He had to max out $150,000 on his credit cards and sell off real estate investments he made throughout the 1980s. And he did it all for a lube. If you ask Michael Trygstad if it was worth it, realize that the president and founder of Trigg Laboratories, Inc., is responsible for the leading name in lubricants, and has been getting people Wet for almost two decades.
"In the late '80s, everyone was very concerned about the transfer of HIV. We saw the growth of condoms skyrocket," he says. "Because condoms are more likely to break without the use of a lubricant, the timing was right to hit the market with a 'fun' packaged lubricant. At the time, lubricant use was increasing fifteen percent per year. People were beginning to understand that a lubricant not only eased condom use but enhanced their pleasure a great deal."
The company began in 1989 in a 1,000-square-foot facility, and Trygstad notes it quickly grew every year. They now work from a 63,000-square-foot factory in Valencia, California.
"We began marketing to only the gay community. Being gay myself, it was the market segment I best understood," Trygstad says. "Since we have been on the market eighteen years now, our products have crossed over to the general public. Given the one-in-ten rule, we now have more straight consumers than gay."
But Trygstad notes that gay men are still the best testing group: "It's pretty typical that popular items are first accepted by the gay community before they become popular in the mainstream. Marketing to the gay man is simple. Give them the best and they will use it and pass it on to friends and family."
The company began with a gel water-based lubricant (Wet Original), and later added a thinner, liquid water-based version (Wet Light) and a male masturbation lube (Wet Oil Based). New additions over the years included a heating, water-based lube (Wet Warming); an improved formula silicone-based product (Wet Platinum); a flavored, water-based line (Wet Flavored Lubricant); a heating, flavored massage lotion (Wet Fun Flavors); and a water-based lube with added pheromones (Wet Pheromone). The newest addition is Inttimo by Wet.
"This brand has been developed with intimacy, romance and foreplay in mind. It includes aromatherapy massage oils using all natural oils and a rash-free, total body shave cream, unscented for men and scented for women," Trygstad says. "We are the number one selling brands in the adult market internationally. Awareness of lubricants and the polymers in them continue to get better every year — polymers are the ingredients that give a lubricant that glide and silky feel."
One of the keys to the products' success has been the packaging, which Trygstad notes has to jump off the shelf, flirt, and scream, "Take me home!" He notes that the current design is the best of the old and the new. It maintains the phallic shape in a cylinder bottle, but now has an easy flip cap, built-in bottle grip to help hold it better, and multiple sizes. And the packaging has also caught the eyes of competitors.
"Through our innovative designs, close distributor relationships, and assertiveness the company grew twenty to thirty percent every year, and continues to do so. Our biggest challenge has been companies copying our packaging in attempts to confuse our loyal customers. Through aggressive litigation, patents and trademark registrations, we remain the preferred brand," he says. "There is a team atmosphere of caring for the company by its employees that is very rare in a business. I believe this to be the biggest reason for our growth today."
But it's the product inside that has kept the line growing, and the public buying.
"Great colorful and clean packaging gets a consumer to buy your product once, but it's the quality inside that keeps them loyal. We are constantly improving our products as better ingredients and formulating processes come along. We never become complacent in the marketplace. I am never happy until I am certain we are the best in both areas."
Wet has also gained a reputation for its outreach efforts, and it continues to sponsor and donate to the work of more than 300 non-profit organizations every year. Trygstad notes that they also continue to expand education goals by providing thousands of safe-sex information kits all over the world. As for the future — and new products — he notes that the joy is in the surprise.
"My competitors are wetting — no pun intended — themselves reading this question and hoping I might answer, but it would not be very smart of me to discuss my new products," Trygstad says. "I can say this... they will add to the pleasure of whatever your sexual interests are."
CONTACT INFO: 661-775-3100; StaysWetLonger.com; InttimoByWet.com.
