innovations are necessary to give newness to the consumer in this category, which is normally hidden from public view at a majority of retail outlets. new delhi vishal vyas, a bookworm, has always followed a thumb rule whenever it comes to buying books "never judge a book by its cover," he says, bursting into laughter. he knows the reason well. vyas is the marketing manager of chennaibased condom brand skore, which has launched a &39book&39 to hide condoms, a first by any condom maker in india. in this country where talking about sex openly is still a taboo, few ask for condoms confidently from a shop "people may wear sex on their sleeves but they still don&39t flaunt condoms," quips vyas. condom makers are trying to find a way around. if skore, the third largest condom brand in india, is pushing up the excitement tempo with its unique hidden pack, others too have been up to the game.kamasutra has wallet packs where the major part of the couple&39s image remains hidden. it also boasts of hardwear packs which are plastic packs easy to carry honeymoon packs that bundle condom with fun accessories such as .. satin blindfold and feather tickler and skyn that resembles a highend perfume pack. "consumers seek excitement in sex, and packaging innovations go a long way in giving a positive emotional appeal to the users," says ranjukumar mohan, director and business head at jk ansell, the company that manufactures and sells kamasutra condoms. innovations are necessary to give newness to the consumer in this category, which is normally hidden from public view at a majority of retail outlets, he adds. condom makers, it seems, are scripting an innovative chapter to make plain rubber sexciting. they are still addressing a largely virgin condom market in india annual sales total just about 53 lakh condoms necessitating brands to think out of the box.innovation is the need of the hour, say marketing experts. with an everevolving sex landscape, society is becoming more open, couples are getting bold and experimentative and sexual attitude is undergoing huge transformation. "when it comes to sex, monotony sets in fast and couples looks for novelty or variety all the time," says vyas. skore&39s &39book&39 makes an effort to address this issue as well, while helping keep the other contents hidden. the first chapter warms up the readers with do&39s and don&39ts on wearing a condom.while the second chapter titillates them with various kinds of condoms, the next arouses them with adventurous sexual poses. and, the last section takes them to climax, where they get to see four packs of condoms. priced at rs 240, the book will be available on online store flipkart starting monday. it is also available on the company&39s own website. "the book is for free. we are charging for just four packs of condoms that&39s inside the book," says vyas. launched in november 2012, skore has been leading the pack with innovations. take, for instance, skore easy.the water resistant pouches to dispose used condoms was launched last month. it has also rolled out india&39s first mobile commerce platform for buying condoms. there are android and ios apps as well to locate condom stores. durex, another condom brand that has bollywood actor ranveer singh as brand ambassador, is also betting big on innovations. "we will soon introduce a &39love pack&39 exclusively on snapdeal, which will be an assortment of products and quirk merchandise," says a spokesperson for reckitt benckiser, which owns the brand.apart from flavoured variants such as strawberry, orange and banana and green apple, durex also has a latex free condom called real feel. the indian condom market is going through an interesting phase. social segment, which has always been the dominant constituent of the overall condom market in india, fell by 6 in 2012 currently, it makes up 40 of the condom market. the expansion of the commercial condom market means consumers are opting for brands of their choice and they are ready to pay a higher price for it.this also announces emergence of a new indian buyer who is assertive and discerning enough," says skore&39s vyas. with millennial generation fiercely guarding their privacy, the &39need to hide&39 at least in personal living spaces might diminish, says smitha sarma ranganathan, a bangalorebased brand communication specialist. however the delirious delight of secrecy in matters of passion will prevail, she adds.
