ORLANDO, Fla. — Divine 9 personal lubricant has revamped its packaging to give it the “wow factor” that director of sales Jeff Hawkins says it was previously lacking.
Formerly in a clear bottle that looked “rather clinical,” the lube now comes in a semi-transparent cobalt blue bottle. The overall packaging schematics highlight the product using sensual purples, blues, silver and velvet.
“It kind of looks intriguing,” Hawkins said, explaining that the clear bottle had emphasized the natural, slightly yellow color of the lubricant.
But it’s the yellow hue that makes Divine 9 so extraordinary: Hawkins said that the color can be attributed to the lubricant's most prized ingredient, sea-algae derived Carrageenan, or Carragel.
Carragel is reported to have HPV-blocking properties that are currently being studied at McGill University in Montreal, the Divine Corporation says. The study is called "CATCH," which stands for "Carrageenan-gel Against Transmission of Cervical HPV infection."
“It’s kind of groundbreaking actually,” Hawkins told XBIZ. “They’re using Divine 9 — though they can’t mention our product name in any of their research releases because it would look like they’re promoting us — but it is the product that they’re using in the testing of 450 females in [phase three of] the clinical trials.”
The same team at McGill are in negotiations to use Divine 9’s lube for a similar study with gay men, Hawkins said.
He added that the Canadian university had heard about Divine 9 from the National Cancer Institute in the U.S., where a research body ran the first experiments using the lubricant several years ago.
Despite the lube's possible benefits, Hawkins implied that its sales were stunted because of its clinical presentation.
“We had a really good product but it wasn’t packaged the way that a lot of people thought it needed to be packaged if we were going to sell it in the adult community,” he said.
“Not only does it have potential medical benefits for safety, it’s a great lubricant – it has great play characteristics,” he said. The water-based lube is hypoallergenic and paraben-and-glycerin free.
Hawkins, who formerly worked for Hustler, decided to collect suggestions and feedback from adult industry insiders for the company’s impending revamp, including the folk that gathered at the recent XBIZ Retreat in Miami.
“Everybody likes it. Let's put it that way,” Hawkins said, referencing Divine 9’s new look.
