How a Tech Journalist and a Music Producer Built a Multimillion Dollar Adult Toy Company from a Bedroom Start-up----Lovehoney
December 10, 2022 by Hannah C Sanders
How a Tech Journalist and a Music Producer Built a Multimillion Dollar Adult Toy Company from a Bedroom Start-up
Sex toys from Lovehoney are known for their elite quality. They started 20 years ago and their toys have been a hit with adult toy connoisseurs ever since! There are infinite pleasure choices, whether it’s a classic rabbit vibrator, cock ring or clit sucker, you’re covered. Additionally, they offer fetishwear, pussy pumps, and sex machines. The instructions are all detailed, and there are lots of reviews online, so you can really understand what you’re buying before adding them to your basket (which could be all of them). And then there’s the super discreet packaging, which means you don’t have to feel embarrassed if your double-ended dildo is seen by the mail man or accidentally gets delivered to a neighbor: they’ll have no idea what’s inside.
What began as a start-up back in 2002, Lovehoney has grown into a global business worth £850m. The sex toy retailer merged with German competitor WOW Tech Group to form the Lovehoney Group. The announced tie-up between the two firms also includes Amorana, a fast-growing Swiss sexual well-being retailer acquired by Lovehoney in September 2020. A former magazine editor, Richard Longhurst, as well as famous musician, Neal Slateford, also scraped together £9,000 to set up sex toy retailer, Lovehoney, in 2002. This was after a trip to London’s Erotica show. The pair decided to invest £4,500 each to set up the website and buy £1,500 worth of stock. In just 20 years the company has grown exponentially and has had many successes.
Lovehoney set out to re-brand sex toys from something associated with the porn industry into a sexual wellbeing brand for the masses. In 2011, it branded itself as the leader in sexual happiness and launched in the US. It got mainstream attention after featuring in the Channel 4 2012 documentary More Sex Please, We’re British and partnered with author EL James for a range inspired by her blockbuster novel Fifty Shades of Grey. They also featured in a 2017 episode of Channel 4’s How’d You Get So Rich with famous comedian, Kathryn Ryan. The two even met The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh at a Buckingham Palace Garden Party after being honored with their first Queen’s Award for Enterprise in 2016. The formation of the Lovehoney group makes it the world’s largest online adult retailer with over 650 staff globally.
Some of their most popular toys include their Rose Toy clitoral structure stimulator and several others. Can anybody else remember when the rose sex toy sent TikTok into a free for all? Our memories of that moment are fully embedded in our brains forever, so we will never forget it. With 10 powerful suction modes and a super easy-to-use interface, Lovehoney’s rose suction toy is a sure-fire winner. Another top toy from this company is the Indulge G-Spot and Clitoral Suction Stimulator. An internal G-spot stimulator is built into one end and an external suction toy is built into the other end of this genius toy. Kind of like a next-level rabbit vibe. A third popular toy is the Ultra Violet Powerful Silicone Rechargeable Wand. Flexible silicone, rechargeable, and fully waterproof, this fun wand is a real lifesaver. The device has four vibrating settings with escalating speeds, and it can last for 60 minutes on a single charge. In addition, we offer the Lovehoney Wild Weekend Mega Couple’s Sex Toy Kit which comes with an incredible 11 pieces! This Lovehoney sex toy kit is one of Lovehoney’s best-selling products, especially for couples. Inside the kit, you’ll find 11 specially selected sex toys including an all-time favourite rabbit vibrator, O rings which double up as cock rings and a beginner-friendly butt plug for first-time anal fun among many other gorgeous violet colored toys. Additionally they have a highly rated Lovehoney X ROMP Switch Clitoral Suction Stimulator. This toy has recently become one of the most popular toys in the industry. If you’re looking for a clit sucking sex toy that’s affordable, Lovehoney just released this version of the Womanizer. This version also uses air suction technology to send pulsing motions to the clit, instead of applying pressure. Most of these oral sex toys are upwards of £60 or so the Switch is a real gem. It has six intensity levels, and is made from rigid, body-safe silicone. Despite being on the cheaper side, it isn’t re-chargeable and requires batteries, but it is very popular nonetheless. As one of the most known and popular toys on the market they also have two versions of the rabbit that have been most popular; the Lovehoney Dream Rabbit 10 Function Silicone Thrusting Rabbit Vibrator with a striking violet color as well as the Fifty Shades of Grey Greedy Girl G-Spot Rabbit Vibrator that comes in a sleek black color. These two rabbits are oldies but goodies! The violet Lovehoney Dream Rabbit is a great and affordable rabbit vibrator. It’s not too big and intimidating, it literally thrusts inside you and you can control the shaft and targeting ears separately. It’s basically three toys for the price of one. The black version is a little different but still quite similar. This dual motor G-Spot rabbit vibe has a whopping 36 possible vibration mode combinations, thanks to its 15 speeds and patterns. Finally, they have the Lovehoney Classic Mains Powered Magic Wand Vibrator, which is an elegant, updated version of one of the original toys women have used for years! Wand vibrators are so effective for clitoral and general vulval stimulation (you can use them basically anywhere you want, and it’s fun to experiment with vibrating against your labia, too). This Lovehoney wand is one of their most popular toys. The unit is powered by the mains, and it’s pretty powerful. It’s also really fun to use with a partner too. This is because they can hold it on your clit while you do whatever else it is you two want to do. I could continue on, but the list would be miles long. So I think it’s best you check out this amazing company on your own!
Lovehoney in its own right is the UK’s biggest online adult retailer and has eight other websites globally including US, France, Germany, Spain, EU, Canada and New Zealand. It has a global customer base of 2.2 million people and still has a 300-strong workforce in Bath, UK. The company was listed as one of the South West’s fastest-growing exporters, with overseas sales of its sex toys and lingerie reaching £56.3m before the start of the pandemic. Lovehoney has also received two Queen’s Awards for Enterprise, including in April 2021 for an incredible six years of outstanding continuous growth in overseas sales. In August of 2022 even the popular blog, Buzzfeed, wrote an article entitled, “20 Bestselling Sex Toys From Lovehoney That Have ~Memorable~ Reviews For A Reason.” Lovehoney continues to create new and exciting products even 20 years later and apparently they are just getting better!