On October 27, 2026, Reckitt published its Q3 2026 trading update. Away from the Lysol headlines, its sexual-wellness business was one of its strongest performers. Intimate Wellness grew +6.4% like-for-like, level with Germ Protection (+6.0%) as the fastest-growing category across Core Reckitt. Group LFL net revenue grew a slower +3.3%. Reckitt said Durex, "the #1 condom brand worldwide," grew mid-single-digit, "driven by volume growth and consumer adoption of our premium innovations, including Durex Intensity, alongside improving trends in China."

Why It Matters

Reckitt is one of the few public companies that reports a sexual-wellness category every quarter, which makes this one of the industry's most useful regular data points. Two signals stand out. First, the growth is coming from **premiumisation**: volume *and* mix are up because consumers are trading up to higher-margin products like Durex Intensity rather than buying the cheapest condom. That matches the specialty-mix shift behind recent [condom-market forecasts](/stories/condom-market-double-digit-growth-2026). Second, the China commentary is a reminder that sexual-wellness brands sell inside platform rules. "Content restriction changes" on Chinese social commerce forced Durex to change its marketing, the same kind of distribution risk Western brands face from [Meta and Google ad bans](/stories/sexual-health-orgs-platform-ad-bans). The brand also keeps adding new marketing channels, from [menopause-friendly MTick certification](/stories/reckitt-genm-mtick-durex-ky) to [football-sponsorship innuendo](/stories/durex-get-wood-rising-woodley).

Region by region. Reckitt's release lists Durex among the Powerbrands returning to growth in Europe in the quarter. In Emerging Markets, Intimate Wellness grew mid-single-digit, with double-digit growth in India, Brazil and South Africa, and Reckitt said Durex delivered "both volume growth and strong mix contribution." China is the weak spot it's working to fix. Durex there grew only low-single-digit "as we continued to improve execution following the impacts of the VAT introduction," with share gains "across social e-commerce channels as we continued to adapt to content restriction changes." A MarketBeat-syndicated summary of the earnings call says the Intimate Wellness category also includes Veet, which grew double-digit, so the +6.4% isn't all condoms.

The bigger picture at Reckitt. The quarter is mostly remembered for the bad news. North America fell -1.3% LFL because manufacturing constraints left Reckitt unable to meet Lysol demand, and the company cut full-year Core Reckitt LFL guidance to +3.5% to +4.5%, citing Lysol and a slowdown in China vitamins and supplements. Against that, Intimate Wellness was one of the reliable growth lines.

Sources

Update — 2026-10-28

Initial entry — story first created.