Satisfyer debuted earlier this year and set out to make a name for itself by giving away thousands of product samples. According to Satisfyer vice president of sales Jerome Bensimon, the mass product giveaway is intended to educate people about the “new pressure wave toys category” and showcase the features of the Satisfyer. The company recently introduced the latest generation of the Satisfyer, Pro 2, which is described as being 90 percent quieter than its previous version. The company also is planning to unveil a couples toy later this year. In this exclusive Q&A, Bensimon details the growth of the company.
XBIZ: Tell me about the company behind the Satisfyer and who the company are execs.
Being closer to our distributors and our retailers is the only way to learn, to improve and to develop our brand with efficiency.
Jerome Bensimon: The person behind Satisfyer is an international investor who has already successfully launched and sold brands such as Baci Lingerie and Ovo in our industry. In addition he is also the sole owner of the largest online erotic store with over 7 million repeat customers, bringing us strong experiences as a manufacturer and e-retailer. Additionally, we, as a company lead the lubricant market, in units, in Europe with our own brand.
XBIZ: What are the company’s goals?
Bensimon: Like in every industry, research and development are essential to keep market’s volume increasing and meet the more-than-ever demanding and educated end customers’ request. Changing colors and shapes won’t ever really answer that need nor bring added value. Today we are proudly taking the lead in this new pressure wave toys category.
Another goals is to always improve: as an example, early this month Satisfyer Pro 2 will be manufactured and shipped in its third generation version to be 90 percent quieter with less strength at start speed. This was a request we’ve received from end customers and took it really seriously.
Vibrators is also a market segment in which we are massively investing in patents and engineering to develop other best sellers, as will be our new partner toy. We will present at eroFame this year among other new products by Satisfyer.
XBIZ: What inspired the development of the Satisfyer?
Bensimon: First of all, I would like to emphasize that offering the choice to end customers is an absolute necessity in retail. No manufacturer can and should be the only one in a market.
We began selling Satisfyer Pro 1 when we learned that Womanizer did not want to sell to our owner’s online business in Germany. He then decided to hire several engineering companies and patent lawyer firms to develop our own technology, which ended up taking one and half years to achieve actual results. The background is that patented technology can’t be circumvented and you need to develop your own complete solution. This was a long 18-month process with a cost of a seven-digit amount. In results we consider Satisfyer Pro 2 to be a better solution, waterproof and safer to use because it is more hygienic (no liquid goes inside our device.) In addition to having our own technology we’ve applied locally to every market to get our own patents, and protect them efficiently. We simultaneously filled patent registrations in Europe, Canada, U.S., Australia, China, Russia, Mexico; Brazil, South Africa, Japan and are in the process of filing in many other countries.
XBIZ: What makes the Satisfyer Pro 2 unique?
Bensimon: The Satisfyer Pro 2 is waterproof which, according to thousands of reviews, intensifies women’s orgasm under the water. This also leads to a much more hygienic product in general, as no liquid can go inside the device, which can be considered another unique characteristic.
XBIZ: Discuss the international success of the Satisfyer. What has been the response from retailers and distributors?
Bensimon: We’ve introduced Satisfyer Pro in April and started shipping in May this year. We’ve launched simultaneously in the U.S. and Europe. In Europe, aside from Orion, all key distributors have immediately become successful partners. We’ve just signed our 27th distributor last week and decided to go direct with some top key chain retailers in the U.S.
Our massive campaign to offer over 50,000 free Satisfyer Pro 2 units so far, provided to all our distributors’ and retailers’ staff has been a real push and success.
Education is another key, as always, and nothing is better to convince store staff than to try Satisfyer Pro 2 themselves to measure its efficiency. In addition to our videos in eight languages on our website (www.satisfyer.com) we also supply, free of charge, all retailers with a designed counter display and one free tester.
XBIZ: What inspired the company¹s U.S. launch?
Bensimon: Being closer to our distributors and our retailers is the only way to learn, to improve and to develop our brand with efficiency. “Be global and act local,” you know the famous phrase… Also we have to prepare the U. S. market for a revolutionary product launch that will for sure, once again surprise our industry.
XBIZ: What response has the brand received in the U.S. market?
Bensimon: I’m pleased to reveal that we’ve sold 225,000 units over the world by mid-July. The U.S. market is an important market share for us, and looking at the response we’ve received over the last few weeks, I can tell you that we are heading to quickly reach the top five-bestseller position and already are the No. 1 bestseller position on the largest online platform in Germany.
XBIZ: What are your future goals/ expectations for Satisfyer?
Bensimon: After taking the lead in that segment, we will continue to work hard and invest massively to manufacture and offer only bestsellers with great profit margin for all retailers. New innovative, patented products will be presented regularly like our new partner toy that will debut at eroFame. Also, we will be introducing a new innovative toy for men next year.
XBIZ: Will new products be added?
Bensimon: Yes, new products for Satisfyer will be introduced at eroFame in October. Keeping the same strategy which is to offer the most innovative technology on the market at the best price keeping very high margins for retailers, we will also introduce our new toy for couple. We have invested a seven-digit figure in R&D to achieve a new technology with a great design. For this, we have created another brand, which we will be promoting globally starting at eroFame.
