WESTWOOD, Calif. — Playboy Enterprises International Inc. has struck an exclusive global licensing deal with a longtime Thai business partner for Playboy-branded condoms and lubricants.
The deal with Thai Nippon Rubber Industry Public Co. Ltd., announced today, is expected to produce “innovative new products which will drive expansion” in the U.S. and across Europe.
Thai Nippon has been the manufacturer of Playboy condoms since the product line's inception in 2010 under partnership with United Medical Devices LLC, the former licensee.
More than 100 million condoms have been distributed throughout the world since the inception of the license.
Westwood, Calif.-based Playboy, an iconic brand for more than 60 years, is one of the most recognized and popular consumer brands in the world, enjoying 97-percent unaided global brand awareness.
Through licensing agreements, the Playboy brand appears on a wide range of consumer products in more than 180 countries, selling in excess of $1.5 billion worth of goods annually. It also licenses retail stores and entertainment venues on three continents.
Bangkok-based Thai Nippon said it has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility and is registered with numerous health agencies across the globe, including the FDA in the U.S.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to partner directly with Playboy and are confident that the power of the Playboy brand combined with Thai Nippon’s superior expertise in this category will create new and expanded opportunities with distribution partners, retail partners and customers all over the world," Thai Nippon CEO Amorn Dararattanaroj said.
In addition to the release of new products, Thai Nippon said that it will create a Playboy condom and lubricants marketing campaign, #RespectYourPartner, that promises to foster healthy relationships and safe intimacy.
