Women’s sex toys are buzzing right now – and Singapore is ready for it
Bedroom toys are stepping out of speciality shops and striking mainstream shelves, a sign of a momentous shift in mindset when it comes to sexual activity.
Only exactly what'due south shifted and why now? And how are brands keeping the market place turned on?
OUT IN THE Open up
Today, sex activity toys are no longer confined to traditional sex activity shops, but are taking pride of place on the shelves of mainstream retailers.
Sex toy makers Wow Tech said Singapore was the first market place within the Asia-Pacific region where the company saw "potent responses" from conventional retailers.
Its brands, Arcwave, Nosotros-Vibe and Womanizer, are at present bachelor in unlike retailers across 8 countries in Asia, including various Guardian outlets in Singapore, said the company'south Asia-Pacific consumer marketing manager Ruben Rodriguez.
Smile Makers, a Swedish brand based in Singapore, has been distributing to physical retailers since 2022 and counts Guardian and Watsons pharmacies, as well equally stores similar Cotton On, Dear, Bonito and Motherswork as partners. It is also stocked at department store Isetan Scotts, which launched an entire sexual wellness boutique last year, carrying internationally popular brands like Fun Mill, Lelo and Tenga.
Just last month, Essentials Pharmacy, which is located in Chinatown, announced it now stocks four products from American brand SVAKOM.
Smile Makers has seen a "dramatic increase" in mainstream retail sales across the world, including in Asia, said brand director Cecile Gasnault.
"We have been growing at a rate of 70 per cent for the past iii years," she told CNA Women.
Going mainstream in Singapore was a natural decision for the brand, whose strategy has ever been to never be distributed at speciality sex stores.
"The stigma is lifting. Women at present expect to see vibrators in beauty retailers and mainstream retail," said Gasnault, adding that a 2022 survey commissioned by the company found 62 per cent of Singaporean women wanted to find vibrators in beauty stores and non in sex shops.
BOOM IN ONLINE SALES
Online sales of sex toys are also booming, a trend said to be riding on the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Skilful Vibes, an online shop that opened in Nov final year, saw sales increasing 5-fold during the COVID-xix Phase 2 (Heightened Alert), when dining-in was suspended and gathering limits reduced to 2 people.
"This manufacture is inversely related to COVID-19 and when we had a (partial) lockdown in May, everything peaked – traffic surged," said founder Meryl Lim.
Said Gasnault: "The starting time lockdowns triggered dramatic peaks in sales, with sales doubling or tripling depending on the market or retailer … What we have observed is that for retailers selling both offline and online, our sales accept grown significantly on their online channels."
Grinning Makers' sales take since stabilised, simply remain at levels higher than before the commencement of the pandemic last yr every bit awareness of the sexual wellness category grows, with two out of three shoppers on the Smile Makers website being showtime-time users, she added.
But experts agreed that the pandemic was simply a catalyst, non the trigger, for the market's growth.
"Information technology has taken a long fourth dimension, but many countries in Asia are experiencing a very high involvement in pleasance wellness. The Asia-Pacific represents an increasing portion of our business organisation year after twelvemonth.
"These consumer behaviour changes find their root in a heightened awareness regarding all things sexual wellness," said Wow Tech's Rodriguez, calculation that an increasing number of fundamental opinion figures in the region are turning to global conversations and movements regarding sex positivity, and "finding their own ways of speaking about the topic from their viewpoint every bit Asian people".
The stigma is lifting. Women now expect to run across vibrators in dazzler retailers and mainstream retail.
"Many of them are bringing to light a mismatch between how 'taboo' the topic is perceived in society and how great they experience later using toys, helping them in their life," he said.
This trend was "boosted" past the pandemic, said Rodriguez, as many experienced "mentally straining situations" such every bit being separated from their loved ones due to lockdowns.
"Due to the fact that orgasms do improve our mental health and bridge our intimate human relationship impediments during the pandemic, the curiosity about pleasance products is increasing at a fast pace," he said.
NORMALISING Sex TALK
Experts were unanimous when it came to the winning strategy for selling sex toys in the modern age – educational activity. Launch the Instagram page of any of the brands mentioned in this story and you will encounter anything from pieces of poetry and colourful illustrations to educational carousels and influencer quotes or interviews.
"Teaching is a big part of forming the basis of one'due south outlook in life," said The Hedonist co-founder Sabrina Angela Meier, calculation that the Singapore-based retailer works to "emphasise that health and happiness go hand in manus with pleasure".
The Hedonist, established in 2019, sells candles, lubricant and other pleasure accessories alongside sex activity toys. "We demand to brainwash the public almost positive values in order to unlearn the false information that nosotros were fed as children. People tend to think that pleasance is a luxury, but really, it's an essential ingredient for happiness," she told CNA Women.
One of the ways its founders, which include Jacqueline Kee and Jade Amar, hope to normalise conversations around sex is by putting themselves out there.
The trio occasionally fronts videos on social media demonstrating use of their products.
"We are one of the start sex-positive pleasure brands in Singapore to put our faces to the make. We desire to normalise sex and pleasure as it is our birthright and what makes us man," said Meier.
As part of their efforts to educate customers, some brands have quizzes on their website to assist women discover and explore their sexual needs, helping them to determine which toy is all-time suited to them.
It's frequently surprising how differently customers choose when they are more aware of their pleasure preferences.
When asked which Grinning Makers toys are the most popular, Gasnault said: "Interestingly, information technology depends on how much guidance is provided to the consumer … Without guidance (from the quiz), they favour internal products, but once we invite them to reflect on their own experience, external products become much more pop."
For example, customers who do not complete the quiz tend to buy The Billionaire vibrator, which has a "very archetype shape with an elegant design and subtle lavander colour", said Gasnault. It is an example of a sex toy that tin be used both internally – to promote vaginal orgasms – and externally, to stimulate the clitoris.
But with the quiz, The Fire fighter – which is used externally – "proves a very pop option", she added.
Grinning Makers has besides seen a "growing interest from the public to talk more about female sexuality in Asia". In the final ii years alone, it has led workshops with students at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Technological University, partnered with Action for Aids and guested on local sex podcast Something Private.
Something Private is i of a growing number of media platforms normalising conversations effectually sexual practice in Singapore. The podcast was established in 2022 and to engagement boasts listeners in lx countries, lxxx,000 unique downloads and more than than six,000 followers on Instagram.
On the podcast, host Nicole Lim talks to personalities like Government minister of Land for Teaching Sun Xueling, Workers' Party Member of Parliament Raeesah Khan and comedian Preeti Nair on a wide range of topics, from vulva health to maternity.
Nair, better known as her online moniker Preetipls, is herself an influencer in this infinite, with her 40,000-stiff Instagram audience enjoying content around the topics of women's sexual and reproductive health.
Another platform, the Shy And Curious website run past author Noorindah Iskandar, has most 1,000 followers on Instagram despite having been established less than a year ago.
After the sudden death of her mother, who had kept her breast cancer a hugger-mugger "until information technology was too late", Noorindah said she wanted to create a "safe space to pause the silence on taboo topics, where women could gather to share, gain advice and insight from each other's stories".
Popular posts on the Shy and Curious Instagram page include IGTV videos showing Noorindah unboxing sexual activity toys and educational carousels addressing questions she has received, including why some people feel sad subsequently sexual practice and what to await when undergoing HIV testing.
The response has been "promising", said Noorindah, with more readers engaging with her posts and sending her messages asking for recommendations on sex toys.
Andrea Tan, a certified sex, beloved and relationship bus whose work involves educating women on cocky-pleasure, sexual wellness and sexual healing, has begun to encounter her clients displaying "more ownership and confidence" in their "sexual exploration", showing more acceptance of their bodies and embracing the benefits of self-pleasance.
She has besides seen an uptick of online education and chat around the utilise of sex toys in the pandemic, "possibly supported past the fact that when nosotros tin't connect in person, many people turn to online platforms".
SPEAKING RESPECTFULLY TO WOMEN
A key strategy that brands accept adopted to grow their consumer base is to address women directly and respectfully. That meant bridging the gap between what women actually needed and what was available in the market.
"Sexual dysfunction is a common occurrence that leads not but to health issues for the individual experiencing it, but likewise wider issues in wedlock and lodge, most visibly a rising in divorce rates," said Smile Makers' Asia make managing director Ariel Chen.
"However, while products to treat or cure men's dysfunction have since long been available in mainstream retail, products for women accept largely been absent. This has led to the perception of society placing a skewed importance on men'due south sexual health as compared to women," said Chen.
Even if products for women were bachelor, the shopping environment, production pattern and quality were "alarmingly unappealing the world over", said Gasnault.
"No make was speaking respectfully to women."
The first thing to call up almost was, naturally, the design of the production.
Said Wow Tech's Rodriguez: "In the final five to 10 years, the whole industry has radically changed its prototype.
"Ten years ago, our category was speaking about sex toys catered to a very developed audience with product designs that resembled private body parts. At present the industry speaks virtually the wellness benefits of self-pleasance (and) creates products that look naught like trunk parts."
Smile Makers products are designed to be "anatomically relevant and unintimidating", said Gasnault, with "friendly" names, colours and packaging.
"Nosotros likewise use sense of humor a lot. Sex is a natural and enjoyable part of life, and should exist treated as such. Our choice to talk almost female person sexuality in a articulate, joyful and humorous way, using colourful design and relatable names similar the French Lover, Tennis Pro and Surfer has proven efficient in… getting people to feel safe and comfortable," she said.
New kid on the block Skillful Vibes not but recognises the importance of marketing directly to women, but also in providing the nigh comfortable buying experience, peculiarly to those new to sex toys.
The brand conducted surveys and focus groups, speaking to about 150 people in Singapore, and establish that many of the women who owned sex activity toys had bought them with their partner.
"We were struggling in terms of the marketing angle. Now that we know the men were buying for their partners, should nosotros be speaking to the homo? In the end, we were like, forget the human being. We want to empower women, instead of men empowering women," said Lim.
Good Vibes' inquiry likewise showed that many of the women who had not yet experienced sex toys were open to trying them.
"It was very clear based on the survey that I needed to serve the beginners, which is why I merely accept iii toys. A lot of my competitors are distributors and they have many global brands and thousands of toys in their shops," said Lim.
Like Smiling Makers, Good Vibes sought to make their toys look as appealing as possible to women in their 20s and 30s, giving them discreet names like The Pebble, The Koi and The Bamboo.
Just ready as they are to effort out sex toys, some may not exist comfortable with putting their toys on display on their dresser, especially those who live with their family. Because of this, Proficient Vibes provides a satin pouch with every purchase.
"With international brands, like Maude, the concept is to get toys from nether your sheets onto the dressing table. Why do nosotros have to hibernate them when nosotros tin can put them on the toilet shelf? The way Maude designs it, it's almost decor. It looks beautiful and is part of the interior design.
"I really like that empowerment message … but in Asia, nosotros're a few steps behind," Lim said.
In an endeavor to luxuriate the process of women buying sexual practice toys for themselves, Good Vibes scents its packaging with orangish blossom, and handwrites customers' names on its boxes and thank-y'all notes to "create the mood".
"Why can't we brand the whole experience of buying a sex toy like how you purchase a gift for yourself, similar ownership a candle or a nice cookie?" said Lim.
CNA Women is a new section on CNA Lifestyle that seeks to inform, empower and inspire the modern woman. If you accept women-related news, issues and ideas to share with the states, email CNAWomen [at] mediacorp.com.sg .
Source: https://cnalifestyle.channelnewsasia.com/women/sex-toys-popular-conservative-singapore-277881
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