What happens to a company when they realize they are much more than what they’re known for? The answer is simple: they diversify their offerings and spread the word wide – that’s exactly what XR Brands is doing.
What began as a niche manufacturer specializing in fetish and SM products has grown into a globally recognized brand offering one of the widest varieties of adult products in almost every category.
We wanted to develop a softer side of XR Brands and Dr. Yvonne was the perfect choice to bring our products to another level.
“We are continuing to grow our brand by appealing to a wide range of customers and demographics,” said Randy Alvstad, general manager of XR Brands, based in Huntington Beach, Calif. “The support and response from retailers has been incredibly strong every time we release a new line – we’re known for developing new products and concepts that haven’t existed in the adult industry before.”
Spring-boarding from its vast range of SM equipment, XR Brands recently developed the Savvy line of soft, packaged for mainstream intimate products and sex toys using the female-friendly, ubiquitous colors of purple and pink. Ranging in styles from a rechargeable wand, rabbits, bullets, Kegel eggs, curved G-spotters and single-speed vibes, the line is supported by AASECT-certified sexuality educator Yvonne K. Fulbright, PhD, who contributed greatly to the design and function of the toys available.
“We wanted to develop a softer side of XR Brands and Dr. Yvonne was the perfect choice to bring our products to another level. They’ve been very well received by retailers and consumers, far beyond our expectations,” Alvstad said. “The line currently offers 24 products and we are developing new SKUs to significantly expand the series and provide even more options to consumers of all sexual levels.”
In fact, Savvy is just one of 19 lines under the XR Brands banner, with each line sporting a distinct look, feel and target market. There is obvious separation between items that appeal to men and women, with packaging and merchandising to match, but many of its specialty brands – including Clean Stream, Master Series and Zeus Electrosex – get into the hands (and between the thighs) of both genders, something XR Brands puts special focus on.
“Many people don’t realize that we have our own line of branded personal lubricants called Passion Lubricants,” Alvstad said. “Our range even includes a caffeinated lube, a hemp-based lube, a vitamin-boosted lube, a foaming lubricant, and several tingling varieties.”
There are also Passion massage oils, desensitizing creams, clitoral stimulation gels and of course, good ol’ fashioned water and silicone based lubricants, too, all of which add to XR’s vast collection of everything adult.
“We pride ourselves on offering retailers the most bang for their buck, so to speak, with our lubricants competitively priced for the highest wholesale value and cost per ounce,” Randy added.
While glass may not break new ground in the adult market, XR Brands’ Prisms Erotic Glass line offers 35 classic and unique borosilicate shapes packaged and priced to remain a top brand among the competition. The team paid special attention to packaging, using silver-backed boxes that clearly reflect the quality and beauty of each piece.
“We’re really proud of the variety and range of this handcrafted line. We are able to not only have something glass for everyone but also have them at a reasonable price for the consumer,” Alvstad said. “The packaging really sets us apart from other glass toys on the market.”
Looking for something a little different? The Vogue line of stimulators is also packaged in a similar style to the Prisms Erotic Glass line. “We wanted some consistency with the two lines because the buyer is most likely seeking some variety yet looking for a similar range and style of toys, although in very different material,” Alvstad said. “Vogue’s line features body-safe materials and quiet motors so in a way, they’re very similar to the properties of the Prisms Erotic Glass toys.”
The XR Brands custom branded Wand Essentials was released to provide cost-effective and high-quality alternatives to traditional wands on the market. The line includes everything from a zippy fourinch long mini wand to a hefty 12-inch plus model with wands that recharge, wands that plug in, and wands that rely on batteries to keep ‘em going. There are enough wands in the line to keep Harry Potter and his schoolmates at Hogwarts busy (and happy) for years.
“We wanted to make sure there was a range of styles because in our research, we found that women want all sorts of shapes, sizes and strengths of wands,” Alvstad said. “We even developed over a dozen attachments that sit on top of the wand heads with some of those shapes wanting to dig deep inside one’s cavities to gentle, fluttering external stimulation because you just never know who’s going to want to buy what.”
Wand Essentials made a major impression with its most recent release, the Spellbinder, a super-powered wand boasting 10 pulsation modes and priced to sell fast.
Frisky pretty much describes every item in the line that’s aimed for first time female buyers as well as those nervous female types who want to experiment with something they’ve only read about. All of the Frisky offerings are packaged in a purse style box that are neat and discreet and includes vibes, light SM toys, panty stimulators, cute whips and other must-haves for the shy buyers out there.
Rounding out the field for women’s focused products is the Massera line of mild electro-stim sets, easy-to-hold vibes in perky colors, and wands of different shapes and sizes. This line easily crosses over into the mainstream market, something that XR Brands has squarely in their target. “With adult products trending towards mainstream, we’re preparing many of our lines to fall into this category,” Randy shared. “The Massera line is already there.”
The catchall category for XR Brands is the Trinity Vibes line. “We keep adding to this section because of the wide variety of toys we want available to our customers. You could easily open a store by stocking it only with the Trinity line of vibrators – there’s that much variety to the line,” Alvstad said. “We really do want our customers to know how much we have available. We’re really a ‘one-stop shop’ manufacturer.”
Men have always been strong consumers of XR Brands products as well. “We started out catering to men so we will never forget them, no matter how many female-focused products we bring in,” said Alvstad. “In fact, we keep increasing what we offer for men.”
Size Matters offers products specially made for men (and women, of course) who enjoy playing with enlargement, suction and erotic extension. The featured item for men is the unusual SMP Penis Enlarger kit, which can be compared to a product costing hundreds of dollars more. “We wanted to let men experience this type of penis enlargement without having to stretch their wallets, too. It’s doing remarkably well in stores,” Randy described. “We thought we might be taking a chance offering something relatively simple yet high tech and are happy with the sales results.”
The Sex Flesh division of XR Brands provides pocket pleasures in benign, tube shapes all the way to explicit, vulva shapes guaranteed to add an extra kind of a mano excitement many men crave. The TPR material is easy to take care of and allows XR Brands to keep the price for the toys affordable.
Sharing the name with Trinity Vibes is the Trinity Men range of more than 58 toys geared for, you guessed it, the male buyer. Rings, pumps, anal toys and others are packaged in no-nonsense poly packs that are easily hung on display hooks. “Guys just want to get their toys and get off,” Randy noticed. “The packages are really easy to grab and go.”
But they haven’t forgotten their roots in Kinkyville. The best-selling Clean Stream line satisfies even the most picky enema aficionado with enough hygienic tubes and lubes, bulbs and douches, that they’ll never want to leave the house.
The Fifty Shades of Grey craze still is firmly supported with the GreyGasms line of masks, balls, candles, ticklers and other assorted, gentle and effective BDSM products for the exploratory couple. “The GreyGasms line often is the most popular line of SM products in boutique style stores,” Alvstad said. “We’re pretty proud of that because we worked really hard on the packaging which has withstood the test of time since ‘Fifty Shades’ came out.”
Between the Strict Leather and popular Master Series, XR Brands boasts more than 500 items in these lines. “That’s a lot of variety and pleasure for everyone,” Alvstad continued. “People tend to find a brand and they stick with it and we stress the depth of these two lines, which complement each other very well.”
XR Brands has also gone into territory where no other sex toy company has gone before. The LoveBotz division includes modern and magnificently powerful fucking machines of all kinds, from hand-held strokers under $100 to stand-alone machines that are close to $1,000. “We’re always happy to supply the demanding customer who is willing to spend their hard earned money on something as complex and satisfying as a ‘fucking machine.’ People love to use them at sex parties and especially when they are making their own videos,” Alvstad observed. “We even have two of them that pack up to look like regular suitcases and those are the best sellers in the line.”
And now for something completely shocking: the best-selling Zeus line of electro-stimulators. “Before XR Brands began creating and selling our custom-made electro-stim products, they were really expensive and out of reach of most consumers. We changed that by coming up with the range of Zeus toys and we get letters every day thanking us for coming up with them,” Alvstad said. “We will always be adding to this line in the future.”
Getting the thousands of products in the entire XR Brands line out into the hands of retailers is not an easy proposition. XR Brands has been increasing its sales staff and has recently hired two industry veterans well known in the industry, Sarai Ponce and Rebecca Weinberg. Randy let it be known that “Between the two of them, they have decades of experience in the adult industry field and sales have taken off since we brought them into the family.” Rounding out the team is Michael Merrill, who not only creates many of the unique products in the catalog but also is the trend spotter. “He’s been an essential member of our team and XR Brands would not be where it is today without him. Michael is, without a doubt, one of the leading graphic artists and product designers in the industry.” Alvstad effused. “Our brand is getting bigger and bigger with not only products but with a dedicated staff, too. I couldn’t be happier.”
And we wholeheartedly agree.
