating a potential problem

These activities form part of our market surveillance obligations under Regulation ***/****, and we conduct them in accordance with the statutory principles of the Code for Regulators. Further information on the MHRA's role in market surveillance is available here.

If you are found to be in breach of the regulations, you will usually be contacted by the MHRA's Compliance Unit, who will raise ...

6.1 Segmentation

Here is an overview of the major players in the UK condom market.

• Durex (Reckitt Benkiser)
• Amazon UK
• Tesco
• Boots
• Sainsbury