Source: Thornton & Ross

Thornton & Ross said the new name would ‘communicate intimacy and connection’

Top lube brand KY Jelly is completely relaunching with a new name. 

The Thornton & Ross brand – which is currently the UK’s second bestselling lubricant – has been reimagined as Kynect, a name it said would “communicate intimacy and connection”.

Thornton & Ross head of insight and innovation Jo Marshall told The Grocer the move would “modernise” the KY brand and help it become “more inclusive”. 

The new brand would “talk to a group of consumers who are not being talked to by lubricants in the market and start to build an emotional connection, with who we would call ‘sex neglector’ – the 30-plus audience who are time poor, and juggling so many different things that sex has moved down their priority list – helping them regain that intimacy.

New packs will begin to roll out this week with the tagline “KY Jelly soon to be Kynect” on them, teasing the relaunch.

”Other brands talk to different groups likes experimentalists who are looking for fun an adventure in the bedroom, but we’re trying to connext with [the 30-plus audience] on a deeper level to enhance their relationship more than just a casual sex encounter.”

That the brand helps “alleviate the symptoms of vaginal dryness” has moved to the back of the pack to reflect this, she said. “All lubricants have to have that on the pack but we’ve found it’s a bit of barrier to gay men or people who might be using the lubricant to enhance [sex] rather than to ease discomfort.

“There’s still a bit of a stigma that it’s for older people who might have dried up a little bit, which people don’t necessarily want to be associated with.”

The move comes after a rocky year for the brand – it grew significantly in 2019 but volumes fell 8.5% this year [Nielsen 52 w/e 5 September 2020].

“There’s more online sales in the past and a little bit of a shift in how people buy their enhancement products, taking it out of the traditional retail channel we play in,” said Marshall.