LOS ANGELES—The Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy is everywhere and it seems no one can escape its reach, even Fun Factory.
The manufacturer has reported a 300 percent increase in sales of its Smartballs, thanks to the popularity it the books and the urges of women who have read them to own toys of their own.
A recent reporter from TMZ about the Fun Factory Smartballs noted that "women everywhere from the U.S. to Dubai are calling the company to ask where to get the Fun Factory Smartballs Kegel exercisers" and that the company Smartballs sales are up 300 percent in the last month.
Fun Factory officials think this success is largely due to the fact that Kegel balls are mentioned on page 263 of Fifty Shades of Grey. The company sent a letter to the editor of the book last week to express their gratitude.
A press release from the adult novelty group in the San Francisco Gate argues that the books' success is the result of the growing pro-toy cultural climate. Fun Factory’s Emilie Rosan, marketing director at Fun Factory USA, commented that "there is a mutually stimulating effect between the rise of the sex toy industry in the last decade and the publishing industry bringing erotic novels into the mainstream society."
The Fun Factory USA office, located in Los Angeles, currently has an employee working full time only on Smartballs orders and customer calls related to this product.
"Last Friday, a 74-year-old woman from Dubai contacted us to ask about ordering the Smartballs," said a Fun Factory customer service rep.
TMZ talked about the rippling effect of the book's success in the sex toy industry and published "Fifty Shades of Grey linked to Vagina Ball Explosion." Rosan said, "Twenty-four hours after TMZ's story hit the website, we had to call our German factory and have them pick up a night shift to manufacture more Smartballs to fulfill the recent demand in the U.S. market.
"It's an absolute explosion for us. This product was already endorsed by the medical profession and doing well, but with Fifty Shades of Grey talking about Ben-Wa balls, our sales are out of control!" she added.
For more information, visit FunFactory.com.
