LYNN — Global Protection Corp celebrated its brand-new headquarters on the Lynnway with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday evening. 

The event featured food, drinks, and product giveaways, including the company’s new line, Flex. 

The company has been known as one of the leading condom and sexual-protection companies since 1987, when it was founded by Tufts University student Davin Wedel. 

“On our campus at Tufts… nobody was using condoms, and nobody could talk about condoms either,” Wedel said. “So, this was something that we thought we needed, and we could find ways to encourage people to use condoms.” 

The strategic marketing plan used the Tufts mascot, Jumbo the Elephant, and created a matchbook for the condoms with the phrase “A Safe Jumbo is a Happy Jumbo.” 

“Once we did that, it turned something that was taboo, that nobody could talk about, into something that everybody had to have on,” Wedel said. 

Creating a social marketing tactic tying the condom to something uncomfortable changed the comfort level about having conversations about them, Wedel said, which ultimately led people to use them. 

“Let’s face it, nobody really wants to use condoms or talk about condoms,” Wedel said. “So we’re always finding new ways to tie popular culture to that conversation.” 

The company produces and distributes around 250 million condoms annually, close to half of the 450 million sold annually in the United States, according to Planned Parenthood. 

The main goal of the company has been to make condoms cool, said Milla Impola, director of communications and community marketing. 

“Since the beginning, we’ve been using art, innovation, technology, and community marketing to just reinvent the condoms,” Impola said. “Whether it’s our programs, like we do projects on fashion shows, or we work with a lot of bands.” 

Some of the bands and musicians who have customized their own condom packaging in the past include KISS and even Prince. Personalizing the product has shown the company that when it’s more aligned with popular culture or unique to the person, the more it’s used, Impola said. 

Customer Service Manager Sally Scali has been with the company since its founding in 1987. She has worked every position from office manager to production and assembly, but loves answering the calls for potential collaborations. 

“You know it was always fun to pick up the phone cause somebody else wanted to do a customization of condom packaging,” Scali said. 

Today, the company controls a majority of brands, including their own, “One.” Something the design team has worked on to reduce issues with product sizing was creating 52 sizes. 

“Having one size condom would be kind of like having one size bra or one size a shoe,” Impola said. “Some people would have an amazing time, but some people would either slip out or it’d be too big.”  

Through research, Impola found that if a condom is too loose it can cause slippage, and when it’s too tight it can cause erection loss, which is what led them to designing 10 lengths and nine girth sizes, resulting in 52 combinations of condom sizes, Impola said. 

Other than creating more access for sexual protection, the new headquarters will bring new job opportunities to Lynn. Including working with another company, Express Employment Professionals, which has been helping staff at Global Protection Co. 

Glennys Lantigua, the employment specialist at Express, shared how the collaboration begins as temporary jobs, but can lead to more permanent positions. 

“Depending on how they work and how their performance is, they will be considered for hire,” Lantigua said. “If they like everyone that they’re working with, they could hire them, and hopefully they do.” 

What this new headquarters means for the Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce (GLCC), is one more business to help fuel the technical and trade industry in the city. 

Chairman of the GLCC, Rick Starbard, shared how the business will help the commercial tax base of Lynn and also help start necessary conversations with the youth. 

The choice for moving to Lynn from the former location in Seaport was driven by community involvement with the arts. Even having the Lynn business, Beyond Walls, create a mural on the side of the new building, Impola said. 

 “A lot of people ask us why we chose Lynn, and the main reason is that Lynn has an energy that is revitalizing and a creative energy that fits our company so well,” Wedel said. “We’re just so excited to be here.”