LOS ANGELES — Bellesa and BuzzFeed have designed a co-branded sex toy, the Buzzfeed AirVibe, available now as part of a newly expanded strategic partnership.
A longtime advertising partner, Bellesa is expanding its partnership with BuzzFeed across original products, an affiliate program and media sponsorship in order to tap into the digital media company’s audience on a larger scale, including signing on as the launch partner for BuzzFeed’s new Sex & Love vertical launching Q1.
The co-branded product, BuzzFeed AirVibe, is now available on Bellesa’s direct-to-consumer site, Bellesa Boutique, as the pillar of its new Diskreet Series collection starting this month.
“BuzzFeed has been one of Bellesa's most exciting partnerships since we launched Bellesa Boutique in 2018; constantly pushing boundaries together,” Bellesa CEO and Founder Michelle Shnaidman said. “At the start of quarantine, Bellesa partnered with BuzzFeed to give away thousands of vibrators across the U.S. and Canada, along with over $2 million in actioned gift cards. We are thrilled to be launching our most innovative piece of sextech yet in the AirVibe and to be doing so with our close friends at BuzzFeed. There are big things ahead for this partnership.”
BuzzFeed will launch its first-ever Sex & Love vertical powered by Bellesa in February 2021. Bellesa says that BuzzFeed captures a key demographic for the company as the “number-one digital media site among adult women, and reaches 76% of all females 18-34 in the U.S.”
“We’re so excited to expand our partnership with Bellesa beyond affiliate to cater to our audience in new ways,” said Nilla Ali, SVP of commerce at BuzzFeed. “The first-of-its-kind partnership taps the best of BuzzFeed, bringing together teams across the company to provide a 360-degree experience for our audience, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with a company whose empowering mission is so aligned with our audience’s values.”
Through the partnership, BuzzFeed will deliver placements across its network including video, O&O posts, newsletters and social, as well as within its data-driven After Dark series. On the licensing side, the two companies are poised to explore additional product collaborations beyond the AirVibe in the future.
“In collaborating with Bellesa, we’re able to combine key insights from BuzzFeed’s strong connection with its audience and Bellesa’s best-in-market design to bring this visionary product to life and we’re eager to see how we can continue to innovate together,” said Ines Pacheco, director of licensing operations at BuzzFeed.
The co-branded sex toy with Bellesa marks a new category extension for BuzzFeed’s licensing business, which includes a kitchenware line at Walmart and CPG products for its food brand Tasty, a housewares collection at Amazon for its wellness brand Goodful, as well as books and games for the BuzzFeed master brand.
