Survey Data Shows The Foreskin Regeneration Market Is Over 200 Billion Dollars

And that's just in the United States. The global market could be over a trillion dollars.

An online survey of over 10,000 circumcised men shows that the market for men willing to pay to regrow their foreskin is over 200 billion dollars in the United States and potentially between half a trillion and 2.5 trillion dollars worldwide.

Survey Results

An online survey conducted by the sex researcher Aella asked “If you could get your foreskin back, with full function and sensation, how much would you pay for it?” with options for $0-20,000, over $20,000, and “Wouldn't want it back.”¹

The survey received a total of over 19,172 responses. Of these, 47.4% were removed, since the respondents did not identify as circumcised men. The remaining votes comprised 52.6% of respondents or 10,084 votes.

Of the over 10,000 circumcised men who responded to the survey, 59.7% said they would not want their foreskin back. 31.2% said they would pay between $0 and $20,000 to get their foreskin back. 9.1% said they would pay over $20,000 to get their foreskin back with full function and sensation.

If we combine all responses from circumcised men who said they would want their foreskin back, survey results showed that 40.3% of circumcised respondents would want their foreskin back while 59.7% wouldn’t.

Of the circumcised respondents who wanted their foreskin back 22.6% of those men would be willing to pay over $20,000 to get their foreskin back with full function and sensation, while 77.4% would pay less than that.

It is worth noting that some respondents in the $20,000 or more category might pay significantly more than just $20,000, and respondents in the less than $20,000 category constitute a significant range between those who would only do if it was free to those who would still pay thousands of dollars to regain the functions of the foreskin.

The 9.1% of circumcised respondents who said they would be willing to pay over $20,000 to regain their foreskin equal 918 circumcised men. If we multiply those 918 men by $20,000 each, that means that just in the respondents to this survey alone there is an 18 million dollar foreskin regeneration market.

United States Population and Circumcision Data

If we combine this survey data with the population data regarding the number of circumcised men in each country we can estimate the national market for foreskin regeneration.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the population of the United States is roughly 331 million people.² Of those people, 49.5% are male, which is roughly 153 million people.³ CDC data indicates that 80% of American men are circumcised,⁴ which combined with population data means there are roughly 123 million circumcised men in the United States.

United States Foreskin Regeneration Market

If we extrapolate our survey results to this population data, 49 million of these 123 circumcised men would get their foreskin back if they could. Of those men, 11 million would be willing to pay over $20,000 to get their foreskin back.

11 million times $20,000 each is $224 billion dollars, meaning that the total foreskin regeneration market in the United States is over $200 billion dollars.

This $224 billion number does not include the 38 million men who also want their foreskin back but would only be willing to pay between 0 and $20,000 for the experience. If we estimate the average these men would be willing to pay at $100, it adds another $3 billion to the market, at $1000 it adds another $30 billion, and at $10,000 it adds another $300 billion. If the cost of the procedure could be kept low or was entirely covered by health insurance, the United States market for foreskin regeneration could swell to over half a trillion dollars.

Global Foreskin Regeneration Market

Of course, that over $200 billion dollar market is just in the United States. If we include circumcised men in other countries, the market could grow even larger.

The global circumcision rate is estimated to be around 30%.⁵ Since the global male population is around 3.97 billion,⁶ that means there are roughly 1.2 billion circumcised men in the world, of which, only 123 million are in the United States, meaning that the United States represents only 10% of the global circumcised population.

Our initial over $200 billion dollar market left out 90% of the circumcised men in the world. The global potential foreskin regeneration market is ten times that in the United States, or roughly 2.5 trillion dollars if survey results are applied to worldwide populations.

The percentage of men willing and able to pay for foreskin regeneration might vary from country to country. Survey data might not translate directly to those markets. Around 50% of circumcisions worldwide are performed for cultural or religious justifications, rather than medical.⁷ Those with a strong religious or cultural bias towards circumcision might be less likely to seek foreskin regeneration. For this reason, survey data seems more applicable to the United States than other contexts where unique cultural differences might change the results.

However, even if only 1% of circumcised men worldwide were willing to pay $20,000 for foreskin regeneration, rather than the 9.1% in the original survey, this would nearly double the foreskin regeneration market to 500 billion dollars, without even including those worldwide who would be willing to pay less than $20,000. Even conservative estimates suggest that the global foreskin regeneration market is nearly half a trillion dollars.

Foreskin Regeneration Compared To Other Industries

The potential market for foreskin regeneration is a massive amount of money.

Healthcare spending per year in the United States is 4.3 trillion dollars or 18.3% of the United States GDP.⁸ If the healthcare industry were to offer foreskin regeneration, it could make another 250 billion which would increase the industry by 5.81% and the entire GDP of the United States by 1%.

To provide context for this potential market, compare it to other industries. The luxury car market revenue in the United States is only 7.4 billion.⁹ Total yearly entertainment spending in the United States is only 37 billion dollars.¹⁰ The United States wedding industry is only 51.1 billion dollars in yearly revenue.¹¹ United States organic food sales represent only 52 billion in yearly revenue.¹² Coffee is an 81 billion dollar market in the United States.¹³ Foreskin regeneration represents a potential market the size of all of those combined.

Foreskin regeneration also represents what is known as a “blue ocean,” an entirely untapped market with zero competitors. Entrepreneurs starting companies in existing markets face a “red ocean” of competition from entrenched competitors. The first company to offer foreskin regeneration would have a significant first-mover advantage in capturing the entire market.

Reasons Foreskin Regeneration Has Not Been Attempted Yet

Given the massive potential market for foreskin regeneration, why have companies not sought to capitalize on this market? A few potential reasons:

• Lack of awareness: Many are unaware that this market even exists. Circumcision is a taboo topic for many Americans and might make some uncomfortable, especially if they work in healthcare fields where they regularly interact with supporters of circumcision or doctors who practice it.

• Lack of data: While circumcised men and activists have spoken for years about the need to give men choice around their own bodies and sexuality, this survey is the first attempt anyone has ever made to quantify the potential market for foreskin regeneration.

• Research required: Foreskin regeneration would require using advances in regenerative medicine that have only been possible in recent years. While organizations such as Foregen believe it is possible with existing technology, developing foreskin regeneration might require new biotech breakthroughs.

• Upfront costs: Bringing a new regenerative medicine procedure to market is expensive. Biotech researchers might not be willing to invest large amounts of money if they are not aware of how the research will pay off. However, this survey data indicates that even an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars would make economic sense when compared to the potential returns.

• Admission of liability: Much of the healthcare industry that could bring foreskin regeneration to market is already involved in the circumcision industry. If this industry were to admit the value of the foreskin, then they would also be admitting wrongdoing in removing the foreskin. The over 200 billion dollar market for foreskin regeneration in the United States could also be framed as over 200 billion dollars of damages that the United States medical system is liable for. For this reason, foreskin regeneration might need to come from those with no financial stake in the circumcision industry.

While these barriers pose a challenge for the healthcare industry, they represent an opportunity for investors. The mainstream medical industry’s lack of awareness of these issues means that those outside that industry will face less competition for a potentially massive market.

Once any company begins offering this service, even if they only capture a tiny amount of the potential market, they will generate revenues that allow them to run millions of dollars of advertising and create public awareness for the value of their product. The number of men who want foreskin regeneration might increase if men regularly see ads for the service and hear stories from friends who have gotten their foreskin back.

Conclusions

When the value of the foreskin is discussed in the media, it is often dismissed with the statement “Most men don’t want their foreskin back.” Though survey data shows this is true, missing from this discussion is the amount that the men who want their foreskin back value it. Most men don’t want a luxury car either, yet many have made generational wealth selling that product.

What this survey shows is that millions of men want their foreskin back. The amount they value the foreskin can be quantified and represents hundreds of billions of dollars. The first person to offer foreskin regeneration will become a billionaire. There is a fortune waiting in the unmet desire men have to become whole again.

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