Program vibrators according to your own needs, data via video chat and let your distant partner pamper you with sextoys via app: Corona ensures more experimentation in Germany. It is worth taking a look at an expanding industry whose market potential has long been underestimated.
While many companies are groaning under the economic consequences of the corona pandemic, an industry can hardly save itself from the rapidly growing demand. "Sex-Tech" is experiencing a huge boost in Germany and is posting millions in sales with technologies relating to sexuality and femininity.
The market for the sexual needs of the mostly female target group is still in its infancy in Germany, says Johanna Rief in an interview with ntv.de. As head of communications at Wow Tech Group Europe, which sells vibrators and sextoys worldwide, she is committed to removing taboos on female orgasms and helped to bring about the first sex tech conference in Germany last year.
"The sex tech industry is a rapidly growing industry, even if it is much smaller than many others. But obviously the Corona period, which we all had to spend at home, meant that people also had more time for themselves themselves and their sexuality and were also more willing to try something new, "said Rief. The pleasure toys in Germany are often a taboo subject: "Many still think of a pink dildo from a slippery sex shop". That is a completely wrong assumption, there is technology and a lot of engineering behind it. More and more people who like to experiment now dare to use toys for the bedroom. Current figures show that the so-called "sexual wellness" market is growing rapidly worldwide.
Sales in the billions
Programmable vibrators, electrically controllable love balls and interactive sex toy apps – the tech innovations for sexual expression are becoming more and more diverse. For this year the market research institute Technavio is forecasting a worldwide turnover of almost 28 billion dollars (around 24 billion euros) with sex toys. In the next three years, the industry around the playful satisfaction of sexual needs is expected to continue to grow, with sales of 34 billion dollars expected by 2023.
Rief sees the main reason for the growth in the fact that people are becoming more open and are more concerned with their sexuality – but above all in the growing importance of technologies, "which have increased enormously in our everyday professional lives." The Corona crisis and the associated time at home have added new target groups. Suppliers in the German market are also feeling this development.
The aftermath of the pandemic has fueled the business of the Wow Tech Group, one of the world's leading providers of products for love life. In the period from March to June, the company sold 97 percent more models of its branded vibrator than in the same months of the previous year. The company plans to break the 100 million euro mark with its sales this year. That would be an increase of 25 million euros compared to the previous year.
Remote controlled vibrators are top sellers
The situation is similar with other toy manufacturers such as EIS, Amorelie and Funfactory on the German market, who score with their online trade: "With the start of the curfew, the sale of solo sex articles is 300 percent growth in masturbators for men and pressure wave devices for Women, the increase was extremely high. The number of orders for partner products also increased by 250 percent, "says Nina Barz, who, as Head of Communications at Triple A Internet shops, markets EIS products, in an interview with ntv.de. EIS had to triple production and introduced a second, larger logistics facility in order to be able to meet the growing demand. Sales have doubled compared to the previous year.
In everyday corona, couples want more variety in sex and communicate their wishes more clearly – this is what Lina Marie Gralka, Head of Marketing at Amorelie, notes. Sales of sets and boxes with toys for the bed have increased by 65 percent. In times of social distancing and even after the peak of the corona crisis, many people cannot see their partners very often, which is why sex toys that can be controlled remotely via app are particularly booming this year, according to Gralka.
The manufacturer Fun Factory is also feeling the sales trend. The company recorded up to 40 percent more hits on its website. Vibrators, menstrual cups and so-called "smartballs" have been the long-running hits since March, the company says. Vibrators for women and for sex for two are also among the top sellers in the sex toy sector at tech giant Amazon. Similar to the online mail order companies, the providers Amorelie, EIS and others are benefiting from the crisis that is paralyzing stationary retail.
The lockdown was a financial cut, especially for the provider Orion, which, as the market leader for sex toys in stationary retail, had to keep 154 stores closed for weeks. Since the company has been able to reopen its stores, the demand for vibrators has also made a leap forward. "The demand for sex toys and vibrators has clearly increased and we have received registrations for our bonus programs in the last few weeks", says Jens Seipp, Orion Marketing Director.
"I masturbate for science"
In order for the sex toys to be well received by customers and also ensure the orgasm that their buyers expect, it is a relatively long way, says Wow Tech communications director Rief. "From the development of the prototype to the finished vibrator: test, test, test. The devices have to work and be powerful, they go through three test procedures. It is not always sexy, but I masturbate for science".
Even if the industry has opened up new target groups as a result of the Corona crisis and is growing with its sales and product innovations, donors still remain a problem for founders and startups. "It is still not easy for our industry to find investors, because many have little expertise in the field or do not dare to do it," said Rief. Nevertheless, a lot has happened in the meantime. "A few years ago it would have been inconceivable that a private equity fund would take over a majority in the British sex toy manufacturer Lovehoney."
But anyone who would believe that in an industry that is primarily designed for a female target group there are also women who invest is wrong, according to Rief. "The investors are mainly male, because there is a fundamental shortage of female investors".
. (tagsToTranslate) Economy (t) Economy (t) Sex (t) Sexuality