Jellytime Wants You to Put Pleasure Foward
Sex-care is self-care, according to sexual wellness brand Jellytime. Launched just last March 31 with a natural personal lubricant, the dream for Jellytime is to create a safe space around sex and pleasure in the Philippines. L'Officiel speaks to founders Belle Daza and Ava Daza on how they are bringing this conversation to the forefront of a typically conservative Filipino culture.
Sexual wellness is hardly an easy and open topic in Filipino culture, so most people respond similarly—or with more cringe, squirming, or embarrassment—to a conversation that focuses primarily on pleasure.
There are many layers as to why this is a tough discussion in the Philippines—deep religious roots and a patriarchal society for example, lead a lot to believe that sex is only for procreation and not for enjoyment, among many other misinformed myths surrounding sex. But sexual wellness brand Jellytime plans to help scratch the surface of this cultural wall to bring a thoughtful conversation about sex and pleasure to all.
They launched last March 31 with a natural personal lubricant that's ph-balanced, hypoallergenic, vegan, plant-based, silicone-free, fragrance-free, cruelty-free, paraben-free, and FDA-approved, and it comes in a cute squeezy bottle that makes the experience of buying yourself lube for the first time a fun and approachable one. It's transparent with its ingredients, which are: water, citric acid, aloe vera, hyaluronic acid, hydroxyethyl cellulose, sodium polyacrylate, and propylene glycol (the last three to give it slip and texture).
On top of making our sexual lives just a little smoother, Jellytime also espouses education, communication, consent, and inclusivity when they talk about sex. After all, according to them "sex-care is self-care" and "everybody and every body deserves pleasure."
L'Officiel speaks to the founders and sisters Belle Daza and Ava Daza—keep reading for more about Jellytime below.
Jellytime is founded by Ava and Belle who also launched Sexytime podcast some months ago! Is this coincidence or was it intended to go hand in hand?
It wasn’t a coincidence we launched The Sexytime podcast months before Jellytime. When we initially came up with the idea of Jellytime our biggest hurdle was the idea of getting people to open up to the idea of lube because sex and pleasure is so taboo in our society. We thought one way we could help change this view was to start talking about it publicly the way we do with each other, and that’s how The Sexytime Podcast was created. Fortunately the podcast also took a life of its own! There’s just so much to talk about under sexual wellness and people are finally ready to have that conversation.
Building off of Sexytime, it's really great how you continually push for openness in conversations about sex especially in the Philippines. Do you plan on extending that into Jellytime's voice?
The Sexytime podcast was created because we wanted a safe space to talk about sex, where people could join us and learn about sexual health; Jellytime believes that everyone has the right to pleasure and we want to bridge that gap for them. Yes, there is an overlap of where we want to get to when it comes to the conversation around sex and sexual wellness. Ultimately, both brands have the same goal which is for people to prioritize sexual health instead of be ashamed of it.
So, it's a personal lubricant—why this choice for your launch product? Will you be launching other sexual wellness products too?
We feel like the benefits of lube isn’t as highlighted in the realm of sexual wellness as it should be, when in fact it really is SO important. It can be the biggest factor in making that experience pleasurable or painful for you. We wanted to create the most ideal formula that was suitable to all skin types and fragrance free for everyone to have access to. Definitely, we do plan to expand our sexual wellness line.
What was the moment that led you to decide on creating Jellytime?
In 2020, I kept trying to get my friends and sister to try it and they were all so hesitant at first, and eventually they came back to me to ask where to buy more. That's where I got the idea of creating the perfect lube formula. It wasn't until we were having dinner one time at my sisters house when Martine, my sister and I started building on the idea of Jellytime. The brand evolved a lot from our first conversation but from the very beginning we all wanted to create something pleasurable that people wouldn't be ashamed to buy. —Ava
We wanted a clean lube that was transparent with its ingredients! We couldn't find one so we made one! —Belle
Filipinos and our culture still make it so embarrassing to talk about sex, much less sexual wellness and sex toys, which shouldn't be the case. How does Jellytime plan on making this experience something more approachable to the regular Filipino?
This has definitely our biggest consideration in creating our brand. Our vision for Jellytime is to help people feel its safe to explore pleasure for their own bodies and not be ashamed of doing it. We want the brand to feel relatable and approachable by creating products that you wouldn't be shy to own. We also want to initiate the hard conversations around sex and pleasure that aren't happening but should.
What do you love about the product itself?
Jellytime was made with everyone in mind. When we did our market research, many users were forced to stop because of allergic reactions to their lube so top priority for us was for it to be hypoallergenic and to use naturally derived ingredients. We chose water-based because we all love that it’s can be used with toys and its really easy to wash off. The thickness was also really important to us because we wanted something not too watery that it gets messy but not too thick that it feels sticky. It took us 18 months to perfect but we’re all proud to have the most ideal lube formula in Jellytime.
Campaign images c/o the brand by Cenon at Mav
