LOS ANGELES — The usual path for porn star branded novelties is that a major company will identify a performer’s power potential and create a new product or line. That’s not the case for international star Puma Swede.
Boldly taking the initiative, Swede recently launched her official toy line through European toy manufacturer Frejya Toys that consists of a rabbit, a vibe, a bullet and a new wand coming down the line.
It’s not that Swede needed to desperately boost her brand, the VNA Network girl is one of the site's most popular. Swede says she’s just always been interested in expanding the idea of a novelty and wanted to start with something fun that she knows a lot about — sex and toys.
Swede told XBIZ, "It's not easy getting a manufacturer to do a line of toys because it's expensive and time consuming. Finding the right fit is a challenge. The manufacturer has to have faith that products with your name on them are going to sell. Having a toy line means my name and image are branded everywhere they are sold so finally getting a produced line is quite a big deal to me.”
Because she’s based in Europe, Swede reached out to Freyja primarily because of her strong European fan base. She says she has known one of the principals for a few years and recently mentioned the possibility of a toy line. A couple of months later an agreement was reached at a convention in Hong Kong.
Swede was determined however to create products that delivered her essence and touted the big-breasted star’s appeal. She says her toys are picked, tried, tested, and personally approved by her. “I have tried many toys in my career. I would not put my name on something I didn't like or use myself. It would be too embarrassing to have fans write on Twitter or Google 'your dildo sucks.’”
What's common for all of Swede’s toys is that they have five different vibration modes, they're quiet, all are USB charged (except for the Bullet), waterproof, and made of high quality silicone. She notes that the Rabbit has two motors to stimulate the g-spot and clit at the same time. She says she personally likes the Rabbit since it has a strong vibration, good size, and can be used for guys and girls.
But despite her name and likeness, why would consumers pick Swede’s product over some other star’s, especially in the U.S.? Swede says because she has done the hard research. “I traveled to different shows, tried numerous products, and of course have quite extensive experience with toys because of my career. These are high quality products for a reasonable price. They really do work well compared to other toys on the market and so far, they are selling well,” she reveals.
Swede also has marketing smarts. She believes in good design, saying the toys look great and noted that although girls buy toys for a lot of reasons, style and appearance are key.
She also gets the word out in her cam shows several times a week. She says she enjoys using her own products and seeing the reaction of fans. Swede recently used the Vibe on a show and a viewer said he was going to purchase it for his wife and him to spice up their sex life.
The performer’s marketing savvy is also taking her to the Venus trade show to introduce the line to the remainder of the European market. “We started with Scandinavia and now we are cooperating with a German distributor. Together we will show my collection along with a few new products. It's been a while since I have been to Venus … always usually as a model. To go with a toy line should be different and a lot of fun.”
The next stop will be the U.S. once Swede finds the right distributor. She’s inviting interested companies to “hit her up.”
Swede is also planning to employ the latest technology and prioritize her toys to be reliable, of high quality, and of course, to give pleasure. She says there’s nothing worse than trying to figure out a toy with too many functions when one “just wants to rub one out real fast.”
When asked if more stars will be taking the independent route to create their own toy lines Swede says she’s not sure, but it's great if the actual performers pick the toys and make their own lines since they know what consumers want.
As far as other her other ventures are concerned, Swede says she loves lingerie, pointing to the difficulty girls with big chests have finding a sexy “non-granny” style bra. “So I would like to make a Puma Swede big-chested lingerie line."
Novelties are not her only interest. Swede tells XBIZ that she's also launching her own art website in a couple of weeks with a series called ‘Fuck Art.’ "You'll have to wait and see my artist skills combined with fucking skills,” she quips.
