Topco Sales, Nasstoys, Doc Johnson and California Exotic Noveties hosted a series of hospitality suites on the third floor of the Venetian Hotel over the weekend.
Adult retailers generally found the trek down the long hallway from the Sands Expo Center to the elevators worth the effort. Not only was the decibel level more agreeable, so was the free lunch.
Doc Johnson's sales rep Jenny Tse took us through a wide array of new products which the company catalog cited as "The Shape of Things to Come." H.G. Wells himself would be amazed to see the wonders of chemistry on display.
"Silagel is our new proprietary material," said Tse. "It's a non-toxic, anti-bacterial latex-free product which many of our new lines will be incorporating." It only took a squeeze and a sniff to determine that this lifelike, odorless rubber replacement was worth the buzz.
Aside from the new wave of pliable vibes and dildos, Doc's Naughty Secrets line was taking full advantage of the "soft" packaging push that is leading the marketplace. This pretty 'n pink set of lube, love egg and Pocket Rocket ® will look perfectly at home on the shelves of mainstream gift shops.
Naturally, Doc's branding partnership with Vivid/Club Jenna is generating plenty of retailer interest. The candy-colored Red Hots line are tasty little designer plugs which represent the current trend... as much like little works of erotica as they are functional and portable.
Branding is also a big component of Nasstoys' big push for 2006. Say rep Anthony Sicilia, "The Taylor Wane signature series is the hottest thing going. She personally designed the packaging and approved all of the products. For example, with Taylor's Hot Pussy you don't get much more personal than having a mold made of that," he laughed.
"Her pink Pleasure Grip is a jelly jerk-off sleeve with a vibrating bullet... for that extra oomph. And for the guy who's into being dominated the fem-dom strap-on makes a great gift for the girlfriend or wife."
Also for the ladies is Taylor's Dual Vibe Eggs, which come in lavender and white.
"We'll be adding five or six items a month to the Taylor Wane series," Sicilia added. "The whole line is designed to be customer and boutique-friendly." Sicilia pointed out that their Frixion lubes are currently being marketed in easy-to-store foil packs for the guy on the run. Of course, the standard bottles are still available; with the silicone formula sliding into first place.
While California Exotic's founder Susan Colvin entertained a seemingly endless parade of interested retailers, Scott Stein acted as tour guide to uncharted erotic waters, an appropriate analogy as the greater portion of Cal Ex items are waterproof. (Vibrators and bathtubs... )
"Welcome to the Berman Center," he joked, referring to the sexologist-approved goodies which bear the Susan Berman stamp of approval. Of particular interest is the Juliet, which sort of resembles one of those magic wands we all used as kids to blow bubbles. This wand, however, is designed to fit over the clitoris for maximum stimulation.
"Speaking of blowing," Stein gestured to Tera Patrick's Blow Job. "Check out the noduled sucking sensations. This is the sleeve to beat in 2006." (An almost identical version is available under the Colt line for gay men who wouldn't know Tera Patrick from Patrick Stewart.)
Two Cal Exotics products which stood out were the Vibesicle rainbow rocket and the Clitoriffic stimulating wand with a satin metallic finish, which are just as much fun to say as they are to use.
"On the practical side," Stein elaborated, "Rechargable toys are the name of the game." One particular item which takes a licking and keeps on ticking is a device called the Love Bird, which could very well be the ultimate vibrator combo. Not only does it have rotating beads at variable speeds, the clit tickler is attached to a bendy stem, which takes direction better than your average porn starlet. Thus, the love nub always gets it due no matter how the user is designed.
Over at Topco, Autumn O'Brien was fighting a winning case of Vegas Voice (dry desert throat) but nothing deterred her from her appointed rounds.
"Home parties are so popular now that we're servicing the industry in a personal way," she said. While details cannot be given out at press time, O'Brien said that her unique touch included " a special kind of distributor-to-customer training to be performed by sales reps located throughout the country."
"The spray-on line called Girl Toyz line is doing very well," O'Brien offered. "It's due to a number of factors, mainly the pheromone cologne content and the soft packaging." O'Brien also cited the Hustler brand as some of their biggest movers and shakers.
"Their latest vibrators are, of course silicone... and to offset the higher cost of the material, instead of a bullet we're using a bigger vibe inside. You still get the same silicone sensation, and the vibe takes up more internal volume. We also have the Hustler masturbation sleeve, which is packaged with a bonus DVD from the Barely Legal video line to get the party started.”
