educational

A Tightening Toy Market: 2

In part one we looked at changing perceptions and the increasing demand for sex toys. Today we'll wrap things up with a look at celebrity endorsements and the evolving sex toy market.

Celebrity Endorsements
Doc Johnson — with an extensive catalog of more than 3,500 products — recently landed a plum of a celebrity endorsement with the new Doc Johnson Jenna Jameson Extreme Doll, a love doll molded directly from the porn queen's frame — including her double D breasts. Multiple orders of the Jameson love doll have been shipped to distributors with a suggested retail price of $251, though it can be found for as low as $185.

"Doc Johnson's partnership with Jenna Jameson is one of the most successful ventures ever forged in the adult industry," a Doc Johnson representative told XBiz. "The powerhouse marketability of the Jenna Jameson name, her creative input and the unmatched quality of the design and manufacturing of Doc Johnson products have made her toys some of the most successful and important products in the industry."

Although Doc Johnson, founded in 1976, and Cal Exotics, founded in 1994, both have a strong web presence, both companies remain manufacturers, not retailers.

"Our website was created to give retailers and consumers a place to go for information about a product," a Doc Johnson representative added. "Instead of having retailers call our offices and ask the same questions about length, colors and so forth, there is now one central Doc Johnson information hub that is available online and provides this data to everyone."

Bloom explains that Cal Exotics does not sell from its website because it continues to support the manufacturer-to-distributor-to-retailer food chain.

"It has been a supportive way of doing business that has gotten us to a position of strength in the marketplace, and we have no intentions of breaking that chain," Bloom said.

Cal Exotics founder Susan Colvin is often credited with bringing a woman's touch to the sex toy industry.

"She really ushered in a new era in erotic novelties with creativity and extreme attention to detail that she gives to all facets of her business," Daniel Metcalf of Wicked said. "For the Wicked Toys, she's worked one-on-one with each of our stars to develop sensual textures and enhance the state-of-the-art technology used to give each girl's product line a distinct look and feel."

Colvin may have advanced the cause of direct marketing to women and couples but "sex positive" retailers like San Francisco's Good Vibrations — which opened its first brick-and-mortar space in 1977 — was carrying the banner long before Cal Exotics came into existence.

Good Vibrations launched its first website, Goodvibes.com, in 1996. The site carries toys and novelties from all of the top manufacturers, including 150 different models of battery-operated vibrators. Goodvibes.com averages 22.3 million hits per month, and the company estimates that 60 percent of its buyers are women.

In the early days of selling toys on the web, male-marketing strategies were still firmly in place, Genine Drozd of Pure Romance Inc. said.

Market Shift
"This was the sole strategy for years, but society has become more educated and has made a positive shift toward incorporating adult products into their daily lives, thus making it more acceptable for women, in general, to be more open about purchasing product, especially online," Drozd said.

Pure Romance consultants offer a line of more than 100 private-label and brand-name bedroom accessories, books, games and adult toys, as well as an exclusive high-quality line of sensual lotions, gels and scents. Products are sold at parties organized by volunteer hostesses and are available for customers to take home on the night of the party. Products are developed by Pure Romance and produced by major manufacturers.

Founded in 1993 in Cincinnati by Patty Brisben, Pure Romance recorded sales of more than $30 million for the fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 2003. In 2004, sales were projected to reach $40 million.

"In 2003, when we launched our new destination consumer website, Pureromance.com," Brisben said. "Our designers took into consideration that women are crucial and critical buyers, which meant that our products had to be superior and our site needed to display the who, what, when, where, why and, most importantly, the how."

Statistically, women are loyal customers to a specific brand, Drozd pointed out, "and in order to keep them coming back, it is important to provide a place where they feel the permission to discover themselves and maybe something new about their relationship."

But despite the challenges of marketing products to specific audiences, sexes and age ranges, there is no question among some of the top sex toy business owners and manufacturers that adult novelties have grown from a small niche market to a vital and highly profitable component of the adult industry. Manufacturers have skillfully integrated their products into movies and pursued adult film stars with the urgent passion of college basketball recruiters.

"There is one thing that is still the same," Levine of Sextoy.com said. "Come out with something new and you can make good money and grow quickly with it. That is always what I'm working on."

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More Articles

opinion

Tips for Boosting Ecommerce Revenue With Behavioral Insights

At our marketing agency, we focus on using real data to make better decisions for our clients. We believe every action a visitor takes on a website can tell us something important. This helps us shape our strategies and assist our clients in turning casual website visitors into loyal customers.

Lauren Bailey ·
opinion

A Look at the Do's and Don'ts of Gift-With-Purchase Promos

Imagine you’re at a store, deciding between two products with similar packaging, features and pricing. You’re not predisposed toward either brand and you haven’t seen any reviews — but one of them offers, “Free gift with purchase!” Does that win you over?

Vanessa Rose ·
opinion

Tips for Navigating a Completely Remote Job in Sexual Wellness

Anyone working in the sexual wellness and pleasure sector has at some point had to deal with issues like bias against the industry, as well as limited marketing and advertising options.

Bryony Lees ·
trends

Meet the 2024 Class of Up-and-Coming Pleasure Brands to Watch

With each new year that rolls in, new pleasure brands emerge, and 2024 is no exception. Already this year, a slew of new entrants are rapidly gaining traction and recognition via social media, among retailers and distributors — and most importantly, end consumers.

profile

WIA Profile: Sarah Franson

When you do what you love, they say, you’ll never work a day in your life — and when your job involves educating the masses about sex toys, it’s hard not to love what you do.

Women In Adult ·
profile

Popsi Lingerie CEO Sam Golshan Discusses Brand's Growth, Mission

Lingerie: a sexy French word for an alluring little something to spark things up in the bedroom, teasingly wear out to clubs, dress up in to celebrate a special occasion or just wear under everyday clothes to feel excited and desirable.

Kim Airs ·
profile

Honey Play Box's Joreail Armstrong Reflects on Company's Growth

Today, Armstrong serves as business development manager for boutique sex toy brand Honey Play Box, but he began his role there as a one-man marketing department, assisting CEO Shirley Wang with nearly every aspect of launching the brand.

Sofia Barrett-Ibarria ·
opinion

How Awareness Revolutionized Materials Used in Pleasure Products

Today’s manufacturers and consumers are material-savvy, giving rise to pleasure products that are safe to use, beautiful to look at, high-quality and even environmentally responsible.

Eric Lee ·
opinion

How Sex-Ed Lays the Groundwork for Well-Informed Shopping

We often do some research before making purchases, whether by delving into a company’s background, exploring specific products or simply making sure we understand how to use something before we buy it.

Nathan Hammerle ·
opinion

A Look at How Customer Demographics of Full-Size Sex Dolls Have Evolved

For a long time, sex dolls were dismissed as cheap novelties used by lonely heterosexual men. This was especially true of early, inflatable versions, which became the butt of jokes in pop culture. However, things have changed dramatically.

Rebecca Weinberg ·
Show More