Reflecting a shift away from emerging brands that take patience and investment to gain traction, Reckitt has shuttered Queen V, a brand it acquired in 2021 to raise its profile in sexual wellness and intimate care.
The shuttering comes two years after Queen V was rebranded and reentered mass-market retail and nearly a year after a CEO transition at Reckitt—Kris Licht took over the post from Nicandro Durante in October 2023—has led to a reassessment of previous strategies. Reckitt has deleted Queen V’s social media accounts, and its website is redirecting visitors to the global consumer packaged goods conglomerate’s lubricant brand K-Y.
In an email, a spokesperson for Reckitt tells Beauty Independent, “We continuously evaluate our product portfolio to align with consumer demands and market trends. At present, we do not intend to manufacture any more Queen V products.”
Queen V appears not to have met a test that Licht has established for businesses in Reckitt’s portfolio. In a question-and-answer session on Oct. 25 last year, he articulated that test is for the businesses to “have a long-term runway for growth,” “attractive earnings model,” and “a source of competitive advantage to give us a great vantage point that we can compete from.”
Reckitt isn’t the only conglomerate right-sizing its portfolio. Unilever has divested a number of assets and is reportedly trying to offload Kate Somerville and Ren Clean Skincare. In June, the company completed a deal to sell Elida Beauty, a platform with 20-plus beauty and personal care brands like Q-Tips, Caress, Timotei and Tigi, to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners. Last year, it closed brand incubator The Uncovery.
According to Queen V founder Lauren Steinberg, who stayed on board with the brand post-acquisition, Reckitt terminated her employment in 2023 while she was on maternity leave. She launched Queen V in 2018 as part of Brandable, a now-defunct brand incubator founded by her then boyfriend and now husband, Oliver Bogner. She was inspired to create Queen V by her experience with chronic yeast infections and tapped her father, gynecologist Jeffrey Steinberg, to help formulate its better-for-you intimate hygiene and wellness products suitably for vaginal pH balance.
“Prior to and during leave, I had received assurances that I would be returned to work at Reckitt,” says Steinberg. “Unfortunately, it didn’t work out that way.” Following Licht’s assumption of the CEO post and priority changes at Reckitt, she adds, “I was involved in some discussions and gave some recommendations. However, I ended up giving birth and going on maternity leave in the middle of most of the high-level conversations and decision-making.”
Queen V started with 11 products priced from $2.50 to around $15, including vaginal moisturizer Spray Bay Bay, daily capsules DD Probiotic, homeopathic suppository The Eraser, rose water spray The Spritzer and lubricant P.S. I Lube You. The brand had vibrant packaging and frank messaging. It promptly landed at 4,000 Walmart doors—racking up $500,000 in sales in one month—and scored investment from early-stage venture capital firm Lightspeed.
“We continuously evaluate our product portfolio to align with consumer demands and market trends.”
When it sold to Reckitt, Steinberg understood she would no longer have control over Queen V, but felt it was the right move for the brand. She says, “I was excited to learn and grow at Reckitt.”
With the acquisition, Queen V joined Reckitt’s health global business unit alongside K-Y and Durex. At the time, Olga Osminkina-Jones, global SVP of sexual well-being at Reckitt, said, “Queen V is a fantastic purpose-driven brand with products that appeal to the needs of our diverse and evolving customer base. This innovative brand has the potential to enhance wellness and make a positive difference to many consumers’ daily lives. Working together with the Queen V team, we are committed to the shared mission of destigmatization, focusing on women’s needs and vagina-positivity.”
Back then, all signs suggested Reckitt was supporting emerging brands and intimate care and sexual wellness. Osminkina-Jones was named SVP and global growth officer for intimate wellness to strengthen the company’s intimate wellness business, and intimate wellness became a standalone division at it. Subsequent to its rebrand, Queen V launched in over 7,000 Walgreens locations and hundreds of Urban Outfitters and Meijer stores. It arrived online at Target, too.
In 2020, Reckitt formed Access VC as a venture capital arm to invest in health, hygiene and nutrition startups. It backed pioneering brands in the sexual health space such as Maude, The Future Method and Jude. As covered by the publication Modern Retail, by 2023, Access VC had invested $50 million in 30 startups; its portfolio generated $120 million in annual recurring revenue; and it raised at least $100 million in follow-on capital.
Reckitt’s intimate wellness division and Access VC saw personnel flee last year as Reckitt turned its attention elsewhere. Osminkina-Jones departed the former, and Rakesh Narayana, who was managing director and founder of Access VC, departed the latter. A spokesperson for Reckitt informed Beauty Independent that Access VC is still operating, but most of the people who had populated its team are no longer there.
Reckitt’s heath unit, which incorporates its intimate wellness brands K-Y and Durex as well as supplement, personal care, germ protection and over-the-counter brands, is growing slightly amid the company’s strategy shifts. In the first half of this year, the health unit’s revenue was up 1.3% to 2.9 billion pounds or almost $3.9 billion at the current exchange rate.
“In the future, all body care brands will need to be mindful of pH balance.”
Reckitt noted intimate wellness, supplement and non-seasonal OTC brands “delivered strong growth.” The health unit’s sales, responsible for 41% of the company’s total sales in the first half of the year, are forecasted to climb by a mid-single-digit percentage this year. Durex, labeled a “powerbrand” by Reckitt, is the No. 1 global condom brand.
The intimate wellness space has evolved significantly since Queen V’s launch. A sustained body care boom has sparked a rise in premium-priced products for below the neck, and there’s been a proliferation of brands across the pricing spectrum, making Queen V’s proposition less unique.
Among the brands in the segment are VJJ Health, Antevorta, Ina Labs, Luna Daily, Beia and Medicine Mama. Even L’Oréal-owned Kiehl’s recently made its debut in the segment with intimate skincare products, and legacy players like Summer’s Eve are attempting to modernize to compete in the increasingly crowded arena.
Despite Queen V’s shuttering, Hannah Samano, founder and CEO of women’s health e-commerce destination Unfabled, believes there’s plenty of room in the market for bold intimate care brands. She says, “Newcomers like VJJ Health have quickly gained popularity at Unfabled, thanks to their fun, bright branding that resonates with gen Z and their ‘say it like it is’ approach.”
Samano points out that Unfabled is detecting a surge in interest in brands that transcend the intimate care category. “Luna Daily has emerged as our top-selling intimate skincare brand, offering more than just vulva care. They’re creating body care that’s conscious of intimate health,” she says. “In the future, all body care brands will need to be mindful of pH balance.”
As for Steinberg, the entrepreneurial bug has bitten her once again, and she’s introduced Daycare, a baby clothing brand that will soon release maternity clothes. “We make getting dressed for moms and little ones seamless with carefree outfits for dress up or dress down,” she says. “The best part of this business is that I am able to work with my daughter on it and create long-lasting clothing items that one day she will be able to pass down.”
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