In a country where conversations about sex are still low-key at dinner tables and turn school classrooms awkwardly silent, brands like Sassiest are changing the script, one meme, conversation, and pleasure-positive post at a time. From cheeky Instagram content and relatable humour to refreshingly honest takes on intimacy, confidence, and self-exploration, the brand is helping young Indians approach sexual wellness with far less awkwardness and a lot more openness. Mehak Walia gets sassy with Aishwarya Dua and Karishma Chavan, the co-founders of Sassiest.
And honestly, that shift feels long overdue. For years, discussions around pleasure and desire in India have either been buried under shame or treated like something too scandalous to say out loud, especially when women are leading the conversation. Founded by Aishwarya Dua and Karishma Chavan, Sassiest is pushing back against that discomfort with a voice that feels warm, inclusive, funny, and unapologetically real. Instead of sounding clinical or preachy, the brand creates space for conversations around boundaries, body confidence, emotional well-being, and modern relationships in a way that actually feels relatable to today’s generation.
For Karishma, the inspiration behind the brand came from noticing just how disconnected many women grow up feeling from their own bodies. “Most conversations around intimacy here are either hidden, judged, or purely medical,” she says. “Nobody was really talking about pleasure, confidence, self-exploration, or emotional wellness in a way that felt normal, safe, and relatable.” That silence, she explains, extends far beyond intimacy itself. Shame and conditioning often shape confidence, relationships, and even the way women exist in the world. “I wanted Sassiest to feel less clinical and more like a movement,” Chavan shares. “A space where women and queer people could feel seen without embarrassment.”
Of course, building a sexual wellness brand in India came with its fair share of resistance. Aishwarya and Karishma admit that when Sassiest first launched, they faced hesitation from platforms, vendors, and audiences uncomfortable with open conversations around pleasure, especially when led by women. “We still live in a society where people consume sexual content privately but get uncomfortable when conversations become open, educational, or women-led,” they say. Yet despite the backlash, the response from audiences proved there was a genuine need for these discussions. Women began reaching out to the brand with messages thanking them for making topics around intimacy feel safe and normal for the first time.
“I think the backlash only reinforced why brands like Sassiest need to exist,” Chavan adds. One of the biggest reasons Sassiest has resonated so strongly online is its inclusive and pleasure-positive approach. Rather than limiting conversations to heteronormative ideas of intimacy, the brand actively creates space for people across genders, sexualities, and relationship dynamics. “Pleasure, intimacy, and emotional connection are human experiences; they’re not limited to one gender, sexuality, or type of relationship,” Aishwarya explains. “With Sassiest, inclusivity was never a marketing angle. It was a conscious decision to make people feel like they belong here without having to explain themselves.”
In a country where many people still cannot openly discuss intimacy within their homes or social circles, digital spaces often become an important source of validation and education. Whether someone is “queer, single, married, exploring, healing, confident, awkward, or curious,” the co-founders believe everyone deserves access to wellness without shame. Another thing setting Sassiest apart is the way it blends education with humour. Scroll through the brand’s content, and you’ll find cheeky memes, relatable conversations, and playful storytelling sitting alongside discussions about consent, emotional well-being, confidence, and boundaries. For the founders, that balance is intentional. “Humour breaks fear,” they say. “The minute people laugh, they relax. And when they relax, they’re more open to learning.”
Furthermore, instead of speaking down to younger audiences, Dua and Chavan focus on making conversations feel approachable and culturally relevant. “Younger audiences today don’t want to feel like they’re being lectured,” the co-founders explain. “They want honesty. They want content that feels emotionally real.” At the same time, the brand remains mindful of responsibility. Behind every joke or viral post is an effort to make conversations around sexual wellness less intimidating without taking away from their importance.
The co-founders have also witnessed a major cultural shift in recent years, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Younger Indians are beginning to approach sexual wellness more holistically, linking intimacy with mental health, body confidence, emotional well-being, and identity rather than viewing it through the lens of shame. “The biggest shift is that people are finally starting to separate sexual wellness from shame,” the co-founders say. “Compared to even five years ago, the conversation today is louder, smarter, more inclusive, and far less apologetic.”
Even so, they acknowledge that India remains deeply layered. While social media may appear progressive, misinformation and judgment still exist offline, especially in more conservative spaces and communities where conversations around intimacy are still treated as taboo or inappropriate. Yet the growing openness around therapy, boundaries, self-care, and self-exploration signals an undeniable cultural shift.
But Sassiest isn’t just resonating because of its online conversations. The brand’s growing range of pleasure and wellness products also reflects the same approachable, no-shame energy that defines its digital presence. Instead of making intimacy feel awkward or overly clinical, Sassiest leans into playful branding, accessibility, and honest conversations, making intimacy and self-care feel less like forbidden topics and more like a normal part of everyday wellness. At its core, Sassiest represents something much bigger than a sexual wellness brand. In many ways, it’s doing more than selling wellness products. It’s helping create a generation that feels less embarrassed about asking questions, setting boundaries, prioritising pleasure, and talking openly about intimacy. And in India, that shift might just be one of the most important conversations happening right now.
