LONDON—E.L James’ story of desire, passion and BDSM as recounted in her best-selling trilogy (and world-wide phenomenon) Fifty Shades of Grey has had an impact on billions across the globe, opening them up to a hitherto unexplored world of bondage play and kink. The erotic story inspired many to embrace their sexual fantasies, and consequently, the books are often credited as an instrumental factor for sex toys and bondage entering the mainstream.
With 2021 marking the ten-year anniversary of the first best-selling Fifty Shades of Grey installment, lovehoney sales executive Jade Bawa has compiled her "Top 10 Fifty Shades mOHments" of the past decade.
- After taking inspiration from Stephenie Meyer’s 2005 vampire romance Twilight, E.L James began writing her own explicit take on the story. After publishing it online, her work went viral and in 2011, a small Australian publishing house agreed to publish Fifty Shades of Grey.
- After the initial shock set in from consumers over the explicit content, within a year, James was engulfed by a frenzy. Women in coffee shops everywhere began to be heard discussing the sexy scenes with excitement rather than disgust, and began introducing kink and bondage into their own sex lives.
- According to Cosmopolitan.com, sales of sex toys and bondage sky rocketed 400% in the first year of the book's release. In 2012, after witnessing an uptake firsthand, Lovehoney co-founders Neal Slateford and Richard Longhurst, both huge fans of the books, worked collaboratively with E.L James to launch the only official licensed Fifty Shades of Grey The Official Pleasure Collection, which went on to become one of the fastest-selling adult product lines worldwide.
- After its first year, Fifty Shades of Grey cleared the shelves so quickly that UK printers reportedly ran out of silver ink for the black and metallic grey covers, which James designed herself.
- In-line with Valentine’s Day of February 2015, the first Fifty Shades of Grey film was released by Universal Pictures. It was an immediate box office success, breaking numerous box office records and earning over $571 million worldwide.
- The release of the first film inspired millions more to reenact their favorite sex scenes from the movie, aided by Lovehoney’s products being named after specific scenes from the book. This sparked further adult product sales uplifts, as well as bringing more customers to adult shops. Lovehoney Itself saw a significant rise in sales of the clitoral clamp, a previously niche product, with such sales rising 86% year-on-year.
- Thanks to the new widespread acceptance of bondage products, Lovehoney’s Fifty Shades of Grey Official Pleasure Collection has graced many screens large and small. In a 2017 episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, self-proclaimed "momager" Kris Jenner was filmed trying out wrist ties from the range, showing that even Hollywood’s rich and famous are no exception when it comes to opening up about bondage play.
- The sequel film Fifty Shades Darker was released on the February 10, 2017, while the third and final movie Fifty Shades Freed was released on the February 9, 2018. Both films dominated the box office and the trilogy became seen as a global phenomenon.
- In 2019, the NPD Group reported that the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy were the United States' three top-grossing books of the past 10 years, with the series selling 35 million print and e-book copies from 2011-19.
- In 2021, Fifty Shades of Grey turns ten. There have been several popular culture "moments" in the last decade, but none as monumental for the BDSM category as the Fifty Shades of Grey With the ten-year anniversary happening this year, and ripples of Kink and BDSM conversations being ignited again, the adult products industry can expect another bumper year, as shoppers look to embrace their fantasies.
To find out more about Lovehoney’s Fifty Shades of Grey Official Pleasure Collection, visit lovehoneytrade.com, or email trade@lovehoney.co.uk to place a pre-order.
