The next time a JO lubricants training rep gives a stellar presentation at your retail store or event, be sure to send a “thank you” note to Catherine Corsaro. As director of product training and information for JO parent company CC Wellness, Corsaro oversees all sexual health and product education from the company’s Valencia, California headquarters, including training new reps who may have never touched a bottle of lube until their first day on the job.
Corsaro’s pleasure industry career began a decade ago, in the CC Wellness customer service department. Now, it’s her mission to create expert content, provide customer care, build teamwork and equip new hires with sales tips, sex education and in-depth product knowledge to pass along to the company’s B2B partners.
Interacting directly with consumers has been enlightening and rewarding. What could be better than recommending products that encourage intimacy and pleasure?
We’re honoring Corsaro’s 10th anniversary at CC Wellness by inducting her into Women in Adult and sharing her intriguing story in her own words.
XBIZ: What’s been most exciting or rewarding about 2024 so far, in terms of your work with CC Wellness?
Catherine Corsaro: The most rewarding experiences I’ve had in 2024 with CC Wellness have been the product trainings I’ve been doing with some new operations team members. They have had no prior experience with intimate wellness or adult products, so it has been interesting to share details about the variety of products we make for the JO brand. They have been both surprised and excited to learn not only about the variety of personal lubricant products we make, but also about products they didn’t know existed, such as clitoral stimulants, delay sprays, massage products and intimate toy cleaners.
XBIZ: Did your previous career prepare you for the unique challenges of working with sexual health products?
Corsaro: Before working in the pleasure industry, most of my professional career was spent in the music industry. I worked for 15 years for one of the major labels, Capitol Records, and a Los Angeles-based independent label, Epitaph Records. In case anyone is wondering, my most memorable experience was meeting and having my photo taken with Tina Turner! One of the main reasons I was immediately comfortable in the adult industry is the people and environment are very similar in both industries. Both are heavily influenced by creative and open-minded people who don’t hesitate to speak their minds. Both look to independent retailers as trendsetters and early adopters when launching new projects. The structure of the adult industry felt very familiar to me.
XBIZ: What is most rewarding about your role as director of product training and information?
Corsaro: Sharing the product knowledge I’ve gained over the years. I’ve learned so much about ingredients, product testing and product performance. I’m always happy to share that knowledge with team members and customers. I also really enjoy the exciting questions that come in from adult retailers via our sales team. Sometimes I know the answers off the top of my head, and sometimes I must do research. Those questions are an opportunity for me to learn and understand the priorities of our customers and their customers. I’m always impressed with our customers’ depth of product knowledge and desire to stay informed.
XBIZ: How do you feel you’ve grown as a person and professional throughout your career with CC Wellness?
Corsaro: When I started with CC Wellness in 2014, as the customer service supervisor, I thought of it primarily as an “interesting” opportunity with a company close to home. As anyone in this industry knows, it’s amusing to observe the expression on a person’s face when explaining what we do for a living! I’ve had opportunities to attend trade shows in the U.S. and Europe. This has helped me understand the needs of customers here and abroad. Interacting directly with consumers has been enlightening and rewarding. What could be better than recommending products that encourage intimacy and pleasure? As the company has grown, I’ve had many opportunities to take on new responsibilities, including product development and training, which I genuinely appreciate. CC Wellness has experienced significant growth in recent years. With organizational growth, there is a need to adapt and change. Being a part of this process has been a source of personal and professional growth.
XBIZ: What are some of your favorite CC Wellness brands or products?
Corsaro: Some of my favorite JO brand products include our water-based Agape lubricant, which is both pH-balanced and paraben-free. We have an amazing variety of flavored lubricants with gelato flavors, especially Creme Brulee, which is still one of my favorites. I also really appreciate the range of formulas within our clitoral stimulant line. The Warm & Buzzy water-based cream is genius. I like and use so many of our products that it’s difficult to narrow down, but I’m also really proud that we have Renew Vaginal Moisturizer in our product line. Women deal with so many challenges because of the complexity of the vaginal microbiome. Dryness as a result of medications, childbirth and stress, to name a few causes, might make one less enthusiastic about intimacy, but Renew Vaginal Moisturizer can be used as often as needed to relieve discomfort associated with dryness.
XBIZ: What are your career goals for the remainder of the year and into 2025?
Corsaro: I hope to help develop even more accessible resources to provide our team and customers with easy-to-use product information. To that end, I recently updated all of our product training manual pages, now available to download from JO Resource Central. I would also like to attend more employee trainings with our sales team so I can stay informed about our customers’ priorities.
XBIZ: What makes you proud to be a “Woman in Adult” in our industry?
Corsaro: I’m proud primarily because of the dedication and professionalism I’ve observed amongst other women in the adult industry. Although I’m not out and about as much as I would like, I have met many passionately dedicated women at trade shows over the past 10 years. Women from other companies have happily shared their insights and experiences with me, which I truly appreciate. There’s a sense of community, fueled by a desire to see the industry improve as a whole.
Each month, XBIZ spotlights the career accomplishments and outstanding contributions of Women in Adult. WIA profiles offer an intimate look at the professional lives of the industry’s most influential female executives.
