Good vibrations

Two million of these We-Vibes are helping couples worldwide maintain their “sexual wellness.”

Canada has a lot to be proud of when it comes to innovation. We’re responsible for some pretty famous technologies, including Jacques Plante’s famed goalie mask, the Canadarm, and those little hand-helds known as the Blackberry. Now we can add a revolutionary sex appliance that has sold more than two million units worldwide.

Standard Innovation introduced the We-Vibe, a C-shaped stimulator for two, in 2008. Inventor Bruce Murison, an ex-Nortel engineer, spent five years of intense R&D developing the dual-stimulator for middle-class couples looking to spice things up in the bedroom or elsewhere. Today, the company’s revenues top $40 million.

“It’s the first of its kind,” says Grant Beckthold, Standard’s vice-president of product development. “Bruce [Murison] wanted to develop a device that stimulated both the G-spot and the C-spot for a woman, but also stimulate a man because there was a gap in that market.”

Unlike the typical phallic-like options considered the industry norm found in typical sex stores or online, Standard has taken the mass market approach as sexuality and the use of appliances becomes a more open subject of social dialogue. The We-Vibe is now carried in major retail chains such as London Drugs and Rexall in Canada, and Walgreens in the US, marketed as a sexual wellness product that enhances intimacy without the kink.

And it’s outselling competitors three- to-one.

Mass marketing sex
Sarah Bobas, Standard’s marketing manager, says the We-Vibe has had companies such as Trojan and Durex, market leaders in sexual protection and enhancement products, to thank for its acceptance into the mass market.

“Those kind of companies have developed products with vibratory technologies and they’re sold in typical drug store-type retail outlets,” she says. “That definitely opened up shelf-space for our product because it has nothing to do with the stigma that’s typical with other products in our space.”

We-Vibe also made it to The Dr. Oz Show, and was included in swag-bags at the Oscars and the Super Bowl.
The latest generation is waterproof and has a remote control, two features the company says were installed thanks to customer feedback. It sells for between $80 and $150, depending on the model.

“People are more open about sex as a part of regular day-to-day life, and they’re more comfortable with it in mainstream forums and mainstream conversations,” adds Bobas. “They don’t need those adult stores as much anymore because of that, and now that we’ve done it, more companies are moving towards the sexual wellness position to meet that mainstream requirement.”

Exposure, if you will, has definitely helped boost We-Vibe’s sales, but Beckthold says the innovation behind it is the real selling point, making the device a “game-changer”.

“There hasn’t been this kind of innovation in the sex industry in 20 years,” he says. “The We-Vibe’s gone viral because of the science behind it. I don’t know another time you’d see Dr. Oz showing off a sex toy on national TV.”

In-house expertise is what sets Standard apart from the competition. Most of his staff are ex-tech sector workers with at least 20 years experience in the space, creating products that break traditional perceptions.
“We are challenging moulding techniques, we are challenging the materials that are traditional with this industry,” he says. “The companies in our industry space don’t do what we do.

The We-Vibe, which is manufactured at two plants in China, uses medical-grade silicon, which is another breakthrough from traditional products often made of cheap plastics and latex. The silicon, which is produced in Belgium, is the same stuff used to make nipples for baby bottles and medical implants.