DKT International, a leading non-profit family planning and HIV/AIDs prevention organization working in Beijing, has begun distribution of MOJO Love Condoms with 648,000 condoms sold in the brand’s first month. High quality, affordable, MOJO Love Condoms are now available to the large number of Chinese youth who have unmet contraception and STD protection needs.
“Although family planning has made great strides in China, a strong need still exists for a wider range of contraceptive and reproductive health choices,” says Dr. Neil Schmid, Country Director, DKT Beijing. “This is especially true of the 250 million unmarried adults aged over 18 who don’t have full access to subsidized or free contraceptives. The national family planning program mainly covers the married population, so unmarried but sexually active individuals typically seek contraceptives in the private market and pay out of pocket for their preferred choices.”
Family planning in China targets married couples and pays scant attention to sex before marriage. Peer-reviewed scientific studies show a poor understanding of contraception among high school students, largely a result of how socio-cultural factors limit sexual education in China. For example, in one survey only 2% of female junior high school respondents answered correctly all questions on contraceptive use, while 46% were unable to answer any such questions. Similarly, in a study on Shaanxi province, 59% of senior high school respondents were unaware of any contraceptive methods at all. Another study demonstrated that in Shenzhen, a Chinese city of 10 million inhabitants near Hong Kong, only 65% of respondents were able to answer the most basic questions on how to use a condom.
In order to reach the wide demographic of 18 to 28 year-olds, DKT Beijing uses innovative strategies to market and sell MOJO Love Condoms at sustainable prices, thereby increasing the range of contraceptive choices for consumers. The product’s early success is in part due to its edgy branding and lower price point at 10% to15% less than the competition. MOJO Love condoms are available through pharmacies and online retailer Alibaba in Ultra Thin, Smooth, and Strawberry, in 12- packs and 3-packs; with additional stock-keeping units (SKUs) to be introduced. DKT has established relationships with a regional distributor in the coastal and central sectors of China with sales set to expand into western China in the first quarter of 2014, and a second distributor in the city of Tianjin will begin sales in September 2013.
“DKT Beijing is also cooperating with the Chinese public sector and with local organizations. For example, DKT Beijing is proud to support the upcoming 2013 China AIDS Walk on the Great Wall in October,” adds Schmid. “We will be donating 30,000 condoms and t-shirts to help generate funds, while working with a number of celebrities and key leaders to help promote the event. Preparations have been underway since July and will include the AIDS Walk on October 13, and a final event on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2013.”
DKT International is one of the largest private providers of family planning, HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health products and services in the developing world, serving 22 million couples in 2012. DKT efforts prevented 8.2 million unwanted pregnancies, 14,000 maternal deaths, and 1.7 million abortions.
