Nestled in San Fernando, California lies an enormous labyrinth of sensual delights, where you'll find a raven-haired muse with an answer to every query on the intimate arts.
To simply call Honey's Place a sex toy warehouse ignores this pleasure industry business's rightful place as a sexual apothecary and one of the only woman-led distributors in the country. Honey's isn't just a wholesaler; it's a whole damn experience.
We are celebrating by doing what we do best: supporting our customers with product knowledge, technology and tools for success.
“This industry has completely changed my life,” reflects Bonnie Feingold, owner and CEO of Honey's Place. “I remember when this industry was taboo! There have been so many changes and so much growth over the years.”
Since 2003, Feingold has molded Honey's Place into the ideal destination for retailers to stock the best of the best in intimate innovation while providing manufacturers with a dedicated B2B resource to call home.
Boasting a 96-percent average fill rate, a constant stream of new brands and sensual products, and the largest lingerie selection in the industry, there's not much Honey's Place can't accomplish.
According to Feingold, her inventory includes products with “better materials like platinum silicone, stronger vibration, rechargeable motors that last, new functionality and sensation delivery, suction and app-based toys, and brand-new materials like liquid silicone.”
“When it comes to lubricants, I’ve never seen a vaster selection with higher-quality formulas that keep the end user’s wellness in mind, including hybrids, natural ingredients, safe alternatives to glycerin and parabens, and even the addition of hemp and CBD derived from cannabis plants,” she excitedly explains. “I expect this kind of growth to continue!”
Honey's also remains boutique-y enough to provide customers with a more personal, small-business-type approach. Feingold's entire team is equipped with customized solutions no matter the department or client.
“At Honey’s Place, we take the time to dig into the details of every department, from our ERP system, website, personnel, customer service practices, and warehouse automations and, when needed, we make improvements that our customers want and benefit from,” says Feingold. “The devil is in the details, and no matter how great we become as a company, there is always room for growth and improvement,” she continues. “This is why we put so much emphasis on customer relationships, listening to their feedback and taking it to heart.”
Honey's has kept it all in the family since 1994 when original owner Helene Kusens decided to strike out on her own. An experienced pleasure sales representative who had recently departed a shuttered sex toy business, Kusens founded and built Honey's Place upon years of knowledge and customer connections.
“She had a loyal customer following and customer service remained a top priority, which helped the company grow strong,” recalls Feingold, who is Kusens' daughter. “When Helene passed away in 2003, I stepped in and have been managing Honey’s Place ever since.”
Prior to taking the reins of Kusens' brainchild, Feingold worked as a social worker and therapist. She'd never imagined owning and running a distribution outfit, much less one that sold vibrators.
However initially unrelated, Feingold's previous career lent wisdom and strategy to handling her new vocation.
“As a therapist, one of the modalities that I practiced was solution-focused therapy, and I’ve found myself using these problem-solving principles to manage Honey's Place,” she says.
“The first thing I had to remember was to breathe and make time to learn from everyone around me, rather than stressing about every little detail,” recalls Feingold. “I realized quickly that we find solutions faster when we work together as a team.”
Shockingly, not everyone was rooting for Feingold as she carried on her mother's legacy, though such negativity seemed to only fuel her drive.
“When I started, more than a few people expressed their opinion that I wouldn’t succeed,” she recalls. “Not only has Honey’s Place been a success, but we have grown, flourished, streamlined our processes, implemented new technologies, and improved every single aspect of the company.”
As Honey's Place closes in on its 25th anniversary, Feingold and her team are feeling pleasant nostalgia and a sense of excitement for the future. If you're wondering where the party's at, just call up your sales rep, place a new order, and revel in the superior customer service that Feingold says is alone worth a celebration.
“We are celebrating by doing what we do best: supporting our customers with product knowledge, technology and tools for success,” she gushes with gratitude.
The Honey's team keeps their fingers on the pulse of everything pleasure. Purchasing director Kyle Tutino has watched categories ebb and flow over the years, even when they're not directly related to the company's product lineup. Tutino has remained Feingold's right-hand woman for years, thanks to the attention to detail she passes along to Honey's customers.
“Although Honey’s Place has never stocked DVDs, I’ve noticed a down-trend in the stores and our customers are always asking for us to find products to replace them,” Tutino points out.
Tutino is quick to suggest trending products to fill in the gaps as older adult product categories die off.
“Customers have consistently been finding new ways to make up for these lost sales,” she explains, “including increasing their lingerie selection and adding new lifestyle-focused categories, like smoke shop products, to their assortments.”
Tutino finds that designer brands are often a closer for wholesale customers with an educated, choosy consumer audience. The growth of such smaller toy businesses came as a pleasant surprise for Tutino, who has serviced the industry's largest manufacturer brands for decades.
She shares that as of recent years, “boutique brands with smaller offerings, like Vedo, Satisfyer, Le Stelle, FemmeFun and Sensuelle, have been able to compete and have success in the marketplace.”
Feingold and Tutino have reached an obvious pinnacle, but from where they stand, there are still several peaks they're ready and willing to climb. There's no such thing as stagnation at Honey's Place.
“We will continue to update and improve what we do, seek feedback from our customers, and diversify our offerings to stay relevant and on top of trends,” says Feingold.
When customers want what comes after the next big thing in pleasure retail, who better to trust than the daughter of a business founder and a sex toy market expert?
“The future is ever-changing, and I intend to change with it,” Feingold concludes. “The industry will continue to evolve, that’s for sure, and we’ll never forget what got us here.”
