However the place Guo, who’s 35, generally falls quick in creativeness, he greater than makes up for in vigilance. “Customers count on and deserve merchandise that meet stringent security requirements, and any deviation can injury a model’s fame irrevocably,” he posted in an XBIZ editorial in September. “Accomplice with trusted white-label producers reasonably than gamble on the unknowns.”
Once I ask Guo in regards to the editorial, he stresses that the success of intercourse tech is decided as a lot by the innovation concerned within the merchandise as the standard. “We wish to be extra of a bridge from human to human,” Guo says, “not simply from toy to human.”
Even with promising market projections—one other estimate goes as far as to foretell gross sales might surpass $121 billion by 2030—business analysts aren’t satisfied that the way forward for intercourse tech is in toys.
It’s a “very oversaturated market that’s now averted by many,” says Olena Petrosyuk, a accomplice on the consulting agency Waveup. This 12 months, she provides, buyers “are wanting away from ‘commoditized’ traits”—intercourse toys, but in addition intercourse content material and social platforms. “Many did not show the economics and scale. The class remains to be pretty stigmatized,” she says. “OnlyFans being a large exception.”
So what do customers need? Petrosyuk says wellness, AI, and immersive realities are scorching proper now. “Virtually each new intercourse tech startup is pondering when it comes to AI use circumstances,” she says. “If it’s AI toys—firms are wanting into how they will anticipate and reply to the consumer’s wants. If it’s robotics—we see firms wanting into intercourse bots. If it’s content material—it’s hyperpersonalized intercourse personas.”
Guo tells me he’s not phased by discuss of AI intercourse robots—“a low-volume enterprise,” in his estimation—as a result of many individuals can not afford the excessive price ticket. Continued success, he believes, is will come by increasing on the corporate’s themed collections. OEJ works straight with US and Canadian distributors; it’s not a direct-to-consumer enterprise, although he says clients do sometimes order by way of the net retailer.
Though ecommerce is the business commonplace in retail and electronics, taking extra of an old-school method works for Guo. Subsequent 12 months, OEJ plans to launch a Zodiac assortment, crafting 12 distinctive toys for every astrological signal. It’s an enchantment to the Co–Star fanatics of Gen Z. “Each era is completely different,” he says.
The corporate’s largely nonexistent social media presence solely appears so as to add to their Wonka-like thriller. “We’re simply unhealthy at it,” Jerry Chen, an operations assistant, says. “We’re actually targeted on manufacturing.”
For now, that enterprise mannequin appears to be a success. Our Erotic Journey lately gained the “Finest Pleasure Product Producer—Small” prize on the 2023–2024 AVN Awards in Las Vegas, a litmus take a look at for amateur manufacturers within the grownup content material world. OEJ additionally obtained the O Award for Excellent New Product for “Horny Pot,” Guo’s marijuana-leaf-shaped vibrator, a buyer favourite.
Clearly eager to capitalize on its surprising success, Guo says, “It’s time we gave it a sister or brother.”
