Do-it-yourselfers rejoice! While the handyman in your life won’t find this palm-sized device at his local Home Depot, it could become the biggest revelation in tools since the hammer.
TENGA, Japan’s top-selling line of male masturbation tools began entering the U.S. market in January, courtesy of Vegas-based distributor Satistec LLC.
TENGA’s first North American products are in a line of disposable products designed to simulate the way high quality oral and vaginal intercourse feels. A stylish, non suggestive outer shell covers an elastomer interior coated with an advanced water-based lubricant system designed for an amazingly realistic one-time use.
“TENGA wants to put out products a man can be proud of and use that delivers a superb usage experience. It’s all about the way the product feels when you use it and how it looks when you aren’t using it. Through advanced engineering, the products function like Disneyland for men, with each product delivering a different ride that the man controls from second to second.”
“The TENGA brand has many additional products in the pipeline to be introduced for the U.S. market very soon,” said Robert G. Largen, a founding member of Satistec. “This is just the beginning of building a high quality brand.”
New to the adult industry, Largen is a recognized leader in establishing new concepts and methods for business development and leveraging market trends. Previously he was CMO of several global advertising and marketing networks and CEO of his own enterprises and a published author in mainstream and professional periodicals.
“It was the opportunity to be part of building a big brand in adult products that led me into this business,” said Largen. “We then did a thorough profiling of the existing and potential market for the product. The product line seems to be such a perfect match for many powerful trends. TENGA may well become a marketplace and cultural phenomenon as it has in Japan.”
Tenga products are manufactured in antiseptic rooms in Japan using medical-grade materials. The Lip Service and Squeeze Play disposable products are now available at Satistec.com and through select retail stores.
Satistec touts TENGA’s convenience, advanced engineering and discreet packaging as key competitive selling points. The red, black and silver containers don’t betray the purpose of the product inside, making the devices something a man can be proud to own, a friend unembarrassed to give and, in the travel 6.0 size, a device ideal for travel.
Largen seized the opportunity to join forces with the fledging company after his co-founder John Cooper saw an article in Forbes Magazine about the TENGA product line in Japan and contacted TENGA.
My past career has been all about entering markets, building big brands and developing new market segments,” said Largen.
“I’ve worked with huge companies like Anheuser Busch, Frito-Lay, Pepsi, General Motors and MARS as well as a range of smaller companies and start-ups to build premium quality brands. TENGA has a commitment to quality, design and style that shows in their products and is on par with the best brands in my past. I haven’t changed careers, I have simply focused my past career on a most exciting prospect.”
TENGA was conceived in 2006 and Satistec has been working with them to develop a market entry plan and product line for nearly two years.
“Working with TENGA in Japan, we committed to maximizing the line against the American male and market,” said Largen, who has worked nationally and internationally in more than 100 different consumer and business-to-business categories.
“We wanted to make sure that the products delivered exceptionally against the large range of sizes in our market, and undertook a series of field tests using design alternatives to develop a uniformly high scoring product line. We customized the packaging to be discreet and to conform to stringent packaging and liability requirements as well as having a look that a man would be proud and unembarrassed to own.”
The packaging of the existing products is similar to upscale men’s toiletries. Other products to be introduced resemble electronic components and other attractive items.
Largen’s belief in the product is forged from many things, including the brand’s track record in Japan and other countries, the innovative brilliance of the founder and his commitment to unsurpassed quality, the alignment of the brand with many powerful trends and the potential benefits of the brand in preventing sexually transmitted diseases. “The products in the TENGA line incorporate features that the competition has missed,” said Largen, “They deliver powerful and controllable suction without motors or pumps and feature an advanced and attractive design and the product line’s role supports control of AIDS and STD spread. And it feels great!”
Satistec will introduce the North American version of a reusable TENGA product which flips open for easy cleaning and drying and features strategically placed buttons to control the degree of squeezing and suction this summer.
And while the TENGA product line is currently selling over 300,000 units per month in Japan and has expanded to Thailand, Singapore, China, Europe and Russia, the company has no plans to slow down.
“We want to work with TENGA to continue to bring more to the party,” said Largen. “We’re putting the same amount of time, effort and care into this brand that companies that sell billions of units do.”
TENGA’s MSRP pricing for the current line- about $13-15, depending on size - makes products affordable for routine use.
“Think about it: By the time you take a date out for a movie, and buy the drinks and popcorn, you are paying well over what you would for a Tenga,” Satistec consultant Matthew Ball told AVN Novelty recently. “And you won’t be disappointed!”
And with technology growing more advanced by the day, it appears there may be no limits to what TENGA can produce.
“The TENGA current and planned product platform lends itself very well to incorporating new technology that is not available yet. And that’s what we want to do, lead the technological wave and take guys to places they’ve never dreamed they could go.”
For more information on the Tenga, visit Satistec.com.
