CHATSWORTH, Calif. - There's a new chapter-or should we say, verse-in adult niche marketing: targeting Christian married couples. At least 10 sex-toy retailers, some run by couples called to provide products to enhance married sex lives, have opened their virtual doors to other Christian couples.
The Christian couple is no small market segment, with several studies showing close to 80-percent of the US population listing themselves as Christian.
Oregon-based Book22.com first started their website five years ago, selling "quality products to enhance the intimate life of God's children." Kevin and Joy Wilson, the couple that started Book22.com, filters their selection-and packaging-with strict standards based on their beliefs.
Other sites have followed suit, with varied opinions of what products are appropriate for their Christian audiences. Some sites, like PassionateForLife.com, steer clear of sex toys altogether, limiting their selection to massage products and lingerie. Others, like MyBelovedGarden.net, carry vibrators and even anal toys. All of these sites state clearly their Christian affiliation, and some feature or link to relationship advice and Bible references to sexual dos and don'ts.
These sites have been received with open arms-most of the time. "We have had people telling us we are working for Satan and we are going to hell, but the majority of people like the site," said Stella Hagerty of WhollyLove.co.uk to the BBC.
Whether it's working for Satan or divine intervention, the general reception of these sites is having an impact on the acceptance of the adult novelty industry as a whole. Now is a the perfect time for adult novelty manufacturers to tap in on this niche market by producing Christian-friendly packaging, or toys that might have more of a crossover appeal.
