WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — By day two of XBIZ Retreat last week, participants were up to speed with the event’s fast-paced, business-intensive schedule that also offers plenty of opportunities to unwind over drinks, meals and special events in the evenings.
Following an 8 a.m. breakfast, attendees were ready for another full day of back-to-back meetings in which several new brands and products were being introduced.
Among the new brands that participated at XBIZ Retreat was Fleurotics, which debuted the new Lily massager. According to Raina from Fleurotics, the flower-shaped massager is ergonomically designed to make it easy to hold even for people with arthritis issues. Lily is designed for external clit stimulation. The company is gearing up to add new items, including a finger vibe and couples ring, in the coming year.
“On the business side, XBIZ Retreat was amazing really,” she said. “We got good feedback and the response from people has been great. Everyone is really interested and talking about it. There is a lot of diverse companies, which I really appreciate — it’s incredible to see how many people are here from different countries. It’s not something that I expected. There are buyers from Chile to Denmark to China and the Ukraine, and on the social scene it has been a lot of fun — how could you not have fun at a show like this? Everyone is so open and friendly.”
From Australia, Elixir Play introduced buyers to her four-piece selection of massagers, which includes Ruby, Garnet, Amethyst and Aphrodite. Regarding her requirements from potential partners, company founder Lara Pack said, "My brand is really important to me. I live and breathe sexual wellness — I want to make sure whoever is promoting my brand has the same essence."
“I have found good partners,” Pack added. “I’m not interested in volume; I’m looking for the right fit. Once I have the right people to work with, I can find out what people want in stores. I was so nervous [launching the brand] because this is my baby, I self-funded it, spent years building it. I’m a single mom as well … so it’s been nuts. It’s my passion project that I hope will now become my full-time project.”
Pack said that to her, XBIZ Retreat meetings go both ways with the buyers — “I want to get to know their staff, their customers.”
She added, “XBIZ Retreat has been awesome, you can really meet people and get a feel about who you want to work with, get lots of feedback, and take that to make real-time fixes — it’s really helpful.”
Popular brand Evolved Novelties attended XBIZ Retreat with expansion on its mind. The company releases about seven products a month and is planning on increasing its customer support. Evolved Novelties President Greg Alves also said it was XBIZ Retreat’s international crowd that convinced him to participate in the event.
“We opened a warehouse in Europe last year and that’s a big part of the reason why we’re here — there’s a lot of international buyers here,” Alves said. “Steve Sav handles Europe and our other rep Angel handles South America — everywhere from Mexico down, he goes country to country. This year we’re planning for expansion all around, we release seven products each month all in different categories so we’re not competing with ourselves. A big thing for us is our fill rate, that’s what most of our customers come to us for. We’re big on planograms and testers.”
Sextech brand Mysteryvibe brought its innovative lineup to XBIZ Retreat following its participation at CES. The company showcased a new, compact version of its flagship Crescendo vibe.
“The goal was to get the second product on the market, to launch Poco and to continue to bring people into the category,” Mysteryvibe’s Lesley said. “Crescendo has always served as an introductory item for people. A lot of what we do is show people how our products could be a part of their daily health and wellness. By introducing these products and these guides, we feel like we provide with the right tools.”
DeeVa also showcased some of its latest releases, which company representative Tom said would reflect “good,” “better” and “best” options.
“I really like the relaxed environment of XBIZ Retreat,” Tom said. “You get to hang out with your current and potential customers after the meetings, and there are always things to do. We like having the XBIZ Retreat experience where we get to see 40-50 of our clients.”
With steady participation by European vendors, the latest edition of XBIZ Retreat drew the attendance of Lola Games, a new line of toys featuring over 700 SKUs that was established by a Russian adult distributor with close to 10 years in the biz.
“People love the packaging,” Lola Games’ Tim Faber said. “It’s a very wide assortment offering everything from simple plugs to very nice exclusive vibrators. Our main goal here is to find U.S. distributors as well as we’re looking forward to meeting with buyers from South America that are here. We booked this XBIZ Retreat and will be back for XBIZ Retreat Miami to present items to retail customers — our goal is mainly to present the brand and gain interest from distributors. We think it’s productive to have already set meetings versus waiting to see who comes to your booth. We love the concept.”
A prominent trend discussed by vendors at XBIZ Retreat was the growing popularity of pegging toys. Lovely Planet says its Strap On Me is designed to cater to consumers interested in exploring the form of play with dildos that are bendable and adapt to the anatomy of the user.
“Pegging is growing in popularity — each person that enters the room says so,” Lovely Planet’s Ann Meunier said. “This is why we dedicated two years to develop Strap On Me. What makes us very special is that our CEO is the artistic director — he’s actually a designer that happens to be a CEO. This is why we have so many nice products. We don’t sell products — we want to offer an experience. We really put the emphasis on designing products that provide pleasure.”
Outlining the various benefits of Tantus’ product line — including its U.S.-made hand-poured body-safe silicone and various beginner-friendly kits, Cheri Curry says that the company is ready to take its mission-based attitude and strategy overseas. She praised XBIZ Retreat for its ability to enrich communication with buyers.
“I think XBIZ puts on a singular show — there’s nothing like the intimacy of having all the meals together, seeing each other fresh in the morning, regroup at lunch and then the swagger at night,” she said. “The privacy of the suite gives us a chance to spread out and really identify customer needs and how to best support their growth. There isn’t any other event in this business like XBIZ Retreat. The amount of new business that we’re going to be closing at this show is staggering.”
Also catering to fans of pegging is Electric Novelties, which introduced the new Pegasus line. The company also revealed a groundbreaking new release that’s called Together — “It’s the first-ever lesbian couples’ sex toy that lets you feel your partner’s arousal,” said Zachary Goode, the company’s national sales director.
“It features a patented Echo function, which is unlike anything on the market — we’ve essentially started a new product category,” Goode added. “The reaction has been phenomenal — there’s literally never been anything like it on the market, so we’re being selective with the way it’s distributed. It’s a really special, unique luxury item. We don’t want to blow it out, we want to make sure it’s sold at the right places.”
Electric Novelties also showcased rebranded packaging for its Glas and Lux Fetish collections. Products in the line now offer added value with a three-year warranty, and a free included eye mask with all Lux Fetish products, and a free storage bag with Glas toys.
Carrashield returned to XBIZ Retreat to focus on expanding its business domestically. Jeff Hawkins said that this year the company also is focused on partnering with OB/GYN offices.
“I see a big chance for us to grow in that sector,” Hawkins said, noting that although the company hasn’t attempted to expand internationally, buyers at XBIZ Retreat expressed interest.
“For me, being a small company like I am, I don’t do international business,” he said. “However, I’ve seen this week that there is interest for our brand internationally. As far as the domestic side, most of the attendees I do business with already, but it’s good to see them every six months when I do these shows and I get to see what we can do better.”
Showcasing its newest releases, Nexus displayed its most extensive collection yet at XBIZ Retreat.
“It’s good for me to get face-to-face time with existing customers and potential customers,” Nexus Director Monique Carty said. “We are a luxury brand, and in the industry in general the standards are just getting higher. For us it’s important that we ensure that our products are as good as they can be.”
CB-X also returned to XBIZ Retreat, this time to introduce its new packaging and in-store displays.
“We’re not focusing on anything else other than what customers need to increase sales,” CB-X’s Michael Tullis. “It was an extremely successful show. As I always say, XBIZ Retreat allows us to see multiple people and is really cost-effective.”
By the third and final day of XBIZ Retreat, Bijoux Indiscrets’ Lisa Sananes was winding down after an eventful experience in which she had the opportunity to showcase the company’s latest collections, Slow Sex and Clitherapy.
“There was a lot of interest for the lines,” she said. “I liked that there was a lot of buyers from South America — that’s a challenging market so it’s important to meet the players.”
Still raving about the Satisfyer-sponsored dinner at Ivory on Sunset, Sananes pointed out that the latest edition of XBIZ Retreat brought together the adult industry even more so than in the past, with more attendees partaking in XBIZ 2020 events — such as the Winter Wonderland party that followed the retail edition of XBIZ Honors.
Comparing his experience at last year’s XBIZ Europa Awards show in Berlin to the inaugural XBIZ Honors, Lola Games’ Tim Faber said, “It’s interesting to see a lot of companies that are new to me being celebrated at the awards show — it’s different than XBIZ Europa where I have closer connections to the brands. It’s very nice to see, everything is a lot grander in the U.S.”
Stay tuned for coverage of the retail edition of XBIZ Honors tomorrow.
The next XBIZ Retreat is set for June 1-5 in Miami. For more information, visit XBIZRetreat.com.
